How Well Do You Know Your Niche?
When I help people write books, I’m always emphasizing the need to find a money making niche—and focus on it. You can’t be everything to everybody. You can’t know everything about many different fields. You’ve got to niche now.
I’m a firm believer in “riches in niches!”
So…what’s your niche—something that makes you unique? What’s your specialty and specialness? How do you differentiate yourself from the competition?
Take this niche quick quiz to see if you’ve got a winning niche:
(1) Who’s my niche/target market?
(2) What are their characteristics?
(3) Is my market sizeable, reachable, profitable?
(4) What are my market’s needs? Their problems?
(5) Does the niche fit my interests and abilities?
(6) What can/do I provide to meet wants and needs of my market?
(7) Can/does my market pay for my products and services?
(8) How do I differentiate from my competition?
(9) What marketing strategies do I use?
(10) Is my marketing consistent with my brand? Effective?
(11) Am I satisfied with my niche?
(12) How can I revise and expand my niche?
(13) What is my future vision for my niche?
How did you do on the niche quick quiz? Are you a niche maven? What can you do to improve your “niche-ing” results?
10 Topic-Creating Titles for Your Book
Stuck for topic ideas to develop into a non-fiction book to promote Brand You? Use one of these 10 title formulas. They can provide an attention-getting title, as well as help you write your book.
(1) 10 Uses for __________
(2) 5 Best __________
(3) Top 7 __________
(4) How to Choose a __________
(5) What Your __________ Isn’t Telling You about __________
(6) Secrets the Experts Use to __________
(7) 10 Quick, Easy Steps to __________
(8) 101 Money-Making Ideas for __________
(9) 7 Reasons Why You’re Not __________
(10) 21 Tips, Tools, and Techniques for __________
Now, tweak a title and fill in the blanks. Then, create bulleted or numbered lists or develop questions-and-answers for each item you want to discuss. Expand the items as needed for your book.
You’ve started writing a book. It wasn’t that hard to think of a topic and title, was it?
Automate to Expedite Your Online Marketing
It’s true. Time is money. Sometimes, you need to pay someone else to do the things that take you too much time.
I’ve just begun to actively use article marketing again for my newest product. In the past, I’ve paid a tech-type person to manually submit my articles to different article directories to promote my products. But, the cost became prohibitive. It took too long to get the job done.
So, I was faced with a decision now—do it myself (spending a lot of time and frustration) or use an article submission service. It was a no-brainer. The service charges a reasonable monthly fee and sends my articles out to more places than I could ever do. That’s the upside.
The downside—I had to deal with technology myself. The first article took too long for me to process. The reason: I wanted to include bulleted lists in my article. I couldn’t get the lists to work, because I needed to use only plain text. I finally gave up and settled for one item per line, without the bullets. I’m waiting to hear from the submission service’s tech support about other options. I love bullets and lists!
Now that I’ve successfully finished submitting my first article (without the bulleted lists), I’m on a roll. I already processed 3 more articles earlier today.
So, if you’re hesitant about the value of automation—get over it. It’s worth the extra money. You save time, which ends up saving you money. Worried about the tech stuff—get over that, too.
Visual Thinking References for Writers
I’m extremely graphically-challenged. I can’t even draw a straight line with a ruler. But, I absorb and process information best when I can see it—not just the words, but images, too. I always use visual thinking when I write a book. Mind mapping is one of my most useful writing tools.
I’ve given myself 2 long-term visual thinking goals—not yet accomplished:
• develop my visual and drawing abilities
• add cartoon-like illustrations to my non-fiction books
What about you? Are you a book author? Do you do a lot of writing?
Ready to learn more about thinking visually? Here are some of my favorite books for writers that use different aspects of visual thinking:
1. The Back of the Napkin, Dan Roam. Thinking in pictures to capture ideas
2. The Seven Slide Solution, Paul Kelly. 7 slides to graphically tell your story
3. The Imagineering Workout, Disney Imagineers. How Disney does it
4. Writing the Natural Way, Gabriele Rico. Right-brain techniques, clustering
5. The Mind Map Book, Tony Buzan. Mind mapping how-to by its creator
6. Beyond Words, Milly R. Sonneman. Drawing out ideas with simple images
7. The Cartoonist’s Workbook, Robin Hall. Keyhole-drawing of cartoons
8. A Picture’s Worth 1,000 Words, Jean Westcott, Jennifer Hammond Landau. Simple visuals
9. The Non-Designer’s Design Book. Robin Williams. Layout and typography basics
10. Designer’s Guide to Creating Charts & Diagrams, Nigel Holmes. Lots of examples
11. Envisioning Information, Edward Tufte. A classic
Which books do you have in your personal library? Which new book will you read next?
When You Write A Book, Think Visually, Too
Remember—it’s NOT all about the words. Graphics can play an important role in your book writing. How? …Let me count the ways:
1. Mind map your book outline (also called clustering, etc.)
2. Storyboard your content (just like Disney does)
3. Design your layout (looks count, too)
4. Consider your typography (e.g., fonts)
5. Add visual elements (e.g., illustrations, photos, cartoons)
6. Use graphics to complement and supplement the text (e.g., charts, tables)
7. Include graphic devices (e.g., callouts, sidebars)
How do you use visual thinking in your own book?
Outline with Sticky Notes
Whenever you’re creating content that’s more than a few pages, develop an outline to organize your ideas and expedite your writing. You don’t need a detailed, complex outline—just do it! Sticky notes (e.g., Post-its) are one of my favorite low-tech tools for putting together an outline or framework for my writing.
To create your outline using sticky notes:
1. Choose sticky notes in 2 different colors or sizes—1 for headings, 1 for ideas.
2. Jot down ideas, 1 idea per sticky note.
3. Post the stickies on your walls or lay them on your desktop.
4. Rearrange them as you see associations. Any new ideas?
5. Add headings to groups of related sticky notes.
6. Keep rearranging until you’re satisfied with the organization of your content.
Prefer index cards instead of sticky notes? Then, substitute index cards for sticky notes and follow the steps above to develop your content outline.
Self-Publishing: Is It Right for You?
Self-publishing lets you keep control. It can generate more profits for you. It can be done more rapidly than going the traditional publishing route…But, is it the right choice for you and your money making book? (I’m assuming you do want to make money with your book.)
Ask yourself these questions to help you decide if self-publishing your own book is the correct choice.
1. What is your purpose for writing a book?
2. What results are you seeking?
3. What can a book do for you—professionally and personally?
4. What alternatives would accomplish your goals rather than self-publishing (or even writing) your book?
5. What about doing nothing—no book? Or, creating a short information product such as a booklet?
6. Why do you want to self-publish your book?
7. Do you understand what self-publishing involves (e.g., printing, distributing, marketing)?
8. Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing versus seeking a major publishing house instead?
9. Do you have the resources needed to self-publish (not just money, but time, energy, motivation, staff, etc.)?
10. Are you willing to do what it takes to succeed at self-publishing (including the willingness to market, market, market)?
11. Overall, is it worth it for you to self-publish your book? Is it even worth it for you to write your book?
What’s your decision? Write your money making book—now? Self-publish it?
41 Reasons You Haven’t Written Your Money Making Book
You haven’t written your business-building, money making book yet because you…
1. are waiting until you have the ideal environment, your new home, new office
2. are still rearranging your desk to prepare for writing your book
3. are afraid you’ll suffer long-term health problems from writer’s cramp
4. have given up your dream/plan to become a book author
5. would rather read about how to write a book than actually write your book
6. haven’t found your personal muse yet
7. blame everyone for making too many demands on your time and energy
8. don’t have any more creativity left because you’re too busy writing e-mails
9. have to become “all you can be” before you can start writing your book
10. are waiting to win the lottery, so you can quit your day job to write your book
11. are a victim of paralysis of analysis
12. are fearful of taking the chance
13. have friends, family, your therapist telling you to forget it
14. are waiting to have something exciting to write about
15. lost your notes, the dog ate them, so you’ve got nothing to say
16. no longer have your great idea—it became outdated while you waited to write your book
17. can’t begin without a guarantee that you’ll create a perfect, award-winner
18. need a new computer, so you have the latest tech tools for writing
19. need to learn how to use your new computer and the software that came with it
20. are too busy planning what to say on Oprah, so you don’t have time to write
21. like talking about being an author more than doing anything about it
22. need another 5 years to finish the research for your book
23. think what you have to say isn’t important enough compared to other books
24. see the glass as half-empty rather than half-full, so it’s not worth the effort
25. think you’re too old (young, fat, thin, whatever) to write a book
26. are waiting for a publisher to offer a 6-figure advance before you start writing
27. fear taking quality time away from your significant other, kids, pet snake
28. can’t start because you haven’t written a titillating title yet
29. can impress people saying, “I’m planning to write a book”—why bother writing it?
30. are too busy listening to your inner critic instead of writing your book
31. enjoy the sympathy you get for your writer’s block
32. wrote your book but can’t finish until you find the right words for the ending
33. need to have lots of magazine articles published before you tackle a book project
34. are still meditating about writing your book
35. haven’t found the ideal fountain pen you love enough to use to write
36. are concerned that being a famous author will go to your head
37. love preparing to write more than writing your book
38. like the attention you get being a struggling writer
39. don’t want to bother spending time and effort—the IRS will take your profits
40. need to get in touch with your inner child first
41. are afraid writing will use up all your energy, so you’ll have none left for sex
So, why haven’t you written your book yet?
If Trump Can Do It—So Can You!
Donald Trump finds time to write books (admittedly, with help). He knows the value to his business of being a book author. I’m sure you know why you should write a book for your business or professional practice, too. So, where’s your book? Want to get it written in the next 30 days, even if you’re time-challenged or writing-challenged?
You can become a book author in the upcoming months. You already have a wealth of knowledge to share with your target market. You can enlist help of your colleagues—for free!
(The “secret” to getting others to write for your book? Stress the benefits they will get as authors, with each one writing only a short chapter in their area of expertise for your book.)
1. Start small. You don’t need to create an encyclopedia to position yourself as an expert in your field with your non-fiction book. A short 40-75 page e-book can be an effective promotional tool.
2. Quickly develop a simple outline for your book on a topic that you want to highlight related to your business or practice. Decide which chapters you want to write (from none to all).
3. Contact colleagues to write their chapters. You’re the primary author, with your colleagues as contributors (or, co-authors).
4. Make sure you retain all copyrights for the book. Put it clearly in writing. Also, note that “payment” is the promotional value of the book.
5. Develop a timetable for completing your book. Keep in touch with your contributors to make sure they stay on target.
6. When you’ve gotten your chapters together, arrange them in order according to your outline. Then, perform a general edit to correct errors, typos, etc., and to maintain consistency.
7. If you include the name of a different contributor for each chapter, you won’t have to worry so much about keeping the same style throughout the book. But, you’ll still have to remove duplicate content.
8. Customize the book for each contributor/co-author. Put your name on the cover and title page as the author for all versions. Then, add the name of a specific contributor/co-author to your name for that colleague’s version.
9. Let each contributor insert an introductory page specific to the person’s business or practice, specialization, industry/field, products, credentials, etc. Offer to write the page for each contributor or create a fill-in-the-blanks template that can be customized.
10. If desired, have a cover created professionally. But, make sure the cover can be readily customized for each contributor.
11. Convert each version to PDF format. Distribute to your contributors.
12. Give your contibutors a list of suggestions about how they can build business using “their” books.
[Note: these concepts are taken from the comprehensive book author program available at http://www.Bookin30Days.com]
Tech Support—Your New BFF If You’re Tech-Challenged
I can’t say enough about the value of good technical support. If you’re purchasing software or a complicated electronic device, starting a business online—make sure that the product or service you’re buying has top-notch tech support.
If you suffer from a deficit of inherent tech skills, tech support should be your new best friend forever (BFF). (See, even those of us in the Baby Boomer crowd can keep up with current lingo, usually. My kids probably don’t think I know what BFF means.)
One of the most important “tools” I’ve used for my online business is tech support. If I have a choice between two similar companies, I’ll always pick the one with better support. I may even compromise a bit on functionality if I find a big discrepancy between the support the 2 companies provide.
A few months ago I needed to buy some software from a well-known company. I discovered that I had 2 free phone calls within a certain period of time after my purchase. Then, I had to pay for any live support.
I encountered a problem that I couldn’t solve with my usual methods, such as the company’s own online support, Google searches, forums, etc. My books about the program didn’t help either. So, I called the company.
Apparently, there was a glitch in their program. Images that I had inserted into my document showed up on my computer screen, but failed to print out. I would never have guessed the problem without contacting tech support. Amazingly, adding section breaks to the document on pages after those with images prevented the images from printing. So, all section breaks had to be removed to make the images print.
Crummy solution. And—that was 1 of my 2 free phone calls. I had to use up one freebie because I encountered a software bug that the company is obviously aware of and hasn’t fixed.
This experience definitely made me even angrier with the software company. Not a customer-friendly company.
My advice: check out the tech support before making your purchase IF you anticipate you’ll need their help. Ideally, speak with people you trust who’ve used the company’s product or service you want to buy. If you can’t get personal recommendations, do some quick research online about the company’s tech support. (I’m not concerned with the actual product or service here—just how you’ll solve any problems that you encounter.)
Find out:
• What DIY tools come with the product to help you make it work?
• What type of support can you get online?
• If you need to call, how much will it cost you?
• What’s the cost after an initial period?
• What help can you get after the warranty expires?
• What post-sale support is available at your business location (if appropriate)?
• How long does tech support take to come to your location to provide service (if appropriate)?
• What hours is tech support available?
• How long do you wait on hold until you speak with someone?
• What’s the best time of day and day of the week to call?
• How good is tech support during peak AND during off-hours?
• How easy are they to understand?
• How readily do they understand the problem?
• Are they able to solve the problem, to answer questions?
• If not, what do they suggest to resolve the issue?
• How accessible are higher level supervisors?
• Overall, are you usually satisfied with your experience with the company’s technical support?
Lastly, if possible, do a trial run. Pretend that you’ve had a problem with the product. (Do this before you buy it.) See what happens when you call tech support. Are you pleased or not?
Remember, a product isn’t worth buying if you can’t get it to work the way you want.