|
I have been in the training business for over twelve years. As I began writing
how-to manuals, I naturally began offering seminars on how to write how-to manuals.
And I still do. But I've found that by putting what I've learned about this subject
into print and marketing this manual, I've been able to reach out and help many
more people than I ever could through seminars alone.
Practical.
Above all else, writing, publishing, marketing and promoting your how-to manuals
is practical. Information products are some of the easiest things to create
and market (especially over the Internet!) How-to manuals are a consistently
profitable market. Never mind if there are already twenty- eleven things in
print on your topic. If you have something new to say on the subject, or some
new way to say it, you have a unique product that may fulfill the needs of others.
Portable.
One of the things I love most about this business is that it’s portable.
You can write, publish, market and promote your how-to manuals from virtually
anywhere. I've written how-to manuals while traveling almost full-time delivering
my seminars and training courses. When my wife takes early retirement in a few
years, she wants to move from the large city we now live in on the West Coast
to a small town in northern New Mexico. No matter, I can still do my business
from wherever we settle next.
Your Spin.
This business really has no limits! As I said above, even if there are many
other publications on a topic you want to write your how-to manual about, don't
fret! Put your unique stamp on the topic and/or market it in a new way, and
you'll find plenty of buyers. Do you think Dr. Wayne Dyer was the first person
to write a self-help book? Absolutely not! But the way he wrote "Your Erroneous
Zones" reached people, many of whom had never read a self-help book in
their lives, in a way that made him a best-selling author!
Easy & Cheap.
It’s getting easier and cheaper than ever to produce your how-to manuals
for distribution, from traditional print media to electronic formats that can
be distributed over the Internet immediately!
Profitable.
Finally, this is an incredibly profitable business! People who need what you
know will pay more for your 30- 90 page how-to manual than they pay for a hardback
book at the bookstore! And the mark-up on your product can result in substantial
profits on even just a few hundred or a few thousand sales.
Pricing.
And that’s the point I want to end this article with: one of the biggest
mistakes self-publishers make is that we tend to underprice our manuals! Manuals
that contain specialized knowledge are virtually always priced higher than books
in stores. This is because you are making available specific information that
a specialized segment of the marketplace is seeking. Your customers desperately
want your information -- and they are ready, able and willing to pay for it!
About the Author:
Best Regards, Robert Brents, "The 80/20 Guy" http://www.RobertBrents.com
For your free four-lesson e-seminar, How To Write, Publish, Market & Promote
Profitable How-To Manuals, email mailto:freehowtoeseminar@sendfree.com Copyright
2002 Robert Brents and Blue Gecko Press. |
