© by Earma Brown Sept 24 2006
Why do people buy non-fiction books? Most readers buy books to
solve problems or help with fulfilling a need. For example,
when I started speaking for a fee I went out and bought a
couple of popular books about speaking. Browsing in the
bookstore, I was attracted to Lilyan Wilder's book "7 Steps to
Fearless Speaking" I read the back cover. I noticed she could
help with 7 easy steps. I skimmed the table of contents, read a
few lines and immediately liked her easy to read style. It went
in my purchase basket.
Because I wanted to hear from several authorities on the
subject, I picked up another book by Nido R. Qubein, "How to Be
a Great Communicator: In Person on Paper, and on the Podium."
His cover design was white with clean lines and a personable
picture of him on the front. His style of writing was not as
easy to read but it still went in my purchase basket as well.
Which brings us back to my original point; people buy
non-fiction books to solve problems. To identify your targeted
market, pinpoint a problem they have and the solution of
course.
Problems come in all shapes and sizes. Usually a general
category problem applies to all types of markets.
" Hobbies. Is your tennis game, golf game, bridge game as good
as you'd like? Are you considering taking up horse-back riding?
Want to improve your computer skills? What ever the case may be,
your desire to improve or change your level of performance is
considered the problem.
" Health. The first thing you do when your doctor diagnose your
cholesterol is high and you need to lose 20 pounds. You go look
for a book that will walk you through step by step to lose
weight or lower cholesterol. You turn to someone that has
solved the problem to learn from their experience.
" Mental State. Are you feeling stressful about the economy?
Are you noticing unexplained physical symptoms possibly related
to stress? Once again, you have a problem and you are looking
for a solution in book form. Someone who has outlined easy
steps or ways to de-stress in our society.
" Personal Finance. Worried about lay-offs, down-sizing,
retirement? Books that offer financial solutions to economic
problems during shaky times are guaranteed to succeed.
" Marketing. We live in a competitive society. Small business
owners and managers everywhere need a growing database of
customers and clients. Therefore, they seek out how to books
that offers solutions on improving their advertising copy,
improving their business image or their website.
Each of the problem categories describes a problem and a need
for a solution. The main goal of your marketing plan is to
identify the problem your book solves and then present the
solution. The more intense the problem and the easier you can
make your solution, the more readers will seek out your book.
Your task becomes to re-structure your knowledge into bite-size
reader solutions. Appeal to the masses, by letting them know
what's in it for them and how easy the solution is with your
book. For example, let's consider the book title I mentioned
earlier about speaking. The title could have been: "How to
Overcome Your Fear of Speaking" instead of "7 Steps to Fearless
Speaking" The latter is more appealing because it alludes to
only 7 steps to my solution.
Dont put it off any longer. If you wait, you can be this time
next year without fulfilling your dream of writing a successful
book. You have the solution. Now write it down. While you're
thinking about it use the tips above and write a book that
sells well. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.
About The Author: © Earma Brown, 11 year author helps service
business owners, professionals and writers who want to write
their best book now! Send any email to iscribe@writetowin. org
for free mini-course Jumpstart Writing Your Book or visit
http://www.writetow in.org or href="http://www.bookwritinghelp.com">Book Writing Help for
more tips.
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