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8 Ways to Leverage Your Book Content

by Jennifer Tribe

You probably poured blood, sweat and tears into writing your book and getting it published. Why not make that initial investment of effort pay off in other ways? Think of new products you could launch based on the content you’ve already created. Below are eight ideas to get you started.

  1. If your book covers a self-help or how-to topic, develop a companion workbook. Draw out the step-by-step instructions or exercises in your book and expand on them a little. Leave some room for journaling, or create scorecards and checklists. Add some forms, templates, or extra resource lists.

  2. Does your book contain a timeline? Do you discuss a program that can be broken down into days, weeks, or months? Do you have lots of quotations or short pithy excerpts? Does your book have beautiful photos? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might have a successful calendar on your hands. Consider monthly calendars, page-a-day formats, or journal-type desk calendars.

  3. Offer teleclasses on topics related to your book. If you quoted experts in your material, invite them to be your guests on the teleclasses. By interviewing them, you get a chance to delve more deeply into some of the information they contributed.

  4. Explore the world of e-books. Nearly everyone is familiar with PDF files, but also take a look at other technologies. MobiPocket Creator will generate files that can be read on the Amazon Kindle. Or would your audience appreciate something they can read on their Palm Pilots or Pocket PCs? Check out http://www.ereader.com/ereader/help/dropbook/ for details on how to convert your manuscript to a Palm eBook.

  5. Create audio CDs based on your book. While you could just read your manuscript word-for-word into a microphone to create an audio book version, also look at spin-off concepts. Consider abridging the content, bringing in a second reader to create a dialogue, or consulting a scriptwriter with experience in writing for the ear.

  6. Excerpt portions of your book and turn them into magazine and newsletter articles. Offer them to trade publications, online newsletters, and web sites. For extra mileage, offer the same article to several different publications. They won’t mind as long as their target audiences are all different.

  7. Pull a series of tips, insights, or techniques from your book, and divvy it up into chunks. Use an autoresponder to send one chunk of content in an e-mail every week for 6 or 8 weeks and you’ve just developed an e-course. For added customer value, bundle in some one-on-one e-mail coaching or support.

  8. Think about branded retail products. Robert Kiyosaki turned his bestselling Rich Dad, Poor Dad book series into a board game called Cashflow 101. Spencer Johnson of Who Moved My Cheese fame sells golf shirts, posters, and of course, mouse pads from his website. What can you create based on your core concepts? Even the tried-and-true coffee mugs and t-shirts can be profitable if they match your market and topic.
Be creative! You’ve invested valuable time and money in creating your book’s content, so think about ways you can leverage it. It will help you get maximum payback for your work.


© 2008 Highspot Inc.
Jennifer Tribe is a principal at Highspot Inc. Want to self-publish a book, produce an audio program, launch a seminar? Highspot can help transform your great ideas into lasting knowledge products.

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