I Already Have So Much Content, Why Would I Want A Book As Well?
Fantastic! Having too much content is unlikely to be a problem.
In fact, it’s a blessing because it means you’re half way there with your writing.
Here’s a checklist of items that you can use to get started if you already have a lot of content:
1. Sort what you already have into topic areas. This can help to clarify the topics and chapters of your book. Or maybe you’ll even discover that you have enough content for several books.
2. Simplify your content so that it’s more digestible for your customers. Think about each step and every step that you take for granted and how those steps help your customers.
3. Review what you’ve written before in other contexts (blogs, articles, training manuals, etc.) and, if needed, refresh your ideas. Sometimes we’ll read some of our older content and discover that our knowledge and opinions have changed over time.
4. Consider giving some of your content away for free to your customers and asking them if it’s still relevant and what new issues they want to hear about.
5. Repackage your content. Once you’ve created a book, you may discover that you also have great content for training programs, webinars, seminars, apps … and the list goes on.
6. Think about how you can modify your existing content for different users. Even slight changes can make content much more appealing for a particular niche audience.
7. Although your current content is a great start for a book, make sure you force yourself to re-write and edit anything that isn’t ready to ship. It’s tempting just to cut and paste what we already have, but it’s also critical that you keep it fresh!
So, are you still worried about having too much content? Or are you keen to get started sorting and sifting in readiness for your book?
Perhaps this exercise has helped to refresh some of the old content that you had that you thought you could no longer use?
I would love to see your questions and comments in the comments box below.
Your real life examples, comments and questions will allow us to dive deeper into each of the above questions and perhaps provide other readers answers to their questions. It’s a win-win for all.
