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Product Inspiration: Create a Workbook for Your Niche

June 2nd, 2010, 9:44 pm | Posted in Product Inspiration | 40 Comments

Ok, I’m back with another idea. If you just can’t fathom writing about 50 pages of text for an ebook, why not create a workbook instead?  Your workbook can be fewer pages than an ebook because you will not be writing as much text. Instead you will provide a number of worksheets that help your customer either plan out something they want to do, evaluate themselves, answer questions, or a number of other things depending on your topic.

Workbooks are fun because, as your reader, I get to write, draw and answer questions, check boxes, circle, all kinds of fun stuff!   So, once again, back on Amazon.com I found the following workbooks:

  • The Self-Esteem Workbook
  • The Relaxation & Stress Reduction Workbook
  • The Total Money Makeover Workbook
  • The Fearless Knitting Workbook
  • The Getting the Love You Want Workbook
  • The Family Financial Workbook
  • The Binge Eating and Compulsive Eating Workbook
  • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Workbook

As you can see, you can create a workbook in just about any niche.  And guess what – all of these workbooks are rated at least 4 1/2 stars on Amazon.com!   People love these.

So, what workbook can you create for your niche?

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40 Responses to “Product Inspiration: Create a Workbook for Your Niche”

  1. Follow me on Twitter:

    Gwen, this is a really powerful concept. People trend to skim when they are looking at a webpage. A workbook eliminates skimming offline and provides the information they need.
    George Arthur Burks´s last blog ..What is a Brand and What Does Your Brand Say About You? My ComLuv Profile

  2. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to George’s comment:

    Hi George,

    Yes! I’m definitely a skimmer. Unfortunately with skimming you can miss a lot of great/important information – so it’s good to get folks interacting with your content if possible to learn it.

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  3. Follow me on Twitter:

    And you were worried about not having enough to write about – see you are the best – and you give everyone such important information. I have even more ideas now. thanks
    Terrie

  4. Follow me on Twitter:

    Great idea Gwen,

    In fact I have started on a work book for people in career transition to add as part of my coaching. People enjoy when they have a chance to put something down on paper and mark their progress. You hit the nail on the head with this one. I’ll be sure to fiish it right after this challenge.

    Thanks for the insight.
    Kevin
    Inspiring Speaker Kevin Thompson´s last blog ..Your Hidden Natural Talents That Others See My ComLuv Profile

  5. Follow me on Twitter:

    Oh Gwen!

    I love, love, love workbooks and have been creating them for my clients for years. They are the easiest products to create and leverage.

  6. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Tynisha’s comment:

    Hi Tynisha,

    They are very good for the main product, and to add as supplemental materials for coaching and other programs. I’m so glad to hear you are using them – they add such value to your services I bet!

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  7. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Inspiring’s comment:

    Hi Kevin,

    Very wonderful to hear. That type of workbook will be most useful nowadays for sure. Please be sure to share when you have completed.

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  8. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Terrie’s comment:

    Hi Terrie,

    LOL I have to save up some stuff – I’m still doing the 100 articles too. My brain is just so busy these days. Now the new project for Connie!

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  9. Follow me on Twitter:

    Gwen you are amazing. Okay I’m being more deliberate about what I say I will and won’t do. So for now I’ll just say that this falls right in line with my 6 Weeks To Sunrise course. Thanks for the idea. Now lets see how soon I can manifest it. :-)
    Vernon´s last blog ..Mid-life Crisis or Just A Bad Burrito? My ComLuv Profile

  10. Follow me on Twitter:

    Oh Gwen you are the bomb! This is an awesome idea. Especially great for trainers to transform their handouts into a workbook. Watch out now products will be produced by many in this blog challenge!!!!!!
    Thanks, looking forward to more
    Rosie´s last blog ..Why And How I Moved My Static Website to a Dynamic Blogging Home Part 2 My ComLuv Profile

  11. Follow me on Twitter:

    Gwen- The workbook idea is FANTASTIC! I just thought of two that would be easy for me to create for my blog.

    Thanks for the great idea
    Kris

  12. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Vernon’s comment:

    Hi Vernon,

    You know, a workbook for 6 Weeks to Sunrise would be a pretty good tool for people to take action.

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  13. Follow me on Twitter:

    Great idea Gwen. I like the workbook idea because it gets people to take action and write something in the workbook. I’m going to use this idea in my next class – “forcing” my students to take action in the information presented.

    Thanks for all your wonderful ideas.
    Steve Sponseller´s last blog ..Creative Brainstorming – A Two-Step Approach My ComLuv Profile

  14. Follow me on Twitter:

    Hi Gwen,

    Great idea! It’s funny, I just made a workbook for a client yesterday and didn’t even think about doing one for my own business. LOL. Thanks for the inspiration!
    Deb Augur´s last blog ..Why Another Blog Challenge? My ComLuv Profile

  15. Follow me on Twitter:

    Gwen,

    This is a fantastic idea, and I’m going to do it!

    I am writing an ebook and don’t want to write a 50-pager either!! Instead, I’m compiling the #blog30 updates into an ebook. Now, I’ll add a worksheet in it, and also in the blog.

    Thanks again for sharing the great idea.

    ~Henry~
    Henry Pena´s last blog ..@JeanetteCates “How I Lost IT”… My ComLuv Profile

  16. Follow me on Twitter:

    I’ll go along with Steve’s thought, Gwen. Workbooks are “Action-oriented” and clients need something that will give them a nudge to move forward.

    I thought of Karen, immediately, with your example from Amazon, “The Fearless Knitting Workbook”. :-)

    You are a treasure trove of wonderful, product creation ideas for business building!

    Hugs,
    Melanie
    #blog30
    Melanie Kissell´s last blog ..Men are Welcome My ComLuv Profile

  17. Follow me on Twitter:

    Great recommendation, Gwen. It does take time to plan effective questions but it is so worth it and while it keeps the reader involved, it is also a way to brand you as an expert in your niche.
    Very practical, useful information. Thanks,

    Yvonne

  18. Follow me on Twitter:

    Great ideas! Never thought of doing that. Are there such things as ebook versions of workbooks? But then how could someone fill it out? Or would it then be one of those print it out and then fill in type?

    Thanks for the great idea!

    –PK
    Piotr Krzyzek´s last blog ..Why Facebook For Marketing My ComLuv Profile

  19. Follow me on Twitter:

    It’s a good idea. Not so original, but very practical (speaking of non-original ideas, visit my today post in #30blog challenge http://wp.me/pUxHH-n ) I will try it and report on the results. Thanks!
    Gonzalo J. Suárez´s last blog ..Las redes sociales no pescan a todos My ComLuv Profile

  20. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Piotr’s comment:

    Hi Piotr,

    Yes! You can create a PDF workbook. However that would require the full version of Adobe Acrobat (Form Designer). That will give you a number of options for doohickeys that people can use. Even better, you can have the answers from your customers mailed to you or stored in a database if you are doing like a teaching type workbook.

    But of course the easiest will be to just tell them to print it out (from digital to tangible).

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  21. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Yvonne’s comment:

    Hi Yvonne,

    You are very correct, you can’t just make random questions or exercises. You really have to think about what the goal of the workbook is and what the outcome you want the clients to have.

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  22. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Melanie’s comment:

    Hi Melanie,

    LOL Yes, I thought of her immediately – the Fearless Knit Fit Ninja Workbook!
    Another thing – if they print out the workbook and do the exercises, questions, etc… then, say 60 days later you can tell them to do them again – and they can see their change or growth!

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  23. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Henry’s comment:

    Hi Henry,

    That’s a wonderful idea! I hope you do share it with me!!!! I know that will be a great tool considering your niche.

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  24. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Steve’s comment:

    Hi Steve,

    That’s great to hear, I’m glad to be of some inspiration. Activities are good ways to keep the mind going.

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  25. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Rosie’s comment:

    Hi Rosie,

    Wonderful!! I hope a lot of people realize they will have so much content in the next 30 days that they can produce a number of products – you just have to get a little creative!

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  26. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Kris’s comment:

    Hi Kris,

    So glad to hear that. I hope you do share!

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  27. Follow me on Twitter:

    Hi Gwen,

    This is simple but really cool idea for creating a product that stands out in crowded market.

    One can also think about creating Blueprint, Checklist or Mind maps as product for different markets.

    Regards,
    Amar
    Amar Mehta´s last blog ..6I Formula for Creating Popular Blog Posts – Part 2 My ComLuv Profile

  28. Follow me on Twitter:

    In response to Amar’s comment:

    Hi Amar,

    Yes, those are all excellent ideas!!

    Thanks for visiting,
    Gwen

  29. Follow me on Twitter:

    Hey, Gwen, I got so busy I haven’t checked in with you for awhile and what do I find? The most fabulous idea on the planet and you and Melanie talking about me! Thanks for the title of my knitting workbook!

    The thing is, before I read the comments, I got cracking on taking notes for a workbook for the home business niche! So now I have two.
    And then you said it could be a supplement for a course or product. Of course! And that set off more ding-ding-dings. Man, you’re dangerous!
    Karen Wilson Wehrle´s last blog ..Building Business Relationships–Make Customers Stick Like Velcro™ My ComLuv Profile

  30. Follow me on Twitter:

    I really enjoyed this information, it’s fun going back and seeing what I missed at the start of the 30 day contest because I was so busy trying to think of what to write about. You sure have a handle on it. Thanks

  31. Hey, Great Idea to get more from your blog and all yours tips and suggestions are very helpful. Thanks for sharing your ideas.

    Regards,

    Rabia Tareen

  32. I haven’t really thought of a workbook for my niche but now I feel like giving it a try. This is indeed a bright idea.
    Harry Parker´s last blog ..hCG Diet FACTOID!My ComLuv Profile

  33. Hi Gwen,

    That is a great idea. I would also add a nice flow chart so that people can see what it is in the workbook and see how far along they are in the process

  34. Great idea Gwen!!! This is really applicable nowadays especially where people tend to be more busy. Just like me I am a total skimmer.. I do not want to put all my time and energy reading a full text book. It would bore me to death. The idea of creating a workbook instead, is much more ideal and interesting for most people.
    Kath@Locksmith Sydney´s last blog ..Hello world!My ComLuv Profile

  35. Gwen,

    Thanks so much for this great idea! I have so many new ideas just knowing knowing that this option is out there. It just has never crossed my mind to do one!

  36. This is an excellent idea. I’ve been thinking of a free stuff that I can give my prospects on my landing page. I’m not a writer so I guess a workbook instead of an ebook will work for me. I’ll try this out. Thanks!
    Misty´s last blog ..Speed Squeeze Pages Software Review updated Sat May 21 2011 8-30 am CDTMy ComLuv Profile

  37. That’s a good idea. If you don’t feel like doing an eBook, then you can do a workbook. I’m sure it’s effective too.

  38. My uncle just finished this great book on a kid’s guide to being a winner, but it wasn’t complete until he created a workbook to go with the book. Now he can start marketing to school districts with both the book and workbook, which makes it more appealing.

  39. a workbook is a great idea, in fact for some topics a workbook is better than an ebook
    John @ Review Compare´s last blog ..Vodafone Smart reviewMy ComLuv Profile

  40. I got so busy I haven’t checked in with you for awhile and what do I find? The most fabulous idea on the planet and you and Melanie talking about me! Thanks for the title of my knitting workbook!

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