How To Structure Self-Help Books | Use the Bestselling Self-Help Outline!

Summary

In this video, best-selling author Lisa Daily shares her expertise on crafting a self-help book. She emphasizes the importance of a creative work plan, akin to an advertising brief, to pinpoint the book's key fact, target audience, and objectives. Lisa outlines a step-by-step formula for structuring the book, including defining the problem, creating a promise, and providing an actionable plan. She also advises on troubleshooting potential reader setbacks and concludes with strategies for maintaining reader engagement post-publication.

Takeaways

• 📝 Start with a creative work plan: Use a document similar to an advertising creative brief to outline your book's focus, audience, and message.
• 🔑 Identify your key fact: Determine the most important fact that your book will impact, which should resonate with your readers' needs.
• 🤔 Define the problem: Clearly state the issue your book aims to solve and who it is intended to help.
• 🎯 Establish the book's objective: Specify what impact the book will have on the reader's life, such as financial gain or improved confidence.
• 🛠️ Develop a strategy: Outline how you will achieve the book's objective and help the reader overcome their problem.
• 👤 Know your prime reader: Understand your target audience's demographics, psychographics, and what motivates them to buy your book.
• 📈 Position your book: Determine how your book fits within its category and what unique value it offers that sets it apart from others.
• 🗣️ Make a promise: Clearly state why readers should buy your book and what benefits they will receive from it.
• 📚 Follow a best-selling outline formula: Use a structure that has proven successful for other best-selling self-help books to guide your reader effectively.
• 🔄 Troubleshoot failure: Include a section to help readers get back on track if they encounter difficulties while implementing your advice.

Q & A

What is the first step Lisa recommends for structuring a self-help book?

The first step Lisa recommends is to start with a creative work plan, similar to an advertising creative brief, which helps to drill down on what's important, who the target audience is, and what message to convey to them.

What is the key fact in Lisa's self-help book about dating advice?

The key fact in Lisa's dating advice book is that getting dumped is awful and painful, and people are highly motivated to avoid such pain.

What does Lisa suggest as the second thing to figure out in a creative brief for a self-help book?

The second thing to figure out is the problem that the book must solve, which is what the reader needs.

What is the objective of a self-help book according to Lisa?

The objective of a self-help book is to have an impact on the reader's life, such as helping them make more money, lose weight, or become more confident in their business interactions.

How does Lisa define the strategy in her self-help book outline?

The strategy in Lisa's self-help book outline is about how to achieve the book's objective and help the reader solve their problem, including the specifics of how to make that happen.

Who should be the prime reader of a self-help book, as per Lisa's advice?

The prime reader should be the person who will buy the book, talk about it to their friends, and is well-defined by psychographics, demographics, and other relevant information about the target audience.

What is the importance of positioning in a self-help book as discussed by Lisa?

Positioning is important because it determines the category and specific segment in which the book will compete and gives a reason for the book's existence among numerous other books available.

What is the promise Lisa talks about in the context of a self-help book?

The promise is the best argument for why the reader should buy the book, outlining what they will gain from reading it and how it will help them achieve their goals.

Why does Lisa include a troubleshooting failure section in her self-help book outline?

Lisa includes a troubleshooting failure section to teach readers how to get back on track if they stumble and to express solidarity, acknowledging that change is hard and that it's common to face challenges.

What is the purpose of the 'future and beyond' section at the end of a self-help book, according to Lisa?

The 'future and beyond' section is meant to end the book on a positive and uplifting note, connecting with the reader and expressing faith in their ability to achieve the goals set out in the book.

Why is it important for the reader to have the author's contact information at the end of a self-help book?

Having the author's contact information allows readers to stay connected, share their progress, and get help with any unforeseen problems, fostering a sense of ongoing support and community.

Outlines

00:00

📘 Structuring a Self-Help Book: The Creative Work Plan

Lisa Daily, a best-selling author, introduces her method for structuring a self-help book, emphasizing the importance of a creative work plan. She draws from her advertising background to highlight the need for a clear and concise brief that defines the key fact, target audience, and the problem the book aims to solve. Lisa suggests identifying the book's objective, strategy, prime reader, positioning, promise, and the reason why the book can deliver on that promise. She also invites viewers to join her community and provides a creative work plan template for those interested.

05:00

📖 Crafting a Best-Selling Self-Help Book Outline

In this segment, Lisa Daily delves into the structure of a best-selling self-help book, advocating for a formulaic approach that facilitates reader comprehension. She outlines the steps for creating an effective book outline, starting with defining the problem, tailoring it to a specific audience, and introducing a benefit-driven plan. The outline should include a promise to the reader, detailing the benefits they will gain, and a problem journey that resonates with the reader's experience. Lisa also stresses the importance of preparing the reader for change and presenting a clear action plan, broken down into manageable steps to ensure small wins and prevent major setbacks.

10:02

🛠️ Troubleshooting and Envisioning the Future in Self-Help Books

Lisa concludes the video script by discussing the inclusion of a troubleshooting section in self-help books, acknowledging that readers may encounter challenges in implementing the book's advice. She suggests providing immediate solutions for getting back on track and expressing solidarity with the reader's struggles. The final part of the book should envision a positive future for the reader, offering encouragement and faith in their ability to succeed. Lisa also emphasizes the value of providing contact information to maintain a connection with readers, supporting their ongoing journey. She invites viewers to subscribe and engage with her community for further writing and publishing insights.

Keywords

💡Creative Work Plan

A creative work plan is a structured approach to outlining the objectives and strategies for a project, such as writing a book. In the video, Lisa Daily emphasizes the importance of starting with a creative work plan to define the key fact, the problem the book must solve, the objective of the book, and the strategy to achieve that objective. This plan serves as a roadmap for the author to ensure that the book's content is focused and effective in addressing the needs of the target audience.

💡Key Fact

The 'key fact' refers to the central truth or reality that the self-help book aims to address and influence. In the context of the video, Lisa Daily uses the example of her dating advice book, where the key fact is the negative emotional impact of getting dumped. This fact serves as the foundation for the book's content and the solutions it offers, making it a crucial element in the creative work plan.

💡Problem

In the video, 'problem' is used to describe the issue that the self-help book is intended to solve for the reader. Lisa Daily advises identifying a specific problem that the reader is facing and that the book can provide a solution for. This problem is then explored in the book's content to guide the reader towards overcoming it, as exemplified by the discussion on defining the problem in the book outline formula.

💡Objective

The 'objective' of the book is the intended impact or change that the book aims to bring about in the reader's life. Lisa Daily explains that this could be anything from helping the reader make more money to improving their confidence. The objective is a clear statement of what the reader will gain from reading the book and is a key component of the creative work plan.

💡Strategy

A 'strategy' in the context of the video refers to the approach or method that the author will use to achieve the book's objective and help the reader solve their problem. Lisa Daily discusses how the strategy should be detailed in the creative work plan, outlining exactly how the book will guide the reader to achieve the desired outcome.

💡Prime Reader

The 'prime reader' is the ideal target audience for the self-help book. Lisa Daily stresses the importance of understanding this reader's demographics, psychographics, and motivations to effectively tailor the book's content and marketing. This understanding helps in creating a book that resonates with the reader and encourages them to recommend it to others.

💡Positioning

Positioning in the video refers to how the book is uniquely placed within its market category and the specific segment it competes in. Lisa Daily explains that the book's positioning should communicate why it needs to exist and what it offers that no other book does, which is crucial for standing out among the vast number of self-help books available.

💡Promise

The 'promise' of a self-help book is the author's guarantee to the reader about what they will achieve by reading the book. In the video, Lisa Daily discusses crafting a compelling promise that is the best argument for why the reader should buy the book. This promise is a critical part of the book's appeal and is derived from the creative work plan.

💡Reason Why

The 'reason why' in the video is the support or evidence that the author provides to back up the promise made to the reader. Lisa Daily emphasizes the importance of being able to demonstrate to the reader how the book will deliver on its promise, which is essential for building trust and credibility with the audience.

💡Self-Help Book Outline Formula

The 'self-help book outline formula' mentioned in the video is a structural template that Lisa Daily suggests following to organize the content of a self-help book effectively. This formula includes defining the problem, introducing a plan, creating a promise for the reader, detailing the problem journey, preparing the reader for change, presenting an action plan, troubleshooting failure, and envisioning the future and beyond. It is designed to guide the reader from their current state to the desired outcome in a logical and engaging manner.

Highlights

Start with a creative work plan to structure your self-help book.

Use a creative brief to drill down on the book's key fact and audience.

Identify the single most important fact your book can affect.

Understand that pain avoidance is a strong motivator for readers.

Define the problem your book must solve for your readers.

Outline the objective of the book and its impact on readers' lives.

Develop a strategy to achieve the book's objective and solve readers' problems.

Identify your prime reader and create a detailed profile of your audience.

Position your book in a specific segment and justify its existence.

Craft a compelling promise for why readers should buy your book.

Provide support for your promise and demonstrate how you can deliver it.

Follow a best-selling self-help book outline formula for structure.

Define the problem and specify who you are solving it for.

Introduce your benefit-driven plan or title to the reader.

Create a promise for the reader outlining what they will gain from the book.

Explore the problem journey and relate to the reader's struggles.

Prepare the reader for change and outline what they need to start.

Present a clear action plan with structured steps for the reader to follow.

Include a troubleshooting section to help readers overcome setbacks.

End the book on a positive note, encouraging readers to envision their success.

Provide your contact information to maintain a connection with your readers.

Transcripts

hey future bestsellers Lisa daily here

I'm the best-selling traditionally

published author of eight books

including a best-selling self-help book

and by the end of the video today you

will know exactly what you need to know

to structure and outline your own

self-help book let's get started step

number one you want to start with a

creative work plan so I actually come

from an advertising background and

before you ever start writing a

commercial or a radio spot or a print ad

or an online ad you always start with a

creative brief which is the document

that you use to really help to drill

down on what's important who you're

talking to and what you're going to say

to them just a quick note if you want to

be part of this community if you like

this video definitely be sure to hit

like a subscribe and ding that little

bell so you'll be notified every time I

post new videos so the first thing you

want to figure out is your key fact what

is the single most important fact upon

which your book can have an effect I

actually modified my favorite

advertising creative brief for writing

self-help books and I will tell you that

it has been very very effective for me

as well as other writers I've worked

with so my best-selling self-help book

was actually a dating advice book and

the key fact upon which I built that

book stop getting dumped was that it

sucks to get dumped it's awful to get

your heart broken it's awful and pain

avoidance is actually a very motivating

factor for human beings so if you can

help your readers to avoid pain you are

doing them a big service and they will

be grateful for that so the second thing

you need to figure out in your creative

brief is what is the problem that the

book must solve what is it that your

reader needs alright the next thing you

want to figure out is the objective of

the book what impact is this book going

to have on your readers

life are you going to help them make

more money are you going to help them

lose weight are you going to help them

you know be more confident in their

business interactions what is the

objective of the book the next thing you

need to figure out is the strategy how

exactly are you going to achieve the

objective of the book and help your

reader to solve his or her problem what

are the specifics exactly how are you

going to make that happen

the next part you have to figure out is

who is your prime reader who is going to

buy this book who's going to talk it up

to their friends and in this section you

want to include psychographics

demographics and basically any other

information that you have about your

reader or about your audience and if

you're already a speaker or a coach you

probably know you know you can probably

create a profile of who your client or

your ideal client is right and it's not

just that you want to figure out the age

or sex or income of your ideal reader

you also want to figure out what it is

they truly want what's stopping them

what's holding them back what do they

dream of what is it that they really

really want in life so the next thing

you're gonna figure out in the creative

brief is the positioning of your book

not only the category for your book but

the specific segment in which your book

will compete what is the reason that

your book needs to exist when there are

already eight bazillion other books out

there and what does your book offer the

reader that no other book does because

that's really where you get them the

next thing you want to figure out is

your promise

what is your very best argument for why

the reader should buy your book the last

thing you figure out is what we call the

reason why why does your book deliver

this promise to your reader what support

do you have for your promise and I think

most importantly can you keep that

to your reader well because if you can't

you need to go back to the drawing board

step two you want to follow my

best-selling self-help book outline

formula and this formula is and before

you go oh I don't want to follow formula

let me just tell you that this formula

is basically the structure that is used

by almost every best-selling self-help

book and the reason for that is that it

gets your reader from point A to point B

or point F or wherever you're trying to

get them to go in the easiest most

logical way possible you can be original

in your ideas he could be original in

your text and you should be you

definitely should be but as far as the

structure this is the most easily

digestible way for your reader to get

the information that you're trying to

impart now the great news is that you

with the outline you've already done a

lot of the really hard work in your

creative brief

it pays to think things through before

you get started number one define the

problem this is where you define for the

reader the problem you are trying to

solve and who exactly you're trying to

solve it for use the creative work plan

it is your friend don't worry about

taking notes you can actually grab a

copy of my creative work plan on my

outline if you just there's a link in

the description below just click the

link and I'll just send it right to your

email and before you say something like

oh my book is for everyone know that

that is a lazy lazy answer and no book

is for everyone no book so do better you

can do it do better

now everyone doesn't count I want

specifics and so then your publisher

number to reiterate and expand on either

your benefit driven title or your catchy

benefit driven plan name and this is

where you're going to introduce that

plan you're not going to go into all the

specifics just yet that's for a little

later in the book but you do want to let

the reader know

that the 4-hour workweek or fit and

fabulous in 15 minutes or this or that

that that your plan is going to solve

their problem the third part of your

outline is that where you create a

promise for your reader and again this

is something we'll take directly from

the creative work plan this is where you

tell them what are they going to gain

when they read your book what's the

angle how will they know when they have

accomplished what it is you want them to

accomplish what are you going to deliver

to them so number four is the problem

journey how did your reer come to have

this problem is it a societal problem

how did you personally come to have this

problem what's the history of the

problem is it the readers fault is it

somebody else's fault is it nobody's

fault does is it just something that

happens and now we all have to deal with

it this gives you a really great

opportunity to relate to your reader

you've been where they are now you know

how they feel you understand the

struggles that they are facing because

you've been there too and look how

awesome your life is now right you've

accomplished their dream and now you are

going to show them exactly how to do it

you've been broke you've been out of

shape you've been all alone crying into

a bowl of ice cream on a Saturday night

right and now you hold the secrets to

the universe and this is why your reader

can trust you to help them solve their

problem number five reader preparation

so this is where you prepare the reader

to change their life you still are not

getting into the plan yet but this is

where you prepare them to change their

life what do they need to get started do

they need a subscription to a dating

site do they need a notebook do they

need a new therapist what do they need

to start on day one with your plan

number six this is your action plan for

the reader now this is the meet the take

away this is the big

cheese this is where you tell them

exactly what they need to do in order to

solve their problem and accomplish their

goal and what you'll need to do here is

be sure you structure your plan in two

steps

now these steps can be step driven like

it's something like a a they can be

timeline driven so you know change your

life in six weeks or any other small

byte scenario to help you break up the

steps for the reader and there are a

couple reasons why you want to break

these into into a couple of different

steps first you want to give the reader

opportunities for small wins along the

way to the big room so that's really

important and the other thing that's

important is that if the reader fails

along the way

you don't want them falling all the way

to the bottom

if they fail all isn't lost they just

have to go back to the last place where

they did in fact succeed so maybe that

was step 7 or step 42 but they don't

fall as far when they fall speaking of

falling the next section number seven is

troubleshooting failure now the reason

that we include a troubleshooting

failure section in a self-help book is

because every reader is going to stumble

along the way almost no one will be able

to execute your plan perfectly without

any mishaps and there are a couple of

reasons why you want to include a sort

of troubleshooting section one is that

you want if the right if the one is that

if the reader does make an error you

want to teach them how to immediately

get back on the plan number two you want

to express some solidarity with them

they're not failing at this because

they're horrible screw-ups they're

failing at this in the same way that

lots of other people have failed at this

because change is hard changing your

life is hard as crap and you know that

and you are here to help them succeed

and the great thing about it is this is

a really good place to

and with your reader right you want to

acknowledge here that it's not easy to

change your life it isn't it's hard

otherwise we'd all be you know

blissfully happy living our best lives

happily coupled up or married or single

you know having the best sex of our

lives in awesome shape on top of a giant

pile of money right yeah maybe that's

just me number eight the future and

beyond this is where you want to end

your book on a positive uplifting note

you know you've really connected with

this reader you know they can do it and

you are cheering for them you have faith

in them tell them that you know they can

do this step number nine you want to

make sure that your reader has your

contact information and this is

important for a couple of different

reasons first of all you've just helped

them change their life and they're gonna

feel really close with you and you want

to encourage that right you this means

you're on the right path with whatever

you're doing in your life and you have

actually helped another person to

achieve their goals which I'm sure you

already know it's an awesome feeling

it's an awesome feeling it's like the

best feeling in the whole world it's

actually the reason I'm here so this

section is where you want to tell the

reader how to stay connected to you

whether that's through your social media

or your website by the way if you want

to stay connected with me follow me on

social media you're helping your reader

to change their lives your pals now your

buddies you are connected for life you

want to know all about their story their

progress and any problems that they

might be having that you didn't

anticipate so that you can actually

solve those problems for future readers

well I hope you found this video helpful

if you did please join our little

community and click the subscribe button

like this video and ding that little

bell so that you'll actually be notified

every time I post a new writing and

publishing video if you have any

questions about outlining a best-selling

self-help book that I did not answer in

the video today be sure to let me know

in the comments below and if you want a

copy of my creative work plan and my

outline I'm happy to give that to you

just click the link at the top of the

description below and I'll shoot that to

you in an email as always thanks so much

for watching I hope this video was

helpful to you if it was or if it wasn't

let me know in the comment section below

see you next time alright go out there

and change some lives

you