There are thousands and thousands of different topics you can consider when writing books or publishing your own information products online…for some, writing their own personal cookbook is their way of matching their passion for writing with their passion for cooking.
Sometimes it starts with a recipe or two handed down through your family – we all have one of those don’t we?
Other times, we have an idea, theme or concept in mind that we could turn into a great cookbook.
The good news is that cookbooks sell, cookbooks have always sold and they will continue to sell many years from now, despite the massive free recipes and content that you can find online.
But…the key ingredients when considering how to write a cookbook have to do with turning your book into a themed information piece that is entertaining, tells a story and targets a very specific portion of the public who are interested in recipes.
As we share with our students inside of the InfoMarketer’sZone Information Publishing Resource Center, selling books online has as much to do with delivering an "experience" a "lifestyle" to your audience as it does delivering the actual information.
For example, you decide that there should be a cookbook written for young couples who want to re-create the experience of Italy where you outline rich Italian recipes paired with wine recommendations from Italy and along the way, you share some personal experiences or research about the different regions in Italy and help them re-create the experience as if they were living a luxury, passionate lifestyle sitting outside enjoying fresh Italian food 1000 miles away!
How To Write A Cookbook – The Fundamentals
You may already be getting the sense, from the example above, what is most important about becoming a top selling cookbook author:
1. Target an end result your target audience wishes to experience – writing cookbooks should be directed by an underlying, passionate desire to live, be or do something exciting, passionate or relaxing in people’s lives. People want to experience the romance of French food, the passion of Italian food, the down-home goodness and comfort of Southern cooking.
2. Tell a story – It shouldn’t just be about cooking, writing cookbooks should include stories, case studies, background information, personal experiences and perhaps even interviews from others who can add to the overall end-experience for your customer
3. Love of food – When you are food writing, let your passion and descriptive nature come out. A good way to do this is to "speak your book" – tell a story or share an experience with someone and record it, then transcribe that experience into words using a transcription service or even speak to text software on your computer. Writers that have used this technique we teach over at InfoMarketer’sZone are amazed at how much faster, better and less painful writing is when they use these techniques.
4. Write simple, clear, easy-to-follow recipes – spend a few hours in your local bookstore and study different cookbook formats, choose a few that seem the simplest and clearest and use that format when writing your own cookbook recipes
5. Include some photography. While you don’t need to make your cookbook a work of art, and it doesn’t have to be a picture book, a dozen or so well placed, high-quality photographs can do wonders for making your book more attractive and improving word of mouth. If you are a decent photographer that understands the fundamentals of lighting, setting and background, you can try this yourself. If not, hire a photography student or hobbiest – most communities have one. The quality will be well worth the $100 or so it may cost you and your cookbook will look that much better.
Finally, learning how to write a cookbook is only the beginning, the single most important part that will influence your sales is your ability to market your cookbook. You want to use a mix of online optimization techniques (there are millions of searches for different cookbooks online each month), publicity such as interviews and press releases, affiliate marketing where you get hundreds of hungry website owners itching to promote your product for you and advertising which can be kept to a minimum, but does serve a purpose. Inside Information Marketer’s Zone we cover marketing "how to" , self-published information products in-depth sharing the latest techniques and strategies you can use to get your products into best-seller status. Drop by and see us as you consider writing your own cookbook.
