how Much Should I Give Away?

That's a worry authors often have. They want to write a book but don't want to give away their trade secrets. The answer is they need to give away a lot. This is especially true of business coaches or others who want to sell a program but are wary of giving the reader enough information to run the program without them.

I tell them “There has to be some value for the reader in reading your book, and you only get that by giving away something valuable.”

Giving something away establishes trust. It establishes credibility. It makes you someone the reader feels they can rely on because you’re offering to help them, not trying to sign them up. Your ROI comes later.

Whatever your program is, and no matter how well we explain it, the fact is that the reader will always be able to implement it better if they reach out to you. That’s all we need to say. So there's no need to be frightened about giving away the store.

Most people have heard about the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule. You can be pretty relaxed about giving away the 80 percent, which allows the reader to understand your knowledge or program in enough detail to be able to use it to their own benefit. If they want the final 20 percent, then they’ll reach out.