Help Yourself to Opportunity

But Clemens sees these interactive communities as something more than that, as longing for plain-spoken advice, instead of verbose doctors who may talk over their audiences’ heads. “Self-help has always been about making readers feel comfortable about seeking knowledge. We should never forget their needs.”

With self-help publishing being so reliant on developing a sense of community, and the need for the authors to interact with these communities personally and regularly, it would seem that online is the perfect medium in which to build these communities around their products.

Eric Butterman is a New York-based writer and creator of the seminar “Better Business Writing: From E-mails to Everything That Makes You Money.” He can be contacted at EricButterman@Yahoo.com.