Checklists and Worksheets and Samples…Oh My!

If you read Business Card Gallery: Beyond The Template way back in the day, you know that I’m not a big fan of a blank page. Frankly, I hate ‘em.

A blank sheet of paper can be threatening instead of thrilling when there’s a lot at stake or there’s a lot to do. If you’ve ever had writer’s block, you know that putting the first mark on the page can feel like a mammoth, impossible step.

This can also be true on our first encounter with a new process or product. Whether it’s self-help or software or something for dinner, this new thing is a blank page that we stare at and wonder: Where and how do we start?

The smart money is on authors and vendors and service providers who anticipate this question and provide checklists, worksheets, and samples to help new customers get started.

Great examples are everywhere, and so are places where the added value is needed. As you read through these, think on simple tools you could create to add value to your content, give an easy and unintimidating jump start for your service, or provide suggestions on how to use your product.

Add Value to Content With Worksheets

Tonya R. Taylor’s small business Quick Start Toolkit (featured in the photo above) walks new business owners through the complexities of selecting a domain name, creating a tagline, setting up their office, and more. Each section has worksheets to record ideas and a detailed checklist for tracking progress.
Best bit: Each worksheet is paired with a completed example, so readers see exactly what to do!

Whether or not you roll with the premise of The Celestine Prophecy, the workbook that accompanies it is worth a look. The Celestine Prophecy: An Experiential Guide has, among other things, exercises for individual and group study, including fill-in-the-blank lists and phrases to encourage active participation and help students connect the book’s concepts with their own experiences.

Jump Start Services With Samples

Newcomers to 37Signals’ online productivity tools won’t be flummoxed by a screen of empty form fields. Instead. Instead, they’re greeted with screenshots of sample projects-in-progress, along with links to guided product tours and fully narrated video tutorials in every section.
Blatant plug: I heart Basecamp!

For consultants, intake questionnaires (verbal or written) seem a great way to start new clients on the process and give you a snapshot of what they’re about. Also, work samples and portfolios do double duty: they demonstrate your skills and also start clients’ gears turning on what you can do for them.
Tip: Anyone can have a portfolio, not just artists and designers. Back when my ex facilitated caving tours, he kept a portfolio of thank you letters and before/after group photos. His book of muddy, elated, tired, smiling kids and “Wow, that was fun, THANKS!!!” letters won him plenty of weekend gigs.

Spoon Up Serving Suggestions

These are my favorite. The overall theme is: Why sell what is, when what could be is far more appealing?

Pretty much every boxed or bottled food product on the grocery store shelves displays a fanciful photo of the product’s “serving suggestion”. And why not? A glob of red condensed paste has nothing on a gleaming bowl of tomato soup with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of chives, and crackers on the side. With a cloth napkin. And flowers on the table.

Another clever trick from the food people: sell us the recipe on the box, not the product. A great example right from my pantry: a bag of yellow corn meal (yawn!) became treasure when I read the Jalapeno Cornbread recipe on the side of the bag. Had to have it.

But my absolute favorite serving suggestions aren’t at the grocery: fully-furnished and perfectly decorated model homes. Sure, the builders could show the unpainted, empty shells. But while some of us see potential in 2500 square feet of blankness, many of us view a bare house with white walls as a helluvalotta work. Far better to show a yummy, finished home for us to imagine our lives in. Example: My dream house *sigh*

Think Closer To Home…

So for BigBrightBulb, this means going back through 89+ articles and seeing where a worksheet, checklist, or sample can add a little sumpin’ useful, jump start a process, or carry an idea from head to hand.

What does this mean for you?

Your thoughts, ideas, comments, and suggestions are thoroughly welcome. Lemme know down below!

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