2016 I read a book that introduced me to a concept that changed my life forever.
Play Bigger explained how you could “design” a category and become the category king/queen of it.
I was in that season of life reading 2+ business books a week, dozens of podcasts, consume consume consume.
Play Bigger and this concept stopped me in my tracks… it made sense.
Purposefully designing a category for you to be the default option in.
When I started my company IA Path in October 2016 I vowed to implement Category Design in it.
I sucked at it.
I thought I was Online Auto Training, then it shifted to several other category names before falling on Virtual Adjuster Mentorships.
That’s when I wrote the Mini Book that changed everything.
Later I updated my category to “EXP Free Career Paths” and the Renewable Workforce is something I’m still building today. (finalized it as a part of Category Pirates 🏴☠️ Category Design Academy last year! I’m participating again in 2026 to help shape this very idea I’m revealing here)
What I’m Building Here
I’ve had a lot of people ask me of the past decade,
“How did you do it? How did you get IA Path to make money?”
”How did you take your expertise and turn it into a 6 figure up to a $750k/yr business?”
”How did you get a book to sell in a boring market like adjusting?”
It isn’t because I’m a genius
I don’t work harder than everyone else (although I do work hard)
I didn’t have stacks of cash or a long runway
What I did was frenetic movement. (which I don’t recommend)
I tested, not in a systematic A/B split testing way, but through crazy amounts of activity, that moved the needle.
But what worked was category design put into a Mini Book… that was the big unlock for my business.
When I slowed down and took count… that was the needle mover.
So I started writing about how short books can helped grow that company.
After having written 20+ books (over 30 now) people started hiring me to help them with the production, publishing, and even writing of their book.
People often call me the Mini Book guy, but I have a little beef with Mini Books as a format.
What worked for me in IA Path wasn’t Mini Books as some people use them.
It wasn’t,
Monthly longform newsletters on Substack called a Mini Book
A poorly put together 3k lead magnet
Both of which is what people are starting to think of when they say “Mini Book”.
What helped me was Claiming a Category with a Mini Book.
In fact, I’d argue most of my books between those were supporting the category, gave me something to launch, action creates attraction, but really didn’t move the needle.
So Mini Books in of themselves isn’t enough.
Last year I had a mentor, Al Ramadan (author of Play Bigger) challenged me via text and said, “I think your thinking too small being the Mini Book guy. I think you need to think about your category more.”
What Category Am I Building?
So I’ve been thinking and trying all sorts of ideas.
Smart Books
Smart Publishing
Flywheel Builders
shoves the pile of papers off the desk in frustration
But I kept pushing myself (and my wife honestly) with “what category am I building?”
I keep coming back to what I actually believe in.
I believe in the power of category design implemented through a book.
So when I wrote Mini Book Flywheel I did my own exercise.
(check out the excerpt below)
Naming Your Category
Category Story
Start by describing your idea in plain English, as if you were telling a friend what you’re building.
“It’s like my book had apps connected to it.”
“I help people write a nonfiction book, but smaller.”
“It’s like people sharing their personal car with you.”
Start with a simple sentence like that.
Category Name
Now write out different keywords that encapsulate the idea from the sentence.
“It’s like my book had apps connected to it.” = book, applications, apps, cellphone
“I help people write a nonfiction book, but smaller.” = small, book, nonfiction
“It’s like people sharing their personal car with you.” = car, sharing, taxi
This becomes the baseline of your category name.
So I wrote it out.
“I help people write nonfiction books that claim a category.”
And I stopped, that isn’t Mini Books, so I wrote it again.
“I help people write Mini Books that claim a category.”
So I asked myself, what is that? What are my word choices?
Book(s)
Publishing
Writing
Category
Design
Position(ing)
I wrote out a ton of words, brainstormed for weeks. Two words seemed to do the work I was looking for.
Category - Absolutely had to be in the name because that is what I believed in.
Publishing - the act of not just writing books on Substack, but publishing a book.
Put it together and you get “Category Publishing”.
I opened up a business in that name, secured the domains for categorypublishing.com (the business) and for categorypublishers.com. (the newsletter)
That’s where this whole thing started.
I’ve spun out a few times since stumbling upon that category name, but now I want to open up about what I’m doing and why.
Claim It: The Weekly Log of Building a Category
I’ve been building in public for years, so I’m not embarrassed to trip and fall.
I’m not scared to try things, in fact I feel its one of the best ways to learn and teach. I really dislike sitting on a mountain acting like I have every jot and tittle figured out.
I don’t.
I share what works and tell you the pot holes I’ve hit and the traps I’ve fallen into.
Seeing the practice happening, to document it, to realize why something worked or didn’t is what I want to do with this newsletter.
Will I sometimes share polished content, not documentary style, yes!
But Each week I’ll share,
What I’m doing and why
The results of what I did
Tell you how you can do it (or avoid it) in your claiming of a category
This edition is an example of the format in practice.
I shared how I came up with my category name, the struggles, the exercise and the result.
So now it is your turn.
Your Turn: Find a Category Name
Test your category name or create a new category using the exercises below. Even if you don’t “build a category” I bet it brings clarity to what you are doing.
Post your category story, category words, and finally category name in the comments. It may change over time, that’s fine, you’ll never stop searching.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Until next time keep claiming your life.
Coach Chris
P.S. If you want help figuring out your category, book and business, check out Category Publishing Coaching.
Naming Your Category
I discussed category design earlier in the book, but now it’s time for you to execute naming your category, the problem, and the villain.
The goal of deciding on what category your business falls into is to create the mental shelf space you will take up in your customers mind. People want to drop you into a familiar bucket with other companies they know, which can be good for clarity’s sake, but bad because you are in the comparison and competition game.
Defining your own category gives customers a place to put you in their minds.
This is much harder than it sounds and often is an ever-evolving process, but let’s get the basics right first.
Category Story
Start by describing your idea in plain English, as if you were telling a friend what you’re building.
“It’s like my book had apps connected to it.”
“I help people write a nonfiction book, but smaller.”
“It’s like people sharing their personal car with you.”
Start with a simple sentence like that.
Category Name
Now write out different keywords that encapsulate the idea from the sentence.
“It’s like my book had apps connected to it.” = book, applications, apps, cellphone
“I help people write a nonfiction book, but smaller.” = small, book, nonfiction
“It’s like people sharing their personal car with you.” = car, sharing, taxi
This becomes the baseline of your category name.
Category Language
Now comes the hardest part, and also the most fun: languaging.
Languaging is the intentional crafting of language to communicate an idea that has never existed in your customer’s mind before. The goal is to create a new combination of words for an idea to take up new space so you are there all by yourself.
Take those words and start making a list of synonyms for those words.
“It’s like my book had apps connected to it.” = book (manuscript, article, essay, publish), apps (applications, software, automation, internet), cellphone (phone, device, smartphone)
“I help people write a nonfiction book, but smaller.” = small (tiny, brief, minimalist, mini), book (essay, manuscript, story, article), nonfiction (business, true, how to)
“It’s like people sharing their personal car with you.” = car (auto, automobile, vehicle, ride), sharing (rental, borrow, lend), taxi (shuttle, carpool, transit)
Discover the Name
With your list of synonyms, begin looking for 1-4 word combinations that explain your idea clearly and get you really excited.
“It’s like my book had apps connected to it.” = Smart Books
“I help people write a nonfiction book, but smaller.” = Mini Book
“It’s like people sharing their personal car with you.” = Ride Sharing
You’ll know when you land on the right combination.
If you aren’t sure which combination works the best, explain your idea to someone, summing it up with the your idea phrase and category name.
I help [person] with [problem] by [POV] and I call it [category name]).
If their eyes light up, you’ve probably found a winner.
If you want to read the rest of Mini Book Flywheel, you can find it on Amazon.
Chris, the simple step of writing the idea in plain English first, then pulling out the key words, feels more useful than jumping straight to a catchy name. It keeps the name tied to the real offer. I also liked your point that the name may change over time. That takes some pressure off and makes it easier to test without feeling locked in too early.