Hodder Education, the publisher, has launched a series of self-help books that keep readers motivated and engaged via text messages from the authors.
The Get A Life! Series includes four motivational self-help books aimed at 20-50 year old women. The books are: Bone Idle to Body Idol by Cornel Chin; Drab to Fab by Isabelle Perrett and Yvonne Johnson; Moody to Mellow by Stephen Palmer and Christine Wilding; and Single to Settled by Elizabeth Clark.
Each book comprises a 100-day course, designed to help the reader to achieve their goal of a healthy body, sparkling self-image, reduced stress, or a rewarding relationship. The books also seek to address a recognised stumbling block for such publications – waning focus and commitment from the reader. This is where the texts come in. To help motivate readers, the authors have written Top Tip text messages which are tailored to each stage in an individuals programme. 
Examples include:
Want a new gleaming, shiny car? Go do some wax on and wax off. Ur arms & shoulders will look & feel great & so will ur car from Bone Idle to Body Idol; and Smile warmly, be positive & men will be tripping over their jaws 2 speak 2 u from Single to settled.
Readers can opt in to receive the texts, which come in packs of 10, priced at 1.50 per pack. The text service is managed by Telecom Express, and requires a double opt-in. In addition to the standard Unsubscribe option sent with each text, readers are also sent a reminder message every 10 days, asking if they would like to stop their text messages.
How many of us have taken up a New Years resolution, with every best intention, only to fall at the first fence? asks Hodder Education Consumer Education Division Director, Katie Roden. This groundbreaking new combination of book and SMS motivational messaging is set to keep all our readers on course, as they seek to change their lives for the better. Expect to see much more of this exciting combination of traditional and modern media as we go through 2006.

Hodder Education

Telecom Express