Variety Equals Increased Sales

Over the weekend, my Magnificent Other (aka Bob) and I walked an annual outdoor Art Festival here on the streets in San Diego. It was primarily a high-end show, though there were things priced in a wide range as well as many kinds of art.

Early in our 3-hour-ish walk up and down the streets, we came upon the booth of an artistic photographer whose work we liked a lot. We looked at what was displayed on the walls of the canvas booth as well as in some bins on a table. It didn't take long for me to realize this photographer had done something I'm forever talking about in the booklet/information product business.

In his booth, we found the same prints in at least three different sizes, with the additional choice of already-framed or not-yet framed. The sizes, prices, type of frame all gave that photographer a greatly increased likelihood he'd make a sale to those who had any interest in his work at all.

For all kinds of reasons someone would want one size over another, an already-framed picture or not. Yes, of course we bought something. It was one of the smaller unframed things because of the amount of space I wanted to dedicate to that particular piece, and because I wanted a different kind of frame than he had. Am I likely to go back to this guy to buy more? You'd better believe it. Was it a problem that he repeated his inventory in different sizes? Hardly. In fact, it was the exact opposite.

So how does this translate to booklets? (Just in case you haven't made the leap yet.) Think about the basic booklet. That's one product, desired by some for its price, size, format (reading), and customizing capabilities. Some people want that content so they can listen to it in their car, on the treadmill, or while walking around - an audio CD is created. Someone else wants to interact with that information, through some software or workbook or through a card deck with one tip per card. Someone else will be excited by a more expanded version of the content. Somebody wants to see it in action and will respond well to a DVD. Somebody else is grateful it's in Spanish, Portugese, or Korean. And on and on and on.

By the looks of what we saw, this photographer at the Art Show had invested in a small amount of inventory of each size he had of certain prints. I suspect it was, in fact, a small inventory of the multiples, probably based on how many shows he has coming up and which prints he likes and which prints other customers have liked. You've probably noticed examples like this in other parts of your life, too. It's far from being a new idea. It fits so well with booklets, too. Not a way-out, off the charts idea at all.

One of the simple roadmaps I have for this concept is a downloadable Special Report called Write It Once, Leverage It Many Times - Creating an Entire E-Published Product Line from a Single eBooklet Manuscript. That can be a good starting place for your own expansion, creating variety to increase your sales.

Until next time,
Paulette
http://www.tipsbooklets.com