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Booklet Tips From Paulette

Writing, producing, and promoting tips booklets for marketing, motivating, and making money.

Friday, March 31, 2006

Research Resource

For those of you who find yourselves doing research beyond what's already stored in your mind, here's an excellent place to do so, around the clock, from your very own computer. The following resource was in one of my favorite ezines today at www.SpeakerNetNews.com Thanks for both the ezine publisher and the contributor of the research resource.

Research tip -- Meredith Hamilton
(
meredith@expertcommunications.com)

It's not always convenient to go to the library and can be time-consuming to sift through 20 pages of search engine results.

At http://www.massanswers.org you can communicate 24/7 in real time with a live librarian who will pull up the information you need. You can then look through it online just as you would in the library. At the end of the session you will receive an emailed transcript of the conversation with a list of all the URLs you visited that you can revisit without special authorization. (I know I'm not the only one who does my research and writing at two in the morning!)

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

Thursday, March 30, 2006

How Residual Booklet Sales Happen

One of the many ways to put residual booklet sales in motion in your business is to make the initial sale to some entity who will distribute your booklets to people or groups who are also bulk sale prospects. One example of that is a manufacturer who sells your booklets to their retailers in the context of a promotional tool. The retailer hands out the booklets to increase traffic in the store. The customers of that store who get the booklet because they bought some specific thing or spent some specific amount may also be bulk booklet buying prospects for their own company or organization. And so the cycle continues.

Bulk sales are triggered each step of the way as someone sees the booklet and thinks it is the ideal solution to some challenge or situation they need to address. Before you know it, your sales have increased substantially from this ripple effect. And, as the opening sentence in this post said, this is one of many ways that residual booklet sales happen. That's enough to get you started for now though.

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

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Booklets Going to a Trade Show Differently

A client today was talking about commitments already made for exhibiting at some trade shows. The focus was on one of four parts of their business, with the intention of selling their product to small distributors (retailers) who directly reach consumers. Those small distributors would be the ones primarly walkng the floor of the show. Sounds very reasonable and logical.

I then suggested to my clients that they expand the scope of the trade show experience in a big way. The suggestion was to walk the floor of the trade show themselves for the purpose of seeing who else was exhibiting, and making connections with those larger exhibitors who were probably manufacturers and larger distributors.

The people staffing the booths would probably be sales reps. Get the names and contact information from those sales reps for the top person in sales and the top person in marketing. Those would be the decision makers for buying large quantities of booklets and other formats of the booklet content, to be used by the manufacturers as marketing tools. What's more, the manufacturers would also be able to make money on the information products by selling them at a profit to their distributors, who would use them as marketing tools.

This approach is possible whether you are exhibiting at a trade show or attending one as a buyer or, better yet, wearing a Guest badge so you won't be attacked by the sales reps staffing those booths!

Contact the top people a week or two after the trade show, and present them with how you can help them increase their market share of the product they sell by buying something from you that will not cost them anything but will make them money, too.

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

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

More About Audio and What I Don't Know (Yet)

Yesterday's post about presenting your content in audio format prompted a reader of this blog to personally email me. The person suggested that if I'm writing about audio books to be sure to include reference to the iPod revolution. The person writing to me clearly does know about iPods and other audio technology based on some additional links included for my reference in the email.

It was one of those moments in life which I'm guessing you've probably had, too. I was presented with a challenge that was just beyond my immediate comfort zone and knowledge base. Yes, sure I've heard about iPods. I do not live on an island either literally or figuratively. However, that's the full range of my iPod experience, so far. I don't think I've ever seen one or know how they work. The iPod concept keeps floating around me, with articles and ezines talking about the importance of doing Podcasts, and people downloading things to their iPods. Can I learn about this? Of course I can. Have I been motivated to before now? Apparently not. Am I likely to broaden my horizons soon? Yes, indeed.

What I know about me is that I get excited about marketing, about new ways to market, new ways to leverage information that's already been written. This morning while watching a talk show during breakfast, there was a segment titled "Dial G for God." The piece talked about receiving a daily spiritual message on the display of a cell phone. Believe it or not, I'm one of the six people on the planet who does not have a cell phone. Yes, I know, hard to imagine. That aside, do you think I got excited about the possibilities for providing readily available tips content from many different topics to be delivered through cell phones? You better believe I did.

I may be a late adapter of technology (obviously!). That doesn't mean I can't market and sell to those who are steeped in that technology, who will most likely teach me how best to sell to them anyway. Isn't it fabulous when we can each bring our strengths together for everyone to profit? I've got a hunch there's more than a few technology people who don't know some of the things I know, either. It all balances out just fine.

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

Monday, March 27, 2006

Audio Coming to Sound Speakers Near You

Our local Publishers and Writers of San Diego (PWSD) group had the regular monthly meeting this past Saturday at one of the Barnes and Noble stores in town. The speaker was a local writer who has written and had published a dozen books with more coming. His focus at the meeting was helping navigate through traditional publishing. Being a non-traditional publisher, I listened anyway since there is always a pearl to pick up that can be applied to non-traditional publishing in some way. This time was no different.

As interesting, informative, engaging, and entertaining as he was, the pearl came when, as part of his presentation, he was interviewing the store's Customer Relations Manager (CRM). All the larger B & N stores have them. She commented on the decline of book sales, and indicated that the place sales are increasing is the audio books. People are about to go on a trip, and they come in to buy a book on audio CD (used to be books on tape). Hmmmm, very interesting piece of information.

Not only did that reinforce my thoughts about making content available in multiple formats, it got me thinking about the many ways audios can be marketed in bulk, separate and apart from bookstores. In fact, I was inspired to write a Special Report about it which I hope to complete this week. Stay tuned. I'll let you know when it's ready. I think it will give you some very encouraging and inspiring ideas for you to expand your reach and your bottom line!

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

Friday, March 24, 2006

Google Your Booklet Title for Information and Ideas

It's always interesting to Google your name and your website URL to see where you appear and in what context. Sometimes there are connections to be made that you didn't realize were available, or ideas to expand or explore a direction you hadn't considered.

Today I decided to Google the name of one of my products. That also proved fascinating. Among the things I saw was that one of my affiliates has placed the product in question for sale at twice the price that I sell it. There is nothing in my terms to say she could not do that, and I have yet to see any orders come through from that affiliate. It was very interesting to discover.

I also found mention of this product on other people's blogs, in articles I had and had not written, and in numerous other places. Great publicity for the product and some good ideas of new ways and places for me to market.

Go see what you can find about your own name, website URL, and products. It will probably be very helpful to you.

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

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Articles and Interviews Make Sales and Reconnect Friends

Last week I got notice of a new subscriber to my ezine whose name looked familiar. It was the name of someone I knew about 20 years ago when I lived in metro New York. The name was not so unique, so it was possible it could have been someone different. I sent an email, asking if it was the same person, and, to my delight, it was.

We quickly went from email communication to the telephone in short order, picking up with the next syllable after not having spoken in at least a dozen years. We chatted for easily an hour. We had gone different directions in our lives and, in the process, had merely lost track of each other. Each of us has a different business now and each of us is living in a different part of the country from where we were when we knew each other.

I then asked how she found me. And here comes the power of marketing. She was about to do some promotion of her business and landed at the site of our good pal Joan Stewart at http://www.publicityhound.com . She began reading an article on Joan's site that talked about information products and Paulette Ensign at www.tipsbooklets.com , and the rest, as they say, is history.

However, the story doesn't end there. After my long-lost friend and I ended our phone conversation, she went to my site and ordered my home study kit, How to Promote Your Business with Booklets. I had no idea she was going to do this. Our lengthy phone conversation was much more of a catch-up about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. At no time did either of us say anything remotely mistakeable for a sales pitch for the products or services of either of our companies.

Although we now live on opposite sides of the country, there is a renewed close connection just a little further along in the journey of life. And the sale was a bonus. It proves ya just never know what gifts publicity will bring.

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

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

What Are You Expecting Your Booklet to Do?

The title of this entry is purposely ambiguous and definitely open-ended. That's because every booklet author has their own expectation when they create their first booklet. Here's a few possibilities that have presented themselves over the years for what a booklet can do.

* Get your name on the cover of a publication
* Be a new direct source of income - in a small way
* Be a new direct source of income - in a big way
* Market your overall business
* Make a difference in the lives of the reader
* Scratch the itch of wanting to be a writer
* Help an organization make more money by reselling it
* Help a company make more money by using it as a promotional tool
* Prove something to your family and friends
* Collect the ideas you've shared with your clients

And those are only the first 10 things to pop into my mind. There are more. You may have one or more from that list as expectations for your own booklet. You probably have one expectation that is in first place, and others that follow. It's also very likely your expectations change as you move through the process of writing the booklet, getting it produced, and marketing it. That's fine. There is nothing that says you must stay stuck. In fact, I encourage you to stay very open, and notice that your expectations have, indeed, changed.

Wherever you go in your thinking, remember to have positive expectations. Doing that will increase the odds of creating that reality.

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

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

What Happens When Your Family and Friends Don't Get it About Your Booklet

You've just birthed your brand new booklet and you couldn't be happier or more proud. Your name is on the cover. You've worked hard to write it and get it produced. It took you however long it took you to go from start to finish. You are bubbling over with your own brand of enthusiasm. And you can't wait to share the accomplishment with all your family, friends, neighbors, former friends, former family, former friends. No matter how much you want to deny it or are even aware of it, you've put your ego on the line.

You place the booklet in front of people, either during an in-person visit or through the mail. What happens next is somewhere in a very wide range of responses and reactions, a range you honestly hadn't anticipated.

You will get everything from a bland 'that's nice' to an exhuberant expression of overflowing joy to a pragmatic inquiry about your process and the purpose of the booklet. Some will wonder why you spent your valuable time and money on a booklet. One of my own sisters asked how my 'stupid little booklet' was doing, after I'd sold at least 50,000 copies. Others in your life will question how they can be helpful. And yes, there will be those who understand fully and completely why you did what you did and how the booklet can be used. It is, of course, those people who draw you closest most quickly, and the ones you were hoping for all along.

The above possibilities are a small sampling of reality, from someone who has been dealing with booklets, booklet authors, and the people in those authors' world since 1991.

The truth is that very few of even your closest and most beloved family members, friends, neighbors, and others you know have a feel for what you are doing or about to do with your booklets. When you take a step back, you probably don't know much about their work or expertise either. They may not have as much of themselves vested in their work as you do, or they may have more. 'Hard to tell sometimes.

Your mission with your booklet is to let everyone know what you are doing, since you don't know who all those friends, family, and neighbors know. Even if your closest circle doesn't get it, they may be able to introduce you to those people who do understand, who will be thrilled to see what you have, and who will find it to be the ideal solution to a challenge they are having. Do your best to keep your ego checked at the door so things like your work being referred to as a 'stupid little booklet' can ultimately transform into a humorous story to tell years later, when you've sold over a million copies!

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

Monday, March 20, 2006

Booklet Sales - Applying Logic Where it Doesn't Apply

Earlier in my booklet career when I was already selling booklets in bulk, because of being president of a related national association, I had ready access to major manufacturers, retailers, and distributors in the office supply industry. That seemed like a beautifully-paved pathway for bulk sales of a booklet about organizing your business life. I was almost counting my money ahead of time.

It was a good thing that all I did was count it and not spend it that money in advance, since the logic of these contacts did not turn out the way I thought it would. For one reason after another, the sales did not happen either in a timely fashion or at all as I thought they would. Now there were a few sales, just nowhere near what the numbers (or logic!) would have indicated. Either it was not in line with the company's business plans for that moment in time, or the price was a bit off for their current budget, or the decision maker had other things on his or her plate that had higher priority, or, or, or. Many liked the booklet. It just wasn't lining up for them to buy.

Then some things that I would call strange started happening. I got a good-sized bulk order from an electrical manufacturer's rep firm in Puerto Rico. Certainly not someone on my target market list, though their check cleared my account just fine. They wanted to use the booklet as that year's holiday greeting card to their clients and prospects. Then there was another substantial order from a public seminar company who wanted to use the booklet to clean up their mailing list. Anyone who said they were getting multiple mailings of seminar brochures from the company would get a copy of my booklet as a thank-you for letting that company know. In a million years I probably would not have considered that application for my booklet. However, their check also cleared my account fine.

Think beyond the obvious when looking at who your large-quantity buyers can be. When your booklet is used by an association or corporation to promote their own product, service, or cause, those buyers could be almost anyone!

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

Friday, March 17, 2006

Resource for Finding Business Telephone Numbers When Prospecting Booklet Clients

The following resource was in today's SpeakerNetNews.com weekly ezine. (one of my all-time favorite ezines). Thanks goes to both Mike Stewart for contributing the resource and SpeakerNetNews for publishing it.

Digital directory for business numbers -- Mike Stewart(Mike@mikestewartseminars.com)
Switchboard (
http://www.switchboard.com/) is a great resource that allows me to find a business telephone number on the spot free of charge. Give them a try.

I tested it out just now by entering "PayPal" (without the quotation marks) with no physical location. It brought the information up immediately, with one location in Nebraska (which I knew to be on PayPal.com 's site) and another in San Jose, CA, which makes perfect sense.

Next time there's a company you think is ideal to contact to sell them your booklets, you now have another easy and no-cost resource to contact them.

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

Thursday, March 16, 2006

9 Publications Become More Than 46 Products

Working with a client today, we looked at publications she'd already written. Some were booklets, some were books, a couple were ecourses, something else was a glossary of terms unique to her subject. And this was before we saw the more than 100 articles she'd written.

Like many authors, her focus had been on selling single copies to end users. And that was it. I asked her during our previous consulting session to identify not only the publications she already created, but to indicate in how many other formats she thought the content could be presented. I will tell you she did much better than most in what she uncovered.

She identified 9 different titles transforming into 46 different products. A truly excellent beginning, no doubt about it.

And then I more than doubled that.

She had not considered that most of her products could be created and sold in both hard copy and digitally, and she hadn't thought about how all of those products could be created into numerous other languages, where ideally the client would handle the translation through a licensing arrangement.

If you have even one booklet, you have at least half a dozen formats (audio, individual tips, printed booklet, and more -- for starters), with each of them being available in hard copy and digitally, and in whatever languages people are interested in. It would probably be at least Spanish. More than a dozen different products from a single booklet manuscript right there.

And why this matters is that you then become equipped with plenty of choices to find something that will fit the total needs of your large-quantity buyer.

Pretty amazing, isn't it? Let's talk about how your booklet(s) or other information products can do that kind of work for you. Give me a call so we can schedule some time together on the phone on the clock.

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

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

You Can't Write an Ad to Educate Prospects

You can't write an ad to educate prospects. They have to already have it in their minds they are interested.

I read this yesterday in an ezine about copywriting and it stopped me short, fully capturing my attention. It was from notes taken by the ezine publisher from a seminar she had attended. It was a paraphrase of something I've been thinking for a long time about booklet authors and about bulk buyers of booklets, mostly in regard to how things are priced as well as how they are perceived.

The feeling that I've expressed about this many times over has been that if someone is interested in a booklet, it almost doesn't matter how much it costs. And if someone isn't interested in a booklet, it almost doesn't matter how much it costs. And the 'it' can be any related product or service. It can be a home study kit, consulting, editing, a teleclass, or a live seminar for booklet authors. Or it can be the pricing on booklets, audio CDs, card decks, or any other format of the material.

Even though someone may not have a booklet or the other products and services consciously on their radar, it might trigger something just below the surface for them, which can be just as effective.

An example is that a person might be thinking about writing a book and has been continuously ambivalent about it. They see something about a home study kit or a teleclass or a seminar called How to Promote Your Business with Booklets, or even an article about booklets, and it scratches that surface. It triggers the book writing thing they were thinking about. Hmmm, an alternative to getting the book written. So they already were in the general vicinity thought-wise.

The other side of that scenario is someone else may hold a very strong belief about their inability to write anything, no matter how simple or how well guided by someone else. Their belief is so strong that there is no gateway into their mind about a booklet. Period. End of conversation. That person cannot be educated with the best written article or advertising copy. No way, not going to happen.

With the bulk booklet buyers, a decision-maker may be used to buying imprinted pens or calendars or coffee mugs, and is already in that promotional mindset. Along comes something different, some booklets. They are already somewhat educated, compared to the person who is not atuned to dealing with promotional items at all and sees no merit in them.

The best advice to consider is to go where the greatest likelihood is of finding the most people who already have some inkling of what you've got to offer them and have a mild or, better yet, a strong interest in what you've got. Sounds easy enough when you think about it that way, doesn't it?

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

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Email Marketing for Your Booklet

Are you doing or thinking of doing any kind of email marketing campaign for your booklets? I saw two articles today in the Internet Retailer ezine that addresses some interesting information for you to ponder to increase your results. Click on the titles below to see the complete articles.

Bigger isn’t always better in e-mail marketing, a new study reports A 2005 study by ExactTarget reports that e-mail lists with 100,000 or more names experienced an average open rate of 18.2% and click-though of 3.6%, while those of 101-1000 names had an open rate of 42.1% and click-through rate of 6.8%.

Fridays lead in e-mail open rates, ExactTarget study reports The average open rates for e-mail messages sent on Friday was 39.6%, a tad higher than No. 2 Thursday. Sundays experienced the highest click-through rates.

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

Monday, March 13, 2006

Varied Resources for Your Business

Chatting with a colleague today, I was commenting on needing to replace the computer support services for software and hardware that I've had in place over the past few years. She suggested looking at a resource called Oasis. After a bit of searching, I found http://www.oasisnet.org to see that they have lots of different possibilities to assist my business, and yours! No question there are people there who can help sell booklets, and provide overall business development advice.

The group has locations in a number of cities in the United States. Plus the page I went to for San Diego listed other related resources besides their own. These are always great finds as far as I'm concerned.

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

Friday, March 10, 2006

How Many Hits You Get

Rarely a week goes by that someone doesn't ask what the traffic and sales statistics are on the ebooklet catalog at http://www.tipsbooklets.com , or how much traffic does this blog get, or, overall, are there a lot of hits on the website.

What I've come to realize over time (prepare for an amazing grasp of the obvious here) is that yes, numbers are important. However they do not always indicate a true accounting of bottom-line results. Now, I am far from a statistician, nor do metrics in general particular capture my attention. What I do know, though, is that very large sales have come from people who have bought a single $4.77 downloadable tips booklet. And it's far from surprising that six years later people come back to focus on a booklet project they are finally ready to do.

I know that someone's initial idea can morph into something much bigger once time has passed or they start exploring what's just below the surface in their own thoughts or the resources that are available to them.

Yes, numbers are important. There's no question about that. Having a thousand customers buy one small thing means there's now a thousand customers who, in the future, could by much more in the way of booklets, other products, consulting, or speaking services. And it could be a thousand customers scattered among the 250+ ebooklets on the site. That's very different than 10 customers buying high-end things now who, by the very fact there are only ten of them, are a smaller base for moving forward with new product and service introductions.

Like so many things in life, it's about balance.

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

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Teleclass series

I'm going to be doing several sessions within a larger series of teleclasses over the next bunch of months. You'll discover new ways to increase your booklet and book sales and your profits. My colleague Brian Jud has birthed the series of weekly teleseminars and invited me and some other experts to deliver some of the sessions with him. Brian has written booklets of his own in addition to an excellent book called "Beyond the Bookstore." He's been around the publishing world a long time, is well-connected to lots of resources, and knows plenty to help you sell more of your products.

Eliminate "overwhelm" by focusing on one topic per week. Receive supplemental material each week--including Book Marketing Wizards. There will be no selling during the call--you will just get solid marketing information. To register or for more information go to www.bookmarketing.com

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

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Tips Writing Style

Years ago I discovered that I had basically written my tips booklet in a particular writing formula. It was not a conscious thing at the time, I assure you. It was something that became obvious in hindsight and is now consistently advocated. Some booklet authors follow the suggestion exactly, others do it mostly, and some ignore it completely. I tell anyone who will listen that the brilliance of this formula is that it's great if you already can write, and it's great if you think you can't write at all.

Here's the formula:

Write one sentence starting with a positive verb (action word), followed by no more than two sentences explaining 'why' or 'how.' This gives people precise direction and helps them understand what they are doing and why they are doing it.

The formula I just shared with you is also an example of itself. I encourage people to tell what TO do rather than what NOT to do. And the second and third sentences allow a reader who is not as familiar with your subject to get a little more comfortable with it by understanding what's necessary or the reason for suggesting it.

I have yet to find content that cannot be put into that writing style, though several authors struggle with it. Think how you would feel reading such a piece, new to a subject yet wanting to begin learning about it. The formula works brilliantly and has your reader wanting more from you because you made their entry into your topic as easy as you did. Everyone benefits!

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

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Volume One

If that isn't the simplest no-cost marketing tool going, I don't know what is. What I'm talking about is putting 'Volume 1' on your booklet. It's an idea passed along by one of the big Internet marketing guys and it makes a lot of sense to me.

'Volume 1' has people curious about what will be in Volume 2. You may never write a Volume 2, or you might. You could get inquiries about what the editions after Volume 1 contain. Get enough of those queries, and I'll bet you are prompted to write a second booklet. The flip side of that is when someone receives a copy of Volume 3 or Volume 4. If they liked what they got, they want to know what else you have so they can purchase those volumes, too.

You just may want to consider placing Volume 1 on the cover or inside of your booklet in the next printing. Make your booklets collectors' items!

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

Monday, March 06, 2006

Why They Buy in Bulk

Mega corporations, smaller companies, associations, and publications are a few of the entities that buy booklets and other information products in bulk. And they buy them for a few related reasons. They buy them to help promote their own products, services, or causes. Giving a free copy of your booklet when their customer/patient/ subscriber/ contributor makes a purchase is an incentive to spend more money with whomever offered the gift.

Think about your own reaction when you see something offered for free. If you were at all interested in the original product or service, that free offer probaby moved you to action that much quicker, or helped you make the decision to buy at all.

When an organization's purpose is to support some cause in which you also believe, you probably feel that much better contributing when you get a free gift as a thank-you for your donation. The non-profit Public Broadcasting Service in North America uses that model all the time, as do other non-profit groups.

You might remember the days when a magazine called Home Office Computing included a floppy disk (how dated is that?) to register for AOL. The disk was plastic wrapped with their magazine. That was a way of distinguishing the magazine from the other computing magazines out there, a way to remember them and to buy their publication at the newsstand or by subscription.

Financial planners and insurance agents offer something free as a thank you for scheduling a sales appointment with them so they can sell you financial planning or insurance products and services. At least you get the free booklet or other product to keep, whether you buy an insurance policy or not. The agents know it's a numbers game, and they do what they can to increase the likelihood of sales.

In the centerfold order form of your favorite product catalog it would not be unusual to see 'get a free gift with any purchase from this catalog or when you open a new account.' That, too, is a fairly common model, one which increases sales in that catalog.

These are but a few of the many reasons that companies and organizations buy your booklet, audio CD, card deck, and other forms of your product in bulk. Help them sell more of what they've got by selling them more of what you've got! After all, it's the least you can do.

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

Friday, March 03, 2006

Who Already Goes There?

Who already goes the direction you want to go? When you want to reach a particular audience, a particular population, a certain group of people, think about who is already reaching them. That means identifying the manufacturers and distributors of products, publications, and services. That means associations and societies. That means electronic media.

Make a list of as many of these entities as possible. Find the best contact person at those manufacturers, distributors, publications, and associations who can decide to buy your products in large quantity. Those groups will use your products to help promote their own product, service, or cause. They will distribute your booklet, audio CD, or any other format of your material as a give-away, a thank you, an incentive to purchase or subscribe.

There are thousands and thousands of groups who are already successfully reaching the people you want to reach. Do a Google search on some appropriate key words to identify who they are. Help them reach those people even better by using your products, while they help you by buying your products in large quantity.

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

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Learning Styles

You may be a quick study with lots of things. For you, the tips format is ideal. You get lots of bits and pieces of information and put them together easily. Or you might be someone who needs the concept presented and then explained in depth, with more narrative if it's something you're reading.

Either way, these styles prompt product possibilities. Each of the two writing styles (bulleted tips or narrative paragraphs) appeals to certain audiences and not others. That means you can develop a product in each writing style for your topic. There's no 'right way' for this, and you are likely to increase your sales by having both.

When you're done with that, go further and develop a special report and an interactive workbook. There's no question the people who appreciated the narrative booklet style will be interested in the larger versions of your topic.

You can do a similar application for audio products, starting with short tips in one version, and making more expanded explanations in other products.

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

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Color Coded Covers

There's a whole psychology to color and I am far from being expert on the topic. I do know what my gut reactions are though, and, more often than not, those reactions are pretty much on target when it comes to choosing the general color for a particular situation.

I am a fan of purple. In fact, that's an understatement. It's a color that makes me feel good. Some speak of it being spiritual and regal. Okay, I can easily embrace those qualities as my reality. And I've been told (accused is probably more like it) that I take the purple thing a little further than necessary. All I can tell you is it's a comfortable and comforting experience to surround myself with purple, both professionally and personally.

You may have a relationship with a particular color in a similar way to what I described above. If so, it makes it easy to choose the ink color you want for the printing on the cover of your booklet. It becomes your personal branding. The things you produce in your company usually include that color.

You also know if there is a color that causes you to react negatively. A current booklet project I'm doing with a client brought a burgundy color to the cover. The client was very quick to reject the burgundy, wanting something that would be more vibrant. When the client asked for a yellow cover, I shot that down, saying the topic of the booklet would not be a match for yellow. The content required a soothing and calming color, engendering more confidence in the booklet author's work than I felt yellow would be. We are landing on a royal blue for the printing on a white glossy cover.

Years ago, in a previous service business I had, I chose a chocolate brown ink on ivory background for all my print materials. Those colors did not represent my personality, by a long shot. It was a real disconnect and just didn't feel right. The purple now does. Even if you are not a primarily a visual person, consider what colors you are drawn to in your everyday life. See how those fit your business.

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