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Booklet Tips From Paulette

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

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Take One Tip

Look at any one tip in your booklet as a seed for something bigger:

1. Use the tip as the basis for an entire article, an article you can post onto the hundreds of online article directories and send to publications accepting freelance articles.

2. Include the tip in a letter to a large-quantity booklet prospect as an example of the contents of your booklet.

3. Send the tip in an email to your entire mailing list as a helpful piece of information to improve their day (and keep you in their thoughts.)

4. Place one tip as the headline of your home page to set the tone of what you have to offer.

5. Have one tip printed on note pads or Post-It notes to distribute with any orders you fill or notes you write.

What other brilliance can YOU think of?
Until next time,
Paulette
http://www.tipsbooklets.com

Monday, February 27, 2006

Pre-Selling Your Booklets in Bulk

'Want to create an entire series of booklets or get a sense of what might sell in large quantities? Establish the titles for 3-6 booklets. Write 10 tips for each of them. Put some of the sample tips from each booklet and the 3-6 titles onto a well-designed 'sell sheet.' Print 1,000 - 2,000 of these sell sheets and start distributing those sheets to the decison-makers of large volume sales. Doing this means you have minimal-to-no out of pocket expenses since you only print booklets when you have sales. You may decide to do an initial small print run of 500-1,000 copies just to have booklet samples for those people who want to see what a finished booklet looks like. You can also put the contents of the sell sheet onto a web site and direct people there.

Until next time,
Paulette
www.tipsbooklets.com

Friday, February 24, 2006

Scanning the World

'Ever want to contact someone in another part of your own country or the world at large and don't really know for sure what time it is where you're calling? Here are two resources that will help you and the person you're contacting.
http://www.worldtimezone.com
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock

Until next time, whatever time that may be,
Paulette
http://www.tipsbooklets.com - in the Pacific Time Zone of the US

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Who Have You Told?

Who have you told about your booklet lately? Do your family, friends, and neighbors know? Do your current, former, and prospective clients know? Do the people you do business with in your community know? How about the folks in any community organizations you belong to? Do they know?

You may be losing out on the easiest and most lucrative marketing opportunities by not telling the people in the previous paragraph about your booklet. Your booklet could be the ideal solution to a problem they are experiencing. Your booklet can be a direct or indirect source of revenue they need. The booklet could be an ideal educational tool for them. It could be a vehicle for someone to get a promotion because of bringing your booklet to their department. It could be a way for two people to re-open communication between them after some long hiatus. It could be lots of things, all for the good.

Who have you told about your booklet lately? Why don't you get started now?

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

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

No Booklet Before Its Time

Today's mail brought a sample booklet done by a husband and wife team who heard me speak and bought my home study kits six years ago. Apparently they just completed it fairly recently from what I could tell. The booklet is well done, mostly follows my suggestions, and is a topic I think will sell well in large quantity.

Why do I mention this? It's not uncommon for people to ask how long it usually takes to write a booklet. My answer is always some form of 'it depends.' The booklet I got today took longer than most, or at least longer than most of the ones I know about. And that's how long this couple decided to take.

There have been other authors who have done theirs faster. The one all-time record I'm aware of was done within 24 hours. In fact, now that I think about it, there were two that I knew about like that. Each of those guys was just wired that wayand sailed right through it.

When I did my own booklet in 1991, I took two weeks to write it. That's still on the fast side for a lot of people. It will come down to how you function in the world -- how detail oriented you are, whether there is some external time element bearing down on you, and things such as that.

Bottom line is that the booklet will take exactly however long you need for it to take before it then goes to production (graphic design and printing). Production can take 2-4 weeks or more. The variable there, too, is your turnaround time on approvals for the graphic designer's work, and what your vendors' schedules are like. If the graphic designer and/or printer have heavy schedules, it could take a little longer. I have never seen a booklet take less than 2 weeks total, from start to finish. And that is far from typical and not something to count on.

How long does it take? It depends.

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

Monday, February 20, 2006

Sales People for Your Booklets

You love the idea of making bulk sales of your booklets. However, you either don't have the time or inclination to go after those sales to corporations or associations yourself. You just don't see the fun in it.

There are several ways you can get this done. I was reminded of that today that included the following resources:

2 Young 2 Retire (www.2young2retire.com
) for ideas and examples of people changing the face of retirement.

Seniors4Hire (www.seniors4hire.org
) featuring free registration for people age 50 and older looking for jobs.

Senior Job Bank (www.seniorjobbank.com
, a referral service listing part-time flexible and temporary jobs.

Retired Worker International (www.theretiredworker.com
lets you create an on-line profile (no résumés are used) to attract employers.

Second50Years (
www.second50years.com) will help you explore ideas and resources for post-retirement careers and businesses.

I'll bet there's lots and lots of sales experience found among the people registered at any of these sites, and people who would love to work on an as-needed basis with you.

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

Friday, February 17, 2006

The Dance of Pricing

Whether it's booklets, consulting, workshops, or anything else, there is always someone who will ask for a break, a discount, a special price. Sometimes it's for the sport of it. In fact, lots of times, that's all that it is. Other times it may really be a financial consideration.

Like lots of people, I don't enjoy paying more than necessary for most things. I'll certainly dig around for a good price on things. There are times I'll ask if that's the best available price. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. It's worth an ask. I live by the concept that all things are negotiable.

You are the only one who can decide what the basic 'published' price is and whether to modify that for any reason. And there can be lots of excellent reasons to give people some kind of a break. Your own cash flow might be slow and you want to make the sale. Or you are interested in getting into a new market and it's worth it to you to sell for a little less. Or your seminar isn't filling up as quickly as you'd like it to so you're willing to bring the price down some. Or you want to thank someone for their past contributions to your business or your life. Or any one of a number of other reasons.

The one thing to consider is whether you are dropping the price too soon. You know you probably left money on the table when someone says 'oh, the price had nothing to do with it. It was other considerations that keep me from making a decision today.' That's when you jumped the gun and made the price break offer too quickly. Consider that discount the cost of learning that lesson.

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

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Less is More, One More Time

How many ezines do you get every day with 1500-2500 or more words in them? And how many 100-page ebooks are being offered as bonuses for your purchase? Plus look at the long 10-or-more page sales letters on websites. Information overload at its finest, or maybe at its worst.

I couldn't help but think about what a strong benefit statement this becomes for tips booklets and their derivatives. Little bits of mouth-watering information, easily digestible, and leaving the reader wanting more. Sounds like the ideal meal, doesn't it? That's the perfect framing for the bulk buyer of your booklet. When that buyer provides your booklet as a bonus or incentive, the end-user gets useful information in a form that is respectful of their time and other demands. It leaves the reader with a conscious or subconscious positive opinion of the company that provided the booklet, and to you for writing it to begin with.

Remember to remind your prospective bulk buyers of this beautiful benefit when bringing booklets to them.

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

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Private Labeling to a New Market

Do you find yourself selling your booklets to a particular industry, or wanting to expand your market to focus on a particular industry? How about creating a private label website specific for that industry or profession? It's a fairly common idea, and one I hadn't seen done within our community of booklets.

I've recently seen two models of this in other areas, just not with booklets. There's a guy who has a private labeling on a shopping cart for ecommerce on websites. You can see it at http://tinyurl.com/2z5kc The name he has on it is not the same name as the generic name the developers have on it. He just private labeled it for his own clients. Then today I saw an insurance company who did a private label for a professional association. The acronym for the association was at the beginning of the website's address name.

Can you customize your generic booklets for teachers or chiropractors or speakers or any other population? If so, and you feel it makes sense, consider creating a site for that field only. It won't keep you from selling your booklets to anyone else. It will open up new markets for you.

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

Monday, February 13, 2006

Marketing Begets Marketing

A few times in the past few weeks, I've posted some resources on this blog that I saw in people's ezines. They were resources I thought would benefit my visitors, so it was an easy thing to do. Marketing brought these resource-sharers more marketing. Then I turned around and emailed the contributor about my posting their tip onto this blog, and some of them even used THAT as an example to share with other readers of their ezines. So they got more exposure, and shared it with me in the process.

For many, many, many years (yes, THAT many), I've built my entire business on marketing (not advertising). That's meant posting information or queries onto discussion boards or forums, using teleclass announcement services to promote my teleclasses, magazines articles to excerpt tips from my booklet, and on and on. Each and every one of these mechanisms has sold product, either directly or indirectly, sooner or later. And some of it has been kind of a momentary 'throw-away' moment, where I just posted something somewhere, in under five minutes, because I was moved to do so.

Marketing really can be fun, easy, and effortless. Yes, I mean that. Send a tip to someone's newsletter or post it onto a discussion board. See how far it goes. Tips, remember, tips? You know, the ones you've put into your booklet!!! Not a real brain-strain, isn't it?

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

Friday, February 10, 2006

Audio CD Marketing Tips

You may know I encourage booklet authors to also produce their content as audio CDs. In an excellent weekly ezine put out by www.SpeakerNetNews.com , there was a series of ideas for marketing CDs that I want to share with you. Thanks goes to Fire "Captain Bob" Smith, whose website is www.eatress.com , for contributing these suggestions.

* After I marketed a new CD series I thought of another older CD series that could be a companion. I pitched it to prospects this way: "You're on the road more than ever commuting or traveling. That's why we're offering our new 'Commuter, On the Road' CD series. The series contains our existing entry level CD program and our new companion CD. Visitors to the Web site can hear segments of the programs." It worked! The new CD series is also being used to up-sell another existing product. Now, more than half the orders go out with the bundle offer.

* A few years ago I produced a CD that I never duplicated and marketed. I made 25 copies and started passing them out (my cost 20 cents). Guess what? The CD is a great business card. One of those I gave the CD told me the second time he listened to the CD he was driving with three associates. He told them he would just play the CD for five minutes. If they didn't care for it he would eject it. At five minutes they wanted more. Result? I got a booking.

* I'm putting up a new Web site with MP3 segments from the CD that got me the booking.

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

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Who You Know

You have contacts. Everyone has contacts, even if you are one of the people who doesn't think you do. And the incredible thing is there are times when you don't realize you've got really great contacts at that.

Why does any of this matter? I know you know that people do business with people. An introduction doesn't assure the sale, though it can go a long way toward opening a door.

I had a great chance to laugh at myself this week, which can often be a Good Thing. I was in the midst of a situation I've advised other people how to handle many times over, thinking I did not have contacts to help move a project forward. Within about an hour, I came up with more close-in connections that I already had that it was astonishing. And these are really terrific resource people, too!

Next time you find yourself thinking you don't know anyone who could be helpful with introductions on behalf of your booklet or other parts of your business, give yourself an hour to meander through all the places you've ever lived or worked, groups which you've been part of, family, friends, vendors, neighbors, advisors, and on and on. Then let them know what you're doing and ask what ideas they have about who would be good to talk to about using your booklet or other products to help promote their own product, service, or cause.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if you find yourself with a completely different challenge: who do you talk to first on the long list you've created!

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

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Foreign Rights for Booklets

Every year there is a huge book fair in Frankfurt Germany. It is many multiples larger than the annual one in London or the BookExpoAmerica that moves around the US (this year in Washington, DC in May). Book fairs are for buying and selling rights to publications. Your booklet can be among them.

The Amercian lead on selling foreign rights is a guy named Bob Erdmann. He's been doing this for 27 years, and has done more than 2500 successful deals. On top of that, he's a helluva nice guy. His prices are incredibly reasonable to participate in his comprehensive Full Service Frankfurt/Foreign Rights Program. For more information, contact Bob at bob@bob-erdmann.com, www.bob-erdmann.com., or call 209-586-1566. Do it today while he still has space to consider including your publication.

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

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Booklets Coming to Tampa, Florida

In case you didn't get today's ezine (also named Booklet Tips from Paulette) , or didn't notice on the website at http://www.tipsbooklets.com you just might want to know I'm coming to Tampa, Florida the end of March and bringing this year's fabulous new workshop with me. It's called How to Sell 1 Million Copies of Your Info Products to Corporations.

The setting I've chosen is magnificent, so you may want to come in a day early. It's only 20 minutes from the Tampa airport, making it oh-so-inviting to arrive from anywhere in the southeast. For that matter, anywhere at all!

Here's all the details: http://www.tipsbooklets.com/bbb_032406.htm

Early bird pricing goes for one more week, and I'm keeping this small so you get individual attention. That means once the seats are sold, they're gone. That's it. Period. And there's no way of knowing when I'll get back to Florida again. The event is not being recorded since there's so much individualized attention each person will be receiving.

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

Monday, February 06, 2006

Follow Through

Some business people have elaborate contact management systems for following up with the people in their business life. Others have basic, unsophisticated, simple systems they're created that work. I'm about results, which means you get to choose whatever way(s) bring you where you want to go.

John Kremer, author of "1001 Ways to Market Your Book," talks about a matrix of three. He advises doing three things every day to market your book -- or booklet in this case. That way you keep it at the level of likelihood that you (and I, by the way) can remain consistent in those marketing efforts and follow through with people who at some point indicated they wanted to do business with you. Contacting three people a day may not be enough for you. You get to decide what the right number is in your world.

Is it like a wild goose hunt to track down those marketing executives, small business owners, association employees, and whomever else you are prospecting? Well yeah, sometimes it is. How do you (and your checkbook) feel when you land one of those whales of a sale? Ok, so the checkbook doesn't have feelings. You sure do, though. Then again, maybe your checkbook DOES have feelings. I digress.

Distinguish yourself from among the crowd by following up with the people who indicated in some way that they want what you have. Surprise yourself and them.

Until next time,
Paulette - who loves it when someone says they're so pleased I called.
http://www.tipsbooklets.com

Friday, February 03, 2006

No-cost Teleseminar Replay

Thanks to my colleague, Dan Janal at http://www.prleads.com for the following information.


You can have no-cost telephone replay of your teleseminars -- as well as free lines for 100 callers at My Free Teleconference (http://www.myfreeteleconference.com/promo/).

To record a call, hit a few keys on your telephone keypad and begin talking. The call stays up for as long as you like, or until you record over it. Want to post several seminars? Just order new lines. They are all free to you and the caller. (Of course, everyone pays long distance to the call center.) The telephone replay can become another profit center for you. And there's no complicated technology to learn.


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

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Ink Color Resource

After years of referencing the PMS color chart for ink colors, my curiousity finally got the better of me. Through the miracle of Google, I found not only the answer to the question of what does PMS stand for. I also found an online color chart. 'Hope you find it useful.

Pantone® Matching System Color Chart

PMS Colors Used For Printing

http://www.companystuff.com/PMS%20Color%20Chart.htm

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