Are You a Conflict Resolution Expert?

One more from Vickie Sullivan, expert on the professional speaking industry trends:

Good news for conflict resolution experts — people problems are the top cause for workplace stress, according to ComPsych, a Chicago-based employee assistance program. Their StressPulse(TM) survey for the second half of 2006 shows 36% of those surveyed citing "people issues" as the cause of stress, replacing workload for the first time. Look for this issue to be tied to performance, requiring additional training on team building and communication. Employee assistance programs will also see a bump in their budget.

Are your booklets focused on these issues and these audiences? Seems like some good opportunities here, based on Ms. Sullivan's observations and report.

Until next time,
Paulette - passing on good info for you to act on
www.tipsbooklets.com

Health and Wellness Booklet Authors

Yesterday I gave you one of several trends shared by Vickie Sullivan, expert in the professional speaking industry. Here's another for you.

Great news for health and wellness experts. Spa treatments have taken over golf in the corporate market and the industry is stepping up. Another new development for 2007: look for more retreats focusing on wellness workshops, spiritual retreats, boot camps, and "find your inner artist" getaways. Yes, the content will be outsourced and this is a great way for affluent clients to become acquainted with your services.

When I see something like this, it looks like a golden invitation to sell hundreds of thousands of booklets and other formats of related content. How about you?

Until next time,
Paulette - seizing opportunities as they present themselves
www.tipsbooklets.com

News to Use

According to Vickie Sullivan, an expert on trends in the professional speaking world, she says the following:

Trade shows revenue jumped to $10.3B in 2005, and first quarter 2006 rose 1.4 percent. Things will continue to look rosy with industry reports predicting nearly a six percent increase through 2010. This isn't business as usual — the industry is reinventing itself and experts can use the chaos to their advantage. Organizers are looking to add more value beyond the educational sessions, to extend the life of the show. Experts who have multiple ways to interact with their target market will have the inside track here.

What do you see when you read something like that as a booklet author? I see lots of opportunities.

Until next time,
Paulette - sharing ideas for you to act on
www.tipsbooklets.com

Marketing Suggestion from Booklet Author

The following came from one of our booklet authors:

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"I've been looking for ways to market my booklets in all the usual places, but a couple of days ago I realized I had almost overlooked a great marketing opportunity. I called a housekeeping company to have some cleaning done for the holidays. This was a first for me. As a busy mom, I often don't have time to clean. As I was thinking along these lines, it suddenly hit me that alot of moms probably don't have the time to clean and use housekeeping services at least occaissionally. Since my current booklets are aimed at the mommy market, I realized that there was great opportunity in marketing my booklets to the housekeeping industry!

Lesson: Look at the services you personally use, and you'll probably find several marketing opportunities that you have overlooked in the past."

Kim Hillman

Up & At 'Em Publications

upandatem@seanet.com

(website coming soon!!!)

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Thanks, Kim!

Until next time,
Paulette - who believes wholeheartedly in marketing to those who market to us
www.tipsbooklets.com

Start, Go, Start, Go

Something this week had a quote that spoke to me worth sharing with you. In the flurry of reading so much, I don't recall just where I saw it. Here it is:

"You don't arrive. You're always getting started."

What in the world does this have to do with booklets? Well, think about it for a moment. You start writing the booklet. As soon as you've reached the suggested 3,000-5,000 words, you get it to the graphic designer, who then gets it to the printer, who then gets it back to you, who then gets it out into the world. Once it is heading out into the world, there are many places to consider sending it, with an unending number of places to send it. And while you're getting the booklet out into the world, you're starting on what's next -- some other format of the booklet, some other market for the booklet, some revision or expansion of the booklet. Like the quote, you're always getting started. That's what life is about. You don't arrive. You're always getting started. How great is that?!

Until next time,
Paulette - who realized a long time ago there was never really any arriving
www.tipsbooklets.com

Has Anybody Ever Written About ...

That's always an interesting question when a booklet author poses it. It brings up all kinds of possible responses:

1. Probably
2. Maybe
3. Yes
   
4. Not that I'm aware of
   
5. So what if they did?
6. Why does it matter?

It's the last two that are most important. What IF they did and why DOES it matter? You have your own unique perspective on your area of expertise and interest. Let's just say that you wrote a booklet that bore strong similarity to someone else's, in your own words. What are the odds the two of you will market it in the same way to the same places? Probably slim to non-existent. Think about how many cookbooks are published. Even if you had a very strong interest in cooking, how likely is it that any one person or group would have every single cookbook ever produced? So, write your booklet anyway. Do it now. And market the living daylights out of it, starting now. It really doesn't matter in the least if anybody has ever written about your same topic. It's yours, to deliver the message as far and wide as you can.

Until next time,
Paulette - who knows of lots of booklets written on the same topic as hers, yet still sold over a million copies.
www.tipsbooklets.com

Don't Leave Home Without It

Do you carry at least one copy of your booklet with you whenever you go out? You don't?? You're probably missing all kinds of opportunities, and denying people the benefit of what you've got. You know it's fairly common to strike up a conversation with someone (much less meet up with someone you already know) anytime you're out in the world. Whether it's the benign "What do you do?" or the "What have you been doing lately?" -- either way provides an opening for you to whip out a copy of your booklet. Depending on the topic and the person, you may find yourself unwittingly making a sales presentation without ever consciously thinking of it in those terms. All you're doing is sharing your exhuberance about something you've produced. You have no way of knowing the true reaction the other person is having. They may be thinking your booklet is the ideal solution for a promotional campaign they or someone they know is about to do. Or the booklet could be perfect for other people in their life, or that you would be the best person to bring in for a project, or, or.

Just like that old advertising campaign for, what was it, a particular credit card? -- Don't leave home without it when it comes to your booklet.

Until next time,
Paulette - who keeps a few booklets always on the ready to go out the door
http://www.tipbooklets.com

Two is Better Than One

A booklet of 8,000 words does much better as two booklets of 4,000 words each. And, taking a step back to look, it's usually pretty easy to figure out where the dividing line is. Why are two smaller booklets better than one larger one? It's the same reason that a series of booklets is better than combining them all into one book.

The first reason is that you can sell more of the smaller version because it costs less. Your price can be lower, which immediately lowers a barrier to purchase.

Second, you can sell more titles to the same buyer. You can contract to sell 5,000 copies of title one the first quarter of the year, 5,000 copies of title two the second quarter of the year, and so on.

A third reason is the booklet content is less overwhelming to the reader who may be approaching your expertise for the first time. A smaller booklet is more approachable.

These three simple reasons are enough to get you started. There's more reasons that can be addressed later.

Until next time,
Paulette -- keeping bite-sized pieces bite-sized
http://www.tipsbooklets.com

Booklets and Blindfolds

That's what you might as well distribute when your market is Baby Boomers and you're printing your booklets in a small font size. This is something that most younger booklet authors typically have no particular reason to consider unless it's pointed out. However, for the rest of us, we're wearing bifocal contact lenses or bifocal glasses or reading glasses as a matter of everyday life. And we still love to read!

LIke so many other things in life, this presents a product line extension opportunity for you as a booklet author. Consider producing two different versions of your booklet in two different font sizes. Yes, the larger font size will mean more pages and high production costs. It will also open a new market for you, one that will more than pay for the difference in your costs.

Until next time,
Paulette -- grateful for disposal bifocal contact lenses
www.tipsbooklets.com

Free Booklets Makes Sense Sometimes

Over the years, booklet authors have chosen to use booklets as a marketing tool in many ways. Some sell them, thus marketing their business at the same time. Others hand them out free, whch leads to sales of the booklet as well as other products and services. Here's some examples of when free worked well.

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1) When I was teaching my yoga class, I decided to give out my booklet as a free gift. It is called "How to Stay Balanced During Stressful Situations". A financial planner in my class contacted me to order 500 for her clients. She said that many related to her as a counselor and this would be a nice present for them. She re-ordered a second time as well.

2) I placed around 50 copies of my booklet at a local health food store and received a phone call from someone who was looking for individual counseling. I saw her in individual counseling for personal issues.

Both of these contacts were the result of giving away my booklet for free.

Debbie Cohen, LCSW
How to Stay Balanced During Stressful Situations
http://www.outside-the-box.net

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Thanks, Debbie. And by the way, as Debbie mentioned, a financial planner bought some of her booklets as a result of receiving one free. Financial planners have historically been receptive to using booklets as thank-you's in their own business and have bought plenty of booklets from me over the years.

Until next time,
Paulette - sharing ideas that work
www.tipsbooklets.com

Suggestion from a Booklet Author

The following is a reply from a booklet author to a request for sharing successful ways to market booklets:

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Take at least five copies of your booklet with you when you go on a business trip. When you meet people as you travel, "steer" the conversation to business as in, "What kind of business are you in?" Ask some follow-up questions to determine if they fit your market. If they do, give them a copy of your tips booklet, showing them some relevant tips to their business. Close by letting them know that businesses often like copies for their customers, and that you've sold many of your booklets that way. Make a goal of returning home without any copies left (That's 5 marketing conversations).

Tom Huberty
www.BetterRunCompany.com

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Until next time
Paulette -- enjoying the range of ideas for selling booklets
www.tipsbooklets.com

Booklets and Inc. Magazine

Inc. Magazine, "The Handbook of the American Entreprenuer," has a superb model of ways to use booklets in its December issue. If you are not a subscriber of this publication, you would do well to track down a copy of this issue so you can see for yourself what they did and have a model to show your bulk buyers.

A page of card stock (heavier weight paper than their regular pages) was inserted in between pages 52 and 53. On that page was glued a 5" x 5" booklet called "Confessions of Working Wealth." It's from Smith Barney, the financial people. Yes, this is a different size booklet than typically discussed, and yes, it's more elaborately illustrated, and yes, it's got content other than traditional tips. However, there's every reason in the world to bring this to the attention of your very large prospects as a way to use your pre-existing content and their pre-existing advertising budget for a unique presence in a print magazine, who, by the way, will also be delighted at the increased revenue. What a win in every direction!

Until next time,
Paulette -- thrilled to see rock-solid ideas in well-established venues to pass on to you
www.tipsbooklets.com

Making it Easy to Do Business with You

There has been a fair amount of discussion lately about making it easy to do business with you. Not just you, but with any business. You get the point driven home more profoundly when being on the consumer side of the equation, which happened today. It was a huge reminder about lowering the barriers to doing business, something certainly worth passing along to you.

It was a real eye-opener to call around to numerous local venues today to find a seminar room. One, in particular, is prompting this post. All that was needed at this point in my process is to know if the venue has a seminar room available on the date needed for the anticipated crowd size, and how much it cost. Simple enough, you'd think. One of the major worldwide hotel chains (ok, it was a Marriott), wanted my blood type, sexual preferences, and middle name of my great, great grandfather before they would even see if they had availability on that date. At that point, I wished the representative well and hung up the phone. She could have asked me one or two simple qualifying questions that would have been reasonable, in my opinion, that would have kept me engaged in the process. But no. She apologized up front about some new system Marriott put in place of gathering data before even looking at date availability. Maybe Marriott didn't care about losing business, without even knowing just how much business they lost in that one phone call. After all, here I am, telling the world about it on my blog!! I wonder if they get Google alerts and will contact me because of it. :-)

When people want to know how much your booklets cost, it is, in my opinion and experience, reasonable and necessary for you to ask them what quantity they want, what customization they have in mind, and how quickly they need them. Those elements all influence the price. More than that is unreasonable and unnecessary and may just lose you the sale of the moment plus the ripple that experience causes.

Make it easy for people to do business with you. Do what you can to keep people engaged while still gathering only what you need to be able to give them what they want.

Until next time,
Paulette -- who holds seminars at places that make it easy
www.tipsbooklets.com