The Cost of a Typo from a Colleague

Marcia Yudkin's commentary on typos hit home today. Most situations are not as dramatic as the examples she offers. However, ya just never know when one might be!

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** The Marketing Minute **
brought to you every Wednesday by Marcia Yudkin
Marketing Consultant, Author, Speaker
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Occasionally I encounter marketers who insist spelling
doesn't matter. "No one really cares," their argument
goes. "Typos humanize the copy, and besides, everyone
knows what we mean."
Oh, really?
* In 2004, Judge Jacob P. Hart of Philadelphia slashed the
fee due an attorney in half because of overabundant typos.
The lawyer lost $31,350.
* In Britain, DDS Media had to destroy 10,000 spelling game
DVDs whose cover misspelled a popular TV anchor's name.
* A Wisconsin-based editor paid an executive recruiter
$1,720 to spruce up her resume and send it to 200 potential
employers, only to learn that the resumes went out
containing a section of gibberish. The editor sued the
headhunter for more than $75,000.
* In 2005, a trader on the Tokyo stock exchange intended to
trade 1 share at 610,000 yen, but instead placed an order
for 610,000 shares at 1 yen each. The firm's loss: around
$18.7 million.
* A spell-check service whose motto is "no more embarrassing
errors" itself uses "then" where "than" is correct. Will
potential clients really laugh this off?
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READ MORE: For additional stories about the high cost of
typos and a checklist on how to avoid them, go to:
http://www.yudkin.com/typos.htm
Find out what happened when a would-be bank robber just
couldn't spell.
*******************
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for its unique scholarship program, which helps academically
strong students with financial need attend and graduate from
college. Submit as many name possibilities as you like!
The winner gets $100 and the opportunity to be considered as
a professional "namer." Details for the contest:
http://www.namedatlast.com/contest.htm
*******************
If you enjoy The Marketing Minute, please forward it to
friends and colleagues. It comes to you every Wednesday
from publicity and marketing consultant Marcia
Yudkin, author of Web Site Marketing Makeover and
10 other books. P.O. Box 305, Goshen, MA 01032.
http://www.yudkin.com/marketing.htm
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Until next time,
Paulette -- recalling typos of days gone by
www.tipsbooklets.com

Booklets from Fiction

It's frequently obvious that a tips booklet can be created by distilling the contents of a non-fiction book, thereby expanding the product line of the author/publisher as well as cross marketing each of the two products. The "how-to's" often jump right off the page as candidates for a tips booklet.

A little less obvious, yet just as possible, can be the idea of developing a tips booklet from a book of fiction or short stories or even poetry. Look at the setting or the theme to find solutions. The book might be someone's fictional story set growing up on a farm in midwestern America. The accompanying booklet can include things like how to make friends living on a farm, or how to manage your time with the farm chores and everything else to lead a balanced life, or tips for generating additional income living in a rural setting. It's actually difficult to imagine a situation where a tips booklet would be impossible to write that is correlated with some form of fiction.

You may recall all the hoopla in the early 1990's with the book, Celestine Prophecy. It was fiction, focusing on spirituality and the law of attraction, set in Peru and the US. An entire movement of workbooks and workshops came from that fictional book, with a huge following, originally based on a book of fiction.

So it all depends on your point of view as to how you leverage what it is you've got. All things are possible when you see it that way.

Until next time,
Paulette - taking a holistic approach to life
www.tipsbooklets.com

Be in a Book without Writing a Book

I'm frequently asked how I promote my booklets and my business. The list is a long one of the various methods used during the past 15 years. One of those ways is by having my story included in someone else's book. I'm in over a dozen other people's books. They wrote or compiled the book, dealt with publishing it, and promote it. The tradeoff in these situations is free publicity for my business, and it definitely has been that. It's brought many sales of my products and services over the years.

Then the question is how do you get into these books. Part of it is by staying alert to opportunities as they present themselves. Other times it's a matter of searching for the opportunities. Here's a few regular queries to get you started.

Dan Poynter has two newsletters. One is devoted spcifically to marketplace requests. You can receive this newsletter freeat
http://parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/newsletter.cfm

Another place people look for contributors is the forum at http://www.WritersWeekly.com

It's a great way to be in a book without the hassle of writing a whole book.

Until next time,
Paulette - finding the shortest line between two points
http://www.tipsbooklets.com

Booklets and Hotels

Yesterday brought a startling customer service experience, in a good way. Researching a place for a public workshop I'll be doing in Chicago in April (watch the speaking page at my site for details in this next week),a Wyndham hotel near O'Hare Airport turned out to be the ideal solution. It was not only perfect as far as the actual property and the staff telephone interaction, what I experienced next just astounded me. And I almost didn't notice it. They have something called Wyndham By Request. I clicked on the link and found a list of questions asking my preferences on everything from what I wanted as a complimentary beverage waiting when I arrived to which kind of pillow I preferred, foam or feathers. Seems like there were about a dozen questions in all. As you can tell, I was impressed, then and now. After all, here I am telling you about it. And I also looked to see if there were Wyndham properties in other cities where I'll be in the next 6 months.

I am sure that whatever it cost them to have that web page and provide these personally chosen preferences has to bring a huge return on their investment of time and money.

Booklets? Well, it made me think about how this same approach could be transferred into my own business and the businesses of my clients. There's lots of preferences that we can accommodate when we ask what they are. The trick is to think like that. First, create a list of the possibilities. What's the preferred shipping method? Is there a particular kind of packaging or packing? This is above and beyond whatever customization the client has already requested on the actual production. Choices and asking for input from the client. Those are the two big things.

Not only can I not wait to get to Chicago in April (and see lots of you there at my workshop), I'm eager to see what other Wyndham Hotels I can find to visit. And I'll tell everyone I know in the process. Now that's great marketing if you ask me!

Until next time,
Paulette - encouraged by a new marketing discovery
www.tipsbooklets.com

My Accountant and Booklets

I did my annual tax prep meeting today with my accountant. He's been my accountant for two years, plus I met with him 6 months ahead to see if he was someone I wanted to hire. He's a nice guy. He talks plain, understandable English when it comes to money and taxes. I'm always happy to refer people to him, and I do exactly that.

He's known for a couple of years what it is I do for a living. Once he was done doing my tax return today, I pulled a copy of my booklet out of my portfolio. I never leave home without a copy of my booklet. After all, ya never know. There was an opening in the conversation that provided the perfect segue for me to say "So when ARE you going to buy my booklets for your clients and prospects like you talked about last year?" He looked at it (again) and I could see his mind working. He said a variation of what I said over 15 years ago prior to writing "110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life." "I could do one of these on organizing for taxes." I assured him he could and then asked the old "by when?" question. He said he could do it in 2 hours. "Okay, let's see you make good on that. So you're going to send me a Word doc a week from now for me to edit?" He smiled and said he thought he would. He said he was tired of saying the same things to people 700 times every tax season.

Why do I share this with you? There's a few reasons. This story is an example of utilizing resources and maintaining top of mind awareness.

1. Tell everyone you know what you have. Sooner or later they may just want it.
2. Tell them more than once. You never know just when they'll be ready.
3. Give some encouragement that their idea is right on the mark. It probably is.

Until next time,
Paulette -- looking forward to a good booklet on organizing for taxes
www.tipsbooklets.com

Magazines Using Booklets as Incentives

One of the many ways that booklets can be sold or licensed in bulk is to magazines. The context is to use the booklets to encourage new subscriptions and maintain previous ones. Here's an example of that very thing. I have no connection or contact with them, and have no clue whether they produced the booklet internally or outsourced it or just what they did. However, the example remains a good one as far as application is concerned.

http://profile.rodale.com/uof/wh/aussie/wh_landing.html?cds_response_key=I7AT0710

Until next time,
Paulette - noticing what goes on in the world and passing it along to you
www.tipsbooklets.com

Promote Your Booklet in the Media

Are you interested in disseminating a press release about your booklet and your business and are not sure where to send it? These online resources will help you locate media in your area and beyond:

• NewsLink (Newspapers, Magazines, Radio/TV, Blogs)
• Refdesk.com (Newspapers)
• Onlinenewspapers.com (Newspapers)
• Yahoo! News Directory (Magazines)
• Radio-Locator (Radio)
• Radio Station World (Radio)

Until next time,
Paulette - passing along news you can use
www.tipsbooklets.com

Collaboration at Its Finest

Once in awhile someone asks about collaborating with a person they know to write a booklet. In most cases, it's not a great idea. Yes, there are exceptions, which is why I used the weasal word "most." In my opinion, write your own booklet on you own UNLESS it is an anthology where quite a few people each contribute tips ( see www.BookletAnthology.com ) In that case, everyone who is included in the booklet ends up marketing each other. You could have literally dozens of people marketing you and your business. It's a great way to go, with minimal effort and maximum results.

Until next time,
Paulette -- delighted to share the best ideas for the greatest return on your investment of time and money
www.tipsbooklets.com

First I Need a Plan

A prospective client told me this week he couldn't (wouldn't) commit to writing a booklet until he had a complete plan for how he'd use them. I commend him for his approach, right up to the point where he said "complete plan." Yes, it's definitely important to know how the booklets will be used, having a marketing plan mapped out. The thing that was missing was an assumption of knowing many of the possibilities of how the booklet could be sold and how it could benefit his company. It's not that unusual for a booklet author to want a plan to be fail-proof and to consider every conceivable possibility. What I know to be true is that the booklet writing process often churns up many more ideas about ways to market the booklet. Get some marketing ideas down, and leave room for the many more that will present themselves.

Until next time,
Paulette -- eager to explore the possibilities with you
www.tipsbooklets.com

Booklets, Brochures, Pamphlets

Booklets. The word at Tips Products International, aka tipsbooklets.com is booklets. A brochure is usually a tri-fold document that includes features and benefits of a product, service, or business. A pamphlet is often a narrative about some particular topic. Here we do booklets.
I don't particularly view these words (booklets, brochures, pamphlets) as interchangeable. I think they are different. Have I been in the booklet business too long? Nah, I think not. Is this the biggest, most important thing to rant about today? Well no, it isn't. It's one of those things that can be like a slow drip water torture at times though, when it's tipsBOOKLETS.com , and it's been all about BOOKLETS for over 15 years. For more detailed definition according to moi, please go to the home page of tipsBOOKLETS.com, scroll to the bottom of the home page, and click on the link that says Samples.

The rant has ended for today. Now on to more important things, like selling another million copies of this BOOKLET.

Until next time,
Paulette -- who decided today was the day to vent about the misnomer, and realizes it should be the biggest problem anyone ever has
www.tipsbooklets.com

Teachers, Booklets, and Grants

The following came through today among the Google Alerts about tips booklets. It was particularly encouraging to see what is possible in the realm of public education and booklets. Click the link for the entire story.

Teachers union wins third NEA grant for training
Cecil Whig - MD,USA
Elwood said the grant also helps cover the cost of a series of booklets that are distributed to teachers each year covering issues such as maintaining ...

Until next time,
Paulette - acknowledging teachers for involvement with booklets
www.tipsbooklets.com

What's New?

What's new to someone else is old hat to you. That's important to consider when you're writing a booklet or even thinking about a booklet. You have lived with your knowledge, your expertise, your point of view for much longer than your readers or decision-makers. It can seem like yesterday's news to you, and a great new awareness to someone else. When in doubt, write your booklet and get it out into the world as widely as you can.

Until next time,
Paulette -- whose 15-year old tips on organizing are still useful to many people
www.tipsbooklets.com

Reach more people for same price

Talking with a prospective client yesterday, it was great experiencing the light bulb going off when he realized the obvious benefit of distilling his book into a booklet. He's been successfully giving away printed copies of his book as a marketing tool. As we discussed the idea of creating a 16-page booklet from his book, there was no time wasted in his connecting the dots about the economic efficiency of doing that. He knew he could reach many more people by distributing a booklet full of great tips for the price it was costing him to distribute his book. Don't ya just love when these awarenesses present themselves?

Until next time,
Paulette - leaving plenty of room for everyone's mind to work at its best
www.tipsbooklets.com

People Keep 'Em

Someone new to booklets made the perfect observation today when I said what it is I do. The comment was "People won't throw those away, will they?" She was absolutely right. People don't throw away booklets. That's why it's the perfect combination of an educational tool and a marketing piece, while also being its own source of income.

People don't throw away booklets. The booklet may have legs, as in walking away in someone else's hands once they pick it up to start reading it. It can go into someone's shirt or jacket pocket, or into a purse or briefcase. But it doesn't get thrown away. That's more than what can be said for a marketing brochure or a large format of education. Get that booklet written today!

Until next time,
Paulette -- supporting the staying power of the booklet
www.tipsbooklets.com

Online for Booklets

Earlier this week there was a brief article in The Wall Street Journal about the world's oldest newspaper moving out of print and going solely onto the Internet. The paper is The Post Och Inrikes Tidningar, the official Swedish publication for bankruptcies and corporate and government announcements. It's been published daily since 1645 (yes, that's what it says). The article goes on to say that the newspaper has played an extremely important role when it comes to legal information and that it will be much more accessible.

It's that last part that struck a note with me. "It will be much more accessible." There are already many younger magazines and newspapers that have migrated to a large online presence during recent years, making them much more accessible as well.

What does that mean for you as a booklet author? My take on it is that you have a greater range of possibilities for licensing your booklet as an incentive for site owners to use to attract more traffic to their site. "Visit our site, or sign up for a subscription, or buy something from us and receive a free downloadable version of ______ booklet."

This is true for online publications, online websites of retailers, manufacturers, and distributors, and anyone else who has a web presence that wants to attract more visitors to their site.

Talk to me about how you can do a non-exclusive license your booklet as a full PDF download as well as other electronic versions of your booklet content. No need to leave all that money out in limbo instead of coming into your checking account, now is there?

Until next time,
Paulette - happily connecting the dots for all concerned
http://www.tipsbooklets.com

But the point is ...

The January issue of Booklet Tips from Paulette -- the ezine -- had an interesting flip happen from something in the main article. It's given me pause. See what you think. I made reference to the fact I am one of six people on the planet who still doesn't have a cell phone, going on to talk about it as a model of hearing a TV commercial that took awhile to even hear much less process or react to. I framed that as something useful to consider when talking with booklet prospects, who like your booklet, like you, like your price, yet still are not ready to buy. That's where I am about a cell phone.

Oddly (or maybe interestingly) enough, I began getting a lot of emails from my ezine subscribers congratulating me for not following the trend of getting a cell phone, and telling me where the best cell phone deals are, and on and on.

THAT was not the point, though I appreciate their commentary and useful data. The point was about following up with prospects over the long haul, even though they aren't ready to buy now.

So, my lesson in all of this? Just keep "talking." Keep putting it out there. People resonate with whatever they resonate with. Sometimes it's what you think it will be, and other times it's totally different. Just keep following up, and, once you've captured their interest and gotten their attention, see what leveraging you can do from there.

Until next time,
Paulette - forever a student of human behavior
http://www.tipsbooklets.com

New Year Always Bring Change

This morning I picked up my daily Wall Street Journal from the stoop outside my front door. I know, 'stoop' is a New York thing, and I've lived in San Diego the past 10+ years. Anyway, you get the idea. Taking the paper out of the plastic bag, it was instantly obvious that something had changed. The size was the first thing I noticed. Okay, so the size changed. Big deal. It's narrower and therefore easier to navigate turning the pages. Well, that was only the beginning. The Wall Street Journal had a brand new font designed for them. Imagine that? A brand new font. And no, that still hardly scratches the surface. In fact, they created an entire section of today's paper to explain the changes, plans that began in 2005 and were implemented with today's issue. Context, content, design, and more. They hold a unique position in publishing, worldwide, and they made changes. It's partly because they can, partly because they had to. They didn't change for change sake alone. Their customers told them they wanted changes and the folks at the Wall Street Journal listened. It's still very obvious that, in many ways, it is still the Wall Street Journal. There is no mistaking that.

What changes have you made? Have your clients told you they wanted things different? A different size, a different format, different language, some kind of customization? Are you asking and then listening and then implementing? The Wall Street Journal comes from abundance not scarcity in how they go to business. Are you? Great lessons all.

It's a wonderful beginning to this new year. Now I can turn those pages much easier while reading the Wall Street Journal during my one-hour walk on the treadmill. It's quite a sight to behold, at best!

Until next time,
Paulette -- ready for whatever the new year brings
http://www.tipsbooklets.com