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Booklet Tips From Paulette

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

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Make More from the Parts Than the Whole

Marcia Yudkin and I are often on very similar wave lengths and are forever referring people to each other. One of my pet phrases when it comes to booklets compared to books is that you can make more money on the parts than you can on the whole thing. Marcia's weekly ezine, The Marketing Minute, presents this quite well.
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** The Marketing Minute **
brought to you every Wednesday by Marcia Yudkin
Marketing Consultant, Author, Speaker
http://www.yudkin.com/marketing.htm
http://www.pressreleasehelp.com
http://www.namedatlast.com
mailto:marcia@yudkin.com

*******************

When a fresh-baked pie goes for $7.95, you can cut it into
six slices and sell those for way more than $1.33 each.
Take product development math beyond such familiar examples,
and the possibilities for premium pricing get quite
interesting.

Small slices of content, items and services can be sold at
disproportionate prices when pitched in one or more of these
ways:

* Appropriateness for a specific goal: bags of 100-calorie
snacks (perfect for diet compliance); exactly the number
and size of screws needed to attach two license plates

* Avoidance of waste: downloadable instructions for just
one fix-it chapter from a thick manual

* Perfect timing: instructions for changing a tire, sent as
a cell-phone message when you're broken down on the road

* Samplings of experiences that are ordinarily beyond reach:
"mini-medical school" - a hospital lecture series that gives
the general public a taste of medical education

* Faster results: speed dating; condensed now-you-know-it
versions of novels, movies or symphonies

When downsizing a product, emphasize the benefit to the
buyer of the smaller size.

*******************

CASE IN POINT: A lot of people have put off enrolling in my
one-on-one copywriting training because of the $2,500 price
tag. Now there's a scaled-down version that gets you up to
speed on the elements of powerful promotional writing
for much less.

Master techniques that, minute for minute, earn you more when
applied than just about any other skill - whether you're
aiming at improving your own marketing materials or clients'.

Learn more about the one-time-only, limited-enrollment
course, Six Weeks to Masterful Copywriting:

http://www.yudkin.com/copycourse.htm

*******************

MORE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT IDEAS: Intrigued by the "mini"
content concepts above? Then you'll love using 101 Ways to
Turn Content into Money as a brainstorming tool.

"If people applied just a fraction of these tips, No. 102
would be: And Retire to Tahiti. It's great!" - Jeff Zbar,
Author, Home Office Know-how and other books

"I'm sure you'll find at least a dozen money-making ideas in
Marcia Yudkin's 101 Ways to Turn Content into Money that you
could put to use minutes after you read it. I found some
terrific ideas I hadn't heard of before, and the links and
resources in it are priceless." - Joe Vitale, Author, The
Attractor Factor and other books

Details:
http://www.yudkin.com/contentintomoney.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

For a free weekly marketing tip, subscribe:
http://www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Until next time,
Paulette - thinking small to reach big
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

What Comes First?

Today one of my graphic designers told me a person contacted her who phoned me a week ago about getting my home study system. It surprised me to hear the prospective client was interviewing graphic designers, since I thought the person's booklet was not yet completed, maybe not even started. And the home study kit was yet to be bought.

Then there's the person who wants feedback about their booklet -- after they already printed up 1,000 copies. That's my greatest exercise in tact and diplomacy, especially when the booklet author implores me to be candid with them. It's a trap, I know it's a trap. It's not unlike the scenario of a woman asking her partner if she looks fat. There is no right answer.

While I personally pride myself in being a trail blazer, maturity has brought with it the sense to sometimes check things out with people whom I realize know more about something than I do. At least most of the time, anyway. Maybe these clients and prospective clients are serving as a reminder to keep doing that. Now I've reminded you, and anyone else you pass this along to. Some things truly do have a reasonable and logical sequence. Doing booklets is one of those.

Until next time,
Paulette - knowing what I know really well
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Monday, February 26, 2007

Research your booklet?

It's always interesting when someone says they need to do research for their booklet. That's such a completely different approach than anything I can relate to. The reason for that is there's so much knowledge and experience right in the mind of most booklet authors I know that there's no reason to go beyond that. Ah, maybe THAT was what they meant. They needed to research the great library above their own neck :-) Look there to discover all those sound bites coming out of your mouth to prospects, clients, and audiences. You are likely to then be met with a different challenge: how to keep your booklet at 3,000- 5,000 words!!

Until next time,
Paulette - encouraging you to use what you've already got and share it with those who will cherish your pearls of wisdom
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Friday, February 23, 2007

Recording Your Booklet Free and Easily

You know I suggest recording your booklet to create another form of your content. Someone gave the perfect suggestion yesterday. Go to www.freeconferencecall.com
They have free recording capability. You can either record a teleclass, or talk to yourself for an hour :-) Just like that, you've got an audio program that you can then download and burn onto a CD. How easy is that?

Until next time,
Paulette - expecting a new flock of audio CDs onto the market
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Thursday, February 22, 2007

How crazy is this?

In two days two different booklet authors that I was aware of were caught short, unprepared, sales coming at them, and they weren't ready. It's not so uncommon for some booklet authors to choose not to print their booklets. The thing I found amazing was that they weren't READY to print their booklet.

The distinction? They did not have the time and money information from one or more printers so that all they'd have to do is to give the client the price, and place the order. They scurried to find a printer, get pricing, and get a time commitment from the printer until an order was upon them. After doing everything to get the booklet written, organized, edited, and designed, they weren't ready when sales were upon them.

Is it me, or does this sound crazy to you, too? Just thought I'd ask. Be reminded this blog can accept comments, and yours are welcomed.

Until next time,
Paulette - scratching her head in some disbelief
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

More About Titles

"I don't care what's in it. The title says it all. I want to buy 1000 copies."

As a marketer, these are lovely words to see or hear from a client. As an author, it can hit a nerve about the value of the message. Either way, it's a sale. A bulk buyer emailed such a message to me this week, followed by "how soon can they be delivered?"

The title was enough to meet the client's needs, and that was good enough for me. It does drive the point home, one more time, that the title is vital (sorry, just couldn't help myself on that one).

Until next time,
Paulette - sharing confirmations with you as they appear
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Expert Status

There's lots of ways to establish yourself as an expert. As I'm sure you realize, booklets are among those ways. The following article is written by guest author, Katrina Sawa, who is joint venturing with me to promote my upcoming March 29 workshop in Sacramento, CA (details at tipsbooklets.com/sacramentomarch07.htm )

How to Establish Yourself as an Expert

Have you established yourself as an Expert in your field? If not, this is a great way to get added exposure, publicity and credibility for you and your business which will ultimately bring you more sales and more money!!

One of the main reasons people see me as an expert in my community is because when I meet people I instantly want to help them and give them advice on their marketing; whether it’s critiquing their business card or brochure, suggesting they get a nametag or car sign or if I give them suggestions on where to and where not to advertise their business. This alone sets me apart (as would it you) because I am educating and informing people on their marketing, not trying to sell them something or convince them to use my services.

Think of ways you could establish yourself as an expert.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  1. What do others think about you? If you don’t know, ask some of your clients, peers, friends, etc. See if what they say is what you want it to be. If not, you will want to see how you can adjust your brand, your marketing message, your positioning, your products or services, pricing, etc.
  2. What kinds of clients or people do you attract? This somewhat relates to your target market which means if you attract one type of person who wants to listen to you or do business with you and you are targeting a whole different type of person – then you might want to rethink who you’re targeting.
  3. What kind of articles, how-to tips or stories can you write that will be of interest to the general public or are hot topics for the media? Read and listen to what’s going on in your area and respond. Develop articles to post on your website, offer them online to article publishing sites or to your local media. Then promote them to your contact list too.
  4. Where can you speak on similar topics of interest? Are there professional or community organizations with members who would be interested in your expertise? Approach them to speak and give them highlights of what their attendees would learn or what they would walk away with.
  5. Are you publishing an ezine? Make sure you are. Get everyone you know and meet opted into your list, advertise it online so others can sign up and promote it too. The more followers you can get regularly through email marketing or other marketing, the more referrals or opportunities you’ll get to speak at events, be quoted in publications or be highlighted in some other way.

These are just a few ways to increase your expert status. Most of all, you want to be “On Top Of Mind” with everyone who knows or comes in contact with you.

Katrina Sawa, Solopreneur Marketing Coach and Founder of K. Sawa Marketing. © Copyright 2002-2007 K. Sawa Marketing. Reprinted by permission of Katrina Sawa, a marketing and promotional expert who helps small business owners and entrepreneurs make the most of their marketing dollars and time. For more insight about her services, to get FREE Marketing Advice, or to sign-up for her FREE REPORT on How to JumpStart Your Marketing, visit her at www.ksawamarketing.com, or email: katrina@ksawamarketing.com.

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Until next time,
Paulette - happily sharing other people's perspective and resources with you
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Monday, February 19, 2007

Whose Advice Do You Listen To?

You're writing your booklet, getting it produced, and marketing it. Everyone in your world has opinions about every step of what you're doing with it, and that's after you get outside of your own personal "committee" in your head :-)

It can be hard to know who to listen to along the way. Some people have no particular experience in the context (or content) that you're exploring. Other people feel they know it all. (aww c'mon, you must have at least one person in your life like that. I have a few I can pass along to you if you don't.) Then there's the ones who have been there, done that, and know whereof they speak.

We're talking about everything from the content of your booklet, the writing style, how it's organized, the kind of paper, the colors, including photography, who to market it to, how to market it, what terms to give clients, and on, and on, and on.

Like anything else in life, no one person has all of the answers. One person may seem to have lots or most of them. NO ONE has ALL of them. Go with your gut. Pick the best of what feels right to you from each source along the way. Make your own best decisions, and realize there is nothing you can't change on the next go-around. When all is said and done, listen to yourself!

Until next time,
Paulette - who asks people for input, accepts the parts that work best, and continues tweaking
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Friday, February 16, 2007

Booklet Titles

There's several differing opinions about naming a booklet. The first set of opinions deals with naming the booklet before or after the booklet is written. I prefer naming the booklet after it's written since the content defines what to call it. There are others who are more comfortable naming it first and writing to the title. If that works for you, well, ok.

Another set of opinions has to do with how "cutesy" to name it, or how direct, straightforward, and pragmatic it should be titled. The more esoteric you get, the less likely people will have any clue what's inside. Tips booklets are how-to's. I'm in favor of calling it what it is. Yes, there's a few words that make it more appealing and compelling. Words like "surefire," "secrets,"and "magical" are usually big winners. My own booklet has none of those, yet it's sold over a million copies. "110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life" says what it is. Lots of people want to get organized, which is why it worked.

The last item for this posting is a sub-title. I hold the opinion that if you need a subtitle, you've done a vague job in the main title. Your sub-title will usually also not be printed because there's often just not enough space when someone wants to reference it in print, online, or out loud. Yes, you can find examples to the contrary. Why would you want to risk that?

Like so many other things in life, keep it simple!

Until next time,
Paulette - being as direct as possible as much as possible
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

Booklet Leads All Over the Place

Periodically it seems to makes sense to offer a reminder of what may be overlooked as ideal bulk booklet leads that show up in everyday life. Here are a couple examples:

1. You get an announcement in the mail that a new sales director is hired at one of your best vendor companies.

2. You read that the online travel company, Orbitz.com is launching a site specifically for road warriors.

First, can the new sales director use your booklet to make a mark with a new sales campaign? (get a free booklet with a zillion tips on how to organize your business with your next purchase from us)

Second, is anything about your booklet travel-related or relationship-related or business-related that would be an ideal download for the first time someone books their flight through the new site? That's a licensing deal for the PDF version of your booklet.

These are things to watch when wondering how and where to go for large-quantity sales of your booklet and its spin-offs.

Until next time,
Paulette - seeing an endless flow of possibilities without ever renting any lists
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

I Don't Know How to Market

That was the opening sentence in a one-hour phone consult yesterday with a new booklet author. And it was repeated about a half dozen times in the first 2 minutes of the call, seemingly reinforcing the concept. Not wanting to make a client wrong, my immediate response was little more than "ok" before starting to shift gears.

I asked the person about any professional association memberships. Half a dozen were mentioned, including previous speaking engagements at some of their conferences. There was the opening. There is always an opening. We talked about contacting the people who brought the booklet author into those conferences to speak, and how the booklets and other formats of that content could be an ideal match for the association's interests in member benefits, conference handouts, and generating new revenue from some vendor members. The light bulb was going on with my client, including asking me great questions about ways to contact other people and how to position everything. And we were off and running.

Two things happened that allowed the booklet author to move beyond the belief of not knowing how to marketing:

1. I used the words "visit with people" and "exchange currency for product" instead of ever saying the word "selling." Silly as that may seem, it worked. It lifted huge barriers.

2. We jointly identified pre-existing relationships as a starting point to discuss how the booklet author's products could be useful to already-known organizations. This is typically so much easier than approaching someone cold.

By the end of the hour of consulting, the tone changed completely from "I don't know how to market" to "where is the best place to start?" What a difference! Nuance? Maybe. Motivation and positive action? Definitely. Go visit with people to talk about exchanging currency for products and services. See what happens.

Until next time,
Paulette - looking for what works
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Don't Do Don't

Now that's a pretty strange subject for this blog entry, isn't it? Take another look at that. The title says what NOT to do. It doesn't tell you what TO do. I can't tell you how many times I see this included in some of the best tips booklets that come past me from clients worldwide. Whether you realize it or not, as the reader, at best you are left with partial guidance from the expert who wrote the booklet. You've been told what NOT to do. And then what?

As the booklet author, do right by your readers. Tell them what TO do. Anytime you realize you are starting tips with "don't," "avoid,""ignore," or any other negative verbs, ask yourself what it is you want your reader TO do, as a positive action. This simple flip in perspective makes a world of difference in the effectiveness of delivering your excellent information.

Until next time,
Paulette - who has spent a lifetime figuring out what to do
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Monday, February 12, 2007

Electronic Incentives to Buy

This article presents a good perspective on selling your electronic versions of your booklet and other electronic information products to your clients to help them sell more of their own product.

http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/solutions/advertising/article.php/3659306

Until next time,
Paulette - enjoying the confirmation of other people's opinions
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Friday, February 09, 2007

Did I Need That?

I saw a short and sweet message today on a publishing discussion list about someone else's site that said it all:

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I just wanted to tell you I visited your site and found it very helpful. I'll probably go ahead and order your book, but just the free info you had posted helped me make a decision I didn't even know I needed to make.
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When people come to your website (or mine), and are new to your expertise and what you have to offer, they don't have a scope of all that goes into what they need. Those free articles and blogs, as well as a wide range of related products and services really do support more sales for you.

Do you remember when you didn't even know the questions to ask? I do. I remember enrolling a friend of mine to go with me to printers for my first booklet print run because I had no clue what to ask. So go back to the basics about your booklet and about the information you provide. Give some samples and examples. Provide a road map of what products and services will best serve your clients. It'll help them learn about making decisions they didn't even know they needed to make, including buying from you.

Until next time,
Paulette - grateful for the reminders
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

Some will, some won't, so what

This phrase pops up on my radar periodically, and applies to so much of life, and can be so freeing. It has everything in the world to do with engaging people in what's important to you, business-wise and personally. Some people will be interested or will "get it," some won't, and, when it all comes down to it, so what? Just keep going until you find someone else who is interested. Undoubtedly, someone will be.

Yes, that can be challenging at times. I am forever talking about selling booklets in bulk. Many booklet authors get it immediately, either as a wonderful new concept or as a reminder of something they've been doing or something they've been considering. Other people hold on for dear life to the idea of selling single copies to end users, period. Like you, I have to keep reminding myself of the "so what" part of this idea.

It's useful to keep this in mind as you move through your day, especially when you know that something works and the people around you just don't quite get it...yet.

Until next time,
Paulette -- striving for detachment while staying engaged in the process
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Passive, Residual, Consumable and Other Great Booklet Concepts

You open your email inbox and you see "Please tell me how soon you can send me another order of 250 booklets." There's a few key words in there worth noting: "another order of 250 booklets," to be exact.

Now, this particular order is not a big one as orders go. The terrific thing about it is the repetitive nature of it, and others like it. Some repeat orders are as small as 30 at a time. Others are 1,000 at a time. Write it once, sell it once, fill orders over and over again. That makes for a wonderful base of income, giving you wide berth for your creativity to do whatever else it does to keep your interest high. And this is from a single booklet that was written 16 years ago and is still relevant.

This is not rocket science. It does take some thinking, though, insofar as who you want to be your clients. Look for those who want to include your booklet in products or services that are ongoing in their own business. Some of my repeat buyers have home study kits in which they include my booklet. Others are training companies that include my booklet in their course materials. Yet others include this booklet in their ongoing promotional campaigns.

Yes, it really is possible to create passive residual income from booklets once you connect with those clients who are happy to keep coming back.

Until next time,
Paulette -- continuing to have a strong business based on a single booklet
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Numbering Tips is Crucial

Today's mail brought an excellent booklet from a client. The content is wonderful. It's well written. It covers a good range from basic to complex, satisfying wherever the reader is in their own development on the topic. The author followed my advice in the writing style. The tips are organized into categories. I won't tell you the topic because it would be too great an identifier and there's no reason to do that at this point.

So what's my problem? Well, the tips are not numbered. And so what, you might ask. Here's why I'm making a big deal about it. There's two reasons, actually. The first is this -- how often do you think a person finds a tip and wants to refer to it later? Pretty often, in fact! Yes, the pages are numbered, however, it's not the same. So that's the first reason. It makes the booklet much more user friendly by numbering the tips. The second reason is visual. Without numbering the tips, the copy runs on, without any hope of zeroing in on what was an incredibly useful piece of information (of which there are many in this booklet!!).

I've encouraged (implored is more like it) the booklet author to number the tips in the next print run. And I know the author to be a highly intelligent person. We'll see what happens. :-)

Until next time,
Paulette -- holding the belief that numbers can be our friends
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Monday, February 05, 2007

Zeros Are a Lot More Than Nothing

Many booklet authors get frazzled when thinking about large quantity sales. I mean really large quantities, in the millions of copies. The truth is there are lots and lots of environments who deal in millions of units of things every day. And it comes down to very little more than a difference in the number of zeros in units and in money. The sale is the same, the uses are the same, the change in your lifestyle from making that sale is different.

It still requires you to explore how the group wants to use your booklets, when they need them, what customizing they want done, if they want to do the production themselves or have you do it, how much they'll pay you and when that payment will be received. All the basics.

Years ago when I did a licensing deal with Lillian Vernon, a major catalog company , they licensed 250,000 copies of my booklet. It was the largest sale I'd ever done. Yet it was a test for them. At that time, they were distributing 17 million catalogs a year. So 250,000 was a small percentage of their total universe.

The only difference is the size of your payday, and, like the title of this post says, zeros are a lot more than nothing.

Until next time,
Paulette - always happy to see lots of zeros
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Friday, February 02, 2007

Afraid of Marketing

This fear is more common than many realize. I'm not talking about annoyance over marketing or lack of time or lack of knowledge. I'm talking about a downright fear. It frequently shows up with people who love to write and love to create products and love to stay behind the scenes. They (you) are sometimes known as introverts.

So what's a person to do if the above paragraph perfectly described them? Well, look at what was included there on the plus side -- loving to write, loving to create, loving to stay behind the scenes. It is completely possible to market using those very qualities. You can write some emails that focus on how your booklets and other products can be used to benefit the person or group you're approaching by email. Or you can do the same thing by hard copy earth mail. Either way, that keeps you behind the scenes rather than talking with them on the phone or in person. And you can create new products to your heart's delight.

I've personally made quite a few bulk sales over the years without ever hearing the client's voice or seeing their face. Those sales happened completely through emails and earth mail, both domestically and internationally. Yes, it is 100% possible. Use your skills, gifts, talents, and inclination to create and market your creations, while never compromising your personality traits one bit.

Until next time,
Paulette -- who knows the best results come from matching strengths with strengths
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Thursday, February 01, 2007

Cover Color without Cost

There's ways to make your cover more colorful without adding to the cost, or even adding more colors. And cost can be important when you're pricing your booklet for bulk sales. The simplest way to enhance the design without embellishing the cost is by having your graphic designer incorporate various percentages of one color into the design. That gives the appearance of multiple colors when it is literally a theme and variations on a single color. And no added production cost.

Another design option used by numerous booklet authors is having a wonderfully stark contrast of a black photograph or other design element on a snow white glossy card stock cover. This can be a striking design, and often turns out to also be percentages of black.

Keep your emotions and budget in check by considering these design possibilities and suggesting them to your graphic designer. You'll find our own excellent graphic designers at http://www.tipsbooklets.com/index.php?page=vendors.htm

Until next time,
Paulette - with cost effective designs on you
www.tipsbooklets.com

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