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Booklet Tips From Paulette

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

Monday, December 31, 2007

Unused Resources

What resources have you got that you have yet to use to further your success in the coming year? In many cases, you purchased products or services that you never utilized. Some were bonuses that came with other purchases. And I suspect this is not just from me as much as from other product and service providers.

Looking over my database of sales for 2007, there are quite a few unfilled ebooklet spaces on the ebooklet catalog that were given as part of a package for a workshop or other purchase. Is yours among those spots, just waiting for your booklet?

Many hours of phone consultation sit waiting to be scheduled. Is that you, too? Imagine what you could create by exploring together where you are and where you want to be.

It's not uncommon to have unused resources. Believe me, I've got a few of my own. Periodically I trip over that fact and often dive in to see how they can be useful once I've rediscovered what I've got. Amazing how helpful that can be.

So what have you forgotten you have? Take a look. It could be the ideal time to take advantage of it, going forward in your own business now.

Until next time,
Paulette - looking in that mirror right along with you
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Friday, December 28, 2007

One, Many, Both

You've read other posts on this blog about everything is in units of "one," even when you're multitasking. With much anticipation of the new year comes expectation of "more," "better," and "different" in so many parts of life. A desire to develop lots of new things and go in lots of new directions at once can be enticing.

My suggestion: think of one new (or modified) information product or service you want to introduce during the first quarter of 2008 and think of one new market you want to approach with your booklet or other information product or service during the first quarter of 2008. Yes, having a grand master plan is a roadmap that comforts many people. What I've found to be true is, like so much else, it's all about "one". Do that "one" and notice where it leads you. It may be an expansion of more of what that "one" is about or it could take you off on a different tangent that is also more and better.

Stay with the new "one" long enough to determine if it needs adjustment, is simply a mismatch for you, or is aligned with what, where, and how to move forward with it. One booklet can turn into many sales. One product can become many products. Each happens one at a time.

Until next time,
Paulette - encouraging one-ness for the New Year
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Total Clarity - In Hindsight

"It must be a pain in the ass, when you know so clearly what you want to have, do, and be, to talk to someone who has not yet identified what it is he wants to have, do, and be. "

This was part of a reply today from someone after having coffee yesterday with this new local colleague as we talked about how what I do could be useful to this person's professional path.

My partial reply to that:
" What you are seeing and responding to about my business is the result, not the process. I promise you that clarity is not always 100% present for me. It couldn't be. It's how things grow and develop. There's times I have been and will again be stuck. However, there's a point at which I either discover some missing piece (as I did this year about the Collection of Experts), or I pronounce it dead, which I've done with several ventures over the years. If I am anything, I am results oriented and, as you heard, am about getting things done rather than sitting around endlessly contemplating the possibilities."

When I did my booklet in 1991, you can be sure I didn't have the foggiest idea of how this journey would unfold. What you see today is results - results of putting one foot in front of the other, figuring it out as I went, doing the part that was mine to do. The rest showed up as it showed up. Yes, I had to take note of some things or they would have passed me by. There are probably a number of things that did, and we'll never know. The things that were noticed have produced some pretty spectacular results.

More on this in the January ezine. You can subscribe to it today by going to the home page of my website.

Until next time,
Paulette - who knows there's a time for philosophizing and a time for action
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

New Year Babies

That's frequently what many booklet authors do at the beginning of the year - they (you) birth a new booklet. I am all in favor of it, as long as it makes sense for you. Some people work best with a date as a goal. That's either an externally established one by some circumstance like a trade show or speaking engagement, or a somewhat arbitrary one to get yourself in motion.

Someone wrote to me today saying two booklets would be written and printed by January 17 (2008). Um, ok. I have no clue about the condition of the document, as to whether it will be edited by someone other than the author. Or if a professional graphic designer will be involved. And if the printing will be the recommended traditional offset printing rather than by a quick-copy shop. These are all things I've learned over the past 16+ years doing booklets, including time frames that typically occur for the entire process.

Can those two booklets be written and printed by January 17, 2008? Yes, it is possible. Is it likely? Donno. Too many unknowns on my end of the communication. That is in no way intended to be a discouragement or a gesture of pessimism. It's simple that I do not know. And the author may not have realized all of what's involved to do the content justice. We'll find out!

The baby you birth will be beautiful if for no other reason than it is yours. That's plenty enough! How you choose to dress it, well, that's a different story. Let's talk about the most appropriate "wardrobe" for your "baby," while the congratulations continue.

Until next time,
Paulette - eager to see the members of the class of 2008
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Monday, December 24, 2007

Business Mode or Taking a Break?

This can be an interesting week, regardless of your plans. Taking some time off to renew and refresh and/or celebrate with those in your life can be invaluable. Shifting gears can bring new perspective to your work when you're ready to return. This is often a time to do things that don't seem to have space allocated for them during any other time of year.

That leads to the possibility that you are not taking time off this week. That, too, can be highly productive, for some of the same reasons. You can meet with people who are more relaxed and open to exploring new possibilities. You can set up new systems within your office to be ready for more business in the new year. You can begin developing a new product. You can clean out a closet that magically drew inordinate amounts of stuff to it in the past decade or more, again, allowing more of the good stuff into your life next year.

Regardless of how this week turns out for you, it will certainly be perfect. Personally, I'm doing a mix of work in the office, some professional and personal socializing, and enjoying my 11th year of walking on the beach on Christmas Day when the temp is always 70 degrees!

Until next time,
Paulette - who doesn't miss the snow one bit
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Friday, December 21, 2007

Growth, Wit, and Special Offer

A quote from a British novelist, Eden Phillpotts, captured my attention today enough to share it with you:

Growth - The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

Have your wits grown sharp enough to take your magical next steps with your business, your booklet, and my special offer that's ending today? The details are on the blog post of this past Monday, December 17. The overview is that I will give you one free hour of personal phone consultation with me for each $100 you spend on products and/or services at www.tipsbooklets.com by the end of today. You can place your order at the site or phone me in San Diego at 858-481-0890. Just mention "Blog Special" when you order.

Until next time,
Paulette - looking forward to hearing from you today
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Nobody's Written About That

When a conversation I was having recently prompted the other person to notice a topic for a Collection of Experts booklet and say what a great topic it was and that no one has written about that, I realized something very important. Many people draw conclusions on a limited about of data. The fact is that I have several booklets on the general topic in question at the ebooklet catalog on my site, someplace this person had obviously not visited.

The reverse of all of this is true as well, which is something I wrote about here on this blog a few weeks ago. There was another booklet author who was concerned about competing with a booklet that was on my site. And the person held onto that opinion for dear life.

The point of all of this is that there is no way that every person who is interested in your topic will ever have everything ever written on the topic. Period! It is your mission to keep getting it out there, in as many way as you possibly can, regardless of how much marketing and sales you do.

One more reference point here. I've sold over a million copies of my own booklet, "110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life." That can sound like a lot of copies. However, I promise that most people reading this blog have yet to own a copy! By the way, these days the only way I sell hard copies (printed copies) is either a minimum of 100 or bundled within a home study kit or manual. Otherwise, you can get a single copy of the PDF through the ebooklet catalog. There's now lots of other booklets on organizing, and mine still sells plenty, once people know about it.

Until next time,
Paulette - encouraging you to keep on keeping on
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Are You Paying Attention?

After attending a teleclass of a colleague the other day, a follow-up email came out that unquestionably had tips in it that could easily become the skeleton of a booklet. I saw it immediately. Well, yeah, I can't help myself sometimes :-) The author of the email saw it that way only after I mentioned it. This person also does a regular call-in radio show where listeners provide their most successful tips on the topic in question. All that content, right there, ready to be transformed into a product. In fact, probably multiple products.

What's right in front of you that is grist for one or more products? What are you not noticing?

Until next time,
Paulette - wondering if you noticed the post about the Special Offer this week on my products and services (see this past Monday's post)
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Can You Really Make a Living Selling Booklets?

This question hasn't been posed to me in awhile. It did happen again last week. A new client bought my home study kit, "How to Promote Your Business with Booklets." After saying she found me popping up all over the Internet, she wanted to know if it was possible to actually make a living selling booklets, since I now teach people to do what I've done.

In a word -- yes. The part she slid over was that I personally sold over a million copies of my booklet in various languages and formats, made a cross-country move from one high-end neighborhood to another without missing a beat in my business, have obviously never missed a meal in my life (see photo at www.tipsbooklets.com) and, in fact, still sell copies of my booklet in bulk. (No more single copy sales of the printed version -- minimum 100 copies. ) I've recently started saying I've built an entire business on 16 pages -- the one and only booklet I've ever written for myself.

Yes, I do make most of my living now by teaching other people to turn their knowledge into tips booklets and other information products. It's been a natural outgrowth of selling booklets. Plus I am a teacher by training and nature. It was also a natural evolution of things that keep me interested in my own business, which is also something I teach others to do.

One of the greatest things about having my own business is that I can make it be whatever I want it to be, as can you. And you get to make your booklet business be even more lucrative than I have made mine because you don't need to fall into the potholes I did along the way!

Until next time,
Paulette - morphing all the way (sung to the same tune that would be "laughing all the way" at the end of that stanza)
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Special This Week Only for My Blog Visitors

Over the weekend, it occurred to me that you might be an avid visitor of this blog, yet may not be a subscriber of my monthly ezine. If that's the case, then you didn't know about a year-end gift I offered. No reason for you to miss out, though, so here you go!

I want to share the abundance that we have enjoyed at Tips Products International in 2007, so here is a gift for you. For any purchase of product or service you make of $100 or more by Friday, December 21, I will give you the gift of one free hour of telephone consultation with me, to discuss anything you'd like about your booklet or your business. ($175 value). You will get one hour for each $100 you spend between today and December 21. That consulting time can be used any time in the next 13 months. Just mention "Blog Gift" when you make your purchase, and that's all there is to it. I'll make a note of it, and it will be there for you to redeem whenever you're ready. Enjoy a gift that keeps on giving.

Go to http://www.tipsbooklets.com/to make your purchase online or phone me in California at 858-481-0890, Mon.-Fri., 9-5 Pacific Time Zone. Quite a few newsletter subscribers took advantage of this offer last week. Now you can, too, by taking action by Friday, December 21 at the latest. And if you want to sign up for the monthly electronic newsletter, you can do that on the home page of
http://www.tipsbooklets.com/

Let me know any questions you have.

Until next time,
Paulette - delighted to offer this gift to you
http://www.tipsbooklets.com/

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Times of Year to Reach Decision Makers

Useful information can come from places you least expect to find it. The following was included in a travel ezine talking about American travel:



"When asked what is the busiest travel time of the year, most people would probably cite Thanksgiving. But in a surprising finding, Orbitz says last year's busiest holiday week was July 4. The company's "A Step Ahead" survey found Thanksgiving was actually the fifth busiest travel week, based on an Orbitz Insider Index. After July 4 came Memorial Day, followed by Christmas. Even the last week of March beat out Thanksgiving, based on Orbitz.com hotel and package (air and hotel) bookings. "For those looking for a less stressful trip when fewer people are traveling, week 49 – the first week of December – was the slowest travel week of 2007," the company said. "The second week of December was second slowest. The slowest travel week of the summer season was the week following Memorial Day."



Just when you think you've got some idea of when to catch that large-quantity decision-maker, this information can put a completely new slant on things. That's not to say your executive won't be busy with some other business cycle in the company or that the budget lines up with non-travel times. It does give you a perspective about vacation travel.



Until next time,

Paulette - who rarely travels around typical holidays anyway

www.tipsbooklets.com

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Am I On the Right Track

Someone emailed this week to book an hour of consulting (aka "Rent-a-Brain") to check to see if they are on the right track. I smiled, as I often tend to do, when I see such a phrase as "on the right track." My second reaction, which is sometimes a silent one, is "I sure hope not!"

As far as I'm concerned, there is no right track when it comes to booklets and information products. If there had been some right track to follow, I probably wouldn't have sold well over a million copies of my booklet (so far). Creating other products and services to teach others how to do what I've done is meant as a possible starting point. It's not the "right track." It's something that worked for me, which is always being embellished as I learn more from doing things myself and from the input of what's worked for other people.

The right track is the one that you're on. Period. And I'm certainly open for discussion about this :-)

Until next time,
Paulette - doing what I can to stir it all up whenever possible
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

December and the Booklet Business

What are you doing this month? For some businesses, as you know, this is the busiest month of the year. And others come to a grinding halt. If yours happens to be in the latter category, take advantage of the found time to keep the volume turned up on promotion and publicity, use-it-or-lose-it budgets, and corporations whose pace may also be slower than the rest of the year.

Notice the articles and books that comment on trends. Use that as a basis for your own promotion and publicity whenever and wherever possible. This is also an otherwise slow time of year for a lot of media, leaving you with more possibilities for exposure of your products and services.

Touch base with former clients and prospects about their own promotional campaigns. Can they benefit by making a purchase of your booklets now for use in the new year because they have left-over money in their budget?

Depending on the business, some corporations are also slowing down in the next 2-3 weeks. That can mean a window of opportunity for you to connect with someone you've been trying to reach, who isn't going away on an extended holiday vacation and is still in the office playing catch-up, at a calmer pace. It's always worth making that call, just to see.

Some of the biggest deals I've made have happened in December, when things are supposed to not be happening!!

Until next time,
Paulette - always curious about what happy surprises lurk just around the corner
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

I Don't Know What Else to Write About

A client told me that this week. And there have been times I've felt the same way myself. After awhile, it can seem like it's all been said. How many more ways can it be presented?

That's the time to introduce a new format of a product that already exists or identify a new market yet to be explored, or both! Can the booklet be recorded into an audio or video product, or aimed at a different age group, industry, or special interest? Can your booklet be lengthened, shortened, or revised. Some content lends itself to annual revision, others doesn't.

Take a step back and look again at what you've got. Can your tips be licensed onto some other prodycts? Balloons, cocktail napkins, golf tees, pens, coffee mugs, tee shirts, into software, onto website or catalog pages, in Spanish, French, Chinese? Go here for licensing:
http://www.tipsbooklets.com/index.php?page=prodlist.php&p=107&c=12

Look again at what you have. There's so much more to do with what you've already written. Still having trouble seeing it? Cal me and book an hour.

Until next time,
Paulette - taking my own advice so I can give it to you
www.tipsbooklets.com


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Monday, December 10, 2007

Booklets Competing with Each Other

An email arrived the other day from a new booklet author that read as follows:

" I have my booklet ready to go, and was to email it to you yesterday, but I see in the email I received from you, that you have already come out with a booklet on ______. It's just my opinion, but I don't think it is a good idea to compete with something that is already done by some of your group."

To say I was startled by this email is truly an understatement. People who come to my site often buy many ebooklets on a particular topic so they get different perspectives and different choices. I suspect I've done little to influence the above author's opinion, since hearing nothing further beyond my reply. It makes me wonder, though.

Are you limiting your own progress by thinking you don't want to compete? If so, think about when you're shopping for just about anything. Don't you often go someplace where you know you'll find a selection? Centralizing things increases not decreases the sales for everyone.

If you're thinking of selling your booklet on my site, take a look at the particulars at:
http://www.tipsbooklets.com/index.php?page=prodlist.php&p=165&c=32

Until next time,
Paulette - who loves making the pie bigger whenever possible
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Friday, December 07, 2007

Painless Promotion

Tomorrow is the end-of-year holiday social for the Publishers and Writers of San Diego, of which I am a board member. In and among the RSVPs we received, one member unsolicitedly offered to contribute a door prize. She produces note cards and related items on the theme of animal rescue. We had not specifically asked or suggested that anyone contribute door prizes. She offered. We said yes. How painless a way is that for her to promote her product line to the assembled group tomorrow?

So where are you going in the next few weeks or beyond, where you can easily and appropriately contribute a door prize, something that promotes your booklet and your business? Or even if you're not attending an event, where can you contribute something that's helpful to the recipient and yourself? Doesn't get much easier than that, does it?

Until next time,
Paulette - who started thinking about the best thing to offer from her own products and services
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Thursday, December 06, 2007

Getting Started When?

This blog has addressed the "getting started" factor before, and will most likely continue to do so. Here's one side of the coin. I have a client who I am guessing is probably about 50'ish, who has been telling me for almost a year that the booklet manuscript is almost ready for me to edit, that money will be coming in next week, that a little more research is necessary, etc. and so forth. The booklet could have been done a year ago, with lots of money in hand by now. This client is committed to staying stuck, based on results. I may or may not ever see that booklet.

Then there's the opposite end of the spectrum. I am a fan of Dr. Wayne Dyer's work and approach to life. He is often on PBS television. I caught one of his shows about a week ago. He had in the audience a woman whose work I also know, Louise Hay. Louise Hay is the founder of a major self-help and metaphysical publishing company, Hay House, which happens to be local to me. What I did not know until hearing it on Dyer's show is that Louise Hay founded Hay House when she was 60. She recently celebrated her 80th birthday--- and looks 60!

Need I say more?

Until next time,
Paulette - who is more than a little curious to see what my own next 20 years will be, now that I'm 60
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Get Out of This World

Get out of your own world to gain perspective on the content and marketing of your booklet and your business. It's easy to get tunnel-visioned by staying within one small universe. I've sure done that in my life at different points along the way, and have observed that with many other people. For me throughout my adult life so far, it's been circles of internet marketers, publishers, professional organizers, a synagogue community, classical musicians, self-help groups, and others.

The gift comes when taking a perspective from one of those groups and bringing it to a different context. It sheds new light on the new area, often breathing new life into it as part of the deal. This is not an uncommon approach, by any means. In the corporate world, many companies believe strongly in bringing in executives from other industries for this very reason. It breaks the "we've always done it this way" syndrome, creating space to do something new and better.

Look at your world through differently colored lenses to see what you see.

Until next time,
Paulette - plucking ideas from other places and adding a spin to them
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Doing RBWA for Your Booklet

A publishing colleague recently made reference to RBWA. This was a a new one for me as far as the acronym was concerned, though not for what it represents. RBWA = Research By Walking Around. In the days before the Internet, that was exactly what I did to discover companies to approach for large quantity sales of my booklet. I'd walk the aisles of the big box office supply stores, looking at products that made sense to pair with my booklet. There was always company information on the product or its packaging as it sat on the shelf of the store. Then it was a matter of finding the right person at the company who produced the product, usually by phoning the company's office.

Another place to do RBWA is at trade shows. I lived an hour outside New York City for the first five years of my booklet's life. That made it especially easy to go to many major trade shows, walking the aisles to see what companies had what products or services that made them likely contacts to approach -- AFTER the show when they were back in their offices and the dust had settled. Most major cities host trade shows.

Think about where and how you can do RBWA. You can get some initial ideas that way, and have a much easier time today getting contact and background information through the company's website.

Until next time,
Paulette - who still does RBWA because she just can't help herself
www.tipsbooklets.com

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Monday, December 03, 2007

News to Use to Sell Your Booklets

Friday's issue of the Wall Street Journal had an article on the front page of the Marketplace section that started this way:

"The largest number of adolescents in history is coming of age world-wide. All told, some 1.2 billion people - one person in five - are between ages 10 and 19, according to the United Nations Population Fund. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 29 million teenagers, with their numbers growing at twice the rate of the overall population."

As an information product developer and marketer, if you have expertise in parenting or adolescent behavior, that jumps right off the page at me as an invitation and confirmation to start or continue generating info products as quickly as possible. Your stuff is and will be in great demand. Look at who else wants to reach this same audience, and sell your information to them to use as a marketing tool for their own product, service or cause.

Articles like this one in the Wall Street Journal are all around you, once you notice them there. And quoting a statistic from as highly regarded a publication as the Wall Street Journal can be a cornerstone to a presentation you make to a corporation, association, or publication when approaching them with your products.

Still not connecting the dots on how to do this? Call me to schedule some consulting time and I'll show you exactly what to do.

Until next time,
Paulette - reminding myself (and you) that there are no ordinary moments
www.tipsbooklets.com

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