Digital Booklets and Everything Else - China?

Chris Knight, owner of one of my favorite sites, EzineArticles.com ,was recently in Beijing to deliver a keynote speech at a private event. It was his first trip to China. One of the many comments he put on Twitter.com while he was traveling struck me as a major opportunity:

“Guy here in China said that if you order a book online, means someone drops a physical book off at your house. PDF/MP3 delivery mrkt yet 2 b.”

Did you catch that last part? It’s that last part that is hugely fascinating to those of us in the information products market. Regardless of what your opinions are about products made in China, look at what a gigantic opportunity it is to sell TO people in China.

I don't know why digital products have yet to reach that audience, whether it has something to do with the kind of online connections most common in the country (are most folks there on cell phone technology rather than land lines, and does that matter?) or are there are reasons? Given the size of the population and this untapped market, it's sure captured my attention to watch for ways to get there with the wealth of digitally delivered products my own company and my clients are producing.

What about you?

Until next time,
Paulette - seeing opportunities all over the place
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me daily at: www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Product Line Extensions Abound

It's heartwarming and inspiring to see what some booklet authors are doing to expand and extend their product line beyond booklets. A recent Google alert took me to the site of a booklet author client, Nancy Juetten, where I witnessed a delightful surprise. Nancy has a public relations agency in the northwest corner of the United States, focusing on clients and news in that region. She started with two booklets, and then beautifully wrapped them into a large physical and thematic package. She shows no signs of slowing down, either. Take a peek at what she's done.

Speaking of publicity and extending your product line, you'll also want to see what our colleague, Marcia Yudkin is up to. She delivered a power-packed Expert Interview a few weeks ago about Creating Publicity-Worthy Products. Marcia has many ways of supporting your product line extensions and expansions. See for yourself.

Until next time,
Paulette - enjoying how my own horizons are expanding
www.tipsbooklets.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
Follow me: www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

Your Sky Is Falling?

Then look at who you're hanging around. Simple as that. Yesterday I attended a teleclass presented by Ali Brown, formerly known as The Ezine Queen. She and David Neagle made some very interesting points on the call that I want to share with you here, with which I agree 100% This applies to your booklet business and any other things you're doing in your life.

First, when you're hanging around people who are scared and scarcity-based, that's what you'll get all over you, too. Ali and David and their respective students and clients are doing well, some having their best year ever. That is true of many of my clients as well.

Next, they mentioned that only about 10% of our clients make their buying decision based on price. Now that puts an interesting perspective on things, doesn't it? It's one of the reasons I've always had a wide range of products, not only in different formats to accommodate different learning styles, but also at different prices so there's something for everyone. In fact, I am going to be raising a bunch of prices after the first of the year.

And last, they are seeing the current times as an opportunity to do things differently, to expand, to test out new things. I have been headed in that direction myself for a few months now. How lovely to get that independent confirmation.

What's your choice? Coming along for the ride, or deciding to stay stuck and scared?

Until next time,
Paulette - who has always delighted in doing it differently
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com

Marketing and Selling Your Booklet

Marketing and publicizing your booklet are important. That's when you let the world know what you've got. In my opinion, selling your booklet is more important. That's when you let the world know what you've got, how it can benefit them, and receive money for your product.

Marketing and publicity are usually difficult to quantify as to what turns into sales. You can have the best media positioning in the world (i.e. front page mention in the NY Times or a slot on Oprah) and sell very little or nothing. Yes, that's completely possible.

Or you can have an email exchange or 15-minute phone conversation with a corporate marketing director and make a sale of 25,000 copies of your booklet, with each copy also marketing and promoting you in the process.

Which would you rather do?

Until next time,
Paulette - continuing to teach you to do both
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com

Other Eyes Equals Added Income

I had a sample consultation session yesterday with a colleague. We have known OF each other for quite awhile, yet we had never spoken directly. The colleague gave me the perfect example of what happens when someone who is bright, quick, knowledgeable, and outside of my own business takes a look at it. I ended up with a list of a dozen and a half tasks to do to refine my website and my overall business, from someone whose opinion I respect. It is very likely I'll be hiring this person as a formal mentor based on the brief experience I had yesterday. After all, who doesn't want more income, prompted by someone who knows what they are talking about?

It's a joy to study with an expert who can communicate a level of understanding so effectively. That's what you do with your own knowledge. That's what I do with clients who come to me.

Watch for changes in the next couple months, some of which have already started at www.tipsbooklets.com

And by the way, if you haven't already gotton "How to Promote Your Business with Booklets," you're going to want to do that before December 31.

Until next time,
Paulette - invigorated by some fresh input, and sharing it with you
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com

Ready When Ready

Notice: "Amazing Grasp of the Obvious" alert --

I just spent a lovely 4-day weekend in Boulder, Colorado visiting some of my family. Now my family knows I've been doing something with booklets for a long time. And my middle sister and her husband are of above-average intelligence, in addition to being married to each other for a very long time. Certain career and health matters have changed in their individual and collective lives in the past few years. I found myself prompted to suggest to each of them that they have the opportunity and knowledge (if not the need) to consider other ways of leveraging their knowledge and interests into information products, possibly starting with tips booklets. I had separate conversations with them because they have different bodies of knowledge, different motivations, and different personalities.

Then I watched the light go on for each of them, with guarded optimism that at least some of what I was suggesting might just be the ideal next step. They have each been involved in their separate careers for many years, so what I was saying was very new stuff for them. To their credit, they were open to having the conversation with me. Both of them tend to ponder things before jumping in, and that's fine since they usually eventually take action.

So what was the amazing grasp of the obvious part? Well, as I see, there's two things that qualify for that.

1. They each have a substantial body of knowledge that they never considered to be something they could leverage for their various wants and needs of satisfaction and income.

2. I have a substantial body of knowledge and experience that could be useful to them, which they never considered before now.

Amazing what happens when people talk to each other and are open to whatever outcomes show up!

Until next time,
Paulette - very pleased by the recent family experience and eager to see where it goes
www.PublishingProsperity.com - new birth
www.tipsbooklets.com

Self-Publish or Traditional Publish

Many booklet authors as well as book authors wrestle with a decision about self-publishing or finding a publisher to do it for them. This has never been an issue for me, for some very simple reasons. The following post from a self-publishing discussion list I frequent is being reprinted here, in full, with permission from the author. She articulates my own point of view quite well.

==========

For what it's worth, I have been approached by agents asking to
represent my self-published books to larger publishing houses. So,
at least some agents are not biased against self-published books.

One agent went so far as to present my book "The Furniture Factory
Outlet Guide" to Rodale without first getting a signed contract with
me. I ultimately decided that going with this agent was not right
for me. At the time that agent approached me, this title had sold
about 70,000 copies, largely through major bookstores nationwide. It
had also gotten a lot of media attention, including The Today Show.

I have chosen to remain self-published, as I don't think there is
much a large publisher would do for me that I can't do for myself at
a much lower cost. Note "would" not "could". Large publishers tend
to concentrate their resources on a few hoped for best sellers
instead of spreading them among all the authors on their lists.
Consumer books on buying furniture are not likely to hit the NYT
bestseller lists, therefore I find it unlikely that a large publisher
would do much to promote a book like mine. So, if I'm going to pay
most or all of my own book promotion expenses anyway, why give a big
publisher a cut too?

Many self-published non-fiction books have made the leap from self-
published to trade published. I don't have time to put together a
list this morning, but I'm sure John Kremer has a current one.

I think the real question is: once you've made a enough of a success
of your self-published book to attract the attention of a large NYC
publisher, would you really want to sell out at that point?

At the time I was approached, I had good sales though bookstores and
a well established track record with the media. A larger publisher
might have increased my sales, but would they have increased sales
enough to compensate for the big chunk of my paycheck they would have
kept? I'm not sure.

I have personally not seen prejudice against self-published books in
non-fiction. Fiction is likely a completely different story, and I
am not qualified to speak to that part of the business.

I agree with Marion [Gropen] that you should not view your self-publishing
efforts only as a means to attract a big publisher. I also think
that you shouldn't refrain from self-publishing nonfiction in an
effort to keep the big publishing avenue open. Give it your best
shot, and evaluate any offer from agents when you actually receive
them.

Good luck,

Kimberly Causey
Home Decor Press
www.smartdecorating.com

========================

Thank you, Kimberly, for your thoughts and your permission to share them here.

Until next time,
Paulette - who just can't fathom going to a publisher for booklets, books, or any information products
www.PublishingProsperity.com - new birth
www.tipsbooklets.com

Which Topic for My Booklet?

In speaking with someone interested in participating in a Collection of Experts booklet this week, it was initially a challenge for the person to decide which of several topics to address for her page in the Collection. After one simple question, her answer was obvious to her. The question was this: "What do you want the world to know about right now -- your personal services, or the content of your book?" Without hesitation, she said it was her book.

That's often the best way to decide which way to go when you've got unrelated topics you want to promote in your business and you're interested in writing your own booklet or participating in a Collection of Experts. Ask yourself what you want the world to know right now, today, about your business, and write about that.

Until next time,
Paulette - who marvels at the huge creativity surrounding me
www.PublishingProsperity.com - recent birth
www.tipsbooklets.com

Blog Carnival About Book Marketing

Here's a great way to market the fact that you're marketing in the book world. It's a blog carnival comprised of blog posts related to the theme of book marketing. I've never participated in one before. However, how could I not?





Until next time,
Paulette - who equates marketing with oxygen
www.PublishingProsperity.com - recent birth
www.Tipsbooklets.com

Just Keep Going

One of the many things I've learned in the 17 years in this booklet business is to just keep going. When a bulk buyer gives you the runaround, just keep going to the next prospect. When things slow down in your own business, just keep going with the next product development idea, the next market to explore, the next networking meeting to attend, the next phone call or email to a former client. Taking action distracts and diffuses potential angst and frustration. Once you take one action, it's that much easier to take a second and a third action. Before you know it, some positive results show up. Happens every time.

I offered a suggestion to a colleague the other day to think big with small things. That's what happens. Selling a million booklets happened by thinking big with small booklets, one sale at a time.

So just keep going, then let me know what happened!

Until next time,
Paulette - who keeps going
www.PublishingProsperity.com - recent birth
www.tipsbooklets.com