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Booklet Tips From Paulette

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

Thursday, August 27, 2009

By the Way, Your Booklet Topic Can Be ...

People often ask me what topics are "hot" to write about. I always say it's the one(s) that excite you. Our colleague, Marcia Yudkin, adds perspective to that in her weekly Marketing Minute, which, by the way, is very much worth sharing with you.
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                      The Marketing Minute
by Marcia Yudkin, Marketing Expert and Mentor
http://www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm

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

Successful people often reveal they discovered what
rocketed them to fortune by others saying, "You know, you're
good at such-and-such. Can you teach me/help me?"

Beat them to it by highlighting and exploiting hard-to-name
talents or unintended accomplishments. Ask yourself:

* In what ways do I love going above and beyond, or deeper
than others?

* What kind of commentary of mine - in conversation, on my
blog - seems to strike a nerve?

* Which unexpected skills have I mastered to do what I do?

* What data have I collected that others could use?

Ask customers:

* What do you like about doing business with me that you
don't experience elsewhere?

* Looking back, what results from the work we did together
seemed to come out of left field?

The answers may point to a lucrative sideline service or
information product you can develop - or your next career.

For instance, maybe your B&B hospitality generates matches
among guests or your sports coaching produces better
posture.

Identify your "by the way" assets, bottle them for sale and
enjoy the extra profits.

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

HOW ABOUT ME? While teaching my Launch Your Information
Empire course, I realized that I enjoy and get appreciated
for compiling business models for marketing. Instead of
teaching only what I've done successfully, I also find and
report how others succeed with a different approach. I
arrange the information so participants can figure out the
model that's right for their personality, audience and goals.

Even if you've already got a system working, you might find
a more congenial model or a way to expand and grow that had
not occurred to you.

Alternative business models are one lesson in the Launch Your
Information Empire course:
http://www.yudkin.com/informationempire.htm

If you're interested but not yet committed to creating
while-you-sleep income, opt into my information products
email series (no cost):
http://www.yudkin.com/infomarketing.htm

Interested in marketing with postcards? I have a $19.97
report specifically on 10 business models for that:
http://www.yudkin.com/postcardmodels.htm

Or look at the Mighty Postcard Marketing Course:
http://www.yudkin.com/postcardcourse.htm

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

MORE MARCIA...

CD of the Month Club:
http://www.marketingformore.com/cdclub.htm

Marketing Thought of the Day:
http://www.yudkin.com/mantras or twitter.com/marciasmantras

Get Mentored:
http://www.marketingformore.com

Naming & Tag Line Service:
http://www.namedatlast.com

Press Releases & Distribution:
http://www.pressreleasehelp.com

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

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.

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

++++++++++

Until next time,
Paulette - who knows "by the way" often becomes a pot 'o gold

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Booklets Are Always About People

When you write your booklet and when you offer it up for sale or free distribution, it can sometimes be easy to lose track of the fact that people are involved in all parts of the process. The content reflects your experiences in some part of your life as a human being. The production touches the lives of your service providers. And ultimately, the booklet is intended to improve the lives of those who receive your booklet, whether it's distributors first and end users second, or directly to the end user.

I've had several experiences in the past few days where the human side of the interaction got lost in the shuffle, and where it made a big difference in anything beyond that. The first one truly surprised me. I tried out the services of a new massage therapist who came highly recommended to me. I've experienced professional massage for over 25 years, on 2 coasts, and as you can imagine, a wide range of experiences. This person never asked me a thing about whether there was any part of my body that needed extra attention or that she should avoid or if I preferred a stronger or lighter touch. Nothing. The sad part was that her technique as a massage therapist was fine, at about 85-90%, in fact. I will not be going back to her though.
We never connected as people.

Today I got an email from someone who had attended a fee-based teleclass and was looking for the recording and transcript that hadn't arrived. The person didn't include their proper name, just an email address. Um, I deal with people.

There are other examples I could offer, though I'm sure you got the point. Remember that you are always dealing with people every step of your booklet journey.

Until next time,
Paulette - who is 100% human

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

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Thursday, August 20, 2009

Is Your Booklet "Either/Or" or "Both?"

Which topic needs to be in your booklet, Passion #1 or Passion #2? If they have anything at all that's remotely related to each other, many times the best answer is to include both topics in one booklet. You can make one booklet with multiple related topics in it, and still come out with a 16-page booklet that has 3,000-3,500 words in it. My booklet, "110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life," has about a dozen related topics in it, in fact, so people can sample various areas of organizing their business life.

Yes, there are times it makes sense to focus on a single topic in a booklet. Even then there are sections or sub-headings within a particular topic. You may be a professional speaker who presents keynotes. It would be ideal to have one booklet on each of your keynote topics.

When you see that you're headed way beyond 3,500 words, the suggestion is to have two smaller booklets than one larger one, even if you are dealing with multiple topics.

Start writing and see where you're led. The answer often presents itself once you're in motion.

Until next time,
Paulette - who ran out of organizing tips at 110

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Marketing Booklets No Matter What You Believe

Last week a young Mexican husband and wife couple came to my door. They were going door to door handing out their business cards for their cleaning services. None of that is all so unusual. I live 30 minutes from the Mexican border, in a community that definitely hires people to clean homes and businesses. I am about to hire them for a monthly cleaning. After all, I (currently) live alone with one cat who doesn't shed, and am neat by nature. Monthly works fine for me. And the price they quoted me was consistent with what I've paid for the size home I have.

So what's the big deal, and what does this have to do with marketing your booklets? Well, this couple was not the first to ever come to my door seeking new cleaning customers or leave their cleaning company business card stuck in the door. And it's not the first time I've hired people to clean for me.

You are not the first promotional product developer to approach a corporate or association buyer, to companies and associations who have previously bought products like yours.

This couple came at a time I was especially receptive to a new service provider. The person who has done an exceptional job for me is not always available to me since a neighbor of mine needs to bring her from Mexico, and that's only 3-4 times a year. And that person, who I do adore, speaks no English, while I know about 3 words of Spanish.A month ago I might not have been as a receptive, for a range of reasons. This week, I was.

The guy of the couple who came to my door knew English better than his wife, and her English was okay, too. So it would be easier, overall, to do business with this couple since we could communicate well, they live 15 minutes north of me in San Diego county, and have their own transportation.

How easy do you make it for your corporate and association buyers to do business with you?

The couple readily gave me three references for their work, immediately accessed in front of me on their iPhone! I contacted the references. Each one of these references, it turns out, has continuously used the services of this couple for several years in their home and business, including giving the couple the keys to their places. Talk about instant credibility.

What testimonials do you have to readily offer your new clients so they feel comfortable about doing business with you?

Oh, and about this conversation regarding the economy, well, there I am, hiring them right now, and their references continuing utilizing their services. What economy?

You have prospective buyers who want what you have, no matter what the economy is doing. More often than not, the investment in your product is less than other promotional avenues your client might take.

So what conversation are you having with yourself that keeps you from thriving in an area that could be viewed as a commodity, in an economy that some though not everyone is struggling?

This young couple not only got me as a new customer. They got several other people in my world as new customers, too, since I have made referrals to other neighbors and friends about how professionally these two people presented themselves and how well their references stood up.

But hey, there's lots of people cleaning homes and businesses today, and who has money for that anyway? That's a story some could tell.

As for your booklets, what's your next step and where?

Until next time,
Paulette - reminding you that you can and will be right about whatever you believe

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Who Does Best Selling Their Booklets?

Many people think it's best to write a booklet based on "what's hot." That will typically be topics like money, foot, kids, weight, sex, pets, or trends or items in the recent news. Yes, there is a continuing demand for those topics, no doubt about it. Strange as it may seem, though, there is no guarantee those will sell any better than a booklet on road safety, better blogging, forgiveness, or model railroading as a hobby.

You may wonder how the heck that's possible. It's actually quite simple. When you have expertise in and enthusiasm for a particular subject, it's easier to "get that all over people" than when you are writing about something you believe to be a popular topic where you have no first-hand experience or passion. Your first-hand experience is likely to also include knowledge of resources who would find your booklet useful for their own (promotional) purposes. You've got a leg-up over the people who are purely doing research as an objective exercise to get the job done. You also have contacts, whether direct or several times removed, to reach the decision makers who will buy your booklets.

So the closest thing to a magic bullet in all of this is to write on what you know. Write on what excites you. You're going to find it so much easier to engage people when you do. Then your biggest challenge will be how quickly you can deliver all those booklets they want to buy!

Until next time,
Paulette - speaking from first-hand experience and observation about all of this for almost 2 decades

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Your (Booklet) Baby Is Ugly

Over the years, I've learned the wisdom in not telling a booklet author their (booklet) baby is ugly. I'll sincerely and authentically congratulate someone on what they accomplished in creating their booklet, and then offer a suggestion about how they can present their good knowledge differently (i.e. better) by seeking the talents of (1) a professional editor, and (2) a professional graphic designer.

These are not extras. These are basic requirements. That is, of course, unless you have zero interest in attracting high quality clients who will pay good money for your products and/or services.

Put yourself in the corporate or bulk buyer's shoes. You receive a booklet, either printed or PDF, that was poorly edited (has typos, run-on sentences, lots of negatives to start the tips, inconsistent writing style, disorganized content, an intro that is only about the author without any benefit statements to the reader, to name a few), and was done by the author in a Word document (amateurish spacing, all Times Roman or Comic Sans font, graphic elements obviously amateurish).

Whether the written word has merit or not, you as the potential buyer are left, at best, with a conflicting impression of the person and their business. Common wisdom dictates that a confused mind says "no." And even if the buyer does make a purchase, it's a strong likelihood you are not coming out as an A-level player that translates into A-level money.

Cutting corners on editing and design is clearly a case of penny wise, pound foolish. You'll find referrals to our editors and graphic designer at: www.tipsbooklets.com/index.php?page=vendors.htm Contact them. Make your baby the best it can be so you reap the biggest rewards that are available to you.

Until next time,
Paulette - eager for you to thrive

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

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Thursday, August 06, 2009

Why a TIPS booklet?

People have periodically asked me if they could do a booklet that has little stories in it or is made up of quotes or poems. They wonder how or if that would work. My answer is yes, it could work just as much as tips work. It's just a completely different intention for the content, though the marketing applications could be the same.

A tips booklet is intended to directly instruct the reader about something. It's not to say stories, quotes, or poems wouldn't be instructional. They are probably a little less direct though. The reader also has a preferred learning style. Some people just want to get right to the point. Others like to be lulled into learning (now that's a turn of a phrase, isn't it?). Yet others are not interested in learning as much as wanting primarily to be entertained or to find some escapism.

The booklets can be sold in bulk as promotional tools for companies and associations just as a tips booklet would be. Many companies and associations buy books of every size and subject to use as gifts and promotional items. So the marketing would be the same no matter what your content.

Like everything else in life, there really isn't one size that fits all. However, my work since 1991 has been all about tips booklets, which are perfect for the "bottom line" kinda person I am.

Until next time,
Paulette - quickly getting to the point

www.CollectionOfExperts.com
www.PublishingProsperity.com
www.tipsbooklets.com
Follow me www.twitter.com/pauletteensign

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Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Licensing Your Booklet and Other Info Products

Want to "rent" your booklet content out, with your client doing the work and paying you for it? Then you'll definitely want to attend this week's special teleclass session I'm presenting on the telephone.

Thursday, August 6, 7:00 pm Eastern

License Your Info Products and Contents to Websites,Companies, and Publications


Paulette Ensign - lecture with Q & A presented as part of www.PublishingProsperity.com

Granting specific rights to use your content or produce your information product is among the least-tapped revenue sources and ways to extend your message within and beyond your country, at 100% profit.

Learn to leverage the material you've already developed by "renting" it out.

Give your client specifically defined non-exclusive rights to:

  • produce your information in the format you've developed it
  • use it in English and/or other languages
  • benefit from downloadable versions
  • re-purpose parts or all of your content in literally endless ways

Discover how you can create it once and make money over and over with your client doing all the work!

Session registration includes mp3 audio recording and PDF text transcript.

Details and Registration



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