Booklet Imperfections and Other Truths

Several colleagues have talked about the imperfection of their entrepreneurial efforts over the years, whether it's been imperfect pricing, packaging, client communication, business expansion -- you name it, we have all done it. I absolutely include myself in there, without question. There have been many things I've done imperfectly in the past 18 years of this business, and the many years of other business ventures starting in childhood. And guess what? We're all still here to tell about it. S

So a pricing or product packaging wasn't the best match for a particular product or service. It got changed until it became the best match. There was actually a typo in my booklet, which stayed there in the first 50,000 copies or so that I sold. I could give you many, many examples of imperfection. However, I can also give you lots of examples of things that worked. Maybe it worked the first time out of the shoot on it, or maybe it was after numerous modifications.

That brings me to what's starting next week. I've hand-picked 9 booklet authors from the US and the UK to share with you some things that worked for them in what's called the Booklet Author Success Series.

These folks will tell you some of the happy surprises they encountered in giving away and selling their booklets. You'll want to hear it from them, first-hand. If you can't make the live sessions, sign up anyway. You'll get the transcripts and recordings, and you'll also get the recently revised 4th edition of "How to Promote Your Business with Booklets" as a free bonus.

And, if you're an affiliate of mine, you can actually make money on anyone who comes in on your affiliate link! Go check it out -- NOW!

Until next time,
Paulette - who sometimes seems to specialize in imperfection

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

Overcoming Obstacles with Your Booklet

You have obstacles with your booklet. You may or may not view it that way. However, you do have obstacles. Here's a few that some people have, in no particular order.

• Creating an overall plan for product development
  
• Choosing a topic
• Getting started writing
• Completing the writing you started
  
• Overcoming opinions of people in your life
• Overcoming your opinions of your expertise
• Choosing design and print vendors
• Planning how to market and sell
• Creating a price for single and multiple copies
• Licensing partial, full contents,languages, formats
  
• Reaching your buyers

As you look at that list, there are probably some entries that seem easier to you than others, and that you don't even view as an obstacle. There could be things not included here that are bigger than life for you.

The point of this? Like many things in life, you have choices of what to do yourself, what to outsource to someone else, what order to do things, what to include in your process, how long to take, and, bottom line, how you feel about any of it. What you see as an obstacle, someone else sees as easy or interesting or approachable. Look at that list again and make some choices about what you want to do. Is it an obstacle or an opportunity?

Until next time,
Paulette - with obstacles in different places than yours

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

Pricing Presentation - Booklets and More

There is a psychology to pricing. It is also both an art and a science. Our friend and colleague, Marcia Yudkin, has once again, presented very useful findings on how your sales are impacted by how your pricing is visually presented. See what you think and test it out for yourself.

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                     The Marketing Minute
     by Marcia Yudkin, Marketing Expert and Mentor
            http://www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm

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

A price is a price, right?  Not really, according to Cornell
University researchers, who tested whether restaurant owners
would profit most when menu prices were formatted as $20.00,
20.00 or twenty dollars.

To their surprise, the 20.00 format netted the most, with
customers spending 8 percent more when menus used numerals
to represent prices, minus any dollar signs.

Without the dollar sign or the word "dollars," diners were
apparently reminded least that what they were ordering was
making them a tiny bit poorer.

Specialists in the field of "menu engineering" have also
discovered that menus bring in more revenue when they insert
prices at the end of each small paragraph describing the
item, rather than all lined up in a column that can be
quickly scanned from top to bottom.

Likewise, those who study these things tell us that we
tend to perceive $23 to be less than $23.00.

One more finding:  When looking at menus, we take prices
like $20.00 as indicative of higher quality food than
prices like $19.99.

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

MARKETING COACHING CLUB:  I didn't master marketing through
academic study.  A key element of putting all the pieces
together on my own was listening to recorded "hot seats"
where a marketing wizard or two would apply timeless
principles for getting customers, packaging an offer or
closing the sale to a particular person's project.

You can listen to my own kinder, gentler version of "hot
seats" in a membership program that brings you a Feedback
Feast® on CD each month, along with a second CD where I
interviewed an expert on a related marketing topic.

Whether you look at the price as $37, $37.00 or thirty-seven
dollars, my CD Club is great value for your marketing
education.  Sign up now so you won't miss any months!

http://www.marketingformore.com/cdclub.htm

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

MORE MARCIA...

Marketing Mastery CD Club:
http://www.marketingformore.com/cdclub.htm

Mentoring Program:
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 is about to test these findings, and who is grateful to Marcia Yudkin for her wisdom

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

Importance of Booklets or Paying Good Money Not to Listen

There's been some Tweets on Twitter lately by some people whom I regard highly. They talked about their amazement that clients paid them good money (a lot, in both cases) to talk more than listen during the consulting time, and then didn't implement the tried and tested wisdom the consultant imparted. Yes, it's hugely frustrating for the consultant. I can personally attest to that.

At least two things came to me out of the observation of those comments:

1. Products like tips booklets and other information products are the ideal format of knowledge for those people who would rather talk than listen.

2. The consulting price needs to be even higher to attract the people who truly value what the consultant is sharing and who will do more listening than talking.

Now, those two numbered points above are far from absolute. However, they become good starting points, don't you think? Remember, there's a place here for your comments below.

Until next time,
Paulette - who appreciated the confirmation from those two colleagues

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

Outdated Booklet Pricing

A now-established booklet author told me this week that my booklet pricing suggestions were outdated -- and then went on to express momentary frustration and some anxiety about one prospect thinking the author's prices were too high, and another client having no price resistance at all.

There's a number of elements involved here, in my opinion. This booklet author's content has a different focus than mine. Mine is what's known as "evergreen." It's good no matter what technology or other discoveries have happened. The field of this booklet author in question is constantly changing.

Pricing is an art not a science. Yes, there are certain mark-up formulas that can be and are utilized in wholesale pricing in any industry. However, when you look at the discounting percentages that a half dozen different major publishers use for their bulk pricing, you'll find the quantity breaks varying from one to another.

Yes, the cost of paper, ink, transport and labor have changed a lot since I did my booklet. However, I will unabashedly tell you my profit margin is still quite respectable. There's a lot of variables when it comes to pricing. Entire books (and booklets) are written on this very topic of pricing. Keep in mind what your own purpose is in selling your booklets -- a marketing tool for your other products/services; a revenue stream unto itself; both. In some ways, that dictates your pricing, too.

One of the many great things about having your own business is the ability to make the best choices for yourself, tempered by what your market tells you. And what's even better about having that choice is the ability to change your mind at any point along the way.

Thank you to the author who prompted this blog post today. I appreciate your being among the many readers who frequent this site, and I definitely applaud your success.

Until next time,
Paulette -- who is now momentarily stepping off her soap box
www.tipsbooklets.com

Selling Booklets in Bulk - Who's in Charge?

A new booklet author frantically emailed me about how a prospective large-quantity buyer "hammered" the booklet author for pricing during an initial phone conversation. I felt the author's pain. At the earliest stages of large quantity booklet sales prospecting, it can be a daunting experience for many people. And it's made worse when there's an underlying cash flow issue as a back drop.

The author was concerned about "blowing" the situation after giving a low 5-digit price for a license for the prospect to print an unlimited number of copies within one year. My answer to the author was "If the buyer will pay you that amount, and you need that amount, no, you didn't blow it. You may have left some money on the table, and you can consider that your learning curve. If this deal goes through, you may be able to make it up on future dealings with this buyer."

I would have done it a little differently insofar as granting rights to print a specific amount rather than an unlimited amount. However, the five digit price was still respectable. The thing that seemed to jump out at me was the author's lack of finding out how many the prospect was interested in having. The author was understandably so nervous about the transaction that this point was overlooked. The author lost control of the interaction at that point.

When in doubt, ask questions. That information will give you more grounding and control in moving forward with bulk sales.

Until next time,
Paulette - who remembers doing similar things early on
www.tipsbooklets.com

Pricing Your Booklet

The following query was in this week's issue of a newsletter for professional speakers:

A client wants to buy copies of my booklet for all 300 attendees. It usually sells for $12. I said I would give them a discount, but didn’t say how much. What are people usually doing in instances like this?

My reply:

I saw your query. You're asking a question in which I've had 17 years of experience as my complete business, and have sold over a million copies of my own booklet during that time. First of all, there is no "usually" about this, even when it seems cut and dried wholesale discounting. Your client could be pleased as punch to have as small as a 10% discount off the $12, or be expecting and hoping for a 50% discount.

My suggestion is to view this as part of a larger picture, coming at it from a couple different directions. I'd start with a 10% discount. If your client balks, first ask what price she/he had in mind, and determine in your own mind if there's a reason for you to live with that. If so, one way to finesse a drop in price is to come back to the client with the news that you were able to bundle their order with a larger one for someone else, allowing you to give this client the benefit of the larger print run. In my opinion, this is admittedly a harmless white lie that allows everyone to have what they want.

It's wonderful that you are able to expand your speaking fee with this sale of your booklet. However, 300 copies is a small bulk sale for what's possible out there. I go into this in great detail in my flagship product, "How to Promote Your Business with Booklets," found at http://www.tipsbooklets.com/index.php?page=prodlist.php&p=285&c=12

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Until next time,
Paulette - expanding the pie
www.tipsbooklets.com

Your Price is Too High -- OK, I'll Buy

Do you wonder how this sometimes happens? Rest assured it happens in your business and it happens in mine. Someone spends a lot of time saying how expensive something is, how they aren't making much money to begin with, how their budget just doesn't allow for the expenditure at this time, wondering if there is any leeway in the price, asking if you can give them a payment schedule, and on and on. You respond however you respond, either standing firm or bending. I am more inclined to initially stand firm when this pattern presents itself.

Then, before you know it, either on the phone right then, or a day or two later, or through your website shopping cart or an email or in regular mail, the order comes in.

What the heck happened?? My theory is they came to their senses. I don't mean it as harsh as that, as much as they saw the value in what you have, matched up against what they wanted. Yes, want, not need. People (including thee and me) buy what they want, not necessarily what they need.

They want their promotional campaign to be a success and they decid your booklet would bring them that. They want to increase revenue and they determined your booklet is the bridge to that. Something you said on the phone gave them the courage or confidence to go ahead regardless of their initial reaction to your price.

So in spite of the resistance at the beginning, keep the person engaged so you can hear what they really want. Once you find out what they want, you can give it to them.

Until next time,
Paulette - still amazed, yet appreciative, when this happens
www.tipsbooklets.com

How Much to Charge

This is an unending topic. It is also art not science. So many things go into your pricing decision. I've changed my quantity pricing for booklets at least 4 times in 16 years. Some of it was based in my production costs. More of it had to do with my customers. They told me how much they would pay. Yes, I tested the waters every so often to see where there was resistance. And I made sure the decision was based on more than just one customer's reaction.

Your market will be different than another booklet author's market. Your content is more or less in demand. Your own approach to the prospective client will be different than that of another booklet author. One of you is likely to have more confidence than the other about what your booklet is worth and how that lines up with your customers' perception.

While I offer a range of suggested prices to guide booklet authors, I've heard some far-reaching results reported back to me, completely stretching the norm. When everyone is in agreement, I say good for them! It's what that particular market will bear.

You may decide to charge some multiple of your cost of printing as a starting point. Note, I said printing. The graphic design is generally a one-time expense that makes no sense to include as the basis for your costs ongoing. You may also find that your client literally tells you what they will pay, which you will either accept or reject. That can frequently be more than you were originally expecting to charge them, and can be a pivot point for you to raise your prices.

Pricing is an art, not a science. Charge whatever the market will bear, and test that periodically.

Until next time,
Paulette - who likes to leave as little money on the table as makes sense
www.tipsbooklets.com