When People Ask Why They Should Buy Your Booklet, How Will You Answer?

You’ve got a fantastic idea for a booklet and you just know it’s going to be a top seller.  Great!  But, you need to ask yourself one question.  Why would anyone want to read your booklet?

What’s In It For Me?

No matter what kind of product a business has on the market, the question people will always ask themselves is “What’s in it for me?”  In other words, they want to know why they should consider purchasing that product.

In the case of your booklet, the answer should be somewhat obvious.  The answer is that your audience is receiving information that they want or need.  Your job is to make sure that the information truly is what they want or need.

Why It’s Not About Price

Most of the time, when a product doesn’t sell it isn’t because of the price – unless it’s too low.  If you price your booklet too low nobody will believe the information inside has any value and they won’t be inclined to buy.

When a product doesn’t sell, it’s usually a marketing issue.  Either the market isn’t interested in the product (because they asked themselves what’s in it for them and they couldn’t get a satisfactory answer), or the company selling the product isn’t marketing it properly.  Both of these issues can be solved with a little research.

Do Your Homework

It’s important to do your homework before you write your booklet.  You must be able to answer the question, “Why should I read your booklet?”  Think of a person from your target market.  Imagine that person in your mind and hear them asking you that question.  What will you tell them?

Whatever your answer is, begin with that and work from there.  As you go you’ll find many reasons why people will want or need your information.  Even after your manuscript is finished and your booklets are printed, you’ll continue to discover answers to this question.  Those answers will help you with both your marketing and writing future booklets.

People have choices when it comes to your booklet.  They can buy it, they can buy something else, and they can buy nothing at all.  By asking yourself why people would want to buy your booklet (as opposed to buying something else or nothing), it helps you create a booklet people will want and you will be able to market it successfully.

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post, please share it on del.ic.ious, StumbleUpon, or the social website of your choice.  Thanks!

How To Get Your Market To Snap Up Your Booklets Like Hotcakes

Do you value your writing?  Do you believe your booklet is or will be of value to someone?  Knowing your work has value is an important step in your getting from an idea to the actual sales of your booklet.  But, there is something that is even more important than what you think about your booklet, and that is what your market thinks of it.

Is Your Booklet Too Personal?

It doesn’t matter how good you think your booklet is, if your market doesn’t think it’s good or doesn’t believe it’s for them, your booklet won’t sell. If you’re writing about a passion you have, and you’re writing about it from a very personal perspective, you may not be able to reach your target audience.

Everyone has their own unique perspective of any given situation or circumstance.  But, we also share some similarities within a given situation or circumstance.

For example, consider two brides preparing for their wedding day.  Each will have unique circumstances regarding what they want and can afford for their wedding, who will attend, the date, time and place for the ceremony, etc.

If you were going to write a booklet about creating the perfect wedding, and you wrote the booklet about your own experience, it might be difficult for your audience to relate.

Make It About Them

Now let’s take our example above and rewrite it from a wider perspective.  Instead of writing about your own experience, you might write that booklet based on your experience, but with alot more wiggle room.

In other words, your bookelt isn’t so tightly written that it’s only about your own narrow perspective.  It leaves room for your audience to come up with ideas of their own and glean something from your writing that’s personal to them.

Your booklet shouldn’t be about your perfect wedding or even your idea of what that should be.  Your booklet should help the bride come up with her own idea of what the perfect wedding is for her. You should give her plenty of food for thought and ideas, perhaps a page or two for writing those thoughts and ideas, maybe some budgeting tips, and ideas for romantic places for having the wedding and/or honeymoon.

The Sad Truth

The wedding booklet example above is an extreme example, but it illustrates the point.  When you create a booklet it should be all about your audience – their needs and wants, not yours.  You may have some wonderful insight regarding your topic, but you must be careful to tailor it to your market rather than writing solely from your own perspective.

That isn’t to say your perspective won’t color your writing.  It will and it should.  You just don’t want it to be so strong that nobody can relate to it.  Nobody cares about your writing more than you do, and the sad truth is that people won’t buy your booklet because it’s good. People will buy your booklet because it’s about them in some way.

Consider the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.  The stories are a work of fiction, and the circumstances were not real, so why were the movies such a hit at the box office?  Yes, marketing did play a huge role in that, but there have been plenty of well marketed movies that didn’t fare so well.  So, what was it?

It was the audience’s ability to relate to the characters.  We may not be going through the exact same circumstances but we feel the same emotions. Watching the main character with his friend, and seeing the bond between them and how courageous they both were gives us hope for our own circumstances.  It’s something we can relate to.

In the same way your audience needs to be able to relate to your booklet.  They must believe it was created just for them. When they do they’ll snap your booklets up like hotcakes!

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on del.ic.ious, StumbleUpon or the social website of your choice.  Thanks!

10 Ideas To Help You Come Out A Winner When You’re Thinking Of Going In A New Direction

What do you do when you have a booklet, or a series of booklets that you’ve been marketing and doing well with, and you want to go in a new direction, creating new booklets for a completely different market?  This can be a tough decision, especially when you’re really passionate about your new idea.  But, it can be done and if it’s handled properly, it can bring in even more riches for you!

Here are some ideas to help you navigate this decision so that you come out a winner!

1) The first thing you must consider is the booklet or booklets you have been doing well with. This is your current income stream and therefore you should continue making this product or products available.  If you don’t, you won’t have the income to bring your new idea to fruition.

2) With your current booklet going like gangbusters, the next thing you should ask yourself is whether your new idea could fit within your current market. This would give you a new product to offer those who already have your other booklets.

3) If your new idea can be marketed to your current audience, that makes your marketing easier.  You already know how to reach this market.

4) Another advantage of being able to sell your new idea to your current market is that since they have bought from you before, it is safe to assume that a majority of them will buy from you again.

5) If your new idea is not marketable to your current audience, for example if your current audience is working mothers and you want to write a booklet for motorcycle enthusiasts, you must consider the amount of time that you have put into your current marketing in order to make and keep it successful. Will marketing to a new audience take away from the successful marketing you’ve been doing already?  And, will you have enough time to devote to marketing your new booklet?

6) Count the cost. Very little marketing is actually free.  Even marketing that might seem to be free will cost you in time.  Can you afford to market to both audiences?

7) If your audiences are vastly different, you probably won’t be able to successfully market your booklets under the same business umbrella.  You may need to create a second business for your new booklets, or you may need to create some kind of division within your current business to accomodate your new passion.

Always look for the simplest, most cost and time effective way to do things. If it’s too complicated, find a way to make it easier.  If you can’t it might not be worth doing.  In the case of your new idea, if it’s going to make things in your business much more complicated, it will end up complicating your life.  Make sure that you can add your new idea to your current schedule of things to do without having to make too many sacrifices long term.

9) Consider your new market. Is it larger than your current one?  Are you likely to gain even greater benefits by marketing to the new market than you are to the old one?

10) How will the new market enrich and enlarge your business overall?

When you take these things into consideration, you’ll be well on your way to making the best possible decision as to whether you should pursue your new interest now or wait until a later time, and the best way to go about it.

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on del.ic.ious or StumbleUpon, or the social website of your choice.  Thanks!

There’s A Fortune In Your Story – Are You Telling Yours?

People buy the things they do for a number of reasons.  One of those reasons is that the company making the sale knows how to tell a good story.

Although your booklet is probably a work of non-fiction, you still need to be able to tell a good story.  Stories are what capture people’s interest.  Stories also give people a way to connect with your booklet.

The Betty Crocker Story

One of the most famous stories is that of Betty Crocker.  Betty Crocker is not and has never been a real person.  She is the fabrication of General Mills.  Her birth came about as the result of a clever marketing ploy.  The company asked people to fill in a crossword puzzle and send it to them for a promotional item – a small pin cushion that resembled a bag of flour.

Along with the completed crossword puzzles, the company also received letters asking for cooking advice.  The company’s advertising director decided to answer the letters, but he felt a little uneasy about signing his own name to them.  Why should housewives listen to him?  So, he came up with the pseudonym Betty Crocker, and the rest as they say, is history.

Betty Crocker went on to become one of the most famous advertising icons the world has ever seen.  She was, back in the 1930’s – 1950’s, the Dear Abby of her day, answering not only questions about cooking, but also about budgeting and even dating.  She created a story behind the cookbooks, and for a while even had her own radio show.  Today the name Betty Crocker presents a wholesome image of a mother preparing nutritious meals for her family – meals that are made with love.

Kiehl’s – A True Story

Not all stories are created.  Some stories are true.  Kiehl’s is one company that tells a true story.  Established in 1851, Kiehl’s creates natural skin and hair care products.  Their story is simply that they are a historical, family founded store that is dedicated to quality and customer service.  Their website has a historical feel to it which lends itself well to that feeling of nostalgia and tells you this is something special.

If you would like to see the Kiehl’s website for yourself, you can visit it at http://www.kiehls.com.

Stories And Booklets

Just like Betty Crocker and Kiehl’s, you need a story for your booklet.  If you’re writing non-fiction, your story should probably be true, and should reflect your reason for writing the booklet.

For example, if you’re writing a booklet about weight loss, your story might be that the ideas in the booklet helped you lose 50 pounds in 16 weeks.  Or, if your booklet is about traveling on a tight budget, your story might be about how you have traveled to exotic destinations for a mere fraction of the normal cost.

Your story doesn’t have to be elaborate.  It just needs to be believable and it needs to relate to your booklet.  People will look for a way to connect with your booklet.  If they make a strong connection, if they feel something about your story, they are much more likely to buy.  If not, they’ll be onto the next thing.

There’s a fortune in your story.  Make sure you tell a good one!

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post, please share it on del.ic.ious, StumbleUpon, or the social network of your choice.  Thanks!

The 2012 Goldmine – Will You Cash In?

Trends present a huge opportunity for anyone in any media to cash in big.  This includes authors and writers across the spectrum.  The 2012 thought movement is a mega trend.  Whether you believe catastrophic events will occur in 2012 or not, the fact is that many people do.  In fact, the 2012 thought movement is a global trend of thinking which makes it a huge, ripe market that is right here, right now.

The 2012 Phenomenon

What is a trend and what makes 2012 such a mega trend?  A trend is simply something that is popular among a group of people, such as teenagers.  A mega trend is something that is popular on a global level, or across a huge spectrum of the population.

2012 has become a mega trend for two basic reasons.  First, it is promoted by the media. You see it everywhere – online, in bookstores, on magazine covers, and very shortly you’ll even be able to see it in the theater.

Why is 2012 being so heavily promoted?  Because the media know the value of taking a good trend and turning it into a mega trend or a phenomenon.  And what works for the mainstream media can often be scaled down to work for booklet authors!

The second reason 2012 is such a mega trend has to do with human curiosity, fear and our love of a good story.  2012 is in the future.  Since it isn’t here yet there’s no way to know exactly what will happen or how things will play out that year on a global scale.  This leaves plenty of room for fear tactics as well as good story telling about events that might occur.

It’s Been Done Before

2012 isn’t the first global trend the media has recognized as being prime material for exploitation.  Do you remember Y2K?  That event ushered in another global trend of thought – one which the media was able to expand and cash in on.

So many people are talking about 2012 now that the media’s job has gotten easier.  The media may have started the fire, but word of mouth is fanning the flames.  All the media needs to do now is add some new, hot information to the fire every once in a while.

You Are Part Of The Media Too

In a sense, you are part of the media.  All media does is bring information to the public.  You do this too, with your booklet.  Movie producers do this with their films.  Blog owners do this with their blog posts.  There are many different forms of media.

When you see a trend happening, such as 2012, and you see other forms of media tying into it, that’s a good clue that you should tie your booklet into it too if you possibly can.

Your booklet doesn’t need to be specifically about 2012 or events or prophecies tied to it.  Your booklet might have value in another way.  The trick is to be creative and ask yourself how your booklet might tie into the trend.

A good way to come up with ideas is to study the 2012 phenomenon and learn a little more about what people think about it.  Another thing to do is watch the media and see what they tie into it. Even your local news may occasionally mention it.

Watch the magazines on the news stands and the books that come out in your local bookstore.  All of these things will give you clues as to what people are thinking on a global scale, as well as spark some creative ideas in you for tying your booklet into the 2012 phenomenon.

2012 is really a goldmine for you as a booklet author.  It’s just a matter of doing a little digging to find the right vein.  Will you cash in?

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post.  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post, please share it on del.ic.ious or StumbleUpon or the socail website of your choice.  Thanks!

How To Sell Your Booklets By The Truckload Without Printing A Single Hard Copy

Have you been wondering how to sell your booklet to quantity buyers once it’s finished?  Are you concerned about the cost of printing hard copies?  Then, this post is for you!

Why Printed Hard Copies Aren’t Necessary

You don’t ever have to print a single hard copy of your booklet unless you want to or you make a deal to do so.  In fact, you don’t even have to produce your booklet beyond your manuscript to make a sale.

It is entirely possible to sell your finished (and by finished I mean completely polished) manuscript to a quantity buyer and let them go through the production and printing process as part of the deal.

This means all you have to do is write your manuscript and make sure it is grammatically correct and polished, ready for printing.   This gives you the advantage of not having to pay for production, and it gives the buyer the advantage of being able to produce the booklet in a way that is acceptable to them, and for probably far less than they could purchase printed hard copies from you.  It’s win win.

Who Will Buy Your Booklet By The Truckload?

Now that you know you don’t have to produce hard copies, you are probably wondering who to sell your manuscript to.  Who would buy your manuscript and print thousands of copies?  The answer lies with the subject of your booklet.

Your booklet’s subject should be targeted to a particular market.  For example, your booklet might be written to dog lovers, or women over 40 going through menopause, or parents of an only child.  Whoever your booklet is written to, that is your market.  All you need to do is find charities or businesses or corporations who are trying to reach the same market you are, and you’ve got a match for your booklet.

Putting It All Together

Your booklet doesn’t need to be completely produced and printed in order to be a product.  Your manuscript can stand alone as a product.  All you need to do is match that manuscript to the right organization and you could receive a big, fat check in the mail!

Nothing could be simpler!  There’s nothing to produce or print for you, and the organization who makes the purchase gets to create a product from your manuscript to their specifications.  And, since large companies often have in-house printing, they save a bundle of money on their printing costs.  Everyone wins!

Now the only question is how many organizations can you find to match your booklet to?

To your riches,

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on del.ic.ious, StumbleUpon, or the social website of your choice!  Thanks!

12 Advantages Booklets Have Over Other Holiday Promotions To Help You Make The Sale

The holidays are just around the corner once again, and booklets make a fantastic holiday promotion.  There are literally an untold number of ways that a company might use your booklet to promote their company, their brand or their merchandise.  Sometimes a company will have their own ideas, and other times they’ll need a suggestion or two from you to get them thinking in the right direction about what’s possible.

While booklets have a number of uses, they also have a number of advantages over other promotional items a company might use.  Below is a list of advantages you might want to consider telling your large quantity prospects about this holiday season.

1) Booklets cost little to mail and can easily be slipped into an envelope along with promotional offers from the company.

2) Your booklet can be customized with the company’s name, contact information and logo.  Customization is HUGE because it keeps that company’s name in front of their customers.  More companies are seeing the advantage of customization than ever, so being able to offer them an inexpensive promotional item that can be customized will work in your favor as well as theirs.

3) The holidays are a time for giving, and booklets make a a great, inexpensive give-a-way.  They can be slipped into a bag with a purchase, placed into a basket on the counter for people to take one on their own, or mailed.

4) Booklets have a high perceived value as compared to other promotional items such as pens.

5) Booklets are retained longer than other promotional products.  This means the company’s name (when the booklet is customized) stays in front of the customer longer.

6) Booklets are more likely to be shared with the recipient’s circle of influence, giving more impressions (views of the customized message) per booklet than for other promotional items.

7) Booklets are unique.  Chances are the company’s competition won’t be giving booklets away if they’re giving anything away at all.  And, even if they were, it wouldn’t be the same booklet.

It’s easy to add promotional offers to a booklet.  A coupon or special offer can easily be added to the last page or even the back cover.

9) A booklet, with the author’s permission, can be used in part rather than given away as a whole.  This allows a company to use some of the material from the booklet for other projects such as calendars or T-shirts.  You can’t do this with a pen or flashlight!

10) A company can accept a booklet as is, or request changes be made to suit them.  These  changes might include asking for the cover colors to be changed to match their logo, changing a photo on the cover, adding their phone number to the bottom of every inside page, adding additional information to the inside or cover of the booklet, or removing information from the booklet.

11) Booklets make great stocking stuffers or can be slipped under the ribbon on a gift.  Some companies might want to emphasize this to their customers, while other companies might give the booklet to employees either as a gift or as part of a gift.

12) A booklet can fit into an envelope along with the holiday bonus checks they give out.  It’s just a little something extra to say thanks to their employees.

The number of companies using promotional products during the holiday season grows every year.  Why not help them to see the advantages of using your booklet as opposed to another product?  If they’re going to buy a promotional product to give away, it might as well be yours!

To your riches,

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on del.ic.ious, StumbleUpon, or another social website of your choice.  Thanks!

Marketing Made Simple

When most booklet authors begin their booklet adventure, they get excited about the writing.  They have a message burning inside them that they can’t wait to get out.  But, after their manuscript is finished and production is complete, it quickly begins to sink in that the next step in the process is marketing – something most authors fear and would rather avoid.  But, marketing doesn’t have to be scary or difficult.

Why The Corporate Example Is A Bad One

Most people think that marketing is difficult and costs alot of money.  And, if you’re a corporate player it is and it does, but not because it has to be that way.

Most corporations pour millions of dollars into ideas that don’t work.  This is not the way you want to market your booklet.  First, because you probably don’t have the funds, and second, because marketing that doesn’t work is a waste of time.

Corporations will use top marketing companies to get their message out to the public.  But, these top marketing companies aren’t interested in getting results for the corporations who hire them.  The corporations will pay them regardless of the results of the marketing company’s efforts.

What the marketing companies are really after is accolades and awards within their industry.  This helps them to stand out as the best and get more big corporate jobs.  It’s an endless cycle that costs billions within the corporate industry, and gives very little in return.

What Marketing Is

Every time you mention your booklet to someone, you are marketing.  And, whenever someone who has purchased your booklet tells someone else about it, they are marketing for you.  All marketing really is, is telling others that your booklet is available.  It’s letting others know your product exists.

Your marketing should be a natural outpouring of your enthusiasm for your booklet.  It should be a daily process.  Marketing is more like a never ending journey, with alot of twists and turns, than it is a quick plane trip to a destination.  It is something you should be constantly and continually working on.

Keep It Simple

Marketing should never be a complicated process.  You want your marketing to be simple so that it is easy for you to do.  Anything that is too difficult or costly should not be included in your marketing methods.

Your marketing should also be effective – that is, it should result in sales for you.  If it doesn’t, you’re wasting your time and any money you do spend on your marketing efforts.  Any ineffective marketing tactics should either be re-vamped or thrown out.

Marketing should never be complicated, difficult or costly for you.  Think of all the different ways you tell people about your booklet and what you do.  That is marketing.  And, if you are passionate about your creation (and you should be), you will be a successful marketer.  Passion = sharing with others = sales.

To your riches!

Kim

PS:  Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  And, if you like this post, please share it on del.ic.ious, StumbleUpon or another social website of your choice.  Thanks!

Marketing Your Booklet – 15 Reasons People Buy

The reasons people buy are as varied as the people themselves.  But, there are some commonalities that hold true for just about all individuals.  Here are 15 reasons people buy.  Consider them carefully as you create and market your booklet!

1)  Want. You can buy a cheap pair of shoes at your local Wal-Mart or Payless Shoe Source.  So, why do you buy the expensive Nikes from Nordstrom?  You need shoes, but you want Nikes.

2) Need. One of the biggest needs we have today is information.  We need information we can assimilate into our minds very quickly.  This is why booklets are such an advantage over books.  Few people have the time or patience to read books anymore.

3)  Status. Why do you want those nikes instead of the cheaper brand?  Because it’s a status symbol.  It tells everyone that you are somebody.  Information can elevate status or the perception of it – yet another plus for your booklet.

4)  Membership Or Sense Of Belonging. Have you ever joined a group and felt like an outsider because you were new and didn’t always know what other group members were talking about?  What if you could get your hands on some information that would let you talk with the others like a real insider, as if you had been a part of the group for years? What if you could read a small booklet that explained some of that inside terminology?

5)  Make Money. If your booklet can help people make money, you’ve got a winner!

6)  Save Money. This is almost as good as making money.  Almost.

7)  Save Time. Why reinvent the wheel?

8)  Achieve A Goal. Better health and weight loss come to mind.

9)  Attract Men or Women. Singles are a large market, and they’ll buy almost any product they think will help them in this endeavor.

10)  Protection of Home, Family or Possessions. This is why people buy fire and burglur alarms.  It might also be why they’ll buy your booklet if it contains related information.

11)  To Escape Something. Back pain?  The 9 – 5 rate race?

12)  Entertainment. People like to be entertained.  Is your booklet funny?  Does it present information in a way that is entertaining?  Does it help people to entertain, or to enjoy something?

13)  Gift. Your booklet might be the perfect gift in and of itself, or it might go along with something else to complete a gift.  There are many holidays on which gifts are given, as well as for other reasons such as birthdays, as a reward for an achievement, or just because the giver wants to be remembered.

14)  Impulse. It was there, the price was right and it seemed like a good idea at the time.

15)  Convenience. It was easier to get than a competing product.

To your riches,

Kim

PS: Don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single, important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!  Also, if you like this post please share it on del.ic.ious, StumbleUpon, or another social website of your choice.  Thanks!

An Easy Way To Make A Sales Pitch

Have you created more than one booklet?  Do you have a series of booklets, or several related titles?  Would you like an easy way to tell others about them?  Why not create a booklet about your booklets?

Your booklet about your booklets would be like a mini catalog.  You might have a small photo of each booklet inside, and a short write up about each one.  You could also include other information, such as comments from important reviewers or customers who have purchased from you in the past.  And of course, you’ll also want to include ordering information.

Creating a booklet of all your titles allows you to have something in hand to give to people when they ask you what you do.  It also shows people, at a glance, exactly what you have to offer.  When you meet people face to face, if you simply give them a website address, chances are they’ll never go to that website.  But, hand them a booklet and they’ll look through it – especially if your titles are of interest to them.

Haven’t written more than one booklet yet?  Scale this idea down and do a simple flyer, with all the same information you would put in your mini catalog.

Having information to hand to people allows you to tell them exactly what you want to about your booklets and your business.  Often, you’ll find you’re caught on the spot and you only have a few seconds to get someone’s attention and interest.  When you create a booklet about your booklets, or a flyer, you have the opportunity to sit down and think about what you want to say to people about how your booklet can help them and why they should buy it.

The next time you have to think fast on your feet – don’t.  Hand them a booklet or flyer instead.  They can read it at their leisure, and you’ll get to make a sales pitch instead of an elevator speech.

To your riches!

Kim

PS: Like this post?  Please share it on del.icio.us or StumbleUpon.  And don’t forget to click on one of the links at the top right of this page to subscribe so you never miss a single important post!  Remember, it only takes one idea to start the riches flowing to you!