Making Money From What You Know
by Paulette EnsignSend this report to me by auto-responder
Everyone has something they want the world to know about.
An informational tips booklet is just one of many ways to
circulate that information. From there, that content can be
recycled over and over and over again into other saleable
formats, all without ever writing another new word of copy.
In the early 1990's when the US economy was in dismal
shape, so was the economy of Organizing Solutions, Inc.,
a speaking and consulting company. On a 'zero budget'
(translation: flat broke!), a tips booklet called, "110 Ideas for
Organizing Your Business Life" was produced. Little did
anyone know that was the beginning of a journey of selling
over 400,000 copies in two languages without spending a
penny on advertising to do it. It actually spurred an entire
new business in the process.
The booklet contents came from things that were said to
clients or to audiences over a period of eight years, all
about getting organized. It was information people wanted
to know, and information that was absorbed well in small
amounts.
To accomplish these sales results, a variety of marketing
methods were used. The first was sending a copy of the booklet
to national publications, inviting them to excerpt from the booklet,
and adding a tag line at the bottom inviting the reader to send a
small amount of money for their own complete copy.
Approximately 15,000 single copies were sold that way. Next,
major corporations were contacted to sell them large quantities
of the booklet, usually for their own promotional purposes, at
large quantity pricing discounts. About 50,000 copies were
sold this way.
Then things started really expanding. Non-exclusive rights to
reprint several hundred thousand copies were sold to a mail
order catalog company. At the same time, a connection was
made online with a marketing company in Italy, who licensed
the contents to create an Italian version of the booklet. Over
100,000 copies of the Italian version were sold to a magazine
who bundled it with one issue of their own publication as a
gift to their subscribers. The booklet contents have also been
licensed into several other languages and other physical
formats.
At one point, a well known American public seminar company
expressed interest in producing an audio program based on the
booklet. The audio set has sold many copies unto itself. That
audio program also triggered a 20-minute interview on the
in-flight audio programming of a major airline for two months,
world-wide. Two companies who each produce laminated
guides also licensed the non-exclusive rights to the contents.
They then produced the product and pay royalties for all units
they sell.
There are still many ways to utilize the tips that were written
just once. They can show up as calendars, coffee mugs,
tee-shirts and any advertising specialty you can think of. They
can be licensed to a company as part of a radio, television or
print campaign, under the banner of "An organizing moment
brought to you by.........(the name of the sponsoring company)."
They could be made into an emroidery design, a poster, a
board game, CD, video, and truly endless other products and
applications.
You most likely already have copy from which to draw. Have
you ever written an article, given a speech or workshop, had
an article written about you, written a book or special report,
done an audio or video? All those formats can be transformed
into informational, bulleted tip format.
By recycling your contents, you will develop products at
different price points and in different formats, thereby always
having a 'yes' answer when someone wants some of what
you've got. You will also be responding to the range of learning
styles of the general population. Having your information in
print, audio, video, small type, larger type, with graphics,
without graphics -- all means you are broadening your appeal
to a wider audience.
The cost for developing products described in this article can
range from zero to a substantial amount, and everything in
between! Whenever possible, have the products developed on
someone else's budget by licensing your contents to them.
You may need to produce a small amount of finished product
first, just for the sake of distributing some well-perceived
samples. Adecision maker will sometimes decide merely from
reviewing a printed or electronic manuscript of your tips.
Regardless of the deals you make with others, be sure to
always keep the copyright in your own possession so you can
continue recycling the material without anyone else's limitation.
So, what do you already know a lot about that you want to share
with the rest of the world? What do you already have that can
be recycled? You are sitting on a gold mine. Your new products
can serve as new profit centers, as marketing tools for your
current business, or both. Go out and get started TODAY!
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Paulette Ensign is the president of Tips Products International,
a division of Organizing Solutions, Inc. Her company's products
and services match your needs and budget with a
manual/video/booklet package and on-phone teleclases for the
do-it-yourselfer, consulting services for those who are interested
in partnering and complete services for the delegator. For more
information about getting started with your own tips booklet,
contact Paulette at: 619-481-0890 voice 619-793-0880 fax
Email: <mailto:booklets@compuserve.com>
On the Web: <http://www.realvoices.com/booklets>
12675 Camino Mira Del Mar #179 San Diego, CA 92130:
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