You may know some details of my booklet story, and, no doubt, certain things stuck with you more than others. For instance, the thing that makes great copy is how many booklets have been sold (over a million) in four languages and various formats without spending a penny on advertising. Every word of that is completely true as stated, without the slightest embellishment.
However, you may not know these details:
* There was one typo in each of the first 50,000 copies sold.
* Month one unwittingly generated a $200 checking account bank fee.
* The first print run had no clean right angles on the cover trim.
* The next several print runs had streaky covers.
* Sales that fell through rarely were about price, content, or production.
* The first large-quantity sale did not include a shipping charge.
* The choice buyers had was "yes or no" - having only one product.
* Years later I learned the Spanish version was a mediocre translation.
* Every sale was a "one-night stand," with nothing to bundle or follow.
These are some of the many things I like to gingerly refer to as learning opportunities. And they are but a few of the highlights of the past 20+ years of being in the booklet business. While I constantly made my best effort to do things right, there were things I simply didn't know... yet. And they were costly lessons in time, money, or both in each and every case. Rest assured that none of the experiences in that list was repeated, ever!
It's not uncommon to hear booklet authors and would-be booklet authors express a desire to do a booklet the "right way." While there is now a trail that's been blazed in the past two decades about many things that work, please know there is no "right way," no one-size-fits-all. Your way will be, well, your way. It may look a bit like how others have done it.
Pieces of it will be the starting point for you. It will be unique, though.
The best and most important advice, like so many other things in life, is to just do it. You'll find your own successes and your own learning opportunities. And you'll find them because of who you are, how you live your life, who your connections are, where you have the willingness to explore, how you've structured your products and services format-wise and price-wise, and many other variables.
Thinking that there is a right way to do this (or lots of other things) is likely to keep you stuck in place, not moving forward, not sharing the best of what you've got and who you are with those who value your knowledge and point of view. While I encourage you to do the very best you can, did you notice that having a typo in the first 50,000 copies didn't stop things from
ultimately reaching well over a million copies sold? What are you waiting for?
ACTION - Start your (next) booklet today, using the basics of what makes sense to you, while considering guidance that's worked for others. Keep in mind that your journey will be unique to you and that your ideas have merit. You will find what's right for you.
"Turn your tips into products, your tips products into moneymakers.TM"
(c) 2012 Paulette Ensign
Paulette Ensign, Tips Products International Founder, never dreamed of selling a million+ copies of her 16-page tips booklet 110 Ideas for Organizing Your Business Life, much less in four languages and various formats without a penny on advertising. She's made a handsome living and cross-country move from New York to San Diego recycling those same 3500 words since 1991. With over forty years' experience worldwide with small businesses, corporations, and professional associations in numerous industries, she and her cat live a mile from the beach, keeping them both young at heart. Learn more at http://www.tipsbooklets.com/ and http://www.associationbooklets.com/
