Making Money From What You Know
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 500,000 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 was 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 about 20,000 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. A
decision 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!