Making Money From What You Know

Paulette Ensign 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!

About the Author

Paulette Ensign
Tips Products International
12675 Camino Mira Del Mar #179 * San Diego, CA 92130
voice: 858-481-0890 * fax 858-793-0880
Paulette@tipsbooklets.com * http://www.tipsbooklets.com
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