Tag: Publishing

Letterhead Design and Desktop Publishing

If you are starting up a business, or trying to upgrade your look and feel, one of the things you have probably considered, or should have considered, is business stationary. There comes a point where sending out letters, bills, and advertisements on blank paper out of your fancy printer just doesn’t cut the cake.

One easy solution is to go to a professional. There, for just an arm and a leg, you can, if you’re lucky, get something really fine. If you’re lucky, and get a pro who also knows how to listen, you’ll actually get something that fits you, and not just their idea of what looks hot or in fashion. But in the computer-heavy world, there is another option.

Desktop publishing is a fancy phrase meaning, You Have The Power. No matter what computer you work with, you can find an easy-to-learn, easy-to-use program that will enable you to design your own headings, stationary, invitations, and general design.

When you start out, you’ll find yourself pushing every button, adding every frill, and generally making some of the ugliest things you can imagine. Calm down. It goes away. Once you have learned what you CAN do, you can start working towards what you can do. Remember that once you’ve bought the software, it’s free, not $500-a-shot, so you can really, and usually quickly, make something that suits your needs and maintains the character of your business.

A couple of tips will, if not make you a professional, at least put you out of the rank amateur category, and feel competent at what you’re doing.

You’re trying to create a feel. Take an idea, and repeat it. The consistency of any one idea will bring everything together. Figure out what is the main idea, and make sure that this remains the focus. Either it should be bigger, or central, or in some way clearly the dominant idea on the page. Other wording should NOT be similar. Your design takes shape by having contrast. Think of how many ways you can contrast the different items on the page. Use size, color, and style of font to focus where you want the focus, and keep the minor information as background.

It doesn’t really matter whether you are trying for a classic look or a creative feel. These principles cross all boundaries. Balance them on one hand, with the image you’re trying to convey on the other, and you can design yourself right onto the map.

For more information on this subject and many others, please visit Stationary Place.

Sam Jordan

The Biggest Blunder You Can Make When Publishing Your Book

A killer headline for your book, sales letter or article can be the most important factor in the success of your product.

Here’s why..

A headline that I used in my first press release worked so well I still use it 12 years later.

Not only will a great headline garner attention, but good publicity can save you thousands of dollars in marketing expenses.

Here’s how I did it…

First I studied publicity. I learned a lot from a guy named Paul Hartunian. He probably has the best course on publicity out there.

Ted Nicholas was also one of my big influences. He was the space ad guy for a long time. That’s where I learned the majority of my space ad stuff.

So, I gave publicity a try with this crazy idea – a science fiction cookbook. Then I wrote a press release.

I followed Paul Hartunian’s format the tee, and I sent that press release out.

I was just inundated!

This was before email, so I mailed it out. I mailed it to radio stations, newspaper.

I still use it. Every year I send these things out. I’ve been doing it for 12 years.

The headline on my press release is, Kids Eat Their Own Faces; Mom’s Laugh Their Heads Off.

There’s a recipe in the book called the Eat Your Face gelatin mold. You can make an exact clone of your face in gelatin and serve it up for the salad course. That’s your Halloween party.

I mailed out about 100 on this first press release. The phone started ringing! It started ringing at five o’clock in the morning.

Just send your press release out first and then when an editor or disc jockey calls you, then you offer to send them your bio sheet and your question and answer sheet.

They think you’re very professional and you’ve done this before and actually you haven’t. You’re still blurry eyed in your pajamas.

I started to get calls, especially from these morning zoo shows on the FM stations. They just thought it was hilarious. They let me talk about my products for five or ten minutes.

Give my 800 number out and my website address and hang up the phone and go check and I got orders pouring in immediately.

A good thing about publicity is that it creates a lot of this marketing…word of mouth, which is the best kind that you can get.

A big upside to all of this is it’s free. You don’t have to pay a nickel. Of course you do want to continue to advertise so you’ve got that one-two punch, especially if you’re going to be on a radio show in Denver.

So, then you buy a little space ad in the Denver Post or something so that a lot of people will see that and say Hey I heard this guy on the radio!

This is how it worked for me.

They would call and say, “Hey, aren’t you the guy with these exploding cakes, or whatever? They called because they heard of me, and they had heard of me because of my publicity.

Remember: If you’re self publishing a book, maximize your investment by seeking out publicity.

Write a press release with an eye-catching headline and send out as many as you can.

If you land on a nationally syndicated radio show, your book may become an overnight success as the show is aired across the country!

Exit mobile version