I’m a “ham” at heart so I love to get in front of an audience, big or small. But when it comes to an important presentation where I know I’ve got to make a good impression, I can feel the pre-presentation jitters creeping in. Over the years I’ve learned some practical steps to calm myself. Try these the next time you’ve got to make a “big” presentation…Read more.
Posted in How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Presentations, Tips
Tagged Business, control nervousness, How to, Personal historian, Presentations, self employed, small business, Tips
Want to give all those blog articles you’ve written a second life? I certainly do.
I’ve assembled 5 online services that allow you to do just that by capturing blog articles and editing them into an e-book.
Here’s my take on these services. I really like Anthologize but it isn’t compatible with blogs like mine that operate on WordPress.com. Ebook Glue downloads your whole blog and doesn’t appear to allow for editing. Papyrus only works with Chrome and Safari browsers and I use Firefox. I didn’t want to download a different browser just to use their program.
This leaves me with two services – BookSmith and Zinepal. Both look relatively easy to use.
I can’t wait to get started on my e-book. What about you?
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Recently I was reading an article by marketing provocateur Seth Godin. In his usual challenging manner he hit the nail on the head.
” The hard part isn’t charging a lot. The hard part is delivering more (in the eye of the recipient) than he paid for…Too often, in the race to charge less, we deliver too little. And in the race to charge more, we forget what it is that people want. They want more. And better.”
This got me thinking. A personal history book or video is a big ticket item for most clients. So what can we do to demonstrate that our clients will get get more than they expected?
Here are some ideas that come to mind:
When you have an initial conversation with a potential client, use words such as investment rather than cost, legacy rather than personal history, gift instead of book or video.
I sometimes use a new car analogy. I point out that as soon as you drive a car off the lot, it begins to depreciate. On the other hand, a Life Story appreciates over time. You can’t say that about many things.
It’s true that “Cousin George” can probably do the book for half the price. But does he have the experience and professional background to do a first-class job?
When people hire me, they know that not only are they getting an experienced professional personal historian but also a former award-winning documentary filmmaker. My work will be better than “Cousin George’s”. At least I hope so. 
Look for ways you can make your qualifications stand out.
There are a number of ways to add extras.
Find those little extras that add more value to your work.
Have one of your beautiful personal history books to showcase your work. The quality will speak for itself. Point out the exceptional archival paper stock and inks that are used. Acquaint clients with the outstanding design elements.
You want to convey the message that these are “Legacy” books that will last for generations.
What clients may not appreciate are the positive feelings that arise with personal histories. It’s not just a book or video.
Parents and children talk about feeling closer to each other after engaging in a life story. Parents are touched by the thoughtfulness of their children undertaking such an endeavor. Still other recipients of a personal history find a new appreciation for their life accomplishments.
A personal history is a connection to the soul.
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Image by iStockphoto
Posted in How to, Life stories, Marketing, Personal historian, Tips
Tagged books, clients, expectations, How much to charge?, How to, legacy, Life stories, life story, Marketing, Personal historian, personal histories, Seth Godin, Tips, value, video
Here are the most popular posts of the past year. If you missed some of these, now’s your chance to find out what attracted others to these articles.
Do you have a favorite article that isn’t on the list? Share it with us here.
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Posted in How to, Interviewing, Marketing, Quotes, Tips, Video production
Tagged 2012, best, Business, family tree maker, favorite, HD Camcorders, How to, Interviewing, Life stories, life story, lists, Marketing, Personal historian, photo scanners, print-on-demand, publishing, questions to ask, quotations, quote, skills, Tips, top, video, videography training, voicemail
In today’s marketplace you’ve got to do more than offer excellent service and product. That’s a given. To separate your small business from all the others offering a similar service you’ve got to be unique and memorable. How do you do that?…Read more.
Marketing strategies assume one size fits all. We’re told that we must network, build referrals, provide items of interest to the media, write newsletters, blog, give presentations, and so on.
News Flash! It doesn’t matter if we know what we’re supposed to do if we don’t like doing it. And not tending to marketing tasks that we’re told are critical can make us feel inept. This can quickly spiral into doing nothing at all…Read more.
Posted in Business, How to, Marketing, Self-employed, Tips
Tagged #1 tip, best approach, Business, extrovert, How to, introvert, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, personality, secret to, small business, Tips
The recent issue of the Journal of Marketing Research examined the correlation between relaxation and consumer spending. It turns out that all things being equal consumers are more willing to pay higher prices if they feel relaxed…Read more.
Posted in How to, Life stories, Marketing, Tips
Tagged Business, client relaxtion, clients, How to, Life stories, Marketing, marketing research, relaxation, Tips
A key factor in whether potential clients will hire us as personal historians is trust. But how to build trust in an introductory meeting?…Read more.
Posted in How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Tips
Tagged ability, Business, clients, How to, Marketing, reliability, selling, Tips, trust, trustworthy, truth
Every time we meet potential clients, we have to prove ourselves. They’re sizing us up and assessing whether we’re the right fit for them. Here’s a cheeky question. Would you hire yourself?…Read more.
Posted in How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Self-employed, Tips
Tagged clients, hire, How to, Life stories, Marketing, Personal historian, personal histories, self-assessment, small business, strengths, Tips, weaknesses
If I were able to go back to when I began as a personal historian, what’s the best advice I could give myself? Here’s what I’d say…Read more.
Posted in Business, How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Resources, Self-employed, Tips
Tagged advice, best, best advice, Business, Business plan, How to, humor, key, Marketing plan, Personal historian, personal history, self employed, small business, Tips
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