What do you do when you’re between major personal history projects and your bank account is dwindling? If you’re like me, this can be a stressful time. One solution is to look for smaller projects that can be done relatively easily and quickly to tide you over. Here are a few things I’ve done… Read more
Posted in Business, How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Self-employed, Tips
Tagged Business, cash flow, How to, income, Marketing, Personal historian, self employed, small projects, solutions, Tips
Dollar for dollar, your business card is one of your best forms of advertising. I’ve been looking at my card lately and thinking it’s time for a major makeover. It’s not that it’s terrible. It’s just not memorable. So I’ve been doing a little research on what makes for a great card. I’ve distilled it down to these ten key points… Read more.
Posted in Business, How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Self-employed, Tips
Tagged Business, business card, design tips, Finding, great business cards, How to, Tips
I was in my neighborhood bank today and as I was coming out, I noticed a sign that read “We hope your experience with us today was extremely satisfying”. I thought it a bit odd. Most of my banking is pretty perfunctory. As long as the ATM doesn’t screw up, I’m pretty delighted. But the sign got me thinking. What would make your personal history service extremely satisfying for clients? Here’s what I think…Read more.
Posted in Business, How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Tips
Tagged Business, clients, exceptional service, How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Tips
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?
Begin by checking out your competition. Look at their websites, blogs, and any printed marketing material. Ask yourself, “What can I do that they’re not doing?”
Taking my own advice, I started doing a little research on a few personal history websites. Here’s what I learned.
Generally personal historians do a good job of extolling the virtues of recording life stories. But there are omissions. This means there’s a real opportunity for you to fill the gaps and set your personal history business apart. Here are 8 ways to be unique:
1. Provide a money back guarantee. This provides real comfort for potential clients. It also says that you’re confident about the quality of your work. I’ve had a 100% satisfaction guaranteed label on my home page for three years now and it’s never been a problem.
2. Contribute to your community. Demonstrate your values by listing your volunteer activities. Consider donating a percentage of your profits to a charity that has an obvious connection to life stories such as the Alzheimer’s Association and Reading is Fundamental.
3. Have a toll free number. Prominently display your toll free number on your home page and other marketing materials. The easier it is for potential clients to talk to you, the better the chance of securing that client.
4. Offer free resources. Put together a series of lists and mini-publications like 15 Great Memoirs Written by Women , The 50 Best Life Story Questions, and Come to Your Senses and Unlock Childhood Memories. [Please feel free to use these or other articles from my blog. All I ask is that you duly credit them.]
5. List prices. There’s no getting away from it, price matters. It’s usually the first thing people want to know. Anything that hints at avoidance can lead to suspicion. I know that personal history fees vary widely depending on the scope of a project. But minimally you can indicate a range. For example: Prices range from $300 for a one-hour video interview to $10,000 for a documentary film biography.
6. Go green. Consumers increasingly expect businesses to limit their environmental impact. Being green can set you apart. How do you reduce your carbon footprint? In your office do you use recycled paper, compact fluorescent bulbs or LED lights? Do you drive a fuel efficient car? Is your printing done by an environmentally responsible company?
Consider buying carbon offsets. In Canada one of the top ranked companies is Less. In the United States check out TerraPass . Make sure that your clients know your commitment to the environment is more than talk.
7. Be an expert.Write articles that offer tips and advice. These can be on your own blog or for sites such as EZineArticles.com and About.com. In time you’ll be seen as an expert!
8. Code of Ethics. If you’re a member of the Association of Personal Historians, (If you’re not, you should be 
) you know that you’re expected to adhere to the APH Code of Ethics. It’s simple to add this as a page to your website. Like the money back guarantee it creates a degree of comfort for your clients.
Conclusion
If I were a potential client in search a personal historian, who would I hire?
Over and above the obvious need to hire a personal historian with a high degree of expertise, the nod would go to the person who was not only outstanding but went that extra mile and met the above attributes.
How are you going to make your business stand out this year? Drop me a line. Love to hear from you.
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This is my third annual listing of the best personal history blogs of the year.
I’ve been tougher in my selection this year. Blogs that were either “missing in action” or were visually unappealing or had weak content didn’t make the cut.
My criteria for selection is based on the qualities I wrote about in What Everybody Ought to Know About a Successful Blog. Briefly these are:
This year there are two newcomers to the list: Beth LaMie’s One Story at a Time and Sarah White’s True Stories Well Told.
Special mention also goes to three blogs that show what good personal history blogging can be. If you’re not on this year’s list, check these out for inspiration. The owners know their audience, write great content, post frequently and consistently, and create a visually appealing format. Kudos to The Heart and Craft of Life Writing, Women’s Memoirs, and True Stories Well Told.
Without further ado, here are the top eight personal history blogs for 2011, ranked in alphabetical order. Congratulations to everyone. Drum role, please!
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Photo by Jackie
It’s the end of the year and time for list making. These are the posts from 2011 that were the most popular with readers. If you’ve missed some of them, now’s your chance to catch up over the holidays. Enjoy!
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Posted in Book reviews, Business, Camcorders, Courses, How to, Interviewing, Life stories, Marketing, Memoirs, Personal historian, Publishing, Resources, Tips, Video production
Tagged best, books, Business, family tree maker, genealogy, HD Camcorders, How to, Interviewing, Life stories, life story, Marketing, memoir, Personal historian, personal history, print-on-demand, questions to ask, self-publishing, small business, Tips, videography training, Women's memoirs
You may have seen the inspiring video “Johnny the Bagger”. It’s the true story of how one young man with Down Syndrome changed the experience of grocery shoppers in a simple but profound way…Read more.
Posted in How to, Marketing, Personal historian, Tips
Tagged client appreciation, Down syndrome, gift ideas, Marketing, Personal historian
That’s the question I was asked one day by a personal history client. I muttered something about being too busy and feebly joked about not being able to afford it. As a professional personal historian, it wasn’t my best moment. Why should anyone hire me if I didn’t believe enough in life stories to do my own?
I think as professionals we need to “walk-the-talk”. Would you hire an interior decorator who was uninterested in his own home’s appearance? What about the professional organizer who tells you she never has time to organize her own office? The chances are you’d probably have second thoughts about hiring them.
If we haven’t had our life story told, we can’t talk about the experience in a personal and authentic manner. Imagine, on the other hand, what a powerful selling point to be able to enthusiastically share with a potential client the rewards of having had your own life story documented.
I have a modest proposal. If you’re a professional personal historian and haven’t had your life story told, here’s what to do:
I wonder how many other professional personal historians out there have never had their life stories told? Am I the only one?
Photo by Amarand Agasi
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What do you do when you lose a potential client? A few weeks ago this happened to me. I was disappointed but it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time that I hear the words, “I’m sorry but…”. However, over the years I’ve learned to see this as an opportunity and not as a loss. Let me explain … Read more.
Thanks to all of you who took the time to comment on my articles. Here’s my yearly roundup of the posts that generated the most comments. These aren’t necessarily the articles that received the largest number of viewers but clearly they got people talking.
For those of you who may have missed them, here’s your chance to see what caused the flurry of comments. If you’ve already read them and didn’t comment, it’s not too late to join in the discussion!
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Photo by iStockphoto
Posted in Business, Marketing, Personal historian, Questions, Self-employed, Tips
Tagged Annie Dillard, CUSO, Family, fees, Ghana, Home, Life stories, Marketing, memories, No, Parenting, Personal historian, Questions, self employed, Tips, West Africa
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