17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
17 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Online Publishing For Offline Clients

by Preeti
14 replies
I was just thinking about this idea and wondered..has anybody tried offering online publishing (such as creation of an ebook/video/audio) for offline clients..?

If so, what industry and how did it work out..?

Just something that popped into my mind...
#clients #offline #online #publishing
  • Profile picture of the author ZHammer
    We've offered similar ideas with my company, it was usually tailored to a specific problem we saw with different clients though - not a packaged deal.

    We've done some content creation for a client who was having a hard time knuckling down and writing their own.

    Some of my competition in town provides video creation and promotion for clients as well and they seem to do well with it.

    It's just like any aspect of marketing I think - some people would much rather pay to have someone else do it so that it is off their shoulders and done well. If ebooks, videos, and audios are necessary - the worst that can happen is offering the service and not getting a response - luckily you don't necessarily have to have much prepared in advance to see if there is interest.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5983775].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author zacsmith
    One of my publishing clients is a martial arts school owners association. We publish many, many things with them, ebooks, magazine, newsletters, regular books and audio with transcripts. we handle creative direction for everything, print production, and conversions for online use.

    Most pieces are dual online and offline. All of the single-published work is being doubled online.

    Tremendous SEO for the company, and huge benefits for members, who can access info in many ways.

    It's a complicate workflow, keeping all those versions and formats correct, but worth the effort, and profitable for my company.
    Signature
    Gary Smith, Partner, Wells-Smith Partners
    Your Employee Handbook Personnel Policies for Small Businesses
    Eliminate the barriers to a successful life: How to Create a Happier Life
    Stressful home life?: How to Create a Happier Home
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5983791].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author KingOfContentMarketing
      Originally Posted by zacsmith View Post

      One of my publishing clients is a martial arts school owners association. We publish many, many things with them, ebooks, magazine, newsletters, regular books and audio with transcripts. we handle creative direction for everything, print production, and conversions for online use.

      Most pieces are dual online and offline. All of the single-published work is being doubled online.

      Tremendous SEO for the company, and huge benefits for members, who can access info in many ways.

      It's a complicate workflow, keeping all those versions and formats correct, but worth the effort, and profitable for my company.
      Gary, what software do you use for the offline printing? InDesign?
      Signature
      Marketing is not a battle of products. It is a battle of perceptions.
      - Jack Trout
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6170340].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Preeti
    Thanks Gary and Zhammer for the info...I can see how it would take alot of time to do the content creation but the long term benefits (for both the end client and myself) could be rewarding as well...

    But you're right Zhammer, most of the clients I'm thinking of targeting have already told me that they want to do x, y and z but just don't have the time to do since they're busy in their own company...that's where we come in to help...

    Gary, I wasn't even thinking about associations but what a good potential market for this kind of stuff...they typically have a bunch of offline resources/seminars/training that would translate VERY well online...and like you mentioned, SEO benefits fits in nicely as well..

    Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing!
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5984068].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SkyeFWP
    Hi Preeti

    I bought the Amazon System 2 and whilst that's aimed at publishing books yourself to position you as an authority, it could be used for clients too.

    I can imagine it would be quite lucrative and your client would think you had some amazing contacts to be able to get them "a book deal"
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5984105].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Preeti
    Thanks Skye for the info...I'll definitely check it out! Appreciate your input!
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5985163].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kunle Olomofe
    Originally Posted by Preeti View Post

    I was just thinking about this idea and wondered..has anybody tried offering online publishing (such as creation of an ebook/video/audio) for offline clients..?

    If so, what industry and how did it work out..?

    Just something that popped into my mind...
    Hi Preeti, I have a couple of these clients, in fact it is a married couple who are both would be authors and were thrilled to discover the web related strategies we use to create content for sale rather effortlessly.

    The wife has more time on her hands and seems more passionate about her subject matter so she has made far more headway--though she also needs constant encouragement as I found they get overwhelmed by the amount of tasks needed to be a winner in online content sales.

    So far, I have helped both of them create content worth over 10 hours of material each. The method I used was to sit with each separately and extract the content from them in the form of an interview where I guided them to come up with what I felt their readers would benefit from most as they have so much to say but not sure how to tailor it as we are used to doing online.

    I helped them fashion out chapters, and then flesh out the material by simply letting them talk into a recorder on my PC--which they loved doing by the way since they had my support and weren't left alone doing it on their own--which can often be daunting even for the best speakers and writers.

    The material is then transcribed and they both marveled to see their words in print for the first time so that was humbling and exciting too. Now the wife's book is complete and we're moving to actual publishing--though I encourage physical as well as e-publishing to cover wider markets. The husband's material is in the works and should be ready soon. The wife's web site is completed and already being marketed. She is already learning a whole lot about online marketing herself, the usual stuff we all know and teach... article writing/marketing, forum posting, blogging, blog commenting, SMM... she will soon move to offline promotions as well to get a fully rounded marketing system going. The one downside for them is always the ongoing costs... I can do these things myself without spending money upfront but they have to pay me to find out all the stuff we know and use online so that can be daunting to sell so many different services to them as I simply have to.

    What I've done is put them on a retainer system where I get paid monthly to consult in person, over the phone or via skype for example and I also send them training material electronically with action steps for each week day.

    The wife is in the marital consulting business and her husband is more of a business coach. So varied industries and very interesting to work with both of them. They are very interesting people and that makes the work worthwhile.

    Hope that helps you a little. Let me know if you need more pointers.

    Cheers

    Kunle
    Signature
    Celebrity Marketing Formula - How To Quickly Become A Celebrated Authority In ANY Industry/Niche... Coming Soon.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5986734].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Preeti
      Originally Posted by Kunle Olomofe View Post

      Hi Preeti, I have a couple of these clients, in fact it is a married couple who are both would be authors and were thrilled to discover the web related strategies we use to create content for sale rather effortlessly.

      The wife has more time on her hands and seems more passionate about her subject matter so she has made far more headway--though she also needs constant encouragement as I found they get overwhelmed by the amount of tasks needed to be a winner in online content sales.

      So far, I have helped both of them create content worth over 10 hours of material each. The method I used was to sit with each separately and extract the content from them in the form of an interview where I guided them to come up with what I felt their readers would benefit from most as they have so much to say but not sure how to tailor it as we are used to doing online.

      I helped them fashion out chapters, and then flesh out the material by simply letting them talk into a recorder on my PC--which they loved doing by the way since they had my support and weren't left alone doing it on their own--which can often be daunting even for the best speakers and writers.

      The material is then transcribed and they both marveled to see their words in print for the first time so that was humbling and exciting too. Now the wife's book is complete and we're moving to actual publishing--though I encourage physical as well as e-publishing to cover wider markets. The husband's material is in the works and should be ready soon. The wife's web site is completed and already being marketed. She is already learning a whole lot about online marketing herself, the usual stuff we all know and teach... article writing/marketing, forum posting, blogging, blog commenting, SMM... she will soon move to offline promotions as well to get a fully rounded marketing system going. The one downside for them is always the ongoing costs... I can do these things myself without spending money upfront but they have to pay me to find out all the stuff we know and use online so that can be daunting to sell so many different services to them as I simply have to.

      What I've done is put them on a retainer system where I get paid monthly to consult in person, over the phone or via skype for example and I also send them training material electronically with action steps for each week day.

      The wife is in the marital consulting business and her husband is more of a business coach. So varied industries and very interesting to work with both of them. They are very interesting people and that makes the work worthwhile.

      Hope that helps you a little. Let me know if you need more pointers.

      Cheers

      Kunle
      Kunle, wow, wow, wow! Thank you so much for sharing this..this helps immensely!!!

      I'm sure it must be an exciting time for them..to see their ideas published on paper and soon to be presented to the world..so very awesome! (I love reading and am a total book nerd! lol).

      One question for you: for the weekly tasks, would it be possible if you can on a high-level break them down...? That would be very helpful!

      Sounds like an awesome opportunity..and hey, you can get to learn something about martial counselling/business coaching at the same time!
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5987798].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Kunle Olomofe
        Originally Posted by Preeti View Post

        Kunle, wow, wow, wow! Thank you so much for sharing this..this helps immensely!!!

        I'm sure it must be an exciting time for them..to see their ideas published on paper and soon to be presented to the world..so very awesome! (I love reading and am a total book nerd! lol).

        One question for you: for the weekly tasks, would it be possible if you can on a high-level break them down...? That would be very helpful!

        Sounds like an awesome opportunity..and hey, you can get to learn something about martial counselling/business coaching at the same time!
        Hi Preeti,

        Sorry would have replied much sooner but for some reason my ISP has been acting up since my last post.

        Anyways, you're really welcome. Glad I could help.

        And you're so right about how excited they both are to see their words in print. It's a very exhilarating feeling to able to empower people in this way. I have done it for over 15 years online but that was via my ebooks, now this hands on publishing consulting really does make me tear up when it works...

        I have so far had a little over half a dozen clients like these but only these 2 stuck with the program long term... the others dropped out after getting their content created i.e. recorded... and when it was time to move on... cost and the tasks it entails is what probably chased most of them off, but these are my 2 best self-publishing students/clients so far... I have one more who actually went as far as uploading the book online to be published on demand but has not made a move since then--sad really.

        As for the weekly e-training, it's basically one lesson sent per day via email complete with an action step(s) for that day. Think of an email course tailored specifically to each client so for example, the marriage counsellor gets an email saying... Task # 1--Week # 1--Day # 1: Add A Video To Your Blog... I would then go on to tell her why video helps (helps with SEO, humanizes her, some folks prefer visual learning, broadens her content sharing etc etc--the usual), Task # 2 Week # 1: Day # 2: How To Make An Online Video.. I then tell her how to make a quick, painless video and may even suggest a subject matter or where to get ideas for what will give her audience a kick in the right spot, I give her step-by-step instructions where necessary, what color blouse to wear, software to download to record, kind of cam/web cam to use etc, how to create a script and implement it, etc... If she needs hands-on-training or help that is offered during one of our face-to-face sessions at no extra charge as my time is already billed into the monthly retainer... If she requires services OUTSIDE of all of that, then extra fees are charged for each service.

        I basically work with them like I would do for myself with a daily to do list etc, except they get to do most of the heavy lifting and learn online marketing simultaneously--pretty much a distance learning programme.

        I answer questions during meetings we have once a fortnight and help plan strategy and set goals etc. As I said, all my time is billed hourly so I don't waste anytime baby sitting for no fees. Also much of what I share with Mr. A can be sent to Mrs. A as well with some differences in the specifics.

        I AM considering a fully automated course with non-specifics, but will see how that will work later.

        Hope that answers your request.

        And yes... you're 100% right about the side benefits... I get free marital coaching and free business coaching strategies from an experienced business owner whose been in business for over 25 years. The best part of the day with each of them is how much gratitude they show ME for sharing my experience, ideas etc with them even though I get paid and learn from them too. And I get to build long term relationships with them and also get tons of repeat purchases and referrals to their contacts.

        I would say yes it is a pretty cosy way to make a few bills every month

        All the best,

        Kunle
        Signature
        Celebrity Marketing Formula - How To Quickly Become A Celebrated Authority In ANY Industry/Niche... Coming Soon.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5995809].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author ShayB
          Yep, it's a great biz model to use. Two things I would add:

          1. If you don't have outsourcers, it can be a very labor-intensive biz.

          2. Once you get your first client, it snowballs.

          Good luck!
          Signature
          "Fate protects fools, little children, and ships called Enterprise." ~Commander Riker
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5996082].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Preeti
          Originally Posted by Kunle Olomofe View Post

          Hi Preeti,

          Sorry would have replied much sooner but for some reason my ISP has been acting up since my last post.

          Anyways, you're really welcome. Glad I could help.

          And you're so right about how excited they both are to see their words in print. It's a very exhilarating feeling to able to empower people in this way. I have done it for over 15 years online but that was via my ebooks, now this hands on publishing consulting really does make me tear up when it works...

          I have so far had a little over half a dozen clients like these but only these 2 stuck with the program long term... the others dropped out after getting their content created i.e. recorded... and when it was time to move on... cost and the tasks it entails is what probably chased most of them off, but these are my 2 best self-publishing students/clients so far... I have one more who actually went as far as uploading the book online to be published on demand but has not made a move since then--sad really.

          As for the weekly e-training, it's basically one lesson sent per day via email complete with an action step(s) for that day. Think of an email course tailored specifically to each client so for example, the marriage counsellor gets an email saying... Task # 1--Week # 1--Day # 1: Add A Video To Your Blog... I would then go on to tell her why video helps (helps with SEO, humanizes her, some folks prefer visual learning, broadens her content sharing etc etc--the usual), Task # 2 Week # 1: Day # 2: How To Make An Online Video.. I then tell her how to make a quick, painless video and may even suggest a subject matter or where to get ideas for what will give her audience a kick in the right spot, I give her step-by-step instructions where necessary, what color blouse to wear, software to download to record, kind of cam/web cam to use etc, how to create a script and implement it, etc... If she needs hands-on-training or help that is offered during one of our face-to-face sessions at no extra charge as my time is already billed into the monthly retainer... If she requires services OUTSIDE of all of that, then extra fees are charged for each service.

          I basically work with them like I would do for myself with a daily to do list etc, except they get to do most of the heavy lifting and learn online marketing simultaneously--pretty much a distance learning programme.

          I answer questions during meetings we have once a fortnight and help plan strategy and set goals etc. As I said, all my time is billed hourly so I don't waste anytime baby sitting for no fees. Also much of what I share with Mr. A can be sent to Mrs. A as well with some differences in the specifics.

          I AM considering a fully automated course with non-specifics, but will see how that will work later.

          Hope that answers your request.

          And yes... you're 100% right about the side benefits... I get free marital coaching and free business coaching strategies from an experienced business owner whose been in business for over 25 years. The best part of the day with each of them is how much gratitude they show ME for sharing my experience, ideas etc with them even though I get paid and learn from them too. And I get to build long term relationships with them and also get tons of repeat purchases and referrals to their contacts.

          I would say yes it is a pretty cosy way to make a few bills every month

          All the best,

          Kunle
          Thanks Kunle for such a detailed reply, really appreciate that and yes, it was super helpful!
          Signature
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6005693].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author philipdwyer
    yes, I have seen newsletters sent via email from offline businesses
    Signature
    --
    Philip Dwyer
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5988800].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author zacsmith
    Hey Joe,

    InDesign Mac (the entire print-oriented CS5) is the centerpiece of our production, plus a handful of other specialty programs. From there, I use a custom Acrobat Profile to create good print-ready PDFs, which our our web guy uses to extract some of what he needs. The rest, I send text and layered PS files. The PDFs for marketing campaigns are routed to India, where they are converted to MS Publisher and Apple Pages so members don't have to purchase and use ID. Lastly, PDFs go to the print-on-demand specialist to post to an internal and external website that interfaces with a commercial printer or two.

    So far, CS5 is keeping up with the tech requirement.
    Signature
    Gary Smith, Partner, Wells-Smith Partners
    Your Employee Handbook Personnel Policies for Small Businesses
    Eliminate the barriers to a successful life: How to Create a Happier Life
    Stressful home life?: How to Create a Happier Home
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6171322].message }}

Trending Topics