Our team recently provided branding and publishing for speaker Brian Dennis. We guided Brian through the process of self-publishing his second book while at the same time created his brand, built his website and designed his marketing toolkit within a 4 month period. The expedited schedule was precipitated on an important upcoming speaking opportunity for Brian. My publishing team members edited his book, designed the book interior, finished the cover, converted it into an ebook and uploaded the files to Kindle, Barnes & Noble and Apple within 3 months. Meanwhile, other members of my team created his brand and marketing toolkit with a new…
New speakers often ask me how to write a speaker one-sheet. This is a good question since the speaker one-sheet is an important component of a marketing toolkit. One of the most valuable members of my team is editor Barbara McNichol, who is a whiz at writing and editing speaker one-sheets. Long ago she shared with me the crucial questions you must answer before composing the content and headlines for your speaker one-sheet. Answers to the following questions will help you write a speaker one-sheet introductory paragraph and hook: What are the key problems you can solve? Exactly what do you do? (One sentence only – this is…
I’ve compiled a list of typical items a speaker may include in their speaker media kit. These items may also go on the “media” page of a website. Meeting and event planners should be able to easily download these items from the media page. A press kit can be electronic (a multiple-page PDF file), or printed and placed in an attractive folder with a logo, photo or graphic on the front. The PDF file should have an attractive cover page too. Some of these items can be compiled into a speaker one-sheet which should be made into a PDF file…
Spotlight on a Client Project: Building a New Brand Last year our team designed Julia Spencer’s award-winning book, Looking Through a Key Hole. The memoir is about her challenges with severe and progressive vision loss. She relies on her Seeing Eye guide dog, Irene, for independence. Since self-publishing her book, Julia’s speaking business has grown so she needed to clarify her brand and update her marketing materials. Julia asked for our help with creating a tag line and updating her website and speaker one sheet. Team lead, Patrice Rhoades-Baum – who is our branding expert – helped Julia nail her brand and created…
How do professional designers effectively use color to enhance book covers? Vibrant colors can enhance book cover design and add an exciting dimension to your marketing materials, but no one has to tell you 4-color graphics cost a lot more to print than black and white or 2-color graphics. How do you determine when it’s cost effective to go the distance and get full color? In my experience, items such as book covers and DVD/CD packages need to sell themselves on appearance alone. Often impulse buys, these items merit vibrant colors and attention-grabbing graphics or they fade away on the…
You meet someone who could hire you for your expertise and services. In the spirit of getting to know you, that decision-maker asks, “What do you speak about?” or “How do you help organizations?” or “Which groups have you worked with?” These questions become your opening to convey how you assist people and why you’re the one experienced to do so. That’s exactly what a speaker one-sheet does, too. To convey that you’re a “must-have” expert, your speaker one-sheet needs to be written and designed effectively. Your Speaker One-Sheet Answers Key Questions Your speaker one-sheet, in effect, succinctly answers these…
A flyer is an inexpensive and highly effective way to grab attention in a very busy marketplace. How do you create an eye-catching flyer that will stand out in the crowd? Here are 10 techniques that professional designers use to make flyers “pop.” 1. Write a snappy headline or title Make it memorable, unusual or provocative using a few carefully chosen powerful words. Popular titles contain one or more of these words: Easy, The Secrets to, Unlock, Finally, Insider, Time Sensitive, How to, Free Bonuses, Now You Can, Discover, Proven. 2. Use colorful or striking graphics to create an eye-catching flyer One…
They’re the workhorses of any speaker marketing program. They hit the streets for you, and they’ve got muscle. Everything you want someone to know about your expertise and services — all in one place. So if you don’t have one . . . you’ve got to get one! Picture this. You take the time to get involved in various networking groups — or maybe you do some cold calling — or maybe you happen to meet someone who may have a genuine need for a person just like you. So now what? Well, there’s a simple and effective way to…