Marketing

Fundraising – Premiums

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Fundraising is a critical part of any non-profit’s functioning. Without it, all the dedication and inspiration in the world can come to naught if the funds to back your efforts are not there.

One tool in the fundraiser’s toolbox is premiums. They can be included in a donor or cold mailing, or a simple mailing can be designed around them.

Pictured is a fridge magnet I created for a humane organization I worked for, included in both a donor and cold mailing. While pet parents likely have this information in their phones, others such as pet sitters, firefighters, and neighbors may not. In case of emergency, having this information easily accessible could save a pet’s life.

A magnet is just one possibility for a premium; other possibilities include bookmarks, seed packets, key chains, etc. What are your fundraising needs? As a graphic designer who has fund-raised in the non-profit field for 30+ years, I’d be happy to help you come up with premiums or entire programs to support your wonderful efforts.

Questions? Please contact me.

Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing — Which Way to Go?

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There are often two schools of thought on this, and there are two very different processes. In the end, there is the same product, a book that you have invested a great deal of time in writing, possibly illustrating, and a significant part of your heart. So how do you know which way to go?

In my talk, “Self-Publishing Children’s Books 101”, I introduce the numerous concepts and responsibilities involved in producing your own picture book. This gives you a solid starting point for further investigation.

I also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of going the traditional or self-publishing route. Here are a few questions you may want to ask yourself before embarking on your publishing journey.

  • Why are you writing your book? Do you want to reach a very broad audience or perhaps a smaller niche group of readers? Traditional publishers will reach the broadest audience, but also look for more mainstream subjects.
  • Is it important for your book to be in bookstores and libraries, as well as online? If yes, a traditional route may serve you better.
  • How much control would you like? If you have a strong vision of exactly how you want the illustrations, cover, and design, etc. to appear, self-publishing may be for you.
  • How much responsibility do you want to take for every aspect of the book’s journey – from writing, editing, design, illustration, marketing, and finding the people who will help you with these skills or learning them yourself? This speaks self-publishing; a traditional publisher will take care of all these for you.
  • How much financial investment do you wish to make? This is simply reality. If you self-publish, you will be paying for illustrators and designers to help you as well as the cost of printing the book. In today’s market, this will run several thousand dollars or more. There are no real out-of-pocket expenses involved in traditional publishing.
  • How patient are you? Querying agents and those publishers that are still open to submissions involves both research and generally, long waits to hear back. Want your book out there right away? Self-publishing is the way to go.

These are just some of the points you may want to consider. Hopefully, I’ve got you thinking about options for your upcoming children’s book. Do your homework, and read and research thoroughly!

If I can give a presentation on “Self-Publishing Children’s Books 101” at your library, school, or other venue, please contact me.

What Exactly Is A Dummy?

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Despite the name sounding potentially derogatory, a dummy is nothing more than a mock-up of the picture book you are working on. It’s a useful tool for several reasons:

  • helping you improve your manuscript
  • helping your illustrator have an idea of what she/he will need to do in terms of art and allowing space for text
  • and/or having something concrete to show agents or editors, especially if you wish to illustrate your own MS (manuscript)

A dummy will generally have the same amount of pages as a standard 32-page picture book, and can easily be made from paper, just like a miniature book. But … your dummy can also be created digitally, depending on your level of expertise and the ultimate goal of the dummy.

You will need to understand what appears on each page in a standard children’s book, such as title page, publisher’s information, etc., so you will know how and where to place your text and what illustrations might go on what pages. The beauty of a dummy is that you don’t need to know how to draw to create one; stick figures work!

This is a sample page from one of my own dummies. As an artist and graphic designer, it is more complex than yours may need to be, but contains the elements you want – a two page spread, an indication of what the illustration might look like, and where the type (text) will fall.

I suggest you take out a few current 32-page picture books from the library or use your own as reference, and create a first dummy for yourself. Paper, scissors, glue stick, and a pencil or two and your final manuscript, and go play. See what your picture book might look like! The exercise, at the very least, will show you where your story can be improved.

You can also check my online calendar to see when I am giving workshops near you. (Right now, I’m in western NJ and eastern PA,)

New Self-Publishing Workshop

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Self-publishing one’s own children’s book has great appeal, but it’s not quite as simple as it seems. A most important question — what is your purpose in self-publishing?

If you wish to have a lovely book to read to the kids, grandkids, or your students, the journey may be fairly simple, and not terribly expensive. But if your goal is to compete with traditionally published books, and you truly want your book to sell, then your investment in both time and money may be more than you suspect.

I cover all this in my upcoming in-person workshop – Self-Publishing Children’s Books 101 – at the Stewartsville Public Library on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 6-7:30 pm. Registration opens October 4.

I’ll be covering the following topics:

  • Why Publish?
  • Your idea – coming up with what will sell
  • Your story
  • Dummy
  • Illustration
  • Book design
  • Traditional vs. Self-Publishing
  • Q and A

If you’re in the neighborhood, please come and learn about self-publishing! For information about how I help people self-publish, please check out the tab on Self-Publishing above, or do a Search for the many articles I’ve written on this subject.

If I can help you self-publish, please contact me.

Be Remembered

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We are often in a situation when you want to give the person you’re speaking with something to remember you by. Even in our digital age, print has a place.

Above you see three projects I recently completed for a client. Dr. Silverstein is expanding the promotion of her business and needed a new business card, but first she needed something else … a new logo. The new logo I created is now incorporated nicely into her new business card and other promotional avenues.

My client’s first book is being published this September. I was happy to research just the right images and design a bookmark that lets potential readers/purchasers know all about it.

A bookmark should always be tucked into your book at every possible opportunity, but also given out freely to anyone with whom you discuss your book. It easily becomes your best and simplest advertising promotion. You are, after all, talking to readers! Use a business card when you discuss the nature of your business for something that easily tucks into a pocket.

Good design is how they’ll remember you. If I can help you be remembered, please contact me.

Much More than Just Being Printed

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To be realistic, self-publishing a children’s book is a lot of work. Depending upon what talents you bring to the table yourself, it also involves a lot of coordination of other people – an editor, if needed, an illustrator, and a graphic designer, at the least.

But getting the book finished and to press is only one part of the work. You still have to market your book! This is something you want to do for a traditionally published book as well, in addition to the publisher promoting you.

Some of the promotion needs to be ahead of the book’s release, and some after, but the bottom line is if you want your book to sell, be prepared to market it.

There’s plenty of in-depth information online about how to market, so here, I’m, going to offer you a few ideas that you might want to look into.

  • Reviews – if you want reviews, send your book in whatever format is required to reviewers in advance of the release. For some, like Kirkus, you will need to pay for a review. But you can also research bloggers who specialize in the genre, age-group and/or subject matter of your book and request online reviews.
  • Bookmarks – have these designed, printed, and ready to use in any of your promotions/mailings and to share with people you meet.You’ll also want to tuck a bookmark into each book you sell.
  • Press releases – these can be sent to local or national publications, aligned with your book’s subject matter, if appropriate. Be prepared to send PDFs by email or hard copies, whatever they require.
  • Events – look for events coming up where you and your book will be a good fit – book fairs, author events, or aligned fields of interest.
  • School visits – research and approach the schools in your area and further afield where you’re willing to travel to see if you might do school visits, and prepare to do presentations.
  • Book launch/book signings – ask your local bookstore or other similar venue if they would host you and a book signing.
  • Special mailings – reach out to organizations aligned with your subject matter and who might be willing to carry your book.

Keep in mind that, while self-published books have gained in both popularity and recognition, they are still not always accepted as the equivalent of a traditionally published book. Marketing is essential to sell books, so be prepared to learn and take the steps necessary to see your books in children’s hands!

Above, you see numerous ways I have been promoting my own picture book, Where Do Butterflies Go at Night?. I’ve sent a postcard mailing to butterfly gardens, a letter to local schools, am attending a crafts fair (again) with my book, making school visits, and very importantly, I designed my bookmarks which I give out every chance I get!

How can I help you? Please contact me, and let me know!

p.s. Where Do Butterflies Go at Night? is available at select book stores and everywhere books are sold online.

Promoting Your Children’s Book

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There are many ways to promote a book, but some are a little more spectacular than others.

Pictured here is my debut picture book, “Where Do Butterflies Go at Night?” The artwork by illustrator Stella Maris-Mongodi is so rich, and truly magical.

I wanted to capitalize on that and get the book’s image, plus information about it, into the hands of those who would want to sell it – butterfly gardens and conservatories. And what better way than to send it to them?

I created a postcard for a mailing – a perfect 5 x 7″ size that won’t get lost in the incoming mail; have done some research; and have a list of these organizations to send to. The plus with this book is that it also has back matter addressing the importance of butterflies as pollinators. Something a butterfly conservatory may want to share with its patrons by way of education.

Digital promotion is very important, of course, but it’s much easier to ignore and delete an email than it is to toss away a gorgeous piece of art in your hands. A piece of art that may also bring an organization more money.

If I can help you promote your book, please let me know.

Self-Publishing VII – More on Illustration

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Let’s take a moment to talk about the importance of illustration – good illustration – when self-publishing your book.

Here is an example of spectacular illustration, and I can proudly say that this – Where Do Butterflies Go at Night? – is my own debut picture book, and yes, it is traditionally published. But …

… this illustrator provides amazing art to both publishers and individuals alike. In fact, she, Stella Mongodi, has illustrated more picture books for self-publishing individuals than anything else.

One of the things I often see in self-published picture books is less-than-spectacular art. Why is that? Many first-time authors are excited about being published and appearing on Amazon, but when it comes to the art, they want to save money. I have come across this numerous times. The result? Not the best looking book!

The question is, do you want to sell your book? If you do, you will need to be prepared to pay a good illustrator and a good designer. You are competing with many, many other titles whose artwork is both eye-catching and professional. And those are the books that sell!

Next, you ideally want an illustrator who has some experience in picture books, or who can render illustrations to the size you require. If you’re doing an 8 x 8″ book, they should understand how a 2-page spread will lay out, how the art will fit in that format, and know what a bleed and a gutter is. As a children’s book designer, I spend a lot of time, which must be charged to the client, fixing and adjusting artwork that could have been done correctly initially. A good illustrator is so important, and It also helps greatly when you work with a good designer from the beginning.

The takeaway here? Do things in the proper order if you’re new to all this – a designer first to help with a dummy, book size, etc., and illustrator next. When the artwork is done, the designer will pull it all together for you. And be willing to invest what it takes to make your book shine and stand out in a crowd!!

Pictured here are the bookmarks I designed for my book. If interested, Butterflies is currently available for pre-order on bookshop.org, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

What Grabs Your Attention?

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When you’re looking at a few publications, what draws you in? It may be the subject matter, but given the subject matter is the same, where do you look? I’ll tell you – you look at something that is well-designed. You are likely not even aware of it, but that’s what grabs your attention.

Here’s an example. This is ZoonooZ, the official newsletter of Popcorn Park Animal Refuge. I’ve been its editor and designer for many years, and while I’ve always been evolving its appearance over time, recently I’ve been been able to make some exciting updates. What’s the difference?

Expanded use of color combined with use of the bleed makes for a much more attractive look. There was a time when using a bleed (extending color or graphics right out to the very edge of the page), upped the printing costs considerably, but with most printers nowadays the cost is the same or the difference, nominal. Result? More design freedom and a look that draws you in.

Here’s what the newsletter looked like 10 years ago. Working with a non-profit can mean keeping a close eye on expenses. Even 10 years ago, 4/color printing cost sufficiently more than 2/color that we stayed within an economical look in black and brown. With the wider availability of digital printing, prices for the two became comparable, and we brought the ZoonooZ into full color.

Here’s page 2 of the same two issues. While I was already moving forward with more inviting use of color and design in the winter issue (left), by the time we got to summer? I was having way more fun. And which overall look are you most drawn to? I suspect it’s the issue on right.

I say fun, because design work should be fun. That’s my thought, anyway. And knowing that good design can draw people in, means they’ll look longer and get more involved with the subject matter, in this case a wildlife refuge. And what do we always hope? For a non-profit, we hope that this will translate into donation dollars for the charity. In the case of a business? More sales.

If I can help you/your organization bring you more attention with some wonderful design, feel free to let me know!

Change Is Good – Especially in Design

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Everything in life is always in a state of change; that’s just a given. But it can be a definite good thing when we’re bringing something new and attractive to the table.

Redesign is often a challenge, but when you’ve already been contemplating doing something new, it’s one of the best. Featured here are two covers of the official publication of the humane organization I work with. The cover with multiple images at left is from October 2020 and followed the format we’ve been using for quite some time, featuring multiple animals and their rescue stories. Even though we’d been doing that for a while, I’m still actually pretty happy with it, but it was time for something new.

I did a few mock-ups for a new design, and the cover below was declared a winner. I agree. Although it features only one animal, the photo is fantastic. There are some outstanding photographers on staff, and it’s not too big a chance to take to assume there will be plenty more great shots to choose from going forward.

I took the short index under the small cat photo in the “Inside” box, and went to a broader listing of the contents in a contrasting type color. There’s a subtle sheer black box behind the white text to help it stand out. And I went full bleed.

The result? Something that really stands out. It has been very well-received with plenty of compliments on the change. In addition, I have continued the redesign in the interior for even more appeal.

Take a quick look here, and you’ll see the evolution of this cover, starting back in 2007. However, I began working with them sometime earlier when that same cover was only two colors – primarily black and white with spot color in one signature.

Improving the look of an organization’s or individual’s communications works, and attracts more donors or customers. Change is good!

How can I help you? Please reach out!