subject: Promote Your Business With Self Publishing [print this page] One great and unique way to get your company's story out there is by publishing your own book. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you get started on this project.
Gather Your Material:
When you are looking to create your own company book, you are going to want to make sure that it contains only the highest quality photos, and nothing but well-written copy.
To that end, your creative team (even if that is just you alone) needs to sit down and create a strategy for the book. Start by thinking of who your target audience is going to be. Is the purpose of the book to attract new clients? Is the purpose to gain some local press? Is it simply a gift for your employees and current clients? All of the above? Deciding these matters from the very beginning will help guide the project throughout the process, and help to keep you focused.
In the beginning stages, gather as much information as your company has out there, in whatever form, including brochures, booklets, annual reports, and web copy. Whatever printed material you and your company already have, get it all together in one place and let that be your starting point. When you are looking over this material, ask yourself what story your company is telling, and how the items in front of you tell it. What great and interesting parts do they leave out? Does your company, for instance, have a compelling story about its beginning stages? Did you overcome diversity to get where you are?
The main idea is to create a story arc, and to write it down in outline form in this stage.
Writing and Artwork:
Keep in mind that not all great books start at the beginning. You can, for instance, start your book at a particular turning point in your company's history and work outward and inward from there.
If you are not comfortable with the work of writing your company's book, hire someone to do it for you. The first place you might want to look is at the copywriter who helped you with your promotional material. Chances are he or she will be up to the task, or will know someone who is. This is a pert of the job that is central and vital to the quality of the entire project, so find someone whose work you trust, and be prepared to pay them what they are worth.
The same goes for your photographer and any graphic artists you may need to hire. The only thing worse than not having a book is having one that looks poorly conceived.
Printing and Binding:
Just as with the talent that helped you with your promotional book, you will not want to skimp on the printing. If you are going to use color photographs, you will need to get your pages printed with a high quality digital four-color process printer.
When it comes to binding your book, you have several options. You can send them to an online company, but you may also want to consider having your own binding machine on the premises so you can make any changes you need to at any time, and have your books ready to go in mere minutes. The machines that do hardcover binding are known as "thermal" binding machines, and start at under $100. These machines are incredibly simple to use, and are great for binding presentations, proposals and reports as well.
by: Jeffrey McRitchie
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