Above the Fold – Perfecting the One-Pager

Jessica Ann Morris

Above the Fold with Jessica Ann Morris takes the mystery out of Marketing and PR. You will learn fast and easy ways to generate results and boost your book sales.

(You can download examples of the 1-pager by clicking on the samples shown in this article.)

In 2014 Is Your Year, our brief journey of self-exploration may have felt like a mission-vision-values exercise. (Companies pay agencies big bucks to accomplish what you did in 1-2 weeks, so consider this a virtual pat on the back!)

Click to see sample

With conceptual and textual edits made, stop word-smithing! Feel good about where things stand and focus on bringing your message to market. (This is also a good time to accept that, should your ambitions change, you’ll again need to conduct a self-exploration exercise.)

Market Testing – A Critical Next Step

A classic messaging mistake is failing to market test. Quite often, we’re too close to something to know if it resonates with our audience.

Take the information discovered through self-exploration (except for question 5 about competitors) and organize it into a one-page document that you’d submit to someone else (e.g. a book publisher, an uncle who owns a magazine, your local librarian, a playgroup Mom, etc.). Distilling information into a one-page marketing piece says, “I’ve got my act together and the work I do is real.”

Short and Sweet, Mon Petit!

Be sure to include your name/publishing house and contact/website information. Express creativity, but design should be clean and engaging. Consider a headshot, or covers of published works. Create the one-pager in a mainstream program/application (e.g., Microsoft Word).

Don’t get caught up in the layout. We’re looking to present information with a professional genuine feel, not spend time (we already don’t have) on advanced design.

Click to see sample

When distributing the one-pager to your test market (3+ people from different perspectives), respectfully require feedback. If they’ll answer these five simple questions, you’ll have all you need to finalize the one-pager.

1. Does this document explain what I do and why I do it?
2. Is my target audience/market clear?
3. What presentation and text elements can be improved (edited, streamlined, embellished, etc.)?
4. Which authors/publishers do you like and why?
5. Now that you know what I’m about, is there anyone (or any company/group) you can refer me to who might be interested in my work?

Gather feedback, assess its application to your one-pager and finalize the one-pager.

Next column: One-pager production and use.

Jessica Ann Morris is a Communications Strategist with 20 years of cross-industry experience. Trusted by the C-suite to the front line for Marketing and Public Relations counsel, Jessica makes integrity and enthusiasm key components of her proactive service philosophy. A Boston College alum, Jessica is also a published author and journalist. Follow Jessica via Twitter @JAMPRLLC and LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaannmorris/

Above the Fold With Jessica Ann Morris

Jessica Ann Morris

As a self-published author, promoting your book can be difficult. Above the Fold with Jessica Ann Morris takes the mystery out of Marketing and PR. You will learn fast and easy ways to generate results and boost your book sales. In this new blog series from Aviva Gittle eBooks, Jessica will teach you to think like a Communications Strategist.

Slow to motivate at the turn of the New Year? Well, here’s your reminder: Make 2014 the time you advance your Marketing and Public Relations initiatives — and start selling more books!

Having published a book, you’re familiar with sourcing a creative hunch, giving 110 percent and relentlessly pursuing a goal. Now, let’s redirect that energy and talent into skills that empower you to become your own Communications Strategist.

Simply Stated, Stating is Difficult
Whether you’re starting out or have some experience under your belt, a clear focus of who you are, what you do, and your target audience is the backbone of a successful Marketing and Public Relations strategy.

Your Assignment (You Should Definitely Choose to Accept It!)
Take 15 minutes and complete the following framework. (The time constraint will streamline prose: editing comes later.)

1. Your brief biography/description (50 words or less).
2. What you do (I write/publish x, y and z).
3. My audience/s is/are (include ages, geographic location, gender, personality, purchasing power, and other demographics).
4. I’m qualified to be an author/self-publisher of x because y and z.
5. My competition (individuals, institutions, etc.).
6. My differentiators are (up to three things that make your book unique).
7. List published works (including those in production.).

Next, take one read-through and make baseline edits.

Walk Away
Then, put this away for 24 hours. Seriously, detachment is a great strategy. Lock it in a drawer, or tuck it into your kid’s pillowcase. Allow yourself some time to think freely, without the limitations of paper, dictation or keyboard. Upon review, you’ll see room for improvement and/or confirm you were on mark.

In the next column, Perfecting the One-Pager, Above the Fold will provide a quick way to easily turn what you’ve done into a powerful communications tool.

Jessica Ann Morris is a Communications Strategist with 20 years of cross-industry experience. Trusted by the C-suite to the front line for Marketing and Public Relations counsel, Jessica makes integrity and enthusiasm key components of her proactive service philosophy. A Boston College alum, Jessica is also a published author and journalist. Follow Jessica via Twitter @JAMPRLLC and LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaannmorris/