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Business Growth 3
Does your company have a story to tell?
By Paul R.
Lloyd
Whether to
celebrate an anniversary, motivate employees or generate customer
interest, telling your company’s story – the history of your
founding up to the present – is a great way to generate excitement
about who you are and what you do.
You can tell
your story in a wide range of media. Many companies have a brief
history page on the web, for example. But the most impressive ways
to tell your story include:
Your book and
DVD combine to make a great public relations tool. Use them for:
- Recruiting
- Orientation
- Trade shows
- Sales calls
- Event
handouts
Writing and
publishing your history in print
The simplest way to put
your history into a book-length story is to self-publish.
Conventional publishing is not likely unless you are a large,
publicly traded company or have an unusual story that will be of
interest to readers of business books. A conventional publisher is
interested in selling books while most companies are interested in
giving away copies of their history for promotional purposes.
Begin the
self-publishing process by having a professional writer work with
you and your team to gather information about your company and to
write your story. Length can vary depending on your story, but a
typical book containing words with no visuals may range from 50,000
up to 100,000 words. If you have lots of photos and other visual
elements, your word count can be less because the visuals will help
tell your story and take up space.
Newer companies
or those with a limited budget can tell their history in a smaller
format such as brochure. These can be printed and bound by a local
commercial printer in the same way you prepare your sales
literature.
Engage the
services of a professional graphics designer to achieve the look of
a fine published book such as you would find in your local
bookstore. The cover design is extremely important as is the inside
layout.
For a book
length work, use the services of a print on demand (pod) house using
a quality paper in your choice of colors. With pod, you can order as
many or as few copies as you desire.
Creating a
documentary DVD
You’ve seen history
documentaries on public television that cover important moments in
time, such as wars and presidential politics. The producers of these
documentaries use historical photographs, paintings, artifacts and
re-enactments to create a dramatic adventure that both entertains
and informs the audience.
The same
techniques used to create these televised documentaries are
available to create your company’s history on a DVD. A professional
script writer can interview key people, gather existing materials
and work with a producer to develop a script ready for production.
The production team will turn the script into a finished DVD with
the professional narration, music and creative use of visual
elements so that it has the look and feel of the documentaries seen
on television.
A book and DVD
allows you to tell your story in a dramatic fashion that entertains
and informs. By appealing to both the heart and the mind, you build
the basis for establishing a strong relationship that eventually can
turn a prospect into a customer.
For more than
20 years I have been helping clients tell their stories with a focus
on building their company image and supporting the sales effort.
Through interviews, original source documents, historical
photographs and other materials your company has in its possession,
I will craft a full-length book that tells your story through words
and images. I also will conduct research outside your company into
your industry, geographical locations and other information that
helps to bring your story to life.
I
also will craft a documentary script and produce a DVD ready to be
shown on any DVD player or placed online for viewing.
Zuk-Lloyd Associates, Inc. – Creative writing and art solutions.
We help
clients increase sales by turning ordinary business information into
extraordinary stories.
Contact:
Paul R. Lloyd
630-393-6516
info@zuklloyd.com
www.zuklloyd.com
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