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February 2002 Product Development Technique
AUDIOTAPE PACKAGING
In previous issues we learned how to create an audio tape script and to record an audio tape product.
Now let's take a look at labeling and packaging the tape(s) into a salable product.
LABELING
For audio tapes I use Avery Label Pro software. This is a convenient software
for all kinds of labels (I don't use this for CDs). One of the reasons it's convenient is because the program has numbered templates that
match up with the numbers on the boxes of labels that you can get at places like Office Depot and
Staples…..well maybe you can get them at Office Depot and Staples. I have found quite often that the audio
tape labels are not kept in stock at the retail stores because the demand is not great enough. You can usually order them from the website of the same stores I just mentioned and have them delivered to your door.
When you set up the Avery program you will have to run a calibration sheet through your printer and make a few adjustments to the software so that everything lines up nicely. You do this
once and then you're setup unless you change your laser printers (ink
jets work too).
It's been my experience that the Avery labels are the highest quality you can get. There are many off
brands and colored labels that you can get to work with the software with enough tweaking, but you'll likely get
lots of paper jams. Also the labels are thinner and tear easily. I say stick with the good quality labels that are seamlessly compatible and you'll get a good looking label with very little frustration.
OTHER LABELS
For higher quantity labels or multi color labels that really must look great or special label stock like gold foil, metallic colored, etc. visit your local
instant print shop.
Unless it's a real print shop they don't print these labels in-house. You order from a catalog and tell them what you want on the labels and they ship your order out to some company that specializes in labels like
Discount Labels. It usually takes about a week to get them back. Sometimes you can have them shipped directly to your office.
APPLYING LABELS
You're going to blow a few labels by putting them on crooked. I hold them between my thumb and forefinger on the top edge. I pull them tight and line them up across the top edge of the tape and then
lay then down somewhat diagonally so they don't buckle. I then press my
fingers all over the label to take out any small wrinkles and to make
sure the edges don't curl up.
OTHER LABELING METHODS
As I outlined in the audio tape production
article, your duplication facility can stamp ink right on the cassette shell so you don't have to do any labeling at all.
On short run products and low demand products I make the labels in-house so I can do it quickly and also so I don't have to invest in large quantities like I would if I bought them at a print shop.
OUTSIDE PACKAGING
For single tapes you can use the standard tape box and "J" card, but I don't recommend it. If you are selling information products, you need to increase the perceived value of the product any way you can which will promote your image and reduce returns.
I think BIG packaging helps toward the above two goals. This is why I won't use small cassette boxes and "J" cards.
For all my tape packaging I use vinyl cassette albums. I get them from http://www.polylinecorp.com
. They have albums that will hold 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 16 tapes.
Even the one tape album is 2 or 3 times bigger than a little cassette box. It looks
big and it looks substantial which is precisely the image I want to convey before you even listen to the great
content.
The Album alone normally won't finish off your packaging. ON single tapes I use labels and I also throw in a book mark for my "Wake 'em Up Book."
All the albums I use have a clear plastic cover that is open at the top which forms a pocket so I can slide in pieces of paper to make covers that look really great.
ALBUM COVERS
Many years ago when I first started making albums I had to print at least 1000 copies of my color covers to make it cost effective. Cost effective means that the unit cost was small enough so that it didn't eat up all the profit of each product. Small numbers of covers could cost you $10.00 each or more because of the setup costs of the printing process.
That's all changed for the better especially if you are an information marketer. Now I can make up a cover on my word processor, print it out on good paper in gorgeous color, cut them to fit and
have a professional looking cover.
When I need 50 or 100 covers I just take the master to Kinkos or I email them a pdf file and they run the covers on their color copier.
I could do one at a time if I felt like it. Yes, the unit cost is between .79 and $1.50 depending on the size, but both those prices leave a big profit margin on high markup info products.
If you aren't very good at computer graphics, it's pretty easy to find a computer based graphic artist these
days or a high school kid. Get them to supply you with a pdf file and you're off to the Kinko's races.
In come cases when I have a cover that is bigger than 8.5 x 11 inches I output it directly to a pdf file because my laser printer will only take 8.5 x 11 and I don't want to buy
an oversize printer for a few covers.
When I do have a cover that is oversize, many times I can get a 2 for 1 happy hour special.
Let's say the cover I need is bigger than 8.5 x 11, but smaller than 11
x 17 so I have to get an 11 X 17 color copy anyway and cut it down to size. Why not lay out a color coupon on the part that is going to get cut off? Now you get a coupon and a cover for the same price.
So get busy with you audio tape project and use the techniques in this article to make it look great!
Other upcoming topics
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