Licensing your content is like renting it out.
You still own it; someone pays to use it for a specific time with certain stipulations.
It's like someone renting you a home or car.
They own it.
You pay to use it based on specific written terms.
They continue licensing (renting) it indefinitely.
Licensing expands your reach and bottom line from something you've done once.
I have a tips booklet that is in three languages besides American English -- Italian, Spanish, and Dutch.
You don't need to know any other languages to effectively license out your content.
Foreign languages are one of many ways to license your booklet.
Many booklet authors have licensed their booklet and content into other languages.
An American professional speaker who recently wrote a tips booklet got several speaking engagements in eastern Europe.
His audiences benefitted most by having the booklet translated to their native languages.
It expanded his deal and his teaching lives on once he comes back home.
Two participants in co-authored collaborative tips booklets did foreign licensing deals in two Southeast Asian countries.
Another American booklet author licensed her booklet in South America in Spanish and Portuguese.
These are examples of many non-English language licenses.
In most cases, the author never left North America.
In every case, the author did not know the languages at all.
With my Spanish version, the booklet was used in and outside North America.
Certainly many languages are spoken in the US besides English, providing endless possibilities for your booklets.
Consider companies and organizations that want to reach people speaking other languages both inside and outside the country of the booklet's origin.
Approach them with your booklets as the ideal tool for accomplishing their goal.
The more you know about what your clients' intentions with your booklet in another language, you may find that budget all but disappears from the conversation.
It can truly become a non-issue because you are providing a unique and ideal solution for them.
Rather than you getting the translation done for the client, a great situation is to grant your client the right to do all the work, and pay you for it.
That means they handle the translation, editing, graphic layout, printing, and shipping rather than you doing any of that.
You have granted them the right to use your original material, and they do all the production based on the agreement you reach of how they can use it, how many copies they can produce, what specific language(s) they can produce it in, and numerous other details you discuss and agree upon, in writing! Licensing deals are structured in many ways.
Educate yourself about how and when to present more opportunities.
You can best serve your clients and your business when you have more options to offer, pairing the best choices with the true needs and wants of the client.
Something as simple as offering both a regular print size and also a large print size in a language other than the original one can be an easy "add-on" to the licensing arrangement, particularly when the likely audience is older.
Think about other ways to provide the best service you can, no matter what language is involved.
"Turn your tips into products, your tips products into moneymakers.
TM" © 2012 Paulette Ensign