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Self-Publish a Wall CalendarBy Ugur Akinci
Calendars are great to keep your name in front of your clients and membership and summer is the time to start thinking about next year's calendars. If you've got 12 great photos, you've got yourself a nice wall calendar. You can even sell some ads on the calendar pages and make it a self-financing project. A national grassroots organization that I consulted for in the past did precisely that. It worked out nicely. Here are two very popular internet sources where you can design and self-publish your calendar in a hurry: www.cafepress.com http://www.lulu.com/products/calendars/index.php Those who wish to do so can go to both sites and order your calendar directly as well. For all such sales you earn a pre-set commission. For most organizations, the first introductory pages of the calendar can be reserved for the "Message from the President" and general information about the organization. In terms of selling advertising, thin bands on the footer of the monthly pages might work best. It is true that the market competition for wall calendars is fierce but if you can offer your calendar as a freebie like some Realtors do, or offer it as a "membership benefit" then you do not need to worry about the competition as much because the chances are you won't have any.
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