This discussion comes after a question I recieved last week on my Feeding America: The Historic American (Public Domain) Cookbook Project post where I made the statement that, “Reproductions of Vintage Cookbooks are hot,hot, hot when positioned and marketed correctly…”

After reading the above post, my friend Marg asked, “how do you position and market them correctly? That would be really valuable information. Can you give us a bit more information on that?”

This is a great question and it deserves a great answer so I’ll be answering the question in multiple parts over the next few weeks in posts right here on the Public Domain Treasure Hunter Blog.

First let’s talk about properly “positioning” or “framing” your Public Domain product. Positioning is all about how you are presenting your product to the market, your unique angle. It involves every aspect of your presentation -  the actual format you deliver the product in, the hook and USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of your sales copy, the language you use with your perspective customers, the look and “feel” of your product (including cover graphics) ~ everything!

Your products must be positioned as well as possible to achieve their best potential for success. As you approach an idea for a product, you have to carefully consider what “mode” you will be working in first as this will definitely have a huge impact on how you ultimately position your product.

When it comes to creating Information Products using Public Domain content, you have a multitude of product possibilities but I want to share the 5 most common “modes” that we as Public Domain Publishers usually work in…

Creating “Brand New” Information Products & Other Monetization Methods – Operating In Public Domain “Stealth Mode”…

You’re working in “Stealth Mode” when you are creating entirely new information products and you’re using material from Public Domain books and / or magazines to generate content for your products fast.

In this scenario, you are presenting the product to the marketplace as an all new work, there’s no indication whatsoever in the product itself that the material in the product was ever previously published in any form. In fact, you don’t want people to know that you’re using Public Domain content because quite frankly, they don’t need to know as this knowledge doesn’t add to the value of the product.

This is the common mode used when the value of the product lies in the information itself and the benefit that knowledge of this information can provide to the reader. This mode is most commonly used in the publication of how-to type books and other “problem solving” products aimed at niche markets.

An example would be something like a book called “How To Cure Your Allergies Naturally”. In this market, your potential customer is primarily looking for information about “natural allergy relief” and it’s your job to provide it to them in the form of an information product. The value for the reader is in the information and the end result of obtaining that information, not necessarily in the presentation.

The topic of the product doesn’t have to be related to health problems either ~ it can relate to just about anything, any problem a specific niche may have for which it needs a solution, whether it’s a desire to “grow bigger marigolds” or “teach my dog to quit peeing on the carpet”.

Public Domain material pulled from books and magazines published in the U.S. between 1923 – 1963 works great for these types of products because it’s fresher, much more relevant, and requires the least of amount of editing to replace dated language and concepts. Plus, there’s no issue replacing original black-and-white photos and illustrations with newer full-color images to freshen up the end product.

In fact, you would usually want to do this anyway since old black and white photos immediately date the content throwing up flags that say, “Hey, this information is old!”. There are many instances where that would not be ideal.

As Public Domain publishers, we all know that “old” doesn’t necessarily mean irrelevant, useless, or hopelessly outdated but it can sometimes be percieved that way by those that don’t have this same understanding.

The sales copy for a product like this should be all about expressing the massive benefits the reader will gain by consuming the information in this product – how their life will actually be better for having bought this product and how this product will solve their immediate problem.

As far as distribution, PDF ebooks and physical books both work equally well for these types of information products. It doesn’t have to be all about actual deliverable products though, you can fill monetized blogs quickly with Public Domain content using the same concept.

Another distinction of this mode is that you are the one claiming authorship (even if it’s under a pen name).

It’s tricky to provide examples of Public Domain publishers that are operating in Public Domain “Stealth Mode” because that’s the nature of this mode ~ publisher’s operating in “Stealth Mode” are hard to spot because they are completely under the radar in terms of where their content comes from. Niether their customers nor their competition knows that they are using Public Domain content to create their products and other content ~ and of course, that’s the point.

One publisher I know working in true “Stealth Mode” uses copyright-free articles from Public Domain home and gardening magazines to drive massive traffic to his niche gardening site. His process is both ultra-simple and ingenious at the same time ~ he has other people rewrite the articles just a little bit and then he blasts them out to all of the major article submission sites for syndication. This guy has thousands of gardening related articles out there working for him to bring traffic to his site day and night.

As an example of working in “Stealth Mode” with Public Domain material to fill monetized blogs with content, you should check out how Debra Conrad does it ~ she’s the Queen of niche blogging with Public Domain content.

Check out how she does it here –  Blog In A Day.

Historical Products  - New Information Products Supported And Greatly Enhanced By “Previously Published” Material…

You’re working in “Historical Mode” when you are creating a new product and the topic of the product (usually a book) is greatly enhanced by the addition of Public Domain material. This is usually the scenario when you are publishing a book on a topic of historical interest.

You may be writing new material for the book (or reusing someone else’s Public Domain narrative) but you are also backing up the writing with previously published material from Public Domain newspapers, magazines, and books.

In these products, because they are based on historical topics, old black and white photos are a big plus. In fact they are expected and greatly add to the value of the product. This is because the reader wants to “experience” the subject of the book. Old black and white photos and clippings from newspapers and such are a great way to accomplish this.

In these types of products, the value for the customer shifts from just being about the information – it’s equally about the information and the experience. They’re usually hungry for the information but it’s also the experience that they’re after -  they want both because they are emotionally attached to the topic of your historical product.

A couple of great examples of this type of product would be Debra’s book, “Yuma Mesa Homesteader’s 1948 and 1952″, and my friend John Lund’s book, “A Look At The World Champion 1908 Chicago Cubs” available on Amazon here .

Even though the topics of these two books differ radically, they both share a common thread – they’re both books with topics of historical interest and both books are supported by a large amount of historical (Public Domain) documentation – black and white photos, newspaper article clippings, and other dated documents that greatly enhance the readers experience of “being there” and the sales copy for a product like this should be all about expressing the “experience” the reader will have while enjoying this book.

As far as distribution, if you are going the digital route, PDF ebooks can be a great way to go but be aware that the market for these types of books usually prefers printed physical books that they can read while sitting in their favorite comfy sofa  or while sitting on a park bench on a nice spring day.

Further examples of these types of products would be if you were creating a new book about certain battles or important figures of World War II or a new book about the Titanic Disaster, both of which lend themselves very well to the inclusion of huge amounts of Public Domain content.

Just like “Stealth Mode”, you are one that would claim authorship of products created using this mode. The difference is that you wouldn’t claim authorship over the supporting Public Domain materials, you’d just splash it throughout your product in the appropriate places and then cite your sources (lending to your credibility).

Republishing New Editions of Long Lost Books By The “Old Masters” Of Very Specialized Niche Knowledge…

The “Masters Mode” is one of my personal favorite modes to work in because it’s probably the easiest (in terms of both product creation and profit) and most fun modes to work in.

Working in “Masters Mode” involves seeking out and republishing works by “masters” of specialized knowledge in a specific niche. In many evergreen niches, you can easily find Public Domain books that contain information capable of being postitioned as “long lost secrets” that will appeal to a good portion of the people in your marketplace.

Deep inside, everyone always feels that there are some “secrets” about something related to their topic of interest that haven’t been shared with the public at large – some very specialized secret knowledge that a forgotten “master” of the topic possessed long ago that’s been buried by the sands of time and lost to our modern age.

In many evergreen niches, just using the words “long lost secrets of an old <insert topic here> master” will conjure up images in the reader’s mind of hidden knowledge (inside secrets) and more importantly how this hidden knowledge will speed them toward whatever result they are looking for.

Everyone inherently seeks the “master” and believes that the master has all the answers. So you as a publisher and marketer just have to do one thing ~ introduce your niche to the master!

The beauty of the “Masters Mode” of course is that you don’t have claim to be the expert, you just hook your reader’s up with the person who is. This is one of the easiest ways to repackage and sell an old book – but the book better be good!

Be very selective when working in this mode and make sure that the material in the book really is worthy of being classified as “long lost secrets” and that the author really is a master in the niche. Don’t try and pass off a lame book this way or you’ll be giving a lot of refunds!

One of the best ways to approach this mode is to research your niche and find out who the experts were back in the day – you will find the masters, no doubt. In this mode, Public Domain books from the late 1800′s all the way up through the 1960′s can work equally well as long as the information is quality.

Usually, in this scenario, you can repubish a Public Domain book in it’s entirety, without editing or modifying a thing if you so choose.

Writing the copy is easy as well. As always, it’s about expressing the benefits of owning the product to the reader but you can do really well in this mode simply by telling the story of the book, how you “stumbled over it”, and how the forgotten knowledge within it’s “timeworn and faded pages” has enlightened you and helped you acheive whatever result your target audience is looking for.

In the “Masters Mode”, while there is a certain amount of “experience” the reader will enjoy, the emphasis is on the information your reader will get access to, positioned as long lost golden information by masters of the trade that can be found no where else because the original book has been lost to time.

Some decent examples of publishers working in “Masters Mode” include “The Belief Secret” and “Long, Lost Flyfishing Secrets”.

Also, unlike the previous two modes, you wouldn’t claim authorship of the products you create using this mode – authorship remains with the master that wrote the book so that you can leverage their credibilty. Sign your name as the editor or publisher if you feel the need to put your name on it at all.

Creating Products That Work The “Nostalgia” Angle And Appeal To Readers With An Emotional Attachment To A Historical Place, Object, Or Time…

This one overlaps with the “Historical Mode” of Public Domain publishing quite a lot but there are slight note-worthy differences…

When playing the Nostalgia angle (example: republishing a book about life in turn-of-the-20th-century New York City), the focus shifts again away from information and swings back to the experience – but you can still get away with republishing an entire Public Domain book without modification of any kind if you so choose.

Much like the “Masters Mode”, your audience is well aware that you are republishing a previously published work and that’s actually the hook. You’d use that to it’s fullest advantage in your sales copy.

Again, let your readers know the unique “story” of how you found the original book, why it’s so special, and why owning it will make them experience what ever nostalgic feeling they are looking for…

Maybe it’s a guide book to all of the wonderful diners and places of interest along Route 66, or maybe it’s a product that explains in detail how to build the kind of elaborate and glamorous doll house that a parent may remember from their childhood so that they can in turn build the same type of dollhouse for their children…

“Nostalgia” refers to the envoking of feeling rooted in sentiment, a yearning to relive or return to an event or place in the past – in other words, it’s very emotional (and powerful).

Emotion knows no logic and you can certainly take advantage of this in your sales copy by doing your best to stir up this yearning by empathizing with you readers, reminiscing with them, and doing your duty to let them know about this wonderful old book you found that has given you great joy and helped you to “re-experience” the event or place in question.

Many people buy books like this just to feel closer to the event or place in an attempt to relive or recapture something they remember from their past with fondness. Nostalgia is extremely potent and you should leverage it in every way you possibly can.

In this mode just about any format can work well, but I’ve found that physical books work the best – it’s very difficult to create an emotional attachment to an ebook (unless you’re the one that wrote it!).

One example of a Public Domain publisher working in “Nostalgia Mode” can be found on Amazon here ~ in this case they’ve simply republished, “New York City Guide: A Comprehensive Guide to the Five Boroughs of the Metropolis: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Richmond” (1939) in it’s entirety, without modification.

I personally have no sentimental attachment to New York City, but I can see how older native New Yorkers could get a kick out of seeing the city again as they remember it from their youth ~ that’s Nostalgia!

Click on the link above and preview the book, read the back cover description and check out how they “framed” or “positioned” the book ~ perfect. The original book can be found on Archive.org here.

Dover Publications does this a lot too – click here for examples.

My friend John Lund’s book, “A Look At The World Champion 1908 Chicago Cubs” available on Amazon here mentioned earlier also has a HUGE nostalgia element to it.

In this mode you wouldn’t claim authorship, but being the editor or publisher works well.

Republishing Exact Facsimile Reproductions of Long, Lost Books Usually With A Perceived High-Value…

This scenario pertains to publishing exact facsimile digital or physical versions of rare and hard to find Public Domain books. Sometimes, the marketplace demands authenticity and will settle for no less.

This is usually in a marketplace where the market is already very much aware that a particular book exists but the book is rare and potentially very hard to source and / or very expensive to obtain an original.

In some specialized niche markets these books are coveted and highly sought after but unobtainable by the average person in the market due to cost / scarcity.

If you find a market / book like this, you are in a prime position to be able to offer reproductions of the original book to the marketplace provided you can source a copy. In many cases the book involved will be in the Public Domain (usually because it’s very, very old).

While it’s entirely acceptable and even advantageous (for both yourself and your customers) to offer these reproductions in a digital format either via instant download or on CD / DVD, it’s imperative that your digital reproductions remain of very, very high quality and flawlessly faithful to the original, down to the tiniest little detail.

In this scenario, it’s a cardinal sin to modify or edit ANYTHING.

You are simply expected to be able to provide an extremely high-quality and faithful duplicate of the original book, nothing more, nothing less. The good news about this scenario is that the only work involved on your part as far as product creation is having the original book scanned. You simply scan and deliver.

The tricky part is that you need to be find a way to make the reproduction deliverable without being cumbersome and yet manage to maintain the highest quality and faithfulness in reproduction possible.

The focus for these types of products is generally not on information at all but rather there’s usually something else going on here. The people pursuing this book want to experience the pleasure of owning this book and they demand authenticity. This reproduction better be perfect – it needs to be an exact duplicate of the original precious book, right down to the last page crease and stain.

Just one great example of a publisher working in “Facsimile Mode” is Octavo Digital Rare Books. Octavo provides very high-quality scans of rare books and manuscripts on CD-Rom and they charge a nice price for them (because they can).

Probably goes without saying that it would be pretty darn silly to claim authorship of any product created using this mode.

So that’s the 5 Modes of Public Domain Publishing as I percieve them.

In the real world, you’ll sometimes find yourself working across some of these modes simultaneously to some degree. For instance, “Masters Mode”, “Nostalgia Mode”, and “Facsimile Mode” can overlap quite a bit in some projects ~ which can be great because you get to reap the benefits of each.

I myself tend to work mostly in two of these modes (on seperate projects of course), “Master Mode” when I’m working with really old material (I find that pre-1923 stuff works great for this mode), and “Stealth Mode” because I love to use 1923-1963 content to create “new” products for today’s markets.

Which mode(s) do you tend to gravitate towards? I’d love to hear your thoughts – just leave a comment below…

About The Author:

Logan Andrew is an online entrepreneur, information publisher, and author that has been using Public Domain material to create profitable products and businesses since 2001. He is also co-author of "The Public Domain Treasure Hunter's Survival Kit" available here. For more info Logan, click here.

[print_link]

Recommended Reading: