We're constantly amazed by the clever, unique, brilliant and beautiful books and products our customers create. So much that we're starting a spotlight feature to share the details of their creations and the inspiration behind them.
About “Wings: An Illustrated Celebration of Michigan Wolverine Helmets”
This year, 2018, marks the 80th anniversary of the Michigan winged helmet.
Every university has a logo, some probably more recognizable than the University of Michigan's block 'M.' Many universities have a mascot, many undoubtedly more well-known than Michigan's.
But the winged Michigan football helmet is undoubtedly the most recognizable in the game.
In a case of form following function, Michigan coach Fritz Crisler painted the padding and straps common on the leather helmets in 1938 to create the iconic design. His intent was to make his receivers more recognizable downfield.
Not only did he succeed, but he created an icon that transcends football, even 80 years later.
In an unusual — and perhaps unique — instance of accidental branding, of grass roots symbology, the wings-and-stripes design can be seen everywhere around Michigan's campus and athletic program.
How strange is it, but yet how compelling, that a design borne of a leather helmet's construction would spread to be seen in baseball, softball, hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse teams?
The entire history of the winged helmet is detailed in this coffee table book: “Wings: An Illustrated Celebration of Michigan Wolverine Helmets.” The 3rd edition of the book was just released and can be viewed HERE.
The book is co-authored by James Dack, an avid helmet collector and historian, and Christopher Dack, Michigan alum, writer, and photographer.
The story behind the product (as told by co-author Christopher Dack, pictured above)
Q: What inspired you to create this product?
A: My brother James (pictured at right) began collecting football helmets long before it become popular. He wanted to share his collection and knowledge with the broad and zealous University of Michigan fan base. As a Michigan alum, it was easy for me to get on board with that idea. Plus, I had wanted to create a coffee table book for a long time and realized this would be the perfect subject.
Q: What advice would you give for others creating a product like this?
A: It's tempting as a self-publishing author to care only about the content and downplay other aspects of the book as a product (trim size, typography, cover design, etc. to say nothing of marketing). But it’s all important. The best content in the world can still fall short of its potential if it’s delivered in an amateurish package. Finding design help is not that difficult or expensive if you can’t (or don’t want to) do it yourself. Learning marketing is tougher and quite daunting at first. But you don’t have to master it all right away. Just get started with the first step, then keep going.
Q: What do you love about this product?
A: What we love about this book is its potential as a gift. Although there are certainly rabid female football fans in the world, let's be honest: men make up the majority of the fan base. And men can be notoriously difficult to buy for during gift-giving seasons. We like to think that, instead of the usual ties, socks, coffee cups, and other dull gifts that guys often receive, this book would actually be fun for a Michigan fan to open at Christmas, Father's Day, birthdays, etc.
Looking for ideas to give your income a boost this holiday season? We’ve got what you need with plenty of products and tips to get ready for Black Friday through the New Year.
Here are 5 of our bestselling products that can be sold just as they are, or customized to fit your needs:
Planners - use ours or design your own
Calendars - desktop or wall calendars
Greeting Cards - packaged individually or in sets of 10 in a stationary box with a clear lid
Card Decks - any size, any number of cards
Journals - soft cover and hard cover
Select the products you would like to sell, contact us if you would like to add your logo or customize the design, then add them to your sales pages and shopping carts. Reach out to our publishing experts at sales@vervante.com and we'll help you get everything ready.
Worried about time? No need to stress! Here are a few tips to help you get ready in plenty of time:
TIP #1: If you have the general specs of the product you want to create, we can give you a free quote right away so you can set your retail price and start working on your sales and marketing strategy. TIP #2: Your product does not have to be complete to offer it for sale. All you need is the cover design image for display on your site and – voila – you can make your offer and collect pre-orders. Just be clear in the description when your customer can expect to receive their purchase. TIP #3: Once we have print files, we can ship within 3-4 days, so you're able to let customers know when pre-ordered products will arrive and can be confident in quick deliveries.
Questions? Let us help you make the most of your holiday sales by dropping us a line at sales@vervante.com or scheduling a phone call with one of our publishing professionals at https://vervante.youcanbook.me/.
We're constantly amazed by the clever, unique, brilliant and beautiful books and products our customers create. So much that we're starting a spotlight feature to share the details of their creations and the inspiration behind them. Today, we're pleased to introduce Nancy and Steve Juetten.
About: Life Goes on Roadmap™
Life Goes on Roadmap™ is a playful, powerful, and practical system for families to use to organize their crucial personal finance information to gain power, access, and control, before disease, disability or death get in the way. Life Goes on Roadmap elevates the process of getting organized to be a game to win instead of an administrative task to put off.
Users welcome financial peace of mind when they organize important contacts, service providers, insurance information, bank or credit union accounts, investments, credit cards, and more so the information is accessible when and where it is needed. Unlike shelf help, the creators hold clients’ feet to the fire to get the mission accomplished, while making it fun. Consumers love the product and the experience so much they are posting powerful testimonials to YouTube.
Created by a fee-only fiduciary who is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional and his wife, Life Goes on Roadmap starts powerful conversations now with family members to shift roles and responsibilities as needed to ensure a smoother journey, no matter what happens next. Unlike old fashioned paper systems, Life Goes on Roadmap is suitable for today’s digital age. It offers a safe and secure way to enter, save, update, and share the information that covers 16 important pages of crucial information with the right people who have a need to know.
The story behind the product
Q: What inspired you to create this product?
A: The inspiration for creating this product was deeply personal. Late last year, three people I love got life altering news. One was served divorce papers by surprise after 32 years of marriage. Another found out her stage 4 lymphoma came back. The other checked into the hospital with the flu and died. It was a triple threat of divorce, disease, and death in one week.
Shell shocked, I had a serious chat with my husband Steve. He's a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional. I asked him to get me on the same page with regard to all of our most important financial documents and information so I would have power, access and control to advocate for him if something were to happen to him or be able to drive my life forward if it should come to that.
It was a light bulb moment for us because we discovered a blind spot that once uncovered could make a huge difference for families everywhere. As much as financial advisors guide their clients to save for retirement, plan for emergencies, diversify and rebalance their portfolios, and mitigate their risks, there is a common gap that goes unmet that is hiding in plain sight. It is making sure that all the right parties in the family have power, access and control over their financial accounts and documents for when life serves up a bump in the road.
After searching online for a positive, upbeat approach to getting the mission accomplished, together we decided to create our own system to escape the 'doom and gloom' approaches we found so disappointing in our online search. We've actually elevated the task of getting organized into a game to win instead of task to put off until later. We hold our clients' feet to the fire to get this done as we make it fun.
In August of this year after serving hundreds of families to rave reviews, we started licensing our system to advisors so they could bring this level of very specific empowerment to their clients. Now we have 10 licensees proudly sharing the system with their clients, and consumers of our system creating YouTube videos to sing its praises. As advisors consider what services to add to their current offerings to serve clients more deeply, meet a personal, practical, and profound need, and set themselves apart in the marketplace, Life Goes on Roadmap™ does the job.
Q: What advice would you give for others creating a product like this?
Solve an urgent problem for a specific audience of people who will willingly invest to get the value and the benefit.
Be excited about your solution to the point that you will stop at nothing to bring it to market.
Take your product beyond "shelf help" by finding ways to engage, delight, inspire, and involve your clients in achieving the promised outcome in a specific window of time so they have something to celebrate and are inspired to tell their friends. I am a big fan of the Great eCourse Adventure and Marisa Murgatroyd's 'experience product' training.
Create an audience for your offer, even before your product is done or perfect. Our opt-in page for our 5 Blind Spots that Prevent Financial Empowerment and How to Course Correct for a Smoother Journey Special Report has welcomed over 3090 subscribers this year, and new people find it every day.
Test your offer, listen to feedback, make ongoing improvements in messaging and delivery, and keep your eye on the big results you desire and the specific revolution you are fighting for.
Work with Vervante so that the delivery of physical product can be world-class, reliable, and efficient.
Q: What do you love about this product?
A: The design and ease of use of our 'experience product' factor big time in the value and results clients welcome when they make the wise choice to get on the virtual bus to get their personal financial information and crucial documents organized with our tools, expert support, and 'hold your feet to the fire to get this done' accountability.
The inspiration for this product and the impact it has on those who use it offer us the opportunity to experience our finest hour of contribution to the marketplace in the third act of both of our careers. I am almost 57 and my husband is 65, and we believe the best is yet to come for us and those we get to serve. What I love is that this product offers my husband and me the opportunity to serve, grow and make our legacy alive today with every family we help. It's never too late for your finest hour in life and business.
Consumers can purchase this system from www.authenticvisibility.com/roadmap. It's a thoughtful and practical gift that gets people talking about important things before life gets in the way. Financial advisors and other professionals can license and brand the system as their own to serve their clients in this practical, profound, and very practical way.
Get your product featured
If you liked this and want your Vervante product featured in our newsletter and blog, please email social@vervante.com with the following information:
250-word overview of your product
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Your creativity inspires us and your success deserves to be shared!
This year, 2018, marks the 80th anniversary of the Michigan winged helmet.
In an unusual — and perhaps unique — instance of accidental branding, of grass roots symbology, the wings-and-stripes design can be seen everywhere around Michigan's campus and athletic program.
A: My brother James (pictured at right) began collecting football helmets long before it become popular. He wanted to share his collection and knowledge with the broad and zealous University of Michigan fan base. As a Michigan alum, it was easy for me to get on board with that idea. Plus, I had wanted to create a coffee table book for a long time and realized this would be the perfect subject.
Looking for ideas to give your income a boost this holiday season? We’ve got what you need with plenty of products and tips to get ready for Black Friday through the New Year.
Life Goes on Roadmap
A: The inspiration for creating this product was deeply personal. Late last year, three people I love got life altering news. One was served divorce papers by surprise after 32 years of marriage. Another found out her stage 4 lymphoma came back. The other checked into the hospital with the flu and died. It was a triple threat of divorce, disease, and death in one week.