Getting your first order is an awesome feeling. But before you send anything out, there is one thing you need to set up to ensure your customers have the best experience possible – your packing slips.
Packing Slips: Every package we send out includes a packing slip inside. Think of this as valuable real estate perfect for sharing important information your customers need, including:
A greeting or message that makes a personal connection
Your logo for brand awareness
Return policies that eliminate confusion about timeframes or refunds
Business address and contact information
To add personalized content for your packing slip, log into your author account at www.vervante.com, scroll down to “My Profile” and click on “Customize My Packing Slip.”
((Quick FAQ: Prices are not included on packing slips.))
About Returns: As of March 15, 2022, any returns received will incur a $4 charge.
If an order has an insufficient address or other address issues, it will be returned to our office. We will notify you when we receive it, and the reason for the return.
If we receive a return for insufficient address or address problems, and you are able to provide us with an updated correct address, we will reship the order at no additional charge except for the postage.
If a product has NOT been opened, used or is not damaged, we will re-use the product.
If the product HAS been opened we do not re-use returns.
If you would like returns sent back to your office so you can use them for prizes, promotions, or display please include instructions and your address information on the packing slip for customers to send the products directly to you.
Drawing a blank? No worries, here's sample copy you can customize.
PERSONAL MESSAGE
“In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s difficult to reach out and thank every customer for their loyalty, trust, and support. Even though this note can never fully express our gratitude, we want you to know that we truly appreciate the trust you’ve place in us by placing this order. With so many different choices to grow your business, we’re honored you’ve chosen us to be a part of your journey.
To Your Success,
COMPANY OR INDIVIDUAL NAME
RETURN POLICY COPY (FOR VERVANTE CUSTOMERS ONLY) Damaged shipment: This product was shipped to you by Vervante in partnership with COMPANY NAME. In the unlikely event of damage during shipment, please contact Vervante at customerservice@vervante.com.
Return policy: COMPANY NAME offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you would like to return the product, please make a copy of this packing slip and return the copy with the product to: COMPANY MAILING ADDRESS. When we receive your return a refund of ....
Too often, the value of these small slips of paper that come with packages are overlooked. We hope this gave you some great ideas and useful info for customizing your packing slips asap. And if you have any questions, please let us know. We're here to help at customerservice@vervante.com.
It's time to talk design! Recently we’ve discussed the beginning stages of creating a new product and working with Vervante. In Part 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed the first steps of defining and content creation for your new product. Now we’re ready to talk about design.
When it comes to designing a book or product, it's important to pay attention to the details. For example, you can have a gorgeous cover design for your book, but if when you look inside the words are cut off in the margin, or holes are punched in the wrong places, it can ruin the whole experience. Things like margin width and print file formatting are very important. Whether you are doing the design yourself, or you use a graphic design professional, attention to these technical details is crucial.
How to prepare your files for printing
We know you’re excited to get your new product printed and we want to expedite the process as quickly as possible for you. All files must be submitted as print-ready PDFs using the "Upload Files" link on your Author Dashboard. When you upload your PDFs, our team downloads your files and reviews them to ensure that they are set up properly for printing. Many of our customers create their own print files using applications such as Canva, while others hire a professional graphic designer. Both methods are fine, just remember that your PDFs must contain bleed and crop marks in order to be considered print-ready.
Tips for designers who use Canva
If you use the online design program Canva to create your products, you’re not alone. Many of our customers use Canva with great results for creating planners, journals, card decks, calendars and more. If you have your Canva designs ready to send to us, be sure to check out this blog article filled with tips to insure your files are correctly set up.
Why margin width is important
If you are designing a new planner, journal or book, attention to margins is crucial. For example, you can have a gorgeous eye-catching cover, but if you open the book and the words are cut off in the margin, or holes are punched through them, it can ruin the whole experience. In general, for spiral or wire-o bound products we recommend 1/2" margins to be safe. However, if space is an issue, you can follow these specific guides:
Holes for spiral binding are smaller and only require 1/4" of the binding edge.
Wire-o holes are larger and require 1/2" margins
Bleed and crop marks
Missing bleed and crop marks are one of the most popular reasons for rejected print files. If your PDF has edge-to-edge printing, then you need bleed. This means the image should be slightly larger than the finished page size so that when we trim to the crop marks, we will cut through the image so that the printing actually prints edge to edge. Without bleed, your page/cover/document will have a white border all of the way around and the color will not print to the edge of the sheet. Be sure to download our free expert guide for more information about bleed and crop marks.
FREE RESOURCES
Our Help Page offers a variety of free resources including product videos and guides on everything from design to step-by-step instructions. Below are links to just a few available:
(Coming Soon to our Expert Guides Page) Guide for Using InDesign
In this section of our special 5-part series, we hope we shared information that has inspired and motivated you to move forward with your idea for a book or special product. Next week, we will focus on important facts about publishing and printing your products, including tips for how to imprint as an author, pricing your products, listing on Amazon, online sales, and more.
(Part 2 of our "How to Create a Product From Start to Finish 5-part series)
How to Create a Product with Vervante: Part 2
In the second installment of this special series of articles, we will guide you through the next steps once you’ve defined the product you want to create.
How to get printing cost quotes
Once you've defined exactly what you want to create, you can reach out to our team to find out what it will cost to print it. We provide free quotes, all you need to know when requesting a quote are general specifications. Here are a few examples:
Books: Size of book, number of pages, cover type, binding method
Card decks or greeting cards: Size of cards, number of cards, packaging
Planners or journals: Number of pages, page size, tabs, covers, binding, etc.
To request a quote, go to the Vervante website and click on “Get a Quote” in the top right-hand corner. Fill out the required information and you will receive an email response with the quote information.
Create a Vervante author account
To upload files and order products, you need to create a Vervante author account. It’s free, quick, and easy. Just go to our website and click on Sign Up. Once you’re set up, you can access your Author Dashboard, which is where you can upload files for printing, place orders, and access everything from sales reports to invoice details and everything else you need to manage your account.
Writing and creating content
No matter what kind of product you are creating - books, planners, card decks, children's books, coloring books, etc. - it's guaranteed that you will need some amount of written content for that product. Content is just as important as design when it comes to creating a product that is both attractive and functional. Here are a few of our tips to give you a head start as you create content for your product:
The importance of copy editing: Nothing can be more damaging to your products and your reputation than publishing a book or other written product that is filled with typos, errors, and incorrect information. A few mistakes here and there aren't that big of a deal, but consistent misspellings, grammar errors, and incorrect information will distract your reader and leave them with a negative perception of you, your expertise, and the message or information you share. Check out this article to learn more about the different types of editing and how important it is for the success of your product: "The Importance of Copy Editing."
Understanding legal issues: Understanding how to protect your unique work and the rules you need to follow is an essential part of being an author and entrepreneur. We've published several resources and multiple blog articles about the most common issues, answering many FAQs that our customers send our way. We've included links below to articles and free guides you can access that will give you a good working knowledge of the do's and don'ts as you create your new product.
What to put on your book copyright page: The copyright page is found at the front of the book, usually right after the title page. The format can be varied as there is no single accepted template for copyright pages. Generally, they will contain things like: copyright notice, ISBN, publisher information, contact information, rights and permissions, country book is printed in, author website, credits and disclaimers. Follow the link to this story, "What to Put on Your Copyright Page," and you'll see lots of examples you can use for inspiration.
FREE RESOURCES Our Help Page offers a variety of free resources including product videos and guides on everything from design tips to copyrighting. Below are links to just a few of the many guides available:
In this section of our special 5-part series, we hope we shared information that has inspired and motivated you to move forward with your idea for a book or special product. Next week, we will cover what you need to know about designing your product, with insider tips to help you through the process.
Getting your first order is an awesome feeling. But before you send anything out, there is one thing you need to set up to ensure your customers have the best experience possible – your packing slips. 
It's time to talk design! Recently we’ve discussed the beginning stages of creating a new product and working with Vervante. In Part 1 and 2 of this series, we discussed the first steps of defining and content creation for your new product. Now we’re ready to talk about design.
How to Create a Product with Vervante: Part 2
Our