Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – March 30, 2015

If people predict that your book will "never make it" in special sales, remember these predictions: "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943; and "The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty -- a fad," said the president of Michigan S&L advising Henry Ford's lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Company, 1903

Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – March 23, 2015

Instead of selling through bookstores exclusively, develop new markets for your content in corporations, associations and other non-traditional segments. The payoff to can be enormous. Consider the difference between Apple and Microsoft. Between 2001 and 2015 Apple has made significant moves to create or enter new markets by introducing the iPod, iTunes, the iPhone, the App Store, the iPad and the iWatch (and soon, online television according to the March 17 Wall Street Journal). Its sales and profits increased massively. Over the same period Microsoft's revenue went from nearly five times that of Apple to about half of Apple's. Close to 80% of its profits resulted from two businesses (Windows and Office) with no compelling market-creating moves.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – March 16, 2015

Conduct simple market research to learn what people want, the form in which they want it, where they shop, how many they might buy and the price they may be willing to pay. Find this information by reading relevant periodicals, joining pertinent associations, attending trade shows or simply asking them.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – March 9, 2015

Why is a concise promotion called a blurb? The word blurb, meaning an inspired recommendation, comes from an evening in 1907 during an annual trade dinner of New York publishers where it was customary to distribute copies of new books with special promotional jackets. For his book, humorist Gelett Burgess caused a sensation with a cover drawing of a very attractive and buxom young woman he named 'Miss Belinda Blurb." From then on, any flamboyant endorsement would be known as a "blurb." ("The Little Book of Answers," by Doug Lennox)

Book-Marketing Tip of the Week – March 2, 2015

A book that is poorly packaged, an inaccurate news story or shoddy customer service all negatively impact your carefully crafted identity.