Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 30, 2016

For many children in war-torn Afghanistan, books are an unobtainable luxury. Saber Hosseini is trying to change that. Six month ago, the schoolteacher began delivering boxes of kids' books to remote villages on his bicycle. His project now has 20 volunteers and a collection of 6,000 books. "Every week, we bring kids new books and take back the old ones." Hosseini has received threats from the Taliban, but refuses to stop. "We want to keep delivering a bit of joy."

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 29, 2016

Find the positive spin to every disaster. If you went on vacation and came back to find that your house had burned down, what is the first thing you would do if you knew you had left expensive diamonds there? You would start digging in the ashes of defeat to find the one thing from which you could benefit. Do the same thing when you face defeat in book sales. Dig for the one thing from which you could benefit –your belief in your ability to find a different way to sell your books.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 28, 2016

Some habits are good, some not so good. How can you tell if a habit is good or bad? Good habits are hard to make and easy to break. Bad habits are easy to make and hard to break. Many publishers are in the easy-to-make habit of selling only through bookstores. They market each new title in the same way they did all previous ones, or as everybody else does it. While that habit is not inherently bad, it could limit your sales, revenue and profits. Evaluate your habits and seek a different way to increase your sales – in non-bookstore markets.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 27, 2016

You know when you are getting good at book marketing when you are having fun and being creative. When you don't even realize you're getting better, that's when you're getting better. If you're not engaged in what you are doing, it's as helpful as taking the trash out. It's just another chore.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 26, 2016

"Writing about things you know best goes only so far. Sometimes you're required to go find a story, as Truman Capote did, in his nonfiction novel In Cold Blood." Salman Rushdie, today's Wall Street Journal, page A16

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 25, 2016

"If you can't explain every week how you have materially moved your business forward you won't succeed as a startup." Piraye Beim

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 24, 2016

JK Rowling was divorced, jobless, a single parent and almost homeless. But she had an old typewriter and a big idea. You know what happened next. But there was an interesting comment she made about her situation. She said, "The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive." (Readers Digest)

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Brian Jud is the Executive Director of APSS (www.bookapss.org) - formerly SPAN. He is also the author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books. Brian offers commission-based sales of books to buyers in non-bookstore markets. Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT  06001-0715; (860) 675-1344; brianjud@bookmarketing.com or www.premiumbookcompany.com   twitter.com/bookmarketing

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 23, 2016

"If you can't explain every week how you have materially moved your business forward you won't succeed as a startup." Piraye Beim

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 22, 2016

Plan ahead. "Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming," said David Bowie  

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 21, 2016

Successful marketing starts with a high-quality book. Use professional designers and editors. Good marketing will kill a bad book quickly.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 20, 2016

Good article in today's Wall Street Journal (pg D1), "How Tech is Bringing Readers Back into Bookstores." A key to retail success is profit per square foot. When you sell to any non-bookstore retailer, describe how your promotion will increase their store traffic and help increase inventory turns.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 19, 2016

The benefits of consistent marketing are cumulative and do not erode over time as your efforts grow with experience, intuition and wisdom

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 18, 2016

Advice from a SEAL commander: "Hard times help you adapt--quickly." People who go through hard times should learn to appreciate them, recognizing that those times will not only strengthen them, but truly train them to properly and successfully lead their own teams when battling the competition." How can you apply this to your business?

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 17, 2016

Can you state your strategy simply? At Nasty Gal, founder Sophia Amoruso's game plan is selling vintage clothes to young women. Snapchat's strategy is delivering disappearing photos. Ikea's is selling nicely designed flat-pack furniture. If you can't articulate your strategic approach as clearly as they can, do not expect the market to get it. Road-test yours here for some valuable feedback.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 16, 2016

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) released Q3 2015 revenue numbers from more than 1,200 trade, K-12, higher education, university press, and professional publishers. The data spans January to September of 2015, and compared to the same period in 2014, publishers' net revenue declined 2% from $12.1 billion to $11.9 billion. Driving much of the decline was a significant drop in ebook revenue. Net revenue for ebooks declined 11.1%, the majority of which came from a significant 44.8% drop in the children and YA category. (Book Business Magazine). Revenue from books sold in non-bookstore segments increased during that same period.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 15, 2016

Create a flight plan to make your business take off.  Planning is analogous to what pilots do before departure. They create a flight plan outlining how they will fly from one point to the other. Once they take off, unanticipated events may occur that require adjustments to their initial plan. They listen to feedback from air-traffic controllers. Turbulence may force them to change altitude, or they may have to change course to avoid thunderstorms. Pilots adjust their plan as necessary to complete their journey most expeditiously. Your marketing plan should be similar to a flight plan. It is a description of your destination and a set of instructions of how to get there. At the same time it describes what to do when circumstances change.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 14, 2016

"Rereading the same book produces new insights because the reader is a different person. Indeed, a good book is very much like a mirror: the glass is the same year after year, but the reflection in it changes over time." Christopher Nelson

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 13, 2016

"In an epoc in which screens of one sort or another have become ubiquitous, it is more vital than ever to read to children as long, often and at length, for as long as they will stay to listen." Maria Tatar in The Wall Street Journal

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 12, 2016

Don't automatically cut your price to sell more books – find a better way to make them valuable to buyers. For example, in the 2008-2009 recession, job prospects looked uncertain as many people were laid off. Consumers delayed purchases of durable goods, and car sales plummeted. Major car manufacturers slashed prices and sought government bailouts. Hundai considered those options, but took a different approach. It asked potential customers why they were not buying cars. The overwhelming answer was, "I could lose my job, so the risk of making a major purchase is too high." Instead of offering a price reduction, Hundai devised a risk-reduction guarantee: "If you lose your job or income within a year of buying one of our cars you can return it with no penalty to your credit rating." Hundai sales nearly doubled. It didn't innovate to sell better cars. It innovated to sell cars better.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 11, 2016

"Get out of your garage and go take a chance and start your business." Kevin Plank, Founder Under Armour

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 10, 2016

Upper- and lower-case letters are named 'upper' and 'lower' because when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the 'Upper case' letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the smaller, 'lower case' letters.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 8, 2016

When asked who their target reader is, many authors reply, "I do not know," or "everybody who likes to read about (their topic)." Either answer will reduce your sales and profits. If your book is for everybody, how much would it cost you to reach them frequently enough to make an impact? Define your prospective customers – readers and non-retail buyers – and communicate with them from their perspectives. Tell them how they can benefit from your content.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 7, 2016

Let loose. One day a satellite design team got into a really whacky mood and made fun of their product. They were zany, crazy and off the wall. The meeting was a great success and many new ideas were generated. The next week, everybody was in a serious mood and no new ideas were generated. The moral: having a little fun stimulates your creative juices. 

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 6, 2016

If you don't negotiate large corporate book orders effectively, the buyers will offer you two choices: take it or leave it.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 5, 2016

Avoid arrogance. On the morning of the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte smugly assured his generals: "I tell you Wellington is a bad general and the English are bad soldiers. We will settle this matter by lunchtime." Do not be blinded by arrogance. A little humility can help you steer clear of disaster. What is your blind spot? Does ego adversely affect your performance?

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 4, 2016

The innovation process succeeds when design intersects with strategy. Instead of thinking, "Should I produce a pbook or ebook?" Ask, "How do people want to receive the information?" It could be by audio book, pbook, ebook seminar, consulting, spokesperson, etc.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 3, 2016

Deliver on your promise. Your book's content must give the buyer all that you promise in your promotion. 

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – April 2, 2016

Craft precise pitches. You'll intrigue potential customers more if you tell them your book will cost $4.82 per unit rather than "nearly $5.00."  Specificity is what gives people confidence in your message. Even better, use graphics that illustrate the financial impact of your proposal -- whether that is improving sales, saving money or increasing employee happiness. It's a powerful way to stop prospects from merely skimming your marketing materials.