Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 31, 2019

When selling to corporate buyers, don't just get feedback from them about current pain points and how your solution/content can address immediate needs (although that is important information). Try to get a sense of where their business is moving so you can develop a point of view about how they and their competition may look one or two years from now. That crucial information can help you form and direct your presentation and negotiation strategy.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 30, 2019

"Some people think of opportunity the way it's defined in the dictionary—as a set of circumstances that make something possible—and they talk about it as if it just arrives organically. You 'spot' opportunity or wait around for opportunity to knock.  I look at it differently. I believe that you have to be the architect of the circumstances, that opportunity is something you manufacture, not something you wait for." Biz Stone, Twitter cofounder

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 29, 2019

"When you think you are done revising your manuscript, set it aside for at least three months. Then read through it again to make sure it is ready to send out." David Malki, filmmaker

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 28, 2019

Here is a formula to determine the grade level required to understand your text. If the resulting score is a 3 that means a third-grade education is required to understand it: 0.39(total words/total sentences) + 11.8(total syllables/total words) - 15.59   The bestseller list today is full of simpler fiction today than it was 50 years ago. In the 1960s the median book had a grade level of 8. Today the median grade level is 6. (Readers Digest)

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 26, 2019

The danger of planning is that never again will you have the luxury of wondering, "What should I do next?"

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 25, 2019

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing and being nothing." Denis Waitley

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 24, 2019

Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle loves to read, but couldn't find a bookstore near the team's facility in FL. According to the Wall Street Journal (May 24, page A12), "he vowed to seek out an independent bookshop on every road trip this year..." Doolittle was quoted in the article as saying, "I want to support local business. I want to support those places that are active in their communities, that are trying to be supportive and inclusive spaces for their communities." APSS supports bookstores, too. Our position is to sell through them, but not only through them. Consider non-bookstore opportunities, too.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 23, 2019

Instead of selling your book, sell the product of the product – the benefit the reader receives from reading it. The CEO of a cosmetics-manufacturing company once said, "In the factory we make cosmetics, but in the store we sell hope." Sell what your content does, not what your book is.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 22, 2019

Do you have 2020 vision? What will your publishing business be like in the year 2020? Do you have a plan to get there? Improve your 2020 vision with four sights: 1) Foresight. Create possible future scenarios and then plan your new mix of product, distribution, pricing and promotion decisions accordingly. 2) Hindsight. Evaluate what you did in the past and learn from your mistakes. 3) Insight. What is the unique difference that separates your product from competitors? 4) Outsight. Create a mastermind team – a group of professionals with various backgrounds and meet regularly to evaluate your position and plans.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 21, 2019

"Think like a photographer when living your life.  Learn to FOCUS, CAPTURE and DEVELOP each picture along your journey and when things don't work out, simply take another shot." Karen Bomm

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 20, 2019

"Most great innovations were created in "third space," usually away from familiar surroundings. These are interactive environments where diverse talents gather, such as on the golf course and in coffee shops."  Ray Oldenburg

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 18, 2019

Would you rather have an email list of 1,000 people on it, or 100,000 followers on Twitter? "Take the 1,000 emails because the business you get will be much more than what you will get from 100,000 people on Twitter or Instagram," according to the Wall Street Journal

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 17, 2019

John McPhee (author of Draft No. 4) on revision: "There are psychological differences from phase to phase, and the first is the phase of the pit and the pendulum. After that, it seems as if a different person is taking over. Dread largely disappears. Problems becomes less threatening, more interesting. Experience is more helpful, as if an amateur is being replaced by a professional." Wall Street Journal

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 15, 2019

Who thinks of these things?  You can arrange the letters in the words on the left to get the words on the right.

Dormitory = Dirty room

The Morse code = Here come dots

Slot machines = Cash lost in 'em

Snooze alarms – Alas no more z's

Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 14, 2019

You may have heard the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The same can be said of asking questions: keep asking the same kind of questions and thinking you are going to get different answers. According to the Wall Street Journal (May 14, p R2), "There are lots of questions you can ask. But only the best really knock down barriers to creative thinking and channel energy down new, more productive pathways. A question that does has five traits. It reframes the problem. It intrigues the imagination. It invites others' thinking. It opens up space for different answers. And it is nonaggressive – not posed to embarrass, humiliate or assert power over the other party."

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 13, 2019

When networking, understand that "people are more likely to remember encounters that are emotionally charged." Instead of starting with "I just got back from vacation," use an opening line that sparks pleasure such as, "Do you have any exciting plans for this summer?" Another example is, "What was the highlight of your day?"  (Wall Street Journal) These questions also put the focus on the other person – usually their favorite subject.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 10, 2019

An old adage tells us that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. But what if that step were in the wrong direction? The traveler would waste unnecessary time, energy and money going the wrong way. Plan your book-marketing actions for of 2019 so you continue on (or get back on) the right path, going in the right direction. Particularly, plan for special sales to non-bookstore buyers

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 9, 2019

When people tell me their book is not selling, I ask why. Most have no idea, but assume it has nothing to do with their book or their lack of promotion or marketing. Poor sales is a symptom of the problem. The first step in solving the problem is to define it by objectively evaluating their total marketing program (off/online). This includes assessing their product (content and design), price (retail and bulk sales), distribution (bookstore and non-bookstore) and promotion (publicity, advertising, sales promo and personal selling -- on- and offline). The answer usually lies in one – or a combination – of them.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 8, 2019

When selling books through bookstores, you sell one book to each consumer. You never know who they are, so there is no possibility for a repeat sale. One of the benefits of selling books to corporate buyers is that you can sell many books to one buyer, and you can generate repeat sales from him or her.

Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May7, 2019

What 25 relationships do you need to nurture? Make a list of all the people who can help you double the size of your business – including the next five major customers you need. Figure out how to cultivate and deepen these relationships before you ask for any favors. "Establish how the relationship will benefit the other person, how you can help make them more successful," says Keith Ferrazzi, author of "Never East Alone"

. Book-Marketing Tip of the Day – May 1, 2019

Stimulate your creativity by asking questions beginning with "What if…?" What if you condensed the information in your book and made a series of booklets? What if you sold your book as a premium to corporations?