Book Marketing Matters™
Brian Jud's free, bi-weekly ezine dedicated to helping you get your fair share of sales in special-sales (non-bookstore) markets, and sell more books profitably
Volume 13, Issue 265, Number 318 December 22, 2014 |
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| | Greetings!
Here is your December 22 edition of the Book Marketing Matters special-sales ezine by Brian Jud. It contains regular columns with tips from Dan Poynter, John Kremer, Guy Achtzehn, Rick Frishman, Eric Kampmann, Paulette Ensign, Judith Briles, Tonya Evans and Roger C. Parker. The guest columnist in this issue is Marsha Friedman.
This newsletter is sent by subscription only. Please pass this information along to people you feel may benefit by it. If there were any problems with this delivery, please let me know. If you prefer to have this sent to you as a pdf, please reply with "pdf" in the subject line or body copy. If you no longer wish to receive this -- or if you received it in error -- please reply with "Remove" in the subject line. All of us at Book Marketing Works wish you success in your book-marketing efforts, Brian Jud Click here to view this newsletter as a pdf document |
News From APSS
(The Association of Publishers for Special Sales) | | In early December APSS conducted a survey among our members. Here are representative (not all) responses from the survey. If you did not participate in the survey, but would like to do so, please go to http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07ea5fqxapi2nq262b/start What current APSS membership benefits do you find most helpful? - Book distribution (53%) - LSI printing discount (51%) - Discount on Bowker products and services (42%) - Ebook conversion and awards (39%) - Shipping discounts (37%) What additional membership benefits would you like to have offered? - Strategic marketing - Referrals to good marketing resources (these may be found on the APSS home page) - Discount on book printing (this is already a member benefit -- through LSI) - Make it easier to purchase service you already offer Would you take advantage of any of these programs if offered at an additional charge? - Personal book-marketing consulting (64%) - Consulting on personal branding (38%) - Group brainstorming on marketing topics (32%) What additional products or services would you like APSS to offer? - Any method of contact or introduction to producers - Sales reps for special market sales; not just advice, but actual sales help - Better marketing and follow-through with pending sales to non-bookstores - A free submission to the non-bookstore program - Better Internet, book show and appropriate market- advertisement How could the monthly newsletter The Sales Informer be improved? - Better design - Make it much shorter, possibly by breaking it into weekly issues - I enjoy it as is - Maybe you could discuss a membership feature of the month to remind us of benefits (we have implemented a weekly email featuring one benefit) How can APSS better help you? - A question and answer forum to address little things that pop up from time to time would be helpful (we are planning to do this) - Skype meetings or hold them at more convenient times and locations. - A "community" of people working through marketing their books and sharing tips, resources, ideas and help (this exists in the Idea Marketplace at http://tinyurl.com/lzcykvp and on the APSS Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bookapss ) - I've gotten a few good things from some of the free webinars, but can't always attend them as scheduled. I so appreciate when the recordings are offered afterwards. (a list of the recordings of all 24 webinars held in 2014 may be found under the "Marketing Tips" tab at www.bookapss.org ) |
| We can sell your books to non-bookstore buyers -- non-returnable | | Do you want us to sell your books?
Commission-based special sales. Non-returnable. We pay shipping
We get about 3,000 hits per month  on the ESP search engine. Most of the titles in our program receive some action on a regular basis. We cannot show them all, but here is a list of the direct inquires for which we send sample books. We usually customize them with the customer's logos or with a tip-in insert page. www.premiumbookcompany.com |
| Notes From the Front Lines (Excerpted - with permission - from the Book Publishers' Handbook, by Eric Kampmann, President, Midpoint Trade Books ekampmann@aol.com) | Discovering the Best Market for your Title. When we think of marketing and selling our title, we often make the mistake of thinking in the singular rather than the plural tense. When people come to Midpoint Trade Books seeking distribution for their title, we often hear "I must have this book in Barnes & Noble and other book stores." But is this true? Think of the old Broadway shows: did they open on Broadway? Almost never. Instead, they would open in places like New Haven and slowly work their way to the "Great White Way." While on the road, they would continually refine the rough spots, responding to the reaction of audiences with each show. Why? Because this process enabled the producers to reduce the risk of failure. The bigger publishers have usually tested their books because the author has often achieved name-brand status. But smaller publishers do not have the resources to compete directly in this arena. Therefore, they should entertain alternative marketing strategies including developing alternative channels of sales and distribution for their titles. Many books start in "New Haven" and many never get to "Broadway" but some do and the pay off can be tremendous. The point is to start modestly, find your market, build it and the rest will follow. |
Poynter's Pointers (Excerpted - with permission - from Dan Poynter's Fifteenth Edition of | | Sponsored books are those you are commissioned to write. There may be an institution that wants your book printed and will offer a large advance order. For example, when we wrote our book on the Frisbee, the Wham-O Manufacturing Co., which makes flying disks, might have wanted to help the publication of the book, thinking the publicity could help their sales. With this sponsorship, they might have asked for some sort of cover credit, such as "Published in Association with Wham-O." Such an endorsement is to your advantage, because it lends credibility to the book. |
The Cover Story - Tamara Dever (Owner/Creative Director, TLC Graphics. For more information about producing beautiful and saleable books, please visit www.TLCGraphics.com) |  This book promotes social understanding in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and these Social Stories™have become a standard approach for teachers and parents all over the globe. We were asked to update the cover and interior of this book for its tenth anniversary edition and the design (inside and out) surely reflects the book's move into a new decade. The use of several photos (instead of clip art), a fun color scheme, anniversary banner, CD icon to show off a new feature, and celebration banner all balance nicely together despite the sheer number of elements on the cover. After its release, the sales of this book skyrocketed 97% over sales exactly one year prior. Who says design can't affect the bottom line?
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The Book Shepherd - Judith Briles (Judith Briles is the Chief Visionary Officer of www.AuthorU.org. She's known as The Book Shepherd ( www.TheBookShepherd.com), and is the author of 30 books including Show Me About Book Publishing and Author YOU: Creating and Building the Author and Book Platforms. Download podcasts from Judith's radio show, Your Guide to Book Publishing at: http://rsrn.us/youpublish | | Author Central on Amazon is like a secret sauce. It's the single, fastest way to get a "live" person from Amazon to talk to. If you have a critical question, a snafu of some sort, even wonder if you are in the right category, you are able to go to your Author Central account, click on the "Connect/Talk" or whatever they call the icon at the moment on your page. Within seconds, your phone rings and your get help. I'm amazed at the speed of the call and the helpfulness on the other end. |
You're On The Air (Deborah Wetzel, morning news anchor and talk-show host on WCBS-FM, New York City) | | A good guest is an engaging guest. Lively. Funny, if appropriate. Someone who knows the length of the show and can adjust the length of his or her answers accordingly. |
The Very Idea
(Editorial by Brian Jud) | 
You may have worked very hard this year without making the progress you had planned. What unforeseen circumstances are making your progress more difficult? Don't let negative baggage from 2014 hold you back in 2015.
DARE to do better next year: Discover new markets in which to compete. Try different actions. Find new revenue streams and build a steady flow of profits. Adapt your marketing plans to better fit your books, personality, goals and resources. Respect yourself. Rid yourself of negative thoughts that could be dragging you down. Empower yourself. Don't let the naysayers hold you back. Set your sights on a firm objective and don't let go. Keep marketing your books with a dogged determination and you will see your sales grow. I wish you great success in 2015.
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Ideas for Selling to Non-Bookstore Buyers - Guy Achtzehn (President of The Promotional Bookstore, offering commission-based sales of books to non-bookstore buyers, guy@msgpromo.com) | Book-marketing intuition occurs with experience, but there is a way to accelerate the instinctive process. That is to get the information you need, and then manage and manipulate it into profitable marketing strategy. It sounds simple - and it is. But is it not necessarily easy. Guy's seven steps to selling successfully in non-bookstore markets were summarized in previous editions, and in the next issue of Book Marketing Matters. Step Six. Find lists of people to contact. Knowing the segments in which your potential customers gather is not enough. You are not selling to segments, but to people in those segments. Learn the organizations that might be prospects, then the names of the individuals to whom you will sell at each. |
Leadership and Growth Concepts - Tom Hill (Founder and CEO of the Eagle Goal Coach, an organization devoted solely to assisting others find and follow their life's passion. Tom can be reached at tom@tomhillwebsite.com) | There are ways we can become better leaders. One simple step is to take time to remind yourself of how blessed you are. Take some to write down what you're grateful for - name one to three things you're grateful for every night. This will help you think more positively. Gratitude is known to be a really powerful tool that can help you appreciate the things you take for granted. It's so easy to focus on the negative in your day and forget or dismiss the positive. By calling attention to the good, you can change how your mind works. |
Marketing Planning (Excerpted from Brian Jud's e-booklet, Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan: 461 Tips for Profitable Marketing Planning; www.bookmarketing.com) | Begin your 2013 plan with the right goal, or your strategy may be misplaced and ineffective. Poor strategic direction often results when goals are defined in terms of unit or dollar volume, with profits assumed to follow. |
Book-Marketing Tips - Roger C. Parker | | Avoid depending exclusively on yesterday's personal branding tools. When exploring ways to write a book to build your personal brand, be open to new ideas and avoid placing too much attention on yesterday's tools. Yesterday's route to success involved writing a high-visibility book that was displayed in prime locations at retail book stores. Success was frequently a long time coming, as authors would focus on writing a "big book," carefully argued thought-leadership book that trade publishers would take a year, or more, to bring to market. Now, living in an ebook and search engine world, success often comes from publishing a series of shorter, focused, and practical ebooks that appear more often, are less expensive, and are promote online and to specific market segments. The success of Amazon.com's Kindle wireless ebook reader, digital print-on-demand, and other technologies is opening new ways to publish and promote your ideas. It's up to you, however, whether or not you profit from today's exciting publishing options. The first step is to maintain an open mind as you explore the new publishing formats and alternatives. |
Marketing Strategy
(Excerpted from Brian Jud's e-booklet, The Buck Starts Here: 635 Tips for Creating Successful Marketing Strategy; www.bookmarketing.com) | Strategic marketing planning is knowing what marketing tools are available and how they can be combined for the greatest impact. Strategic thinking will tell you if a particular title will be beneficial for your business before you begin the details of publishing it. It will make you aware of the different distribution options that are available before you choose one. Strategic thinking will help you recognize the impact your book's price will have on your customers and your bottom line before you go to press. The strategy of implementation differs from the details of implementation. |
Legal Matters That Matter to Writers - Professor Tonya M. Evans (Contact Professor Evans at Legal Write Publications, info@legalwritepublications.com or www.legalwritepublications.com; The information contained in this column is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you need advice regarding a specific legal matter, consult a lawyer as each case is fact-specific.) | | Who owns the copyright if I collaborate with someone else on my book? When two or more writers or other creative people collaborate to create a copyrighted work and intend that their individual contributions be combined into a single interdependent work, by default, all of the contributors share equally in ownership of the copyright. This is true even if the participants contribute different parts to the whole or exert unequal effort (as when a celebrity lends her name to a project but the writer actually creates the manuscript). - Of course, the collaborators can (and should) enter into a written agreement that details specifically who owns what; how much money (if any) each contributor will receive; who is responsible for what; what happens if a collaborator dies becomes disabled, or does not stay with the project to its completion; how the credits will appear; and in what name or names the copyright will be registered. Remember
- The name, address, and electronic signature of the complaining party [512(c)(3)(A)(i)]
- The infringing materials and their Internet location [512(c)(3)(A)(ii-iii)], or if the service provider is an
- "information location tool" such as a search engine, the reference or link to the infringing materials
- [512(d)(3)].
- Sufficient information to identify the copyrighted works [512(c)(3)(A)(iv)].
- A statement by the owner that it has a good faith belief that there is no legal basis for the use of the
- materials complained of [512(c)(3)(A)(v)].
- A statement of the accuracy of the notice and, under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on the behalf of the owner [512(c)(3)(A)(vi)].
Once notice is given to the service provider, or in circumstances where the service provider discovers the infringing material itself, it is required to expeditiously remove, or disable access to, the material. The safe harbor provisions do not require the service provider to notify the individual responsible for the allegedly infringing material before it has been removed, but they do require notification after the material is removed. |
Booklet Ideas - Paulette Ensign | | You have tips from your expertise to share with the world. You decided a tips booklet makes sense for your business and your audience. You also have ideas about how you want to present your information in that booklet. While there is no one "right" way, some approaches work better than others, based on your style and what you want to achieve. How-to Tips The basis for tips booklets for over two decades has been a specific writing formula: one sentence starting with a positive verb (action word) telling the reader what to do followed by one or two sentences explaining how or why. That's pretty straightforward and helpful. It works. It's more than a list of commands since the "how" or "why" are added. Thousands of people have created tips booklets worldwide based consistently on that formula throughout their publication. Leaving out the verb at the beginning of the first sentence of the tip is more of a philosophical statement than an action-oriented tip. Quotes Relevant quotes are used in various ways in a booklet. The quotes can be from well known people, lesser or unknown people, or anonymous. Quotes can be interspersed throughout the booklet as gentle dividers for various sections of tips. They can be an entire booklet, which generally makes it more inspirational than instructional. Quotes can also be distracting for some people who prefer to have clear how-to tips. Your decision to include or omit quotes is completely up to you as to how it reflects what you want to present. Questions Many publications have been created based completely on questions or by adding questions at the end of a topic section or chapter. Like quotes, it comes down to what you want to accomplish with your publication. Many of your readers want answers more than they want questions. They are seeking solutions from someone they think knows more about a topic than they do. While your expertise will still need to be adjusted by the reader to suit their circumstance, a booklet of mostly questions may or may not be appropriate for creating the relationship you want with that client who is reading your booklet. Action Boxes A hybrid approach to providing how-to tips and actively engaging your reader is to put one or more how-to tips on a page or in a section of the booklet, and creating an action box on one or more pages for the reader to interact with information you've provided. It makes your booklet somewhat of a workbook that the reader will either write in or make notes elsewhere to keep the booklet unmarked. This approach can work well for a reader whose learning style is primarily interactive. Action boxes mean presenting less content because of the space they consume in your booklet while keeping the page count to a reasonable number. ACTION - Recognize you have choices in how you create your booklet beyond what you previously realized. You might reject every choice beyond a straightforward tips booklet, or a hybrid could be appealing to you now that you see other possibilities. |
Guest Columnist - Michael Larsen (Michael Larsen-Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents / Helping Writers Launch Careers Since 1972 February 14-17, 2013 / www.sfwriters.org / sfwriterscon@aol.com) | Creating a Literary Ecosystem: The 10 Essential Elements of a Successful Writing Career You can create a literary ecosystem: a balanced, organic, evolving, sustainable, inter-dependent, international, environmentally sensitive community. Your system will be unified by two holy trinities and by passion, interest, service, connection, and commerce. The ten circular, integrated elements of your literary ecosystem will be - Passion-your love for creating and communicating your work
- Purpose-literary, publishing, and community goals that inspire you to achieve them
- Professionalism
--knowledge about writing, publishing, and your field --the holy trinity of craft: reading, writing, and sharing --the holy trinity of commerce: communities, a platform, and test-marketing --using the technology you need to succeed - Perspective-understanding that developing your craft and career is a long-term process
- Products and services-being a contentpreneur by producing a steady stream of work in your field in different forms and lengths that you re-purpose in other media
- People-win-win relationships with engaged, committed, growing communities of people you serve who want to help you, because they know, like, and trust you
- Platform--your continuing visibility, online and off, on your subject or the kind of book you write with your communities and potential buyers
- Pre-promotion--test-marketing your work in as many ways as you can
- Promotion- serving your communities by using your passion and platform to share the value of your work
- Profit-what you need to achieve your personal and professional goals and maintain the system
The importance of each element will vary, depending on what you write. Promotion and testmarketing will be more important for a book than a blog post. Your ecosystem has to keep learning from and contributing to your communities, the hyper-connected human family, and the planet. Your system will continue to build synergy as long as you sustain it by enriching its soil with content and communication. Make cultivating your ecosystem a lifelong quest. You will accomplish more than you can imagine. |
| | | You can't just pick up the phone or make a wish and, presto, you're on Oprah. You have to build incrementally, step-by-step. Start small and locally; approach civic, community, and religious organizations. Develop a series of talks for the Y, your church, or the Rotary Club and then move up. Talk to everyone you know, network, beat the bushes. Find places to start, get bookings and work your way up. Make your initial mistakes locally and build a devoted following close to home. Take speaking, voice or acting lessons, or hire a media coach. Join Toastmasters and the National Speakers Association. Tape your performances; critique them; and practice, practice, practice. |
Kremer's Korner (Excerpted - with permission - from John Kremer's Sixth Edition of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. Contact John at http://www.bookmarket.com) | | Many catalogs ask for an advertising allowance, which usually takes the form of an additional discount off the price of the product to the catalog. Essentially, the ad allowance is the price you pay for space in the catalog. Look on this cost as if you were buying a display ad in a magazine. |
Helpful Website of the Week - Adele M. Annesi
(Adele is a freelance writer and an editor with a high-tech analysis firm in Stamford, CT and may be reached at a.annesi@sbcglobal.net) |
Book Country www.bookcountry.com
This writing and publishing community enables writers to find and connect with other writers, workshop their manuscripts, learn about the craft and business of writing and publishing, and build an audience as they prepare to publish. |
Pam's Book Marketing Tips - Pam Lontos | There are more TV talk shows than ever before. TV talk shows need a constant stream of guests. Since this is a visual medium, you want to work on preparing something visual to offer them. It could be demonstrations of cooking (for a cook book), exercise, exotic photos for a travel book, or interesting houses for a real estate book. |
| Upcoming Marketing Events | The Best of the Best - the Top Marketing Tips from 2014 Thursday, January 8 at 6:00 pm Eastern time During the past year APSS has sponsored 24 semi-monthly webinars. These webinars have been on topics to help you sell more books, more profitably. In our first webinar of 2015 we will review the top tips of 2014 that have helped - or can help -- you the most. Here are just a few of the topics that you will re-discover on our whirlwind tour of the past year's book-marketing webinars: How to find more prospective buyers Tips for selling more books to schools New ways to sell more books during in-store events Hints for selling more books to the military and government buyers How to break into the lucrative market of special sales How to write and present a proposal to sell books in large quantities Negotiating tips for maximum sales New ideas for selling to all retailers - not just through bookstores Hints for selling more books during the fourth quarter Perform a mid-year evaluation to reach your annual goals How to plan for selling more books in 2015 Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/lgbs4sq What's in a Name? EVERYTHING! How to Name Your Book (By Scott Lorenz) Thursday, January 22 at 6:00 pm Eastern time Besides writing a great book, nothing is more important than the title For some authors naming their book is more difficult than naming their children. Is there a method, a strategy to titling a book? "YES," says book publicist Scott Lorenz, President of Westwind Book Marketing.
Tune into a free webinar on January 22nd when Lorenz will offer up tips, techniques and best practices so you can give your book a fighting chance. He'll discuss proven methods to become discoverable by Google, Bing and Amazon just by naming your book correctly. He's researched and written about his findings using Alliteration, IDIOMS, Clichés and high ranking key words in the title and sub-title. You won't want to miss this stimulating conversation about naming your book.
Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/pkupzyf |
| Get Links to All of Jud's
Book Marketing Webinars
| I have conducted over 50 webinars that can help you sell more books. Watch and listen as I describe how to increase your sales to non-bookstore buyers, how to get on TV and radio shows, get more publicity, conduct bookstore events, get more reviews and awards and more.Get links to recordings of my 60 - 90 minute webinars.
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Buy Lines -- Free Information | Do you need a jump-start to get your sales moving? If so, consider a one-hour consultation with Brian Jud. Get answers that will ignite your sales efforts. Brian can help you create a quality product, distribute it to markets you may not even know exist, price it profitably and promote it more effectively so you can...
Sell more books
Beat your competition
Become more profitable
Sell in untapped, lucrative markets
Minimize -- if not eliminate - returns
Contact BrianJud@bookmarketing.com for more information |
| Sell More Books, Make More Money In Special Sales |  Now Available - the most current and complete resource for increasing your sales and profits in non-bookstore markets.
The ultimate do-it-yourself guide to selling your books in large quantities with no returns. Not just who to contact, but when and how.
By Brian Jud -- $24.95
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I wish you success in your book marketing efforts. There are several ways in which I can help you sell more books more profitably. Let me tell you how by emailing your contact information to me at brianjud@bookmarketing.com. Sincerely, Brian Jud
Book Marketing Works |
| | | Brian Jud now offers commission-based sales to buyers in special markets and several other programs to contact prospective buyers in special markets for you through personal sales calls, customized mailings and telephone calls. There is a program for any budget. www.premiumbookcompany.com Brian is also an author and book-marketing consultant helping publishers market and promote their books to increase their sales and profits. Brian is a media trainer, frequent speaker at publishing events and host of the online Publisher's Bookstore listing many discounted titles on publishing, publicity, marketing and writing. Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT 06001; (860) 675-1344; brianjud@bookmarketing.com or go to http://www.bookmarketing.com |
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