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 14, Issue 2, Number 320 January 19, 2015 |
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| | Greetings!
Here is your January 19 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 Carol Topp.
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) | | Regional one-day events. Is one of these upcoming APSS workshops near you? Each is about selling your books in large, non-returnable quantities. If you, we hope you can attend: January 24 in Middletown, CT -- 1-day workshop http://tinyurl.com/l5u4m3h (Sponsored by the Connecticut chapter of APSS) February 12 in Vancouver, Canada -- a 1-day workshop with Guy Achtzehn http://tinyurl.com/o37rfrv Do you want an APSS one-day workshop near you? Would you be willing to help us find a suitable location? Let me know and we'll do it -- BrianJud@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) | The Seven Signposts on the Road to Good Publishing. Publishing books is like taking a journey. You need a map to point the way; or signposts to guide you. For example, when I backpack I look for blazes on trees. Or, if I am above the tree line, I seek out cairns or stone markers that I follow with care so I stay on the trail. As with any journey, a good publisher knows he must follow certain signposts to successfully produce, sell, and market his books. Ignore an important signpost and you can get lost, or go in the wrong direction. Each marker represents a decision you must make - sometimes on your own or with the advice and counsel of someone with more experience. Over the next five issues of Book Marketing Matters I will describe one of seven signposts on the road to good publishing. Here is the second. Design. Weak, inappropriate or bad design can undermine the best book. A good publisher puts a lot of thought and energy into the overall design of the book, and especially in the book jacket. It's a shelf space business. How your book looks and what it communicates at a glance can make it stand out in the store, or get lost. |
Poynter's Pointers (Excerpted - with permission - from Dan Poynter's Fifteenth Edition of | | Books are best promoted with review copies, news releases and, if appropriate to your book, a limited amount of highly-targeted direct mail advertising. |
The Cover Story - Peri Poloni-Gabriel (Peri Poloni-Gabriel of Knockout Design has been in the business of designing | 
Change the Way You Heal This book blends traditional and non-traditional methods of healing over 100 conditions. To appeal to a wide target audience, a type-driven cover concept was appropriate. The word HEAL is the focal point and the clean, calming water image, secondary. Green was chosen as a healing color and to also represent a more holistic approach. The serif fonts used are traditional in feel to lend an air of authority. Since two well know authors gave rave reviews of the book, they were prominently featured on the front cover |
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 | | Always have your book with you and always carry a few cases in your car. You are now the Chief Marketing Officer and the product you are selling is called your book |
You're On The Air (Deborah Wetzel, morning news anchor and talk-show host on WCBS-FM, New York City) | | Give listeners an incentive to call. For example, you can say, "Call this 800 number to order my book and I will send a free report." You've just given them more of a reason to drop everything and order today. |
The Very Idea
(Editorial by Brian Jud) |  You know where you are now in terms of your sales goals, but where do you want to be at the end of 2015? Goals are the foundation of a solid marketing plan. They provide a target at which to aim, the standard against which you can gauge your company's progress. They divide your vision statement into manageable steps and provide a path to its realization. And written goals provide a means for looking back to see how far you have come. Goal setting is a tool, and like any other tool it is useless if used incorrectly. Yet, goals are worthless unless they are... ... clear, specific, measurable, time-sensitive and written. ... realistic. ... arranged hierarchically. ... part of a plan. ... followed up and make them work. ... focused on the solution and not the problem. ... set when you are in a positive frame of mind.. ... derived from a sense of purpose. ... flexible. Use goal setting as the tool it was meant to be, part of the process that transforms your vision statement into reality. |
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) | Focus on getting people to buy rather than selling to them. This may seem like a minor difference, and it may just be a matter of degree. But today's business buyers are more astute than those of the past. They are not simply looking for ways to reduce costs, but how to create value for their organizations. Discover what the customer needs -- which will probably be some combination of products and services -- then describe how you can help improve revenues, margins or brand image. Add value to their way of doing business. For example, you may be trying to sell a barbeque cookbook to buyers at Lowe's or Home Depot. They do not want to sell cookbooks as much as they want to sell high-priced, more profitable barbeque grills. So you could sell your cookbook by demonstrating to them how it could be used as en enticement to get people to buy the grills. They could use your book - rather than sell it - by giving one away with each grill purchased. This is the concept of cross merchandising. |
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) | We believe there are 3 critical elements to have in a successful organization: a proven methodology or plan, intellectually stimulating and thought provoking insight and a robust network of incredible people who believe in achieving their own personal goals while being determined to see others reach their potential.
We challenge you to sit down and write your plan out, for your life, your business or both. If you have one already, great, because the next key element is insight. From where are you getting your "insight," what are you reading, and from who are you learning? Lastly how are you connecting with others to help accelerate your plan? Having access to a powerful network is critical to your long-term success. |
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) | The planning process gives your annual plan a sense of relevance and flexibility, and gives you the chance to fine-tune your actions while responding to unforeseen opportunities. Just as you are planning to grow your business, your competitors are doing the same thing. There is no standing still - you either move ahead or fall behind. |
Book-Marketing Tips - Roger C. Parker | | Organize your book's table of contents in a simple and elegant way. You've probably heard about Jeff Howe's book Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business which describes the growth of social media marketing. One of Wired! Magazine's most influential articles, and a very talked about book, Crowdsourcing has a deceptively simple content plan: Part 1: Where We've Been Part 2: Where We Are Part 3: Where We're Going Each part contains 2 to 5 chapters. Although an 11 chapter book might appear long, the 3-part division of the chapters creates a series of "landmarks" that provides a context for each chapter as well as organizes the reader's journey through the books--just like it probably aided the author when writing the book. Question: Are you using sections to organize your book's content? |
Marketing Strategy
(Excerpted from Brian Jud's e-booklet, The Buck Starts Here: 635 Tips for Creating Successful Marketing Strategy; www.bookmarketing.com) | There are four competing concepts under which publishing companies can conduct their marketing activities. These are the Publishing Concept, the Product Concept, the Selling Concept and the Marketing Concept. In all except the Marketing Concept, publishers center on making the sale by selling what they publish rather than publishing what the market wants. |
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.) | | A transfer or license of copyright (or any right in the bundle of rights) executed by the author (but unlike a pre-1978 transfer not a transfer made by anyone other than the author) on or after January 1, 1978, is subject to termination under the following conditions: - A single author who executed a grant may terminate it. If the author is deceased, then whoever is entitled to exercise more than one-half of that author's rights may terminate it.
- If two or more authors executed a grant of a joint work, a majority of the authors who executed it may terminate it. If any of the joint authors is dead, his or her termination interest may be exercised by whoever is entitled to exercise more than one-half of that author's interest.
This single, extremely valuable section of the Copyright Act, allowing for the reclaiming of rights by terminating transfers, empowers authors. Note that the statutory termination provision does not apply to works made for hire or to transfers made by will. The termination right also does not apply to rights arising under foreign laws or derivative works. In the case of derivative works (for example, a movie based on a book), termination of the rights to the underlying work (the book) does not prevent the continued display and distribution of the derivative movie. Once the rights are terminated, however, no new derivative works can be created. Not surprisingly, the rules to exercise the statutory termination right are specific and must be strictly adhered to or the right will be forever lost. In addition, the Copyright Office does not provide printed forms for the use of persons serving notices of termination. |
Booklet Ideas - Paulette Ensign | | Your tips booklet is done and you're rightfully basking in the joy and delight of completing it. Printed copies arrived. You see your name on the cover. Your family and friends are proud of you, maybe a bit envious, or possibly curious about what you can accomplish with a tips booklet. Regardless of any of this, yes, you're a published author. Now what? You satisfied your ego in getting the booklet done, can check this off your to-do list, and have quieted the voices around you who wondered why you were even bothering to do a booklet at all. Now what? Maybe you started planning for this before you finished the booklet, or your only goal was to get the booklet done without any consideration about what you'd do with it, how you'd use it, or anything else. Now it's time to think of all or at least some of what's next. After all, there will be ideas that will pop up over time that will be appropriate for you to do. It's impossible to think of everything at once. Consider why you wrote and produced your booklet. It was to help people, including yourself! It might have been to market your business, generate a new revenue stream, or both. The only "right" answer is the one that suits you. And you can always change your mind from what your original idea was. Do you want to give out your booklet as a download and/or a hard copy at no cost because your complete intention is to lay a trail of breadcrumbs to a larger product or service you offer? You can certainly do that. You can also sell the booklet if you want to, besides strategically giving it away free. One strategy doesn't eliminate all other strategies. Is your primary intention for the booklet to be a new income stream that also markets your business with each sale you make? That happens automatically when your large-quantity buyer distributes your booklet as a promotional tool for their own business. The biggest thing to keep in mind is to intentionally create a strategy. Giving away your booklet free to anyone you meet online or in person is a waste of every resource you've got - time, money, energy, and more - and can actually be counterproductive to your best intentions. The same is true when you only want to sell your booklet without having some way for people to sample what you are offering so they know what they are buying. ACTION - Take time now if you haven't already done so to map out what to do with your booklet online and offline, and ways to re-purpose and leverage the content into other formats. Creating a road map to travel at least part of the journey gives you a focus of where to go. You can and likely will change direction at some point once you start the trip. Ask yourself who you want to serve and in what ways you want to serve them. |
Guest Columnist - Jackie O'Neal | Three Life Lessons Learned from Book Marketing. I've often been asked what I love most about the work I do, as it appears tedious on the surface; however, during the course of my daily tasks of media relations, creative writing, and strategic planning, I'm open to receiving impressions that translate into valuable life lessons. Taking Action: Someone wise said, "The way to be nothing is to do nothing." In like manner, the way to be great is to do great things. I find that by maintaining a positive attitude, I'm able to take action on behalf of my clients each day to help them achieve greater visibility. In life, taking action removes obstacles and opens many golden doors. I'm confronted with this truth as I press forward. Planting Seeds of Opportunity: Part of my job is to open the way for fresh, new opportunities. In the course of my work in book marketing, I recognize that each day represents a building block to future success for my clients. Each connection made, each press release sent, each follow-up is a chance to learn and grow for the future. Effort is Rewarding: Everyone knows book marketing is a full-time job, and requires a great deal of effort. Norman Cousins once said, "Hope, purpose, and determination are not merely mental states. They have electro-magnetic connections that affect the immune system." With this thought in mind, it's easy to see the health benefits that come from hard work. |
| | | Every publisher has submission policies that may differ from those at other houses. So carefully check each company's Web site and tailor your submissions to each publisher's requirements. Individualize all submissions; one size does not fit all! While you're visiting a publisher's Web site, browse around. Familiarize yourself with the company. Examine its online catalog; learn which books and writers it published, the topics in which it specializes, and any sales figures they disclose. Check out the company's press releases and other reports about its news and developments. Each publisher has a vision of the types of books it wants to publish and the direction in which it hopes to go. Companies' visions are usually apparent from the books they have published and some state their vision on their Web site and in the guidebooks. Publishers primarily want books that fit with what they did in the past and what they want to do in the future. Investigating each publisher will give you a feel for the house's vision and how you should shape your proposal. Consider your investigation a fact-finding mission and remember that even the most trivial information could prove invaluable in your voyage through the publishing process. |
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) | | Direct mail can be an effective way to reach the person responsible for buying new titles at bookstores. Surveys show that chain store buyers rely on brochures and flyers as a major means for finding out about new titles. |
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) |
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Pam's Book Marketing Tips - Pam Lontos | One Way to Build Interest is to Speak About Your Book. Whether you get paid $5,000 for a talk or do it for free, you can sell tons of books whenever you give a talk. After you speak on your topic, the audience wants something more to take home with them so they will buy your book immediately and want you to autograph it for them. Sell books immediately after your talk! Don't wait until the lunch break or between programs. People are in too much of a hurry to get somewhere else and will cool down quickly. Here are some places to consider speaking and selling books: - Libraries
- Junior Colleges
- Chamber of Commerce
- Association Meetings
- Company meetings
- Church Groups
- Local Associations (Elks, Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.)
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| Upcoming Marketing Events | 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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| Do You Want to Increase Your Sales, Revenue and Profits? |  A one-day workshop in your office -- customized to your titles -- shows your staff how to make large-quantity sales |
| |  Sales Promotional Items Use coffee mugs, pens, and thousands of other items to increase awareness and sales of your books. Get a unique item -- a bookmark that actually grows flowers when planted. Print your message on it! |
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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