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 11, Number 329 May 25, 2015 |
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| | Greetings!
Here is your May 25 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 |
(The Association of Publishers for Special Sales -- formerly SPAN) | | Have your book displayed before tens of thousands of potential buyers at local, national and international shows without spending the money to go there! APSS has an agreement with Combined Book Exhibits to display your book for you at many international, national and local shows! Your book will be displayed (face out display) Your cover will be included in their show catalog Here is a list of some upcoming shows and their registration deadlines. APSS members get significant savings. - National Education Association -- June 3
- American Library Association Annual -- June 5
- Beijing International Book Fair -- August 3
CBE will waive the membership fee of $150 for all APSS members, too! Register with your APSS membership number at http://tinyurl.com/b8tk5t5 _____________________________________________________
Discover This Week's "Marketing Tips" - at www.bookapss.org (changed every Thursday) - Top 10 Examples of Visual Aids for Sales Presentations
- Get your book cover or marketing message on promotional items such as coffee mugs, pens, pads, bookmarks, key chains, shirts, umbrellas or any of hundreds of other promotional products. Get free consulting on using promotional items
- Find sample marketing plans for selling books in many genres
- Are you solving the right problem? Find out how you can. Get Unstuck with a new idea every week
- Novel Ideas for selling fiction. This week see a site where you can get the answers to grammar questions free of charge.
- Read It and Reap -- A new book business book is reviewed each week
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| 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) | | As a distributor, we often are forced to reject books because not enough care was put into one or more of the key decisions before we saw the project. In fact, it would be best if the publisher would enlist the help of the distributor, or some other experienced advisor before arriving at a final decision. Here are the seven key decisions as I see them. First, print the right number of books. Err on the side of caution if you are unsure. Remainder tables are always full for a reason. Second, price the book for your market. If you are selling through retailers, then your price should be lower. If your market is very specialized, then you may be able to price up. Third, use an experienced designer for your book jacket. Fourth, chose your printer carefully. Do they have a good reputation for service and fast turnarounds for reprints? Fifth, should you pay the traditional royalty rate or is there another way? Sixth, do you have a distributor and if not, how do you plan to sell your book? Seventh, what is your marketing plan? Do you know your market and do you know how to reach it? |
| | | New customers have to be bought; existing customers are free. |
The Cover Story - George Foster (George Foster has designed the covers for more than a thousand books and is contributing author to "1001 Ways to Market Your Books". Contact him at www.fostercovers.com) | |  A book of 100 definitive, thought-provoking commentaries on the 100 greatest thrillers of all time. Each commentary is by one of today's best thriller writers and their names are all on the front cover. Whew! There is no way they could be anything but small so I used them to create a screen through which we see a lurking killer outside your window. A dramatic, singular image is common to the thriller genre and here a simple shadow works great for adding type legibly over it.
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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 | | Short is the New Black ... If you are a nonfiction writer and your market is in management, leadership, the executive suite ... reduce your words. Mini books are trending (not mini), but direct to the point. Business people are looking for books that are readable cover to cover within a flight. Does yours fly? |
You're On The Air (Deborah Wetzel, morning news anchor and talk-show host on WCBS-FM, New York City) | | You have to package yourself into the time you have available. If you have one hour on a radio show, there's plenty of time. But if you've got three minutes on a national show, in a short amount of time, you have to hit the ball out of the park. |
The Very Idea (Editorial by Brian Jud) | | 
To discover the best source of information for selling your books in large, non-returnable quantities, do the math below. Then scroll down slowly to find who can help you sell more books. It is unbelievable how accurate this is! 1) Pick your favorite number between 1 - 9 2) Multiply by 3 3) Add 3 4) Then again multiply by 3 5) You will get a 2 or 3 digit number 6) Add the digits together Using that number, locate the best source of non-bookstore marketing information from the list below: 1. Amazon.com 2. Friends 3. Google 4. Social networking 5. Twitter 6. Facebook 7. BISG 8. SPAN 9. APSS -- The Association of Publishers for Special Sales at www.bookapss.org 10. LinkedIn |
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) | If you lose an order, follow up by asking why you did not get the order. In a bidding situation, you may have had the low price, but did not mention some needed service or feature. Always ask for constructive feedback by saying something like, "What would it have taken for us to reach agreement?" It might be something you can accommodate such as providing the content in another form, making the books returnable, or offering a larger quantity discount. |
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) | This past week we recommended the book Traction by Gino Wickman. One segment that stuck out was how he viewed long term planning. Most of us write a 5-year business plan and some even have a 10-year plan and all of us probably can throw the business plan away after the first year as everything changes. Gino Wickman's recommendation is to set a "10 year target", a "3 year picture" and a "1 year plan". We like the idea of a target, a picture and a plan; it's so much more accurate. "A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one." George R.R. Martin |
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) | Entrepreneurial planners are like photographers, focusing on one point in time and translating that moment into reality. A photograph, once taken, becomes the past. The photographer moves on to the next shot seeking a new perspective. Planning directs that movement toward the accomplishment of pre-determined, worthwhile goals. |
Book-Marketing Tips - Roger C. Parker | | Find the time to get more done--by pruning your "reading" list. Chances are, your in-box contains numerous unread newsletters, or subscriptions to blog posts. You like to read them, and profit from the information they contain, but you just haven't had found the time. Unfortunately, each day, additional e-mail newsletters and blog posts arrive, adding to your "to read" list. And, each additional unread e-mail newsletter adds frustration and stress, adding to your guilt of not getting everything done. I've found that the solution is to track the true value I'm receiving from my incoming newsletters and blog feeds. Which ones consistently provide the most helpful, relevant information? Which ones, on the other hand, cover familiar ground, or spend too much time trying to sell me something? By taking a hard look at my incoming mail, and identifying the most valuable sources of information, I've been able to create more time for the most useful blogs, as well as more time to devote to writing my own newsletters and blog posts. |
Marketing Strategy
(Excerpted from Brian Jud's e-booklet, The Buck Starts Here: 635 Tips for Creating Successful Marketing Strategy; www.bookmarketing.com) | Strategy defines how all the elements of your marketing mix fit together. This involves making choices that are interdependent because your marketing activities must be mutually reinforcing. Your channels of distribution, for example, should reflect your target-market decisions. You would probably use different networks for selling to bookstores, libraries, mass merchandisers and academic markets. |
Legal Matters That Matter to Writers (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.) | | What Copyright Protects. Copyright law protects your exclusive right to exploit (use productively) your original artistic or literary work. Copyright law was written to encourage the free exchange of ideas and to stimulate the progress of "useful arts," which benefit society. The federal Copyright Act provides copyright protection to "authors" (creators) of original literary and artistic works. |
Booklet Ideas - Paulette Ensign | | Your brilliance - yes, brilliance - can be shared in endless ways, sometimes feeling like an avalanche of one bright shiny object after another as the ideas go past you. What if you could actively yet simply engage your audience, followers, market, tribe - however you describe them - in easy, compelling ways? The more engaged and involved they are, the more they remember what you are teaching them, and the more they want to stay engaged with you. Are you thinking this needs to be difficult, high tech, time-consuming, expensive, or that other obstacles will make the idea ultimately unappealing to you? Fear not. There are better ways, ways to get it done without jumping over any high hurdles to get to the finish line. Imagine sharing those bite size bits of your brilliance 5 or 7 bits at a time on a page. At the bottom of that page you place a small "action box" that invites the reader to write something related to those bits of brilliance you introduced earlier on the page. What they write depends on the content you gave them and the topic. Ideally your invitation prompts a personal connection rather than simply a fill-in-the-blank for what you didn't tell them. The "action box" could be a request to note a commitment or a valuable memory or new ideas. The act of briefly recording what bubbles up helps lock it into your readers' mind more than by simply seeing your words and noticing fleeting ideas surfacing as a result of what was read. You create a hybrid between a booklet and a mini-workbook. Another interactive way to uniquely connect with your people is by creating a crossword puzzle. There are numerous no-cost websites that you'll discover by doing an online search for "free crossword puzzle maker" or similar search words. Depending on your area of expertise and who you serve, this can be a fun way to interact with your people. You can choose to distribute this at no cost or you can create it as a new product to license for a fee. Your bite size bits can also be printed onto individual cards that can be the basis for a weekly discussion group meeting or as a choice of focus from one day to the next for an individual or as the structure of a game if the content lends itself. ACTION - Revisit the information you teach. Looking at it through the filters you saw here brings new and different life to the brilliance that is yours to share. These delivery methods expand your people's horizons. The new product formats elevate you even higher as the expert you are, make you more appealing, and introduce a new way to view the information you teach. The formats breathe new life into concepts you have been sharing for however long you've been sharing them, giving YOU more enthusiasm along the way! Just when you might have thought you ran out of new ideas, you're now newly energized to see what else you can create beyond the suggestions you discovered here today. |
Guest Columnist - Carol Topp, CPA (Carol Topp is an accountant and author of Information in a Nutshell: Business Tips and Taxes for Writers. She may be reached at Carol@CarolToppCPA.com ) | The vast majority of authors are sole proprietorships with good reason. It is the simplest business structure - easy to start and easy to close. A sole proprietorship is a business with one owner and is popular with writers for many reasons. Here is one: Simplified record keeping. Like any business, a sole proprietorship needs to keep good records, but it can be simple. Many sole proprietors can do their own bookkeeping. They typically hire an accountant for an initial consultation and for tax preparation |
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) | | A number of U.S. library jobbers and wholesalers also offer export services. Among these is Baker & Taylor. You might want to check with them to see if they would like to participate in any joint promotions of your titles. |
| | | When you forward query letters to publishers or agents, direct them to specific individuals, not to companies, "Editors," "Gentlemen," "Dear Sirs or Madams," and so on. Publishing houses and literary agencies are often large, and imprecisely addressed mailings can get lost. Busy, overworked employees may also seize upon any excuse not to open another envelope. Address every submission to a specific recipient or it probably won't be opened or receive sufficient attention. Also, triple-check the spelling of all names, individuals and firms, because misspelling an agent's or editor's name could fast-track your submission to oblivion. |
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) | 
GrantSpace http://grantspace.org
GrantSpace provides an extensive listing of and Information on a wide variety of funding sources for writers. |
Pam's Book Marketing Tips - Pam Lontos | Writing Articles Is A Great Way To Gain Readers Writing articles on a non-exclusive basis can get your article into multiple specialty magazines. Here is the format for a great article that magazines want to publish: 1. Create a provocative title. 2. Start off with a great opening sentence, also known as the "the lead." 3. Open with a story. 4. Use the second paragraph to relate the dilemma to the readers. 5. Give 3 to 8 tips, strategies, or steps the reader can take to solve the problem. Use bullet points or numbers. 6. Give a very brief, one paragraph summary with a call to action at the end. 7. Keep the word count around 800 to 1,000 words. 8. Include a resource box, where you put your contact information. 9. In the resource box, mention your book, company, product or service. Also mention any CDs or DVDs you have. Warnings: - Don't promote yourself or your book within the article - Don't write it in the 1st person - Don't put in too much fluff |
| | June 11: Expand Your Reach by Getting Featured on Podcasts in Your Niche By Dvorah Lansky, 6:00 pm Eastern time As authors we are always looking for ways to reach more readers. Did you know that with a podcast you can multiply your reach and syndicate your message? It's true! Join us for this exciting webinar as book marketing expert Dvorah Lansky, M.Ed. shares how authors can benefit from podcasting. Sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/lsp8e2c June 25: Mid-Year Marketing Checkup By Brian Jud, 6:00 pm Eastern Time Are you on target to reach your annual goals for sales, revenue or profit? Don't wait until the end of the year to find out. Now is the time to learn if you are on the right path, and heading in the right direction. If you evaluate your relative progress now, you still have time to make any necessary corrections to get back on track. During this webinar Brian Jud will show you how to do that. This is your opportunity to evaluate your goals, re-energize yourself and map your actions for the remainder of the year. |
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 |
| Book Lemur - Promote your eBook and get results |  BookLemur connects ebook readers to books and authors and we enjoy finding new authors and books and introducing them to thousands of subscribers. So there are 6,800+ subscribers, and it's growing at about 100 per day!
APSS members receive a 20% discount to promote their titles
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| 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 |
| |  Increase Your Profits with Sales Promotional Items Get your book cover or marketing message on promotional items such as coffee mugs, pens, pads, bookmarks, key chains, shirts, umbrellas or any of hundreds of other promotional products. See more examples at www.bookapss.org/PromoItems.pdf Find out how you can use promotional items to: · Lure new customers · Remind procrastinators to buy · Encourage repeat purchases · Create brand awareness · Boost sales · Create customer loyalty · Attract more people to your trade-show exhibit · Spread word-of-mouth advertising · Have a fun giveaway for book signings and other events Contact Guy Achtzehn at The Promotional Bookstore, guy@msgpromo.com or (717) 846-3865. Provide your APSS membership number for a 10% discount on promotional items
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Contact Information for Brian Jud
| | For copies of all the previous issues of Book Marketing Matters visit www.bookmarketingworks.com/mktgmattersnews To subscribe to Book Marketing Matters click here: I won't share or sell your email address. Discover even more information about non-bookstore marketing by visiting the Special-Sales Tip of the Week at www.bookmarketing.com
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. Find rated lists of suppliers to publishers at www.bookcentralstation.com. 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, planning, marketing, publishing law, design and writing.
Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT 06001; (800) 562-4357; brianjud@bookmarketing.com or go to http://www.bookmarketing.com
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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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