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 112, Number 330 June 8, 2015 |
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| | Greetings!
Here is your June 8 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 Patricia Fry.
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) | | APSS Consulting Programs and Services to Help You Sell More Books with No Returns Are you getting your share of book sales in the $16 billion non-bookstore market? Now you can, with personal coaching and other marketing services customized to your needs, goals and titles. APSS can help you discover opportunities in unique market niches, contact buyers and negotiate large-quantity, non-returnable sales - or do it for you. You will find new ways to sell more books to associations, schools, corporations, military buyers and government agencies that need books just like yours. We offer services for your needs and budget, on an hourly or project basis with professionals who are experts in their fields. Take advantage of their expertise and you can... - Train your staff
- One-day training session in your office on your titles
- Minimize -- if not eliminate - returned books
One-Hour Consultations for Do-It-Yourself Publishers Session 1: Introduction and the basics of getting started Learn the fundamentals of what special-sales (non-bookstore) marketing is and is not; know what you are selling (it is not your book); find how to define new target readers Session 2:General information, definitions and types of programs Describe target consumers: businesses, organizations, schools, associations, fundraisers, giveaways; People to contact in these areas; how and why they may use books as promotional items. Types of programs: gift with purchase, employee appreciation, incentives (sales, safety etc), on-pack, near-pack, training; examples of each Session 3:Who and how to contact Demonstrate how to find contacts online; describe mass-marketing efforts (letter campaigns, email blasts, trade show contacts; business referrals; donation programs; radio show giveaways; employee giveaways); prepare letters to send to potential buyers Session 4: Create sample programs and promotions Tips for sponsorships, fundraisers, employee education, co-op advertising, co-op sales programs Session 5: Selling to Non-Bookstore Retailers Learn the procedures for finding distribution companies and techniques for selling to non-bookstore retailers such as discount stores and warehouse clubs, airport stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, gift shops, book clubs, catalogs, military exchanges Session 6: Selling in Large, Non-Returnable Quantities to Other Buyers Learn the procedures and techniques for selling to other non-bookstore retailers such as associations, academic buyers, government agencies and the armed services Session 7: How to Prepare a Proposal Find out the seven parts that must be in every proposal for large-quantity sales to corporate buyers Session 8: Creating and Making Persuasive Sales Presentations Developing your presentation strategy, the "Seven Cs" of good communication , creating your presentation script, vocal and visual delivery, telephone presentations Session 9: Tips for Negotiating Large-Quantity, Non-Returnable Sales Over 30 negotiating tips to maximize your net revenue, eight traps to avoid, nine ways to control the discussion, how to eliminate potential barriers to a successful conclusion For More Information Contact BrianJud@bookapss.org (860) 675-1344 _____________________________________________________
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) | | Getting Lead Times Right. One of the biggest mistakes a publisher can make is to accelerate the publication date to meet some artificial deadline. The most important date you should keep in mind is the lead time demanded by the largest book retailers. They do this to establish a coherent budgeting procedure, which means if you insist on a one-month lead time, you will not get your book onto the shelves of America's biggest accounts. Most distributors will counsel you on the best timing for your book. Listen to them because they are trying to maximize your initial sales with book retailers. |
| | | Literary agents are 85% hope and 15% commission. |
The Cover Story - Dotti Albertine (Dotti Albertine of Albertine Book Design is an award-winning book designer and a professional who has been in the business for over 20 years. She can be reached at: www.AlbertineBookDesign.com | 310-450-0018 | dotti@dotdesign.net) | |  This book is written for 12-year olds, not for their parents. Written as fiction by marriage and family therapist, Margot Desannoy it is the journey of Alex who finds herself in psychotherapy after her parents divorce because of the father's alcoholism. Alex is bright, clever, hurt, angry and delightful. Margot, who in real life provides counseling for kids such as Alex, says they call her "Maggot DoesAnnoyMe-Freaky Counselor" behind her back, and she wouldn't have it any other way. The photo of Alex is a Getty image extracted from the original background and superimposed over graffiti. The cap was placed later, since Alex loves baseball and is a tomboy. The trick was to find just the right "Alex" and keep it light and appealing to this young audience.
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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 | | Get Found and Buzzed About ... Get beyond the passive "Contact us" call to action and provide a juicy, compelling reason for visitors to your website to opt-in to your list. Give them something to download so they'll share their contact information. The result--you build your marketing database. When you offer a free assessment, report, ebook, audio or video, customers see these items as having value and will register to get them. And you capture their name and email. |
You're On The Air (Deborah Wetzel, morning news anchor and talk-show host on WCBS-FM, New York City) | | The perfect guest on television is someone who believes in his topic, can answer concisely and can sit nice and steady. |
The Very Idea (Editorial by Brian Jud) | | 
Once you set a goal for yourself, do not let anything prevent or slow you down from achieving it, regardless of obstacles that may appear. In order to be motivating, goals should be... ... clear, specific, measurable, time-sensitive and written: You will sell X0,000 book to corporate buyers by December 31, 2013 ... realistic. Set goals within the realm of what is possible for you to accomplish. ... arranged hierarchically. Arrange your goals from the most to the least important. ... part of a plan. Your product, distribution, pricing and promotion strategies should all work together to reach your objective ... followed up and make them work. Plan your work and work your plan. ... evaluated regularly. Assess your progress to make sure it is forward and goal directed. If it is not, make the corrections necessary to get you back on course. ... focused on the solution, not the problem. Don't fight problems, right problems. Set goals to reach profitability, not to avoid a loss.
... set when you are in a negative frame of mind. Negativity can overpower your thoughts when revenue and profits are down. ... derived from a sense of purpose. Purpose breeds passion, the unfailing belief in yourself and your ability to make your goals become reality. ... flexible. Your mission statement should be entrenched in granite, but there must be some flexibility in the way you implement your plan to fulfill your vision. |
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) | Independent publishers may have an edge over larger publishers in the sense that a company may not want a bestseller as a premium. If everybody already has it, it would be less desirable as a sales promotional tool. A less known, but equally applicable title, may be preferred. For similar reasons, your prospect may want an exclusive on your title. It will not want to waste its promotion dollars if someone else is offering the same title in a promotion. |
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) | "Being open." have you ever thought what your life would be like if in everything you did you remained open to the possibility of what's possible? As you have heard us say, "One idea well executed could change your life forever" and that "One person who is attracted to you because of who you are could change your life forever." Remain open to the possibilities of life; they may be right next to you and you don't even know it. |
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) | If you try to do a little bit of everything, you will not be able to create and maintain a distinct competitive advantage. Plan and coordinate the ways in which you will allocate your resources. |
Book-Marketing Tips - Roger C. Parker | | Should your book contain a ReadMe file? Many software programs include ReadMe files. These help computer users prepare to install new software programs, or upgrades, on their computer. ReadMe files typically highlight tips and information that can ensure a trouble-free installation. The idea of ReadMe files could be applied to many books, especially self-help and business how-to books. The book equivalent of a software program's ReadMe file could help authors: - Focus the reader's attention on key ideas, chapters, benefits, and features found in the book.
- Help readers prepare for reading the book by listing resources that readers might want to assemble before reading, such as preparing not-taking sheets, printing-out forms or worksheets, gathering information that might be required while reading.
- Provide instructions for reading the book, helping readers pre-qualify their interests and needs, so they can go directly to specific chapters or indicating which chapters can be skipped, or read later.
- Reinforce the book's benefits and value. By summarizing the benefits of the book's contents, authors can precondition readers to enjoy a positive reading experience, resulting in more referrals and online reviews.
Conciseness is a key to a successful "ReadMe" experience. Although most books have introductions covering the above points, often the information described above may not be noticed because it's contained in paragraphs distributed throughout the introduction. Perhaps more readers would benefit if a book's ReadMe information was consolidated in 1 or 2 concise, easily-scanned, pages where it would be easier to notice and easier to read. |
Marketing Strategy
(Excerpted from Brian Jud's e-booklet, The Buck Starts Here: 635 Tips for Creating Successful Marketing Strategy; www.bookmarketing.com) | The way you combine and execute the four marketing variables will impact your cash flow, profits and unit sales. An integrated marketing mix entails producing a saleable, properly priced product that is distributed and promoted to the right people at the right time. |
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.) | | When Does Copyright Exist? Copyright exists automatically when a work is created. A work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy for the first time (in a writing or recording, for example). Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to register your work with the Copyright Office for your rights to exist. But there are substantial legal and financial benefits if you do register so order the e-Report on the Benefits of Copyright Registration for more information. |
Booklet Ideas - Paulette Ensign | | June is an ideal time of year in many parts of the northern hemisphere and in many businesses in a wide range of industries. Yes, other months have other advantages, positioning you for great success, depending on your market and your information products topic. Yet none is quite like June. The first glimmers of summer are appearing in much of North America. School is ending or already did. Vacations, camps, summer educational programs are getting started. All of that is great, and what does it have to do with business or topics generally addressed in these articles? Fiscal Year Means Opportunities The fiscal year for many corporations and organizations ends June 30. That means decision makers are often in the "use it or lose it" mindset regarding their budget. They must spend whatever is left in their budget or lose it, which can negatively impact their request for the following year if they are left with a balance at the end of this year. When you are at the right place at the right time with the right offer, it could add up to product orders for you. Your tips booklets, audio programs, card decks and other bits of bite size brilliance may be the perfect promotional tool for the marketing, sales, or product launch campaign a corporate manager is struggling to support. Your products become the ideal gift-with-purchase to increase their revenue. Year-End Planning With that turn of the fiscal year comes planning for the next fiscal year, which specifically includes year-end gift giving, customer appreciation, and starting the calendar year off right. The six months between June and the beginning of December allows for multiple decision-makers who are involved in the process to strategize which of your product formats is the best match to convey the exact message they want to send. There is plenty of time to get the product produced and delivered in December without getting into a rush order that costs everyone more in time, stress, and financial investment. Time to Brainstorm In a company or association where summer is generally a slower time of business activity, there can be more time to percolate on the overall process. The pressure to meet demands is somewhat or substantially less. The door is open to map out an entire year's campaign that can include utilizing various formats of your products, online and offline, for multiple purposes. Some uses are for marketing, as they license your bite size brilliance to use on social media sites or as downloads to increase their mailing list or to drip a tip a week on the existing customers or members as a way to stay in front of them. They can attract new followers and retain the existing ones. Your products could be positioned to directly generate new revenue for your customers' company, resold to audiences or bundled with other products your buyer sells. June may be the start to that slower time in their life to come up with best ways to continuously do business with you. ACTION - Before you set your expectations unnecessarily low for this summer's income, look around at who you want to be sure to contact in June, especially if you already know or suspect their fiscal years ends on June 30. Reach out to them as soon as possible to determine if they are in "use it or lose it" mode on any budget line that can be applied to your products. Even if you miss making a deal in June, you've re-opened the door for ways to serve them within the next fiscal year, with time to easily and comfortably plan for it now. Either way, everyone benefits and lots of happiness gets spread around. |
Guest Columnist - Patricia Fry | Before the Book Promotion Can Begin There are still many authors and hopeful authors who are in the dark or in denial about how sales are made. They don't understand the publishing industry and the whole process of bookselling. There are two concepts that you need to consider when you decide to produce a book and expect to offer it for sale: * No one will buy a book they don't know about. * It is up to the author to promote his or her book. Let's examine the first statement: doesn't it make sense that if you keep your book a secret-if you don't reach out to your potential readers and tell them about your book-they aren't going to be clamoring to buy it? Before diving into the unknown waters of book promotion, you must answer the following questions. * Who comprises your audience?
* Where are these potential readers?
* What is the best way to approach them? And you should be the one to create a marketing plan for your book since you care more about your project than anyone else in the world. You can buy into your self-publishing company's marketing package. You can hire a publicist. You can accept the (often) minimal help a traditional publisher offers as far as book promotion. But you should never turn your responsibility for marketing your book over to anyone else.
During the writing process, through the publishing process and on throughout the entire book promotion process, you-the author-must take charge and consider yourself the CEO of your book.
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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) | | If you would rather not sell your overstocked books at a loss, you can donate them to specific causes. For example, in the past publishers have donated books to schools, libraries, churches, prisons, charities, public television stations, 4-H clubs, scouting groups, garden clubs, and other nonprofit groups. Publishers can deduct 100% of the production costs of any books donated (200% if the company is incorporated), plus 100% of the freight and 100% of administrative fees. |
| | | When agents and editors receive a proposal, they wonder, "Can the author actually write this book; can he or she complete it?" "Does the author have the qualifications to write it and will he or she deliver and energetically promote a first-rate book that will sell?" The "About the Author" section can help dispel these fears. In this proposal section, blow your own horn by clearly and factually showing why you're so ideally qualified to author your book. Since your platform plays such a pivotal role in acquisition decisions, emphasize your platform in your biography. List your media experience; authorship credits; and where you have spoken, taught, and appeared. Also describe your newsletter and how many people subscribe, as well as your Web site and how many hits it gets. If you have an extensive mailing list, state its size. Providing this information will show that you can deliver the items in your proposal. |
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) | 
Beyond the Margins http://beyondthemargins.com
This site is part blog, part sounding board, and offers daily insights on the craft of writing and the business of publishing. There are tips on creating memorable scenes and great dialogue, interviews with authors, editors and agents, and humorous pokes at the business. Created in 2010 by a dozen writers, many of whom met or taught at Grub Street creative writing center in Boston, the site runs guest posts, and considers submissions of 700 to 1,000 words |
| | 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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