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 15, Issue 1, Number 345 January 4, 2016 |
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| | Greetings!
Here is your January 4 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 Thomas Pöttgen.
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 ) | Please help APSS bring you the book-selling services you want. We are planning new ways in which APSS can be more helpful to you next year and beyond. With that in mind, please take a few minutes now to check off the boxes in our annual survey. Any additional feedback you can give us is very welcome, too. We'll discuss your comments at our next board meeting and use them to make APSS a better organization for all our members. Here is the link to the brief survey:
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Discover This Week's "Marketing Tips" - at www.bookapss.org (changed every Thursday) - Top Ten Ways to Build Customer Loyalty in Business-to-Business Marketing
- 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 - This week's website is a truly comprehensive site and one of the oldest on freelance writing. Most of the content is free.
- 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) | A lot of confusion exists around the concept of "Pub Date." Some think that "Pub Dates" are unnecessary or have no impact on your publishing strategy, but I would disagree. First, let us remove the confusion of terms. "Pub Date" is not the same as "Bound Book Date" or "Ship Date." "Bound Book Date" refers to the time when the book comes off the printers press. "Ship Date" refers to the time when your warehouse releases backorders and begins to ship your title to book store accounts, including wholesalers. Then finally comes "Pub Date." This is the day when you really begin to market your title to the consumer. This is when you should begin media appearances, advertise or have display promotions in stores.
The time from "Bound Book Date" to "Pub Date" should be between 4 to 6 weeks. This time must be allowed for you to tee your title up from the time it leaves the printer's plant to the time it is displayed in stores to support your marketing efforts. Finally, remember that whatever you plan to do to support the publishing of your book, you must leave enough time to develop and implement your strategy.
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(Peri Poloni-Gabriel of Knockout Design has been in the business of designing |
The cover for The Heaven at the End of Science visually shows the merging of two worlds; the linear world of science and the philosophical world of spirituality. The lock and key represents discovering hidden answers. This was achieved by the combination of 3 images and constructing a grid to lead the eye into the cover. A serif font was chosen for the traditional and established feel it would give to the title. Emphasis put on the most important words.
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| You're On The Air (Benita Zahn, Noon News anchor and talk-show host on WNYT-TV, Albany, NY)
| The biggest fears people have when they come into the studio is that they'll look foolish, that they're not going to know what to do and not know where to put themselves. All you have to worry about is being comfortable. If you're not comfortable, you won't do well answering the questions. Sit down and feel at home. Talk to the interviewer. Ask, "What should I do? Who should I look at?" Ask if everything is in place. They'll tell you. |
The Very Idea (Editorial by Brian Jud) | Bigger is not always better. Your book does not have to be hundreds of pages long for you to cover your topic effectively. Similarly, your literature and press releases should be only long enough to describe the benefits of your content adequately. Form follows function. Your answers to questions during your media performances should be brief and to the point. Be concise. Make every word count. As the saying goes, Tell me quick and tell me true, or else, my friend, the heck with you. |
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) | The National Recreation and Park Association's online bookstore has the titles ranging from targeted publications to scholarly texts. Find contact information for bookstores at many national parks there. Do not make the mistake of thinking you must have a "green" book to sell to parks. NRPA comprises 10 individual branches and sections, subgroups that represent everything from aquatics to natural resources to therapeutic recreation. You will find sales opportunities on a variety of topics represented by NRPA's branches |
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) | Goal setting is clearly documented by long-term studies completed at major universities as a proven method for getting what you want from your life. Only three percent of the population use written goal-setting methods in their lives. These same people overwhelmingly control the wealth, not just of the United States, but in the world. The process of goal setting creates a focus and engages universal laws to assist the seeker |
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) | There is a unique way to trap monkeys in the islands of the South Seas. The natives drill a small hole in a coconut, hollow it out and fill it with rice. Once a monkey puts its hand in the coconut to get the food, it cannot remove its clenched fist. Refusing to let go of their prize, the monkeys are unable to escape. Book publishers can get caught in a similar trap if they become conditioned to avoid risks and persist in using strategies that were successful in the past, without evaluating whether they are still relevant today. Their grasp on this comfortable feeling of security yields the same result as that of the island monkeys. Instead of duplicating past efforts, introduce new titles using a different game plan, like selling to non-bookstore buyers. |
Book-Marketing Tips - Roger C. Parker | Does your home page "tell-all" in the first screen? The opening screen that your visitors encounter when visiting your blog or website must be a "tell all" screen. Without requiring scrolling or clicking, the first screen of your home page must engage your visitor's attention and convince them to spend more time exploring your message. The best way to find out if your home page "tells all" is to visit the Google Browser Size application. Simply visit www.browsersize.googlelabs.com and enter your blog or website's URL in the space provided. How you'll benefit. The Google Browser Size application shows how the first screen of your site against an overlay indicating the amount of text and graphics visible with different monitor settings. You'll also be able to see the percentage of website visitors likely to encounter various text and graphic elements without scrolling or clicking. Visit http://tinyurl.com/yaeednf to learn more. |
Marketing Strategy
(Excerpted from Brian Jud's e-booklet, The Buck Starts Here: 635 Tips for Creating Successful Marketing Strategy; www.bookmarketing.com | Advice from a Navy SEAL commander: "Hard times help you adapt--quickly." People who go through hard times should learn to appreciate them, recognizing that those times will not only strengthen them, but truly train them to properly and successfully lead their own teams when battling the competition." How can you apply this to your business? |
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 is the Poor Man's Copyright and how can it protect my work? The concept known as the poor man's copyright says basically that you should mail yourself a copy of your work and not open it in order to establish the date that your work existed in case you ever need to defend your work or challenge a work you believe infringes on your rights. This, unfortunately, is a myth that continues to be perpetuated even by established writers and it should no longer exist in the writing world! The Poor Man's Copyright does not offer any additional protection beyond that which already exists once your idea is fixed and thus your work is created. Additionally it does not constitute a registration of your copyright. Registration is easy (no need for a lawyer) and inexpensive (as low as $40 if you register electronically -- as of this presentation) - a small price to pay to preserve valuable rights. Consider it an insurance policy. |
Booklet Ideas - Paulette Ensign | Is this a quiet time in your business? For many, especially those not in retail, hospitality, travel, or financial services and other fields this is a very quiet time, often right into the first week or two of January. Some of the best ways to use that quiet time may surprise you, based on your personality, how your life is structured overall, and what the past year has been like. Consider these possibilities and notice what other ideas they trigger. - Start a product you've been thinking about because you can now concentrate more.
- Cut your typical work day in half to balance getting things done and also relaxing.
- Brainstorm with a colleague, friend, or family member about your business and life.
- Visit someplace locally that you rarely go or have never gone, for fresh perspective.
- Read a publication that interests you that you never make time for otherwise.
- Do the reverse of what you typically do in some way and notice what you discover.
- Finish something you started that you keep hearing yourself think "someday."
As tempting as it might be to think of filling this otherwise quiet time as full as you can if that's your inclination, you may actually accomplish much more in ways you could not have anticipated by taking things slower, opening up time to notice and experience more, and doing things that break your usual routine. While some of your people may be more reachable because things have slowed up for them, too, they may be less mentally available since they are making the best of a slow time for them. Or it could be the ideal time to explore the possibilities you've been chomping at the bit to discuss with them because they don't have their day fully scheduled. Their staff is not pulling at them. Their clients are on vacation. Now could be the perfect time to map out a year's worth of business you can do together - booklets to be written and delivered in print and as downloads, audio recordings of parts of your content, teleclasses and webinars to schedule for their staff and clients, a promotional campaign to drip a tip a week on their mailing list, and things you jointly unearth. It is impossible to know the best approach since one size certainly does not fit all. Based on what is best for you, reach out at whatever level you decide to during this time of year. If you decide to go on a vacation for three or four weeks so you can come back completely refreshed, that's great. If you choose to do a reduced approach during this time, there are others who are mirroring your decision and you'll know that as you contact them. ACTION - Determine what you need, physically, emotionally, financially for the weeks at the end of December and beginning of January. That may be a casual or a more formal decision on your part, and one you may very likely modify as you go. Be sure to do what is best for you, whatever you choose! |
Guest Columnist - Thomas Pöttgen What is ... a book? | Adapted from the 50th Issue of Springer's Jump Newsletter: The following is an (imagined) review from a newsletter to be published in January 2051, where the author explains "What is a book?" A "book"- this word from old English was used in times before the digital revolution to describe a hard drive capable of storing text and imagery. It was compiled of thin pages (the offline kind) bound by slightly sturdier sheets of paper (not to be confused with Papers). Essentially, a book was a folder full of letters and pictures, a data storage medium, of which the storage capacity was limited to that of production - unless a few of the aforementioned pages were forcibly removed. Astonishingly, this type of data storage medium could be used without electricity or battery power, and the data accessed without the need for additional programs. Instead of an additional gadget such as an eReader, the person handling the book was the reader. In some instances the human reader required a set of magnifiers called reading glasses: an adapter that increases the quality of images and letters allowing them to appear in higher resolution on the retina. As the book did not include built in illumination, a reliable light source was also necessary, such as the sun, a candle or lamp. Despite this being a slight disadvantage it did make the book rather energy efficient. One major downfall however existed in the small chance that the book could crash - usually to the ground, if it happened to fall off a table or a shelf. In the time before books evolved into bits and bytes, immigrated to the Cloud, or were suctioned into the eReaders, there were huge buildings the existence of which was solely to store and administer books. These were called "Libraries." Over the centuries a number close to 130 million individual books have been published (in our galaxy alone), with some titles amassing millions of copies each. Interestingly, the most widely circulated book - the Bible - translates from old Greek into English as: "The Book." |
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) | In the case of most special sales, be prepared to wait as long as six months of more before any final decision is made. Even then, it may be another three to six months before you receive the order. Most catalogs, for instance, work with at least a none-month lead time. |
| | Don't let your expectations, including any fears of failing or succeeding, stop you. Identify what you expect from yourself and from your writing and whether those expectations are realistic. |
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) | 
Atomic Reach
Based in Toronto, Atomic Reach for bloggers uses its specially designed technology to change how people tell stories. AtomicWriter adapts feedback based on the bloggers' audience to help them craft great blog posts. |
| | Self-publishing - Step by Step By Brian Jud January 5 6:00 pm ET Congratulations! You've written a book... Now what? Do-it-yourself publishing can be fun and profitable, but also daunting. Did you know you can start marketing your book long before it launches? In this webinar Brian Jud will show you creative, yet practical tactics to increase your book's chances of success before you publish and after it goes on sale. Early in the publishing phase, you can begin arranging sponsorships and media events, generating pre-publication sales, preparing your title for reviews and awards, building your prospect list, and more. Once your book is available for sale, the stage of perpetual promotion begins. Brian will show you innovative, low-cost, and proven marketing actions you can immediately do to sell more books. ----------------------------------------------------------------
How to Boost Your Biz with a Book By Ally E. Machate Jan 7 6:00 pm ET Studies reveal that publishing a book is the top "credible" marketing method for today's service providers, suggesting that becoming a published author can increase your credibility factor by as much as 300%! There's a reason "author" is the root word of "authority." But a well-written and edited, attractively designed, and successfully published book can also help you raise visibility, attract ideal clients, open doors for media opportunities, launch a speaking career, create and promote spin-off products, and more. This talk will show you how a book can be so much more than an income-generating product in and of itself. |
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 |
| |  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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