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[Marketing 101] - 3 Tips For Selling Books In the Face of a Recession
By SeanJJordan | July 22, 2008
Today, I read two articles that offered distinctly different messages about consumers.
The first was a report that the film The Dark Knight set a box office record during its opening weekend, both in terms of its midnight release revenues and its overall revenues for its first day. This is great news for the people involved with the film, since the economy is on the brink of a recession and people are spending fewer dollars on entertainment options right now.
I love this quote from the story:
“If you’re worried about mortgage payments and gas prices, when you’re sitting in `The Dark Knight’ for two and a half hours, you’re not thinking about any of that stuff,” Dergarabedian said.
The second article talked about how consumers have changed as fuel and food prices have risen… and questioned whether or not these changes are permanent. The article cites a case of a woman who opted to buy some shoe glue to repair a damaged sole rather than go out and spend more money on shoes. Here’s what she has to say:
“We weren’t big spenders, but now we are watching our money more,” said Radtke, of Manitowoc, Wis., whose husband works in construction. “Even if I fell into a pile of money, I still wouldn’t be spending a lot.”
“That’s great, Sean,” you might be saying. “What does this have to do with publishing?”
Quite a bit, actually. You see, publishing’s been going through somewhat of a growth trend over the last twenty years, despite the fact that the Internet was supposed to kill the industry off. Granted, some aspects of the publishing industry were hurt badly by the rise of the Internet — the encyclopedia publishers, for example, or the newspaper and magazine companies. But many others have actually embraced the Internet, used it as a marketing tool, and seen a growth in sales as a result. At the same time, big box retail bookstores have risen up and given people places to get their hands on lots of books — and it’s been helpful to everyone involved.
The thing about books, though, is that they’re somewhat of a luxury item. Most people don’t use them for a primary source of entertainment or information anymore, and they’re often around the same price as a CD or a DVD. What’s more, there’s tons of free reading material available out there, from the books one can find at the library to the unthinkable amount of entertainment and information that can be accessed online. And numerous studies have shown that adults are reading far less these days than they used to. One joke that’s fairly common is that you can tell when someone went to college by checking out the age of the books they keep on their bookshelves.
And yet people are showing up in record numbers to see a film based on a comic book, and many of them are going out and buying the tie-in merchandise afterwards. That’s interesting, because it reminds us that we’re not in the middle of the next Great Depression. We are on the brink of a recession in the US, yes, but consumers are still awfully good at spending… when they want to.
The trick is in using marketing techniques to convince them that their money is well spent on your book. And I’ve got three tips on how you can do just that.
1. Spend a little bit more time on direct sales. Everyone knows direct sales are the most profitable means of selling books, but many publishers seem more interested in staying in the retail game. It’s easier, yes. But consumers love a spectacle, and they’re always happy to attend a well-promoted book signing simply so they can say “I was there.” That assumes, of course, that the signing is for a book they’re interested in reading, but if you’ve been doing your marketing correctly, you’ve already identified who those folks are and made sure you’ve positioned your book towards them.
So, use that knowledge to focus on some direct events, such as launch parties, speaking engagements, and other such direct sales opportunities. If you’re not the author of your book, talk your author into working overtime for a percentage of sales. But whatever you do, get out there and sell.
2. Sell your surplus through new sales channels. If you’ve got a bunch of backstock laying around, it’s costing you something to store it — either in actual storage fees or in opportunity costs if it’s in your office. Either way, you should try to move that merchandise by looking for new sales opportunities! Working with a sales rep who sells to gift shops or speciality stores might be a good option, and offering signed copies of your books at retail price through online marketplaces such as Amazon.com’s Marketplace, Ebay or Half.com could help you quickly move some inventory with minimal fuss. Talking to organizations that are topically linked to your title might be good as well; you can always arrange a fundraiser with them and sell the books at your normal retail discount, and then let them keep the profits!
The only thing I wouldn’t recommend is dumping books on an off-price retailer, unless you absolutely need to; it will cheapen your image, and you won’t make much on the books. You might even take a loss. I’d reserve this only for books that simply refuse to otherwise sell.
3. Market smarter, not harder. Are you keeping an email newsletter list for your regular readers? Have you set up a blog, myspace profile or online journal for your authors? Have you updated your Wikipedia entry? These are all smart things to do to make your products easier for customers to find online. And while you might assume that your core customers know your release dates and events schedules, chances are good that they don’t.
Remember that, even in the face of a recession, fans are willing to sacrifice to support their favorite products. Make sure you consider them first in your promotional efforts, since they’ll be the ones who are most likely to buy your products as they arrive… and the most likely to tell a friend to do the same.
-SJJ
Topics: Marketing 101 |
July 26th, 2008 at 7:54 am
I have spoken with many people in this industry as well as read alot of ‘advice’ they dish out , but I must say…I’m inpressed by your words!
Sean, you really know your stuff!
Best, Peter.
July 27th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Thanks, Peter. One could argue that the time I’ve spent in the industry has been more about how NOT to do things than it has been about how to launch a successful product. But we learn from our mistakes, and we move on.
I’m hoping my next product, which should see a formal announcement in the next week or two, will make the most of what I’ve learned. I think it’s going to surprise people.
-SJJ