The answer is simple. “You don’t.”

Many people who get into product development want to develop products on their own terms. They don’t want to consider the needs of the end user; they want to develop the product first and then convince the end user that he or she needs the product. This approach requires a heavy amount of selling, and often results in customers developing postpurchase dissonance — they buy because they’re sold to, and they wind up dissatisfied with the product in the end because it doesn’t solve their problem.

And that’s not marketing… or, I should say, that’s not effective marketing. Good marketing involves finding a need that already exists and then finding a way to fill it. That means listening to customers from day one. That means shaping ideas to fit the desires of the end user. That means refining designs instead of rushing them to market.

All of which can be accomplished by using STP — Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning.

Segmenting is the process of looking at the entire marketplace and breaking it down into smaller pieces. There are many ways to segment, all with advantages and disadvantages over other methods. But the method that works best for a small publishing company generally involves performing some basic market research, isolating the desired segment and examining similar segments to see if they’re viable as well.

Segments can be divided out by any manner of demographic information — income, age, education, geography, size of household, gender, and so forth. Often, these segments are given representative names, like “Bookworm Brooke” or “Do-it-Yourself Don” or “Casual Reader Ron.” The idea of these names is to help the marketers easily remember the characteristics of the customers they’re going after.

The market research firm Claritas has broken the entire US population into 67 unique segments, which you can read more about either via zip code or by individual segment. If you don’t have a lot of money for market research, using these Claritas PRIZM segments might not be a bad idea to begin to shape your survey of the marketplace.

Targeting is the process of deciding which segment(s) you’re going to focus your marketing efforts upon. Keep in mind, when I say “marketing,” I’m not referring to just sales and advertising, but the entire marketing mix you’re going to put into place – product, price, promotion, and distribution strategies. As you target segments, you’re going to develop your marketing mix and tailor it to target your chosen segment(s).

You can target more than one segment, but I would suggest starting with one and expanding your efforts to other segments down the road. For one thing, it will make your marketing communication a lot easier to do. For another thing, it will make you think about your customers in much more specific terms, and you won’t get confused about what those customers want. The fewer segments, the better.

Positioning is the process of adjusting your marketing mix so that you are reaching your desired segment. Think of it as making changes in the physical position of the product in a store so that it’s more attractive to the customer, like turning it to face the way they’re walking, setting it at eye level, building an impact display or displaying it on an endcap. The positioning process is all about making tweaks to the way you’re presenting your product from the communication perspective so that you’re capturing the minds of your targeted segment.

Let’s use a publishing example to go through the STP process. Say I’m writing a book about scottish terriers. First, I look at the marketplace and segment it — first, I split it into people who like dogs and people who don’t, and then I segment between people who are looking for reference books and people who are looking for casual reading, and then I segment between children and adults, and so forth.

Next, I focus on targeting that segment with my product. I’ll start by examining the segments and seeing where there is a need. I’ll also examine which needs I can realistically fill with products I can develop. Eventually, I decide that the segment I want to go after are children who are interested in dogs, and who might want to learn more about scottish terriers.

Finally, I’ll need to position my product. Clearly, I’ll need to adjust the words I use, and provide plenty of pictures in my content. A paperback black and white book won’t be appropriate; I’ll need something a little larger, and in full color, to suit the needs of my users. I’ll also need to consider the style of my book — should it be cartoonish, or should it feature photographs? How will I promote this book to reach the kids? How much should it cost? These are all important questions, and I’ll need to make sure I address them with my marketing mix.

And that’s STP! It’s a simple process, and quite intuitive. But like most tools in marketing, it’s a process that’s designed to keep businesses thinking in the right progression so that they don’t develop a product before considering the market for it.

On a final note, if you’re finding yourself saying, “I don’t need to do this. I know the marketplace,” I’d encourage you to give it a try anyhow. You might be surprised at how little you actually know… and how much STP can help you out.

-SJJ

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

1) Manuscripts being developed into books are typically given a long lead time – often 12 to 18 months – for “marketing” purposes.
2) Most of the “marketing” being done in the publishing industry seems to be lacking when it comes to strategic planning.

As I’ve said before, marketing is much more than making sales and scheduling author signings. Marketing begins when a product idea is conceived, and doesn’t end until the product is retired. It affects products, product lines, brands, companies, stakeholders, and even the individuals involved with any of the things I just mentioned. It’s very, very important.

So, why do so many publishers seem to rush through it?

Clearly, a lot of small publishers are run by people who have the entrepreneurial spirit, but who lack formal training. A lot of mid-range publishers are run by people who have editorial knowledge and publishing experience, but not necessarily formal business knowledge. And many trade publishers are structured like corporations, separating the marketing department from the editorial department and relegating marketing decisions to sales and advertising instead of allowing the marketing department to be involved in all stages of the process.

Unfortunately, this sort of attitude towards marketing limits what marketing can do for a publisher of any size. And that’s why I’ve decided to focus today’s article on two strategic planning tools that I’m using in the development of my own company. The first is a 5-Step process recently published by Dr. J. Scott Armstrong of the Wharton School of Finance. The second is called a SWOT analysis, and it’s something I use to evaluate each strategy I generate.

The 5-Step Decision-Making Process

Dr. Armstrong is known for criticizing the various methods of strategic planning taught by business schools today; in an essay available through the American Marketing Association website, he lists several well-known techniques and says that he is unaware of any of these marketing tools actually resulting in better planning. Instead, he proposes that diligently adopting the following process is the best way to develop any kind of strategic plan:

1. Determine your company’s long range objectives.
2. Generate alternative strategies
3. Evaluate alternative strategies
4. Monitoring implementation and outcomes
5. Gaining commitment from everyone who will be affected by the plan

To be fair, this is not a new or revolutionary idea; it’s a structure businesses have been following for decades. But Dr. Armstrong swears that it’s the best way to do things, and backs his argument up with evidence that shows that this structure does, in fact, work.

How should a publisher implement it? The first step can be accomplished by writing out a thorough business plan that details the company’s aims, research, business model, a proposed product line, a budget, a timeline and financial projections. This plan doesn’t need to be polished or pretty; it just needs to be comprehensive, because it’s going to be used as a foundational source as you move through the rest of the process. Depending upon the scope of what you’re trying to accomplish, your plan could be anywhere from 10-100 pages My own plan for Army Ant Publishing was close to 70. And, incidentally, even if you’ve been in business for awhile, you should still have a written business plan to refer to, so either write one or update the one you already have to reflect your current business models.

With your business plan in hand, start a brand new document and begin thinking about your products, and how you would like to develop them. I usually start by outlining my marketing mix (Product, Price, Promotion, Place) for each product (or product line), and then focus on proposed improvements to my plan. I write everything down, regardless of how silly it seems, and wait until my ideas are completely exhausted before I begin evaluating what I’ve written. Waiting to evaluate ideas is important; if you evaluate ideas as they come, you might miss some interesting new perspectives that come from ideas that are otherwise impractical.

Once I’ve “pruned” my ideas and removed the alternatives that are obvious losers, I take the remaining ideas and integrate them into my existing market mix framework. Once that’s done, I consider whom I’m going to need to persuade to go along with what I’ve got. If I’m working with a client, I talk to them. If I’m working with my own company, I talk to my staff.

This is when it’s a great idea to use that second tool, a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for “Strengths/Weaknesses, Opportunities/Threats,” and it takes a look at helpful and harmful points, from an internal and an external point of view.

Now, the SWOT is a tool that’s extremely overused in the world of business, and often in improper ways. For example, run a SWOT on your publishing company, and it’s likely to look something like this:

Personally, I don’t find this too helpful. It doesn’t tell me anything I couldn’t have figured out on my own, and it doesn’t give me a concrete plan for the future. And yet this is often the way companies use SWOTs to evaluate themselves or their competitors.

But if I use the same framework to evaluate the marketing strategy I just developed, I’m more likely to discover things I hadn’t considered. The strengths and weaknesses are there to identify the elements of the strategy I can actually control, while the opportunities and threats help me identify environmental factors in the marketplace. Strengths and opportunities help me see how the plan can benefit the product, while weaknesses and threats help me see how the plan can harm my product.

Once I’m satisfied with what I’ve found from my SWOT, I can commit to my plan a little more easily. I’ll also have less of a problem asking other people to get involved because I’ll be more confident in what I want to accomplish. And, with everything written down, I can even show my plan to others to get their feedback, just in case I missed something.

If this sounds like a lot of busywork… I will admit that it can be tedious. But it’s also important. Using a framework helps a marketing-minded publisher to think through all the little details, and to plan ahead. Plus, it’s often during the planning stages that even better ideas begin to appear out of the blue. Having all of this information written down makes it a valuable reference for down the road, and running a SWOT periodically as a means of monitoring a plan that’s in action can help a publisher make the proper adjustment to keep the plan profitable.

We can talk about return on investment, and we can talk about profit margins, but what the business of publishing really boils down to is profitability — the money the publisher rakes in after everyone else involved in the process has gotten his or her cut. If a publisher is making a profit of 5% or less, the firm is going to have trouble staying in business, because inflation renders such a small return almost meaningless. No, a publisher needs to shoot for a higher return, to the tune of 10-15% to be considered healthy, and it needs to generate at least 15%-20% to be able to grow.

But those sorts of returns are extremely hard to find in the bookstore market. And that’s why I’ve become convinced that the most valuable type of marketing work a publisher can do is not sales or promotion. It’s in building a better plan for distribution.

In the pilot episode of the NBC comedy 30 Rock, GE Executive Jack Donaghy explains to Liz Lemon that he made himself successful by developing an oven with three kinds of heat provided by thermal technology, convection technology, and microwave oven technology. Combining these three components allows the oven to cook food five times faster than a conventional oven; “With three kinds of heat, you can cook a turkey in 22 minutes,” Donaghy says with a winning smile. This is the way he thinks, and he tries to apply the “three kinds of heat” metaphor later as he revamps the format of Liz Lemon’s live sketch show.

30 Rock is a brilliant comedy that does a great job of spoofing corporate thinking. But there’s some truth in sarcasm, and the reality of the matter is that the most successful products are often those that are able to be all things to all people — available in different places, for different uses, for different reasons. One of the most notable examples is Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, a simple product that has hundreds of practical uses around the home. It’s sold on its own, but it’s also sold as a tie-in with other products, like toothpastes, deodorants, household cleaners, and pet hair removers. As a result, it’s a brand that people trust, and it’s synonymous with the baking soda category.

In the world of publishing, things are a little more challenging. Publishers produce books. Books are sold at bookstores. It seems like a no-brainer. And if you’re like many publishers, you’re probably wondering how you can achieve a higher penetration of the bookstore market. You’re likely also trying to get better at playing the bookstore game so you can achieve better sales and have better relationships with retailers, wholesalers and distributors.

But what you may forget is that a large number of books aren’t sold in bookstores at all — they’re sold in gift shops, or at big box retailers, or at mall kiosks, or through book clubs, or one of a dozen other channels. The buyers for these channels don’t usually deal with big intermediaries like Ingram, NBN or Baker & Taylor; they deal with the publishers themselves, or with specialty vendors. They don’t order off the frontlist or the backlist; they order the products they need for the customers they serve. And they often buy product at a great discount (35-50%) on a nonreturnable basis.

Consider, too, that most publishers completely bypass the direct sales market — selling books directly to customers, often at near-retail prices. Many publishers express concerns about channel conflict with retailers, and they often complain about the sales infrastructure needed to engage in direct sales. But once again, direct sales are nonreturnable, with the added bonuses of immediate payment and actual potential customer feedback. And while direct sales might have been difficult to make in the past days of mail-order vouchers and call centers, they’re incredibly easy to achieve today with the internet.

What about special sales events, like release parties and conventions? What about selling books to primary, secondary, and adult education programs? What about offering e-books and digital editions for e-reading devices like the Wowio and the Kindle? What about selling your book about dogs at dog shows, or your book about the local baseball team at local baseball games?

There are tons of possibilities out there, and you’re only limited by your imagination and your ability to implement your ideas. But what’s important to understand is that whenever you are developing a product, you’ve got to think beyond the bookstore. You’ve got to have a strategy in place to help you find those new channels, and you’ve got to have the willpower to make yourself break into them.

I challenge myself to think of four distinct distribution channels whenever I first come up with a product idea. For example, I’m developing an educational line of children’s graphic novels about nature. I’ve identified my target market as parents of children aged 6-12, since children rarely buy their own books, and I’ve identified my secondary market as educators and librarians. I’m positioning the book as something that children will enjoy reading (like a comic book), but with content that will teach them about natural predators and prey.

My first sales channel is direct sales, because I think the idea is unique enough that parents will be interested in ordering the book directly. I can make these sales through personal appearances, through my own website, through Ebay or through Amazon.com’s marketplace. In all cases, I will offer the book at retail price with an official autograph so that I can attract sales from consumers who aren’t concerned about getting the lowest price.

My second channel is comic book stores, because I believe that I can sell a profitable number of books through this channel. Though I don’t expect orders to be particularly high, I like the payment terms of this channel and the nonreturnable policy. Any sales I can make to comic book stores are receivables I can count on. I believe this channel will generate steady sales and help me create a staple series to offer the vastly underserved children’s comic book market a cool graphic novel series that parents will be happy for their kids to buy.

My third channel is bookstores, because I know that places like Borders and Barnes & Noble are where many parents will first go to look for my book. I also want my book to be available from online retailers directly so that people who are concerned about low price or free shipping will be more likely to buy. While this will certainly be my least profitable channel, it will potentially be a high volume channel, offering me a great chance to build up the reputation of my product line.

My fourth channel is educational distribution, likely with Scholastic. This is a tough channel to break into, but it’s worthwhile, since Scholastic deals directly with my primary and secondary markets and will make my books available through order forms and through book fairs. Scholastic also has a variety of marketing tools that will help to increase my sales, such as reading quizzes and frequent buyer programs. I believe this will ultimately be my highest volume channel and offer me the greatest benefits, since it is so well targeted.

Notice that with this strategy, I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket, nor am I placing an unhealthy emphasis on a risky channel. I have a balance between returnable and nonreturnable sales, and I have a strategy to help me make the most of each.

And beyond that, there are many other channels I can consider:

• A fifth channel could be gift shops for zoos, science museums, natural history museums, and national parks.
• A sixth channel could be government grant programs and after school programs that are trying to get children to read. The comic book style of my books, mixed with its educational content, makes my product highly attractive to this channel.
• A seventh channel could be libraries and bookmobiles that are hosting summer reading programs.
• An eighth channel could be children’s book clubs.
• A ninth channel could be through a partnership with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.
• A tenth channel could be through partnerships with organizations that are trying to teach children about wildlife conservation and appreciation.

And while we’re considering the “place” element of the marketing mix, let’s consider how adjusting the packaging of the “product” could open up even more channels:

• By adapting the book into an animated flash cartoon, I could sell access to the animated book for a nominal fee on my website.
• By printing that same cartoon on a DVD, I could sell the video on my website for home and classroom use.
• By packaging the book with a plush animal or action figure set, I could focus on selling gift sets during the holiday season.
• By having someone read the book and record it on a CD, I could package the book as a read-along.
• By taking the artwork and removing the color layer, I could simplify the book down into a coloring book.

The possibilities are amazingly vast. But all of them require me to think creatively and to look at my product as more than just a book.

As I’ve done my research on the world of publishing, I’ve been struck at how infrequently publishers try to break out of the bookstore mold. Most publishers only seem to focus on first runs, reprint rights, licensing, and the occasional backlist order. It’s no wonder that so many products fail; they’re got to compete with so many other products that are exactly the same. The content may be different, but the packaging, the promotional strategy, the price, and the place are all identical.

And that brings me to my final point. Obviously, I’m approaching this topic as a brand new publisher, and I’m sure I’ll receive some criticism for not understanding how things work in the “real world.” I can deal with that, and I’m sure that there’s a certain amount of truth to it. But what I’ve come to realize in the last six years as I’ve watched many small publishers who I’ve worked with crash and burn is that the current bookstore system exists not because it’s good, or because it’s right; it exists because it works for the people at the top, and it changes at their pace because they’re the ones who control it.

Small publishers don’t fail because they try to compete with the big guys; they fail because they attempt to imitate the big guys. And they just can’t win, most of the time, because they don’t have the resources. The only way a small publisher can be assured of success is to outmaneuver the big guys, to go where they haven’t thought to go and to sell what they haven’t thought to offer.

The most valuable person you can find to develop your marketing plan is not the guy who suggests that you advertise more, or that you raise your price. It’s the guy who tells you how you can introduce your product in places you hadn’t thought to introduce it yet.

-SJJ

First, you need to consider how you want to put your releases out. I’d suggest email, since it’s inexpensive, though e-mailed press releases can get caught in spam filters. Your most important sources should also receive hardcopy releases, whether they’re in the form of a fax or a press kit. And you should most certainly post any official announcements on your company’s website, if for no other reason than so that the search engines will pick them up.

Once you’ve determined your plan, you need to find a way to get people to actually see your release. Here are 10 tips that will help you get your press release out in front of the public. And while they might not all be practical for your promotional plans, the more of these tips you employ, the better exposure your news will get!

1. Build up a publishing industry release list. This includes sources such as Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Book Reviews, Booklist, and Publishing News. You can find a fairly comprehensive list of sources here and here. Additionally, many of these sources host blogs for niche categories; for example, Publisher’s Weekly has writer Heidi MacDonald run a blog about comic books and graphic novels called The Beat. Do your research with each source and see if they have a specialist who covers your category, and make sure to add that person to your list.

2. Build up a blogger release list. There are many bloggers out there who are struggling to find daily content on their topic. Help them out by sending them press releases that are relevant to their blog. For example, if you’re publishing a book about kites, be sure to let any bloggers who specialize in news about the kite industry know about your book. Not only will this help you reach consumers who are potentially interested in your product, but it may help you reach consumers who might not have heard about your product if you had talked about it through traditional channels.

3. Build up an independent retailer release list. Many independent retailers do not pay close attention to small publisher news. They just don’t have the time. But they do tend to read any catalogs or press releases that are sent their way. Booksense.com has a database of over 1,200 independent bookstores, complete with contact information. You might want to narrow the search down to your specific niche before you start sending press releases to all of the contacts involved, but you’ll be glad you kept these retailers in the know when they start placing orders for your books.

Let me add here that while it’s not necessary to obtain the permission of these retailers to send them materials, it’s not wise to slam them with a large volume of junk mail, since it may make them less likely to read what you send. Also, make sure your press releases include availability information (especially if you have an exclusive distributor) and an ISBN so that these retailers can place an order if they’re interested in your book.

4. Build up a newswire release list. There are many newswires out there that exist so that multiple media sources can receive information on different industries. There are publishing industry newswires as well. Some are maintained by distributors, and some are maintained by retailers. But be careful when you sign up for a newswire, because many, like PR Newswire and BusinessWire, want to charge you for distribution of each release. I also question their effectiveness, since both send out thousands of press releases every month. Your news is a part of their database, true, but it’s something that members actually have to search for. And if someone is eager to find out more information about your small publishing company, they’re more likely to start with Google than with a pay service. Big services might seem prestigious, but often, they’re a waste of time and money.

Fortunately, there are plenty of free newswires out there that specialize in publishing news. There are also communities to be found in places like Yahoo! Groups that distribute news to enthusiast media. For example, the comic book industry has a group called SuperHeroNews that’s free to use. Ask around and do your research – chances are good you’ll find a few. Just make sure you don’t join a group for fans of a particular topic and then start spamming them with your product news – it’s a good way to build ill will.

UPDATE: Here’s a list of free press release distribution sites I just found. Use it well!

5. Build up a librarian release list. Librarians, much like independent booksellers, are known for reading hardcopy items that are sent their way. Since librarians are responsible for purchasing books for their libraries, they are a key market to target with your news. You can meet librarians at trade shows hosted by the ALA, or you can find them through an internet directory. But definitely plan to include them in your overall press release plan.

6. Build up a customer release list. Who is more likely to be more interested in your products than your existing customers? Every time you visit a trade show or event, collect email addresses. Every time you sell a product to a customer, ask them to opt-in for a weekly or monthly newsletter. Have a signup form on your site. Use those email addresses to send out weekly or monthly news about your company’s products, including content from your press releases. This so-called “grassroots strategy” is one of the most efficient and effective ways to get the word out about your products, and it allows you to control everything that is said about your company.

7. Set up a blog about your products. This is one of those little “marketing tricks” that many small publishers use to take advantage of the blogging community’s infrastructure. Blogs are easy to set up, and often free – I use Wordpress myself, but Blogger is also very nice. Once you get a blog set up, you can go and register it at Technorati and Feedburner so that every time you post up a new article, members of the blogging community (particularly those who have added your blog to their newsfeed) will be notified.

Some really savvy publishers put up blogs that appear to be fansites and write under aliases so that they can generate unofficial buzz about their books as well. Others pay or reward bloggers who write about their products and who post their press releases. Ethically, it’s a gray area, and since I’m a big believer in transparent business practices, I’d recommend not hoodwinking your customers this way. But be aware that it is an option.

8. Set up a Myspace Profile or a Facebook Group. Social networking is a big thing right now, and while advertising on these networks is costly and questionably effective, setting up a profile or group can help you attract fans and quickly get the news out to them. My wife happens to be a huge fan of the author Sherrilyn Kenyon, and she’s constantly pointing out to me how involved the author is in these communities, posting frequent items (sometimes, in the voice of her characters!) and answering questions from fans. Every time Ms. Keynon sends out news, all of her fans who are “friends” are notified via email. You can’t beat that direct level of publicity.

What’s really nice about Myspace is that your profile can be customized to match your own website, and it gives you the added bonus of being able to track you exact number of fans and learn more about them by viewing their profiles. This is valuable for quick marketing research.

Facebook offers the option of creating groups, which don’t seem to be as popular as the groups or product profiles on Myspace, but they shouldn’t be discounted. You can also encourage your authors to set themselves up to have “fans,” which is basically a way of allowing Facebook users to showcase their favorite musicians, actors/actresses, artists and authors.

9. Set up a podcast. A regular podcast (a term used to describe internet radio shows) about your products isn’t that hard to produce, and you can literally just read your press releases if you want to. Users can subscribe to podcasts so that they’re notified every time a new one is available, and they can even set their portable devices to download their favorite podcasts automatically. You can also set them to play directly from your webpage or blog. Podcasts don’t need to be long, but should be interesting. I’d suggest interviewing your authors and talking about the creative process behind products, or inviting authors to give readings. Podcasts should definitely be registered with iTunes, since it’s one of the main places websites pull feeds from.

10. Set up a video podcast. A video podcast is simply a short video recording of around 5-9 minutes where you talk about your products. These are incredibly easy to set up via a site like Youtube, and all you really need is a web camera. I’d suggest filming these around your office to give them an air of authenticity, and focusing on talking about the content of your press releases. The nice thing about these videos is that they will stay up forever, searchable by anyone, and they can also be embedded in your webpage so that users can easily watch them. It’s yet another smart way to present your information directly to consumers, and if you can be interesting or entertaining enough, users will look past the video quality.

So, there you have it! These are some of the techniques I have in my own bag of tricks, and I hope they’re helpful to you. And if I’ve missed something, feel free to post your own techniques below!

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place: I’ve been writing press releases for almost a decade, and I’ve developed a style that works very well. By the end of this article, you’ll have a good understanding of the mechanics of writing an effective press release. And if you don’t, don’t worry – you can always hire me on an affordable freelance basis to write your press releases for you. (Contact me for details!)

But first, it’s probably a good idea to explain what a press release is actually for.

Simply put, a press release is an official statement from a company releasing new information to the public. Traditionally, press releases have been used by corporations to announce news of interest to shareholders, but they have also been widely used by publicists and promoters who are trying to get media coverage for their clients. Over the last decade, many small companies have been taking advantage of the internet to put out their own press releases to promote niche products or services. While big announcements about new products were once reserved for trade shows and press junkets, companies can now issue press releases directly to the consumer media and niche publications. Some companies even send their press releases directly to their customers!

What’s great about press releases is that they have the appearance of a news article, but they’re entirely controlled by the company that’s issuing them. In a press release, company spokespersons can say anything they like. Quotes are never edited or taken out of context, and they can have a positive promotional tone. There’s no conflict, and no bad news; proper press releases are always about moving forward and looking ahead. They serve as a company record of fact down the road, and often are used as official sources by researchers and members of the media.

Here’s an example of a brief press release I wrote for Dabel Brothers Publishing:

DABEL BROTHERS BRING JIM BUTCHER’S DRESDEN FILES TO COMICS
Harry Dresden will begin his investigations into the world of the supernatural in the comic book medium in Spring 2008 as the Dabel Brothers adapt the first novel, ‘Storm Front,’ and publish all-new, original stories written specifically for comics by Butcher himself!

Dabel Brothers Publishing is going to make magic when it springs forward with its new line of books in Spring 2008.

In August, they announced that they have begun work on a graphic adaptation of the bestselling blockbuster Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Book One – Prodigal Son. And today, they officially announced the details behind their upcoming comic book adaptation of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novels, as well as an original Dresden Files miniseries being written by Jim Butcher himself!

The Dresden Files is a series of novels about Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, a mysterious investigator of the supernatural named after several famous magicians. But this name fits him well, because Harry Dresden is also a wizard – a wielder of arcane powers that must remain hidden from society at the behest of the White Council, a group determined to enforce the “Seven Laws of Magic” and prevent magical users and creatures from running amok. Dresden uses his powers to aid the Chicago police when they investigate cases beyond their comprehension, but he is also being watched closely by the Council, due to a mysterious story in his past that resulted in Harry slaying his mentor.

Butcher has currently published nine novels (with a tenth due out in February, 2008). He also licensed the world of Harry Dresden for a popular television show on the Sci-Fi channel that aired earlier this year that is currently available on DVD.

But the comics will offer one thing the television show could not: a direct adaptation of the novels.

“I loved the show, but like any fan, I was disappointed to see the first novel distilled down into an hour-long episode,” said Les Dabel, Vice President of Dabel Brothers Productions. “Storm Front is a fantastic novel, and it features a lot of depth in the fantastic world that Mr. Butcher has created. In a comic book and graphic novel, we’re going to be able to tell the whole story, and that’s really exciting news!”

The adaptation of Storm Front will debut in mid 2008 as a monthly comic book series. But to get things started, the Dabel Brothers will release a four-part original story beginning in April, 2008 written exclusively for comics by Jim Butcher featuring an untold story of Harry Dresden!

“We did something similar with Laurell K. Hamilton on the Anita Blake series, and it was well-received by the fans,” said Dabel. “We enjoy adapting existing stories, but we love working with authors like Mr. Butcher to create all-new, original content as well.”

“I couldn’t be happier to see the Dresden Files hopping the gulf to a new medium–and to one where I think they’ll have the chance to really shine,” said Jim Butcher. “I’ve spent considerable portions of my life obsessed with comics. I like them, and they helped shape my imagination as I was growing up. The action in the Dresden Files has always been inspired by my favorite superhero titles–Spidey and the X-men–and several facets of Dresden himself were modeled on some of the same foundations as Peter Parker. For heaven’s sake, my online handle has been ‘Longshot,’ after the sometime X-man, since my very first email account.”

“We’ve been holding this news in for a long time, and we’re glad we can finally announce the details,” said Ernst Dabel, President of Dabel Brothers Productions. “We can’t wait to show people a preview of the first issue – it’s going to be astounding!”

For more information on the comic book adaptation of The Dresden Files, Dabel Brothers Publishing, its products and its partners, please visit http://www.dabelbrothers.com.

Can you feel the excitement in this release? Every word is infused with energy to make it stand out in the mind of the reader. Notice that the announcement itself could have been made in a single paragraph, but the release goes on to offer quotes from the author and the publisher as well as information on the history of the novel series being licensed. The release doesn’t focus on the tedious business details, either, such as the licensing arrangement or the production schedule. Instead, it highlights the final product and attempts to drive the reader straight to the store to pre-order the book.

It would be great if a consumer would read this and get excited, but generally, this news will be filtered through a media source. Often, the bloggers, writers and journalists who pick this news up will summarize it on their sites and just pick out the key details. That’s all good and well. But sometimes, if you’re lucky, they’ll print the whole press release verbatim. That’s ideal, because it looks like a normal news article, but it has your company’s exact wording and phrasing.

Let’s break down the release and look at each section. I began with a simple headline that imitates what one might see in a newspaper. Newspaper headlines are written in present tense and use as few words as possible – generally ten or fewer. Sometimes, they’re direct in their content, as this one is. Sometimes, they’re a little more creative; “Dabel Brothers Publishing Makes Magic With Jim Butcher’s Dresden This Spring” would have been acceptable, though I personally felt such a headline was trite in this case.

After the headline, follow up with a subhead that summarizes the article in a single sentence. A good subhead will give the meat of the story, but tease the details. The idea behind the subhead is that many of the people who are in the media get slammed with press releases, and don’t take the time to read them thoroughly. But they generally read the headline and the subhead so they know the gist of each release. A good subhead will draw them into the release and make them more inclined to remember the details. Notice that, in my example, I state that the author is writing an original story, but don’t give the details. The natural reaction for anyone interested in the story is to keep reading to find out more.

Now, it’s time to begin the article. A journalist would start with what’s called a “lead,” summarizing the story in one or two sentences. But we’ve already done that with our subhead, so instead, let’s focus on leading with a “hook,” a paragraph or two that are carefully constructed to grab the reader’s attention. In the example, I started by making the bold statement that the Dabel Brothers were going to “make magic” with their new Spring line, and then I went on to explain why. This was much more exciting than leading with the standard, “The Dabel Brothers announced today that Jim Butcher will be writing an original story for them this Spring.” It made the release feel less like an announcement and more like a news article.

Constructing a good “hook” in a press release is difficult to do, and you’ll probably spend more time writing and rewriting those first two paragraphs than you will anywhere else in the document. But it’s worth the trouble. My advice is to tell a quick story that brings the reader to the announcement the release is trying to make. Telling people that you’re about to release a book is one thing. But telling people that someone had an idea while sitting in Starbucks one day that led to a consuming quest to publish the novel they’re about to hear about is a lot more exciting.

The body text should get to the point quickly, announcing details about the product. Some of these details should include:

• The product’s release date
• The product’s price
• The product’s format and/or packaging
• The product’s order code, ISBN, or other identifier.
• Where the product can be purchased
• Where more information about the product itself can be found
• What sort of promotional budget there is behind the product (if any)

These are all extremely important details, and while they’re not all relevant to each announcement, you should try to include as many of them as possible in the body text.

You’ll notice that I also threw in some quotes in my example that gave additional details. One of those quotes was engineered for my boss, written solely by me and submitted to him for approval. The rationale there is that because he approved it, he “said” it. The other quote, from Jim Butcher, is actually from the author. I solicited a quote while working on the release, and he supplied it for me. Both methods are acceptable for obtaining quotes in a press release; unlike the field of journalism, where quotes should not be altered, press release quotes can (and often should) be adjusted and massaged to fit the tone of the announcement.

I generally end my press releases with the statement, “For more information about this product, check out the publisher’s website at http://www.website.com.” It brings the release a sense of closure, and it spurs the reader to action.

Once your press release is finished, you’ll want to add in what’s called a “boilerplate.” This is essentially standard information about your company that should go at the end of every press release. Here’s an example of the boilerplate I developed for the Dabel Brothers:

About Dabel Brothers Publishing
Dabel Brothers Publishing, LLC is a comic book studio dedicated to bringing many of the best and most popular novels in the world of fantasy to the comic book medium. With a passion for authenticity and a firm respect for the original text, the Dabel Brothers work hard to ensure that their adaptations build upon and enhance the worlds of popular works in a manner that longtime fans and new readers alike can enjoy.

The Dabel Brothers first became known for their stunning adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s The Hedge Knight in 2003. Since then, they have produced over a dozen different titles that have adapted novels by major, bestselling authors, including Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist, Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, Richard A. Knaak and Robert Silverberg. The Dabel Brothers also produced the first six issues of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, which they published through Marvel Comics. The hardcover graphic novel collecting these issues went on to become a bestselling graphic novel of 2007 with only a single month’s worth of sales.

In 2008, the Dabel Brothers will produce and publish several more comic book adaptations of novels by major bestselling authors, including Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein: Prodigal Son, George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards and Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files. All of these titles will be published in conjunction with Del Rey Books, an imprint of Ballantine Books.

More information about Dabel Brothers Productions can be found at http://www.dabelbrothers.com.

The idea of a boilerplate is that it should give the quick facts about a company and highlight some of its accomplishments, just in case the reader isn’t familiar with the company and needs some reference material. Boilerplates are rarely run when members of the media post up press releases, but it’s a good idea to include them, just in case.

Finally, I recommend ending your press release with some italicized copyright information and disclaimers at the bottom:

Copyright 2007, Dabel Brothers Publishing, LLC. All Rights reserved.
All trademarks and titles are the property of their respective owners.

The statements contained within this document are considered “forward-looking statements”
and may not reflect upon the actual future performance of Dabel Brothers Publishing, LLC.

And with that, you’ve got a press release! The only thing you still need to add is some contact information. That should go at the top of the page, above the headline, and include a contact name, phone number, and email address. I generally follow that with the date of the release.

Many press releases also contain a letterhead in the header and the words “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.” They do tend to make the release look more official, so I recommend them.

And there you have it – you’re ready to write a press release! But while you do that, please remember these five simple guidelines:

1. A press release should read like a news article as much as possible. I suggest picking up an Associated Press Style Manual and sticking to its guidelines.

2. When quoting someone, begin with a statement, and then follow that statement with the word “said,” then their name, and then their title. Then, continue their quote. Otherwise, it gets confusing. An example of this would be:

“I’m thrilled about writing press releases,” said Sean J. Jordan, the author of this article. “It’s a lot of fun!”

3. Exclamation points are great, but don’t use them unless they’re part of a quote. And even then, use them sparingly; too many exclamation points make the press release into an obvious piece of marketing material.

4. Product names should be set off in some way, whether it’s with capital letters, bold facing, or italics. If you mention other products, set them off differently than you do the product that you’re promoting.

5. Don’t try to embed graphics or photos into a press release’s body. Do, however, attach them with a separate page that provides captions, if necessary.

So, now that you have a press release… what can you do with it? Check out the next article in the series to find out!

For example, Scholastic is publishing a series that was originally called Children of the Red King in the UK that’s been repositioned to become the Charlie Bone here in the United States. The covers and logo look very similar to those found on the US Harry Potter books. Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials wasn’t on the radar of many readers until Scholastic Point brought the series over from the UK, renamed the first book The Golden Compass, and positioned the series as “the series that’s even more popular than Harry Potter in Britain right now.” Never mind that His Dark Materials is closer to The Chronicles of Narnia than it is to Harry Potter; The Chronicles of Narnia doesn’t get the headlines that Harry Potter gets.But the question that came to mind for me last summer was this: who made Harry Potter popular in the first place?

Originally, the pitch was that Harry Potter was something that children had discovered and begun devouring, much to the surprise of their parents. I remember reading articles in Time and Newsweek around the time the fourth book was released that talked about how children were suddenly reading again, thanks to Harry Potter. And what’s interesting is that while children certainly were reading Harry Potter, it was because adults were reading it too.

Consider, for example, this excerpt from a 1999 cover story in Time entitled Wild About Harry:

So, in the beginning, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone [or Philosopher's Stone, as it was originally named], written by a previously unknown author named J. (for Joanne) K. Rowling, appeared in Britain in June 1997 as a juvenile-fiction title. Abracadabra! it careered to the top of the adult best-seller lists. The same eerie thing happened when the book was published September 1998 in the U.S.

Notice, the article says that the book first appeared on the adult bestseller lists, both in the US and the UK. And it makes sense, when you consider that children rarely pick up books on their own; they thrive on the recommendations of teachers, librarians and parents. Children rarely have the ability to pick up a novel and say, “this looks cool! I want this!” based purely on the title, cover and the back cover copy. They tend to only do this with products that are familiar, such as licensed books, comic books, long-running series, or books about topics they’re already interested in. Children don’t evaluate products the way adults do; that’s something they learn in their teenage years.

A Newsweek article from 1998 entitled A Literary Sorceress also talked about how adults were reading the book:

In England, where it was published last year, “”Harry” has been a hit, selling a whopping 150,000 copies and winning a British Book Award and a Smarties Prize, sort of a Booker Prize for children’s literature. (Adults as well as kids have taken to the book. Rowling’s British publisher recently issued a second edition with a more grown-up cover, so older readers wouldn’t be embarrassed to carry “”Harry.”) The American rights to the book were purchased by Scholastic Books for more than $100,000, the most ever paid for a first-time author’s children’s book. The U.S. edition arrived in stores in late August and is currently No. 2 on the Publishers Weekly children’s best-seller list, and author Joanne Rowling, 33, has just signed a seven-book contract and a seven-figure deal for movie rights with Warner Brothers.

and later on:

As melancholy as it is fantastic, “”Harry Potter” has been likened to the dark juvenile novels of Roald Dahl and C. S. Lewis. “”I don’t dumb my books down for kids,” Rowling says. And it’s clear that the author is no one-shot wonder: when the sequel to “”Harry Potter,” “”Chamber of Secrets,” debuted in England this summer, it climbed both the children’s and adult best-seller lists, outselling John Grisham and Tom Clancy. “”Happily ever after” never looked so smart.

Again, notice that the book was something that adults were reading. The “children’s bestseller lists” are somewhat of a misnomer, since they reflect purchasers, not readers. (With rare exception, parents are the purchase decision-makers, not their children.)

“So?” you might be asking. “That doesn’t change the fact that the book was successful!”

No. But it does shed some light on why the book was successful. The publishers of the book (Bloomsbury in the UK and Scholastic Press in the US) knew a good story when they saw it. Their editors certainly advised J.K. Rowling on how she could make her books successful, encouraging her to keep the rich flavor of the world of wizards while staying tightly focused on the story. (That’s likely one of the reasons the first three books are so much shorter than the last four — there was more editorial guidance.) And the marketing machine behind the book made sure it got great recognition by putting it up for awards and positioning it as a book that children and adults could equally enjoy.

And that’s where Harry Potter ultimately benefited the most. The publisher didn’t insist on dumbing the book down for kids, adjusting the language for a fourth grade reading level and cutting out all the violence. The publisher also didn’t insist on positioning the book towards children and leaving adults in the lurch. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (later Sorcerer’s Stone in the US) was simply positioned as a book that adults and children could enjoy. Simply put, adults could pick up the book and not feel dumb for reading a book that was intended for children.

That brings us to one of the scary truths about the world of publishing.

You see, in the United States, adults don’t really read as much as they should. In fact, the National Endowment for the Arts put out a report in 2007 that revealed that US readers aged 15-24 read, on average, seven minutes per day, while devoting two hours a day towards watching TV. The same report indicated that slightly over half of adults read when not required to do so. (Frequency of reading was not indicated). The report also said that the literacy level of a household can be predicted by how many books that household owns. And, naturally, the sales of books by unit have been declining over the last decade; publishing revenues have been kept steady by price increases, licensing and diversification into non-book markets.

So why did Harry Potter succeed so well? In part because the series was entertaining and competently written, yes. But I would argue that it was popular because it was at an easy enough reading level that many adults didn’t feel intimidated by it. And while the story focused on children and was intended for children, it was mature enough in tone that adults could appreciate it as well. Many adults were reading Harry Potter because it was at their level. And it was those adults, and not their children, who turned the book from a bestselling children’s book into an international media sensation.

Consider this. The last four Harry Potter books all had major launches, including heavily publicized midnight releases. But there’s no way that those midnight releases were intended to make sales to children, because most children would not be permitted to stay up so late for the release of a book. The publishers and retailers knew that. But they weren’t worried, because they knew that adults would be interested enough in the book that the events would pay off. And make no mistake — it wasn’t parents who were standing in line waiting for the cash registers to open so that they could buy the book for their children; it was adults who had every intention of reading the book themselves who made the launches such a big deal.

What can a publisher learn from this? I’d argue that it boils down to three things:

1. Traditional “adult-level” literary books are rapidly becoming too difficult and tedious for many readers. This is a disturbing trend, but it means that those who write and publish literary books had better watch out – they’re on the verge of becoming a niche in a market they should otherwise dominate.
2. Adults are not afraid to buy and read children’s books, provided that the books are not inherently childish. This is one of the reasons that the me-too books such as Charlie Bone have not caught on — they are clearly positioned towards children. And this is one of the reasons that books like Eragon have succeeded with adults — they are positioned towards both. In Eragon’s case, it also helps to have a history behind the book; adults love the idea that a teenager wrote a novel, since they can excuse themselves for reading it by saying, “I just wanted to see what this kid was capable of.”
3. Adults who read children’s books do a great job of recommending these books to children and to other adults. Word-of-mouth advertising is extremely important in the world of children’s publishing, and it definitely boosts sales.

As a children’s publisher myself, I’ve taken this line of thinking to heart as I’ve developed my own line of books – that’s why I’m creating graphic novels (which can be read by everyone) as opposed to more juvenile picture books (which adults will typically not read). After all, I want kids reading my books, but I understand that the first step in the process is to win over their parents. And, since my books are educational, I hope that they do; it’d be great to know that I made a difference not just on the future generations, but the present ones as well.

Incidentally, I’d be lax if I didn’t mention the article that first made me think about Harry Potter’s impact on adults, also from the Washington Post. In this article, the author points out that the last few books are really too dark for many children and that it’s adults who are the primary readers. It’s definitely food for thought.

But that concept of marketing, generally known as the “Selling Concept,” is outdated in today’s marketplace. And while sales are an important part of the marketing process, they’re only part of the whole, and publishers who rely on sales tactics are missing out on the bigger picture…

When I tell someone I’ve just met that I work in marketing, I’ve come to expect a certain reaction. It begins with a nod, and then a panicked awareness that moves up through the eyes and onto the forehead, which begins to pale slightly as the blood rushes from their face. “Oh,” they’ll whisper. “You’re not going to try to sell me anything, are you?”

I blame the previous generations of people who have worked in my profession. Don’t get me wrong; many marketing professionals have made a lot of important advancements over the last 50 years, and the field of marketing has evolved from the simple question of “How do I get people to buy this thing I just made?” to something much more elegant and useful. But marketing professionals have done a terrible job of staking out their territory in the mind of society at large and have allowed a lot of hucksters to use the term to describe their own practices, leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. It’s ironic, since marketing is all about crafting an image and a relationship, that professional marketers have allowed the term for their profession to be sullied. But then, part of the problem is that up until the last few decades, even marketers have been trying to figure out how they fit into the world of business.

That’s partially because marketing wasn’t really necessary up until the 20th century, thanks to the rise of mass-produced merchandise. Marketers spent the first two decades of the 20th century learning to understand the impact of things like national product brands and retail distribution possibilities.  But things changed in the 1930s as the economy surged forward and consumerism caught on. Suddenly, consumers weren’t just interested in buying any product; they were interested in buying the right product. Marketers had to learn how to convince potential customers that their product was the one to go with. Advertising was proving effective, but it was more helpful for brands and new products than it was for established products. And thus many companies (particularly retailers) began to focus on developing effective selling techniques to help sell off their goods and services.

The idea of sales is simple: you sell what you’ve got for as much as you possibly can. You don’t concern yourself with the needs or wants of the customer (unless it’s relevant to making the sale), and you don’t worry about the customer past your sales transaction. If the product doesn’t do what the customer needs it to do, it’s not your problem. Your only concern is to make your next sale.

Flash forward to the 21st century and you’ll see that there are still companies who practice sales in this manner. In fact, as a publisher, this very likely could be your philosophy, since your business is built very much around a “push” strategy where you develop a product, print what you think you can sell, and try to sell through your run so you can earn enough to develop another product.

But in the world of modern marketing, selling is only part of the whole, and today’s marketing professionals use what is called a “Marketing Mix” as they make decisions. The term comes from Neil H. Borden, who wrote a book in 1964 called The Concept of the Marketing Mix. His idea was that all marketing decisions ultimately relate to the “target market” and that it is necessary for a marketer to include the right “mix” of marketing decisions to reach that target market. Borden broke these decisions down into four categories: product, pricing, promotion and place. (They’re commonly known today as the “4 P’s.”)

But what’s interesting about the marketing mix (and the broader philosophy of “the marketing concept”) is that it doesn’t look at the product and then ask, “how can I sell this to the customer?” Rather, it looks at the customer and asks, “how can I serve this customer with a product he or she will want to buy? And how can I keep that customer coming back for more?”

For a publisher, this is a tough, tough question to ask, because it seems contrary to common sense. In the publishing marketplace, after all, consumers are concerned about hot topics and popular authors. Publishers who can create trends or ride the waves of popular culture often do quite well, while publishers who focus on serving the customers are often buried underneath the competition. The best way to be successful in the world of publishing is to create something like Chicken Soup For the Soul or Life’s Little Instruction Book or The Secret — something that’s engineered to sell that you can back up with a solid promotional plan. In short, to succeed as a publisher, you’ve got to find a way to sell your books, because there are so many options available that no one’s just going to come out and buy them, right?

I’ve thought about this problem for years, now, because I’ve observed that many products really are developed with little concern for the customer’s wants or needs, especially in the world of media. Creative people tend to be drawn to fields like publishing, cinema, music and television, and we hate being told to tailor our products to suit a market. We want to create what we like and what we think is interesting, and we hope that the quality and passion behind our work will attract people to it. And sometimes, it does. But more often than not, our work is not received well, and we find ourselves struggling to create more and hoping that we’ll eventually find the big “break” that will make everything we touch turn to gold.

Perhaps that’s why the field of publishing has often been described as a “lottery” — many people have observed, correctly, that despite the tens of thousands of high-quality novels that are published every year, only a few become bestsellers.  What’s more, these bestsellers are often books that are fomulaic and not very literary or even well-written, and they’re crafted by the same “big name” authors everyone’s used to seeing – the authors who got their lucky chance and whose names are now synonymous with success. It’s hard to believe that anyone who doesn’t have a trade publisher deal and a multi-million dollar marketing budget can compete with these guys.

But you see, the “common sense” perspective has a major flaw: it’s focused in the wrong direction. As a publisher, I’m not asking why consumers are buying some books and not others; I’m looking at the products and trying to figure out why one product sells better than another, and I’m drawing my conclusions from studying the products. If I were to shift my perspective and watch the consumers, I’d see that most of the people who buy novels are looking for easy, convenient reading. They’re not interested in trying new things; they want to stick with the authors and genres they know. If that author has inspired a television show or a movie they’ve seen, so much the better. They’d also rather buy their books while they’re shopping for groceries or at the drug store, where things are conveniently placed, than wade through a bookstore where they have trouble finding exactly what they want because they’re overwhelmed with choices.

How can a publishing company serve that sort of customer? Sadly, that particular sort of customer is not going to be easy for most publishers to acquire, because he or she already has an established relationship with the publishers who populate the bestseller racks, grocery stores and convenience stores. And what’s more, they’ve spent millions of dollars to establish those relationships, and they’ll spend millions more to keep them. That’s one of the reasons phrases like “New York Times Bestseller” exist — they’re meant to capture the type of reader who’s only interested in what’s supposed to be popular. The truth of the matter is that phrases like “bestseller” are just a sales gimmick publishers use to sell more books.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of opportunities to reach other consumers through publishing. The trick is to figure out what customers want, but don’t have, and then to find a way to provide that. One example would be the … For Dummies books, which began as down-to-earth computer manuals written for non-technical people, but which branched out into all sorts of fields when it became apparent that consumers wanted easy-to-read instruction manuals that were focused on being friendly and helpful instead of technical and pretentious. They’ve even inspired several brands of imitators! Another example would be the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader books, which offer a humorous compilation of short articles for those who like to read while they’re waiting on nature to take its course.

“But what if I’m going to be publishing fiction, or comic books?” you might be asking. “Isn’t it better to create something cool that consumers don’t know they want than to pander to them?”

My simple answer is that a certain amount of pandering is necessary no matter what you’re doing. If you publish a book that no one wants to read solely because it’s interesting to you, you can’t blame the consumers for not showing more interest. Publishing is a commercial endeavor, and publishers who don’t create what the market wants won’t stay in business very long.

But, with that said, if you take the time to define your target market and get to know your potential readers’ tastes, you can improve your chances for success. For example, many comic book creators have attempted to start their own superhero universes because they have reasoned that since Marvel and DC have done so well with superheroes, that’s what comic book readers want. But their reasoning is based, once again, on looking at the products instead of the consumers. If they were to ask the consumers, they’d find out that most of the people who buy Marvel and DC books aren’t as interested in the superhero genre as they are in following the adventures of the characters they grew up reading about. Most of these same consumers would be open to reading other kinds of comic books, but they’re saving their superhero dollars for products from the two companies who have dominated the genre for decades.

Likewise, in the realm of fiction, it’s never a bad idea to examine a target market and see what the consumers are interested in that you can publish. If you’re interested in publishing vampire western romance mysteries, you have to figure out who the readers are likely to be and then figure out what they want out of your books. Do they want a unique story, or do they want you to stick to established genres and focus on romance between characters? Do they like lots of action and violence, or do they prefer you skip over the action and get straight to the steamy, sexy stuff? Knowing these sorts of details can help you select the right novels to bring to market… and they will give you insights into how you need to promote your books when they’re ready for sale.

Marketing requires a lot of thought and a lot of planning. It’s not just as easy as selling something you’ve already created. But remember that it’s worth the trouble if you do it right; you can be very successful as a publisher by selling a small number of books to the right audience over and over again. You won’t have the prestige of a bestseller, perhaps, but you’ll have something a lot of your competitors won’t: steady cash flows.

This argument contains three obvious flaws. First, it assumes that because advertising exists online, that it must be effective. Second, it assumes that since the companies that sell the advertising are making money, that the advertisers are likewise making money. Third, it assumes that click-thrus result in purchases. Note that none of these assumptions can assume that web-based advertising results in higher sales for a company that it might achieve without advertising. The reason that assumption cannot be made is the same reason that I brought up in my earlier article — there is no consistent, proven correlation between sales and advertising.

One of the reasons that so many people are spending so much money on web-based advertising is because the model sounds productive. Basically, advertising is sold one of the following ways:

1) By time period (e.g. “$500 for one month’s placement on the front page.”) This is usually done in months or quarters, depending upon the site. Some even do it by weeks.

2) By CPM (e.g. “$40 CPM”), which means “cost per mille,” or “cost per thousands.” Usually, this is prepaid, and the ad is yanked automatically once the payment is used up.

Two web-based variations on this are called CPI, which means “cost per impressions,” and CPC, which means “cost per clicks.” Some advertisers sell space based on a ratio of CPI and CPC, where you get charged a small amount for each impression and a larger amount for a click-thru. Others only charge you if you receive a click.

3) By category, or word (e.g. “$100 per week for the word “seanjordan’”). This is becoming one of the most popular ways to advertise; advertisers bid on phrases and keywords that they think users might search for or seek out, and then the advertising network responds by returning their ads along with the content.

There’s no question in my mind that all three systems are effective ways of delivering advertising. What I question is that the advertising that they do deliver actually works. Let me offer an example.

A comic book company I worked for decided to do some banner advertising on a well known comic book website. The company set up a good rate, and the contract allowed the company banner ad placement that could be changed as frequently as the company liked within the six month period. So, the company decided to change the ad every month to reflect the latest products. The ads were animated and looked great; everyone at the company, myself included, was excited about the campaign.

The banner started running and… nothing happened. Our traffic didn’t increase in any unusual way, and awareness of our products didn’t seem to increase. The click-thrus on the banner ad were pitiful; less than 2% of the people who saw the banner actually clicked on it and visited our site. The ad was essentially worthless, and it was our fault, because we had failed to realize one thing: the banner, which ran along the top of the page, was easily ignored by readers as they scrolled down to read the site’s content. The website where we were running the ad, after all, was a news site; it was only natural for readers to immediately scroll down as they skimmed the day’s headlines and to completely miss the ad banner in the process.

We wanted readers to view our banner and be so wowed by what they saw that they forgot why they’d visited the site and would visit our page instead. It was a ridiculous and naive thing to expect, because we all knew, from being Internet readers ourselves, that people don’t read web pages that way. The first thing a reader does when he or she visits a news site is to look at the middle and bottom of the page, where the content lies — not the top, where the logo, site map and ad banner are typically placed. The next thing the reader does is to scroll down to see what else is new, making that top-placed ad banner vanish before it can even be processed. Top-placed ad banners are placed in the least effective spot on the page, and we were idiots not to realize that before we locked into a contract and started shoveling money into the wishing well of advertising.

And we’re not the only ones who noticed this problem — many websites now run advertising next to the content so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Some even incorporate advertising into the text, either by using some sort of hot linking program that picks out key words and offers links to outside sites paying for the privilege, or by putting square banners in around the third or fourth paragraph so that they must be scrolled over to continue reading the story.

But readers are remarkably stubborn, and most still manage to ignore the advertising as they scroll down the page. So, the ads have gotten accordingly more annoying. The website “LowerMyBills.Com,” for example, is constantly changing up its banner ads to show silhouettes, clowns, space aliens, and office workers dancing in the hopes that the motion will attract the eye. Other advertisers use gimmicks like hot girls, full motion video, interactive minigames, flashing words, ridiculously easy trivia, or irritating sound clips announcing that the reader is a winner of an iPhone, all in the hopes of getting the reader’s attention long enough to possibly get a click-thru.

These are not proof that Internet advertising works, as some will claim. In fact, they’re evidence of the opposite — that Internet advertising is so ineffective that it’s ridiculously cheap, allowing bottom feeder companies to buy up ad space in bulk and pester the rest of the world with their irritating ads. These companies prey upon casual users, and even if they only get 10% of readers to click-thru, it winds up being a lot of people since the ads are everywhere and millions of people are now online.

As for all of these “advertising gurus” who claim to be making a zillion dollars off systems like DoubleClick or Google AdWords, there are plenty of articles out there explaining how they’re doing it. Basically, these people are exploiting the system, developing programs or hiring others to click through ads placed on dummy websites all day, often at great expense to the advertisers. There are stories of advertisers spending their entire budget in one day on Google Ads because scam artists repeatedly clicked through their ads to get referral revenues. Those advertisers spent thousands of dollars to get nothing for their trouble aside from a sizable headache. Worse yet, Google has basically refused to solve the problem, saying that it’s the advertisers’ cost of doing business!

So, with all of this in mind, is Internet advertising useful for small publishers?

Absolutely not! With all of the options out there for free promotion, there is no reason any publisher should be throwing money into the well. Even the specialty sites, who might seem like a good investment on the surface, are generally a wasted effort in the long run since readers have “banner blindness.”

If you want to spend money on Internet advertising, let me suggest this alternative: work on your website instead. Then use some of the promotional tips I’ve offered. If you want to include the specialty media, send them review copies of your books. Not only will those last longer, they’ll eventually appear in the search engine results whenever someone searches for your book, adding more credibility to your product. That’s a lot better value than you’ll get with some adwords or a flashing banner.

And if you feel absolutely compelled to get a banner out there, see if you can arrange a banner or link exchange with some related sites instead. Many specialty sites are happy to provide a link to your page if you provide a link to theirs, since this increases their Google PageRank and broadens awareness of their site. And, best of all, it gives you the perceived benefits of Internet advertising without any of the costs!

By the way, I’m always open to challenges, so if you want to send me your opinions on why advertising is worthwhile, I’m all ears — just post them in the comments section, and I’ll offer rebuttals for the arguments I find worthy. And if you, like me, have decided advertising is a waste of money for a small publisher, I’d love to hear from you too!

-SJJ

Do you have cable television? If so, check out C-SPAN2 some afternoon, and you’ll probably catch a glimpse of “BookTV.” This program, though about as exciting as anything else you’ll see on C-SPAN, features journalists interviewing authors about recent books, and it’s fascinating if you’re into the world of publishing because you get to see authors attempting to generate buzz for their work. Some of them pull it off with great success by looking great on camera and offering interesting quips, while others look terrible and ramble on about things that no one cares about.

But whether the authors do a good job or a bad job, they’ve got a great reason to participate in the program: it doesn’t cost them a dime.

That’s the difference between advertising and publicity; while advertising is paid for, publicity is free. I advise small publishers to avoid advertising because it’s a waste of resources, but I encourage small publishers to actively pursue publicity for three reasons:

1) Publicity generally features products for much longer than an advertisement might.

2) Publicity is generally presented in a favorable light that does not generally raise a consumer’s subconsious defenses against advertising.

3) Publicity lends an air of authority or importance to the product or author.

Publicity doesn’t just include C-SPAN2, either. Here are some of the ways a publisher or author can find good publicity for a book:

a) Reviews: Many publications and websites review books. Some of them (such as Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal) only review books prior to release, but others (such as Time, Newsweek or The Washington Post) review them once they’re published. Many of these sources are extremely selective and will only review a handful of the books sent to them for review, but they carry weight with book buyers and librarians, so they are worth the trouble.

The positive side of a review is that it can pique reader interest in a title by summarizing key points and praising the book for its strengths or unique qualities. The negative side of a review is that the publisher or author has zero control over what the reviewer says; if he or she dislikes or does not understand a title, the resulting review can dissuade consumers from checking into the book. This is why it’s especially important to only solicit reviews from sources that will offer favorable coverage. The conventional wisdom that “any publicity is good publicity” does not apply in a day and age when consumers can access reviews instantly over the Internet instead of vaguely trying to recall if a review for a product was positive or negative.

Every publication handles reviews differently, so it is wise to either contact the publisher ahead of time for review submission guidelines or to check their website for more information.

b) Interviews: Many newspapers and magazines are constantly looking for new and interesting feature articles. Setting up an interview or a profile with a journalist can be a rewarding experience for all involved, and it’s not nearly as hard to arrange as it sounds. In fact, many of these can be arranged at the local level!

Unless you live in a place like New York City where a published writer can be found on every corner, local newspapers are a great place to start since the angle of “local person gets published” always makes for an interesting feature piece. To arrange an interview, call your local paper and ask for the features editor. Explain that you are publishing a book soon and that you’re a resident of the area, and that you would love to set up an interview if they would like to talk to you. If the editor isn’t interested, offer to leave your contact information anyhow, and tell him or her to please contact you if he or she has a change of heart. Once your book is published, be sure to send a copy to the features editor as a gentle reminder that you are interested in talking. Persistence is key; editors’ opinions on what might make a good article change from day to day as reporters struggle to come up with new ideas.

Most areas have more than one paper. Where I live, there’s a metropolitan newspaper, a fairly large local paper, and several smaller papers. There’s also a free paper that gets distributed to selected parts of the county. All of these are fair game. My hometown paper might be interested in running a spotlight on me since I graduated from the city’s high school almost ten years ago. My local paper might be interested in profiling me since I own a publishing company located two blocks from their offices. My college paper might be interested in interviewing me since I’m a business student starting a company. The metropolitan newspaper might want to do an article on authors in and around the area, and use me as the hook to talk about self publishing. The only limitation is my willingness to contact these papers and arrange interviews.

Many areas have at least two or more local news channels on television. Most also have at least one talk radio station. Contact them, ask for a features producer, and offer an interview. If they decline, see if you can set up a pre-recorded interview they can use when they need a filler story. As with the newspapers, be sure to offer your contact information if the producer doesn’t seem interested; he or she may have a change of heart down the road, particularly if you remember to send along a copy of your book.

National media interviews are much harder to land, but if you think a particular publication or show might be interested, contact them! Many will allow you to conduct interviews over the phone, and some shows can interview you via teleconference instead of having you in the studio. If you have been featured elsewhere, be sure to bring it up; national shows love to jump on the bandwagon.

Specialty media interviews for sources that reach your target audience are likewise difficult to set up, but once you do, they’re worth the trouble since they appeal directly to the people to whom you’re trying to sell books. So, if you’ve written a book on or about cycling, be sure to contact the various cycling magazines to see if they’d like to talk to you. If you’ve written about the history of the rubber chicken, contact magazines about humor, consumer history or novelties. There are more magazines and newsletters out there than anyone can ever keep track of; search for them actively!

In all of these circumstances, keep a small contact file so you can remember whom you spoke to and what was said. I recommend keeping a recipe box with index cards that include the contact information of each source on one side and a summary of your contact sessions on the back.

As for the interviews themselves, as silly as this might sound, remember to talk about your book when you answer the questions. Journalists have the responsibility to make the interview interesting for their audience, and they are not as concerned about plugging your book as you’ll be. Answer their questions, but try to refer to your book as much as possible without being annoying about it. Generally in television or radio interviews, you’ll have some idea of what the questions will be beforehand and you’ll be able to plan your responses.

c) Visiting local schools, churches and organizations: If you’re working on a book that can appeal to a specific audience like children, teens, churchgoers or local charities, don’t be afraid to set up visits in places where you can reach them!
Schools are fairly easy to get into; simply call up the principal of each school you’d like to visit and offer to give a free talk on becoming an author to students. Have a format in mind before you make the offer; if you can entertain an entire assembly, pitch that. If you feel like you can only handle a room full of interested students, pitch that. In either event, plan to offer a reading from your book, and offer to donate a signed copy to the school library. I would suggest you keep your planned presentation between 30-45 minutes at the longest if it’s an assembly; 15-30 minutes is generally the right length for a classroom visit. I would also advise not selling your book to students unless you are invited to; instead, give them a handout with a link to your website and information on how to order the book if they’re interested.

Colleges and Universities can also be wonderful places to visit, especially if they have campus bookstores that frequently host signings. Often, student unions, student writing workshops and campus events committees are happy to speak to authors about coming to visit. Student business organizations may be interested in hearing about the business of publishing. Some of these events can be well attended (with hundreds of students if they’re promoted properly!), so don’t be afraid to take advantage of them.

I’m not keen on visiting churches during religious services to attempt to sell merchandise (it is disrespectful to those who take their religion seriously), but I do think it is acceptable to visit groups who meet in the church on weekdays to talk about your book. I would only recommend visiting churches if you are writing a book that will offer them some spiritual value. With that said, churches are often receptive to authors and enjoy inviting them to visit, so don’t leave them out if they are part of your target market.

Local community groups (especially those pertaining to libraries, reading circles or writing groups) may be interested in having you come and speak to them, especially if you’ve written something that ties into their organization or community. Many of these groups meet at libraries or bookstores, where you may be able to reach additional consumers if you offer a signing at the end of the session. Often, the format for this sort of visit is a reading with a question and answer session.

And those are just some of the ways you, as an author or publisher, can promote your book; there’s still the world of Internet promotion, which I’ll cover in another article. This should be plenty of work for you now, so go get started!