Matthew 18:18
"Assuredly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
1
Always have a proper marketing plan. The shotgun approach, namely advertising virtually anywhere and sending out mailshots without sufficient preparation is not the way to sell lots of books. Carefully targeted advertisements and direct mail campaigns can attract a response rate many times higher than those you fit into any odd moment you can spare from other business activities. At the very minimum, your marketing plan should include concise information about: The precise book or lines of books being offeredPackaging, display, pricingThe target audience for your booksA careful, in-depth analysis of how you will reach your audience.
2
Careful timing of the launch and ongoing campaigns for your book can increase sales many times over. For example, college textbooks presented early in the year might attract larger sales than those launched to coincide with the start of the academic year. Note, too, that smaller publishers can usually obtain reviews in most newspapers early in the year, before the major publishers announce their autumn lists.
3
Always research your market carefully for each and every book you promote. Learn all you can about that market: ask questions, conduct surveys, read the major magazines and newsletters for your target audience by whatever means at your disposal.
4
Look for new markets to publish for. A publisher of business opportunities manuals, for example, should consider entering the distance learning business, maybe offering high-value correspondence courses first in business-related topics and later branching out into other, unrelated areas.
5
Be first with a new title. This might be accomplished by carefully studying your target market and attempting to spot a gap in the market for a title you can obtain exclusive rights for. One useful way to accomplish this is to pay very careful attention to what is being sold abroad and looking for ways of sourcing similar products for introduction to the domestic market. Whether you do this by commissioning the new title for your own exclusive copyright or importing the product from its original source is for you to decide. Both should be equally profitable as long as your target market and audience have been properly researched. But, if you can't be first, for whatever reason, then at least try to be the best in your chosen field. Or be both. As Scott Flanders, president of Macmillan Computer Publishing puts it: "We say that there are two successful books on a subject: the first one out and the best one". Macmillan attempts to be both.
6
Specialize. Consider how each new title fits into your current business strategy. The more you can specialize in a particular area, the greater your chances of success. Benefits of specialization include: Name recognitionYou create a ready readership for each and every new title you launchYou will create a useful, and profitable, mailing list for future titles. In turn, this list can be sold or hired to your competitors, after it has benefited youAllows you to market books and other products as packages as opposed to individual titles.
7
Publish annuals and directories, attracting regular customers and establishing yourself as a specialist with all of the benefits listed in '6' above. Directories can, in fact, form the basis of an entire line of related books. Examples include: telephone and advertising directories, hotel and restaurant listings, tourist guides, home business directories, Who's Who titles, buying guides, catalogue collections, and so on. Again, if you can't decide on a line that isn't already well catered for in your own country, look for titles published abroad which might be suitable for the domestic market.
8
Make your books bestsellers. This can be accomplished by advertising in 'all the right places', mainly those places where your target audience will see them. Word-of-mouth advertising will do the rest. For publishers whose main sales come via through other publishers and agents the best place to advertise is in publishing newsletters, by mailing direct to publishers or by having your books reviewed in popular journals.
9
Develop brand names which will set your books apart from anyone else's. Examples here include: 'One Minute' and 'Insight', both of which prefix a wide selection of titles.
10
Look for a lead title, namely one for which a variety of spin-off products can be offered. A useful example is 'Is There a Book Inside You', which sparked off a number of other books, tapes and reports on self-publishing.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.
Tips 11--20
11
Choose a good name for your business. Avoid names that are difficult to pronounce and any which create an unfavourable image. 'Icon Graphics', for instance, is an appropriate name for a desktop publishing business, but say it slowly and the resulting 'I Con' is far from complimentary. And bear in mind that unusual names can get you noticed, and remembered, for example: 'Tuff Times' and 'Lonely Planet'. And more than one publisher argues that the best way to achieve more custom than your competitors is to have your business listed first in the telephone directory and other alphabetical listings. One exponent of this rule is American publisher 'Aames-Allen', whose A-A entry almost always heads the list.
12
Be professional in your choice of business name. Arguably, including the word 'Enterprises', smacks of amateurism. For real style, try a hyphenated name, favored by many, including market leaders 'McGraw-Hill' and 'Prentice-Hall'.
13
Sponsor something, especially where that 'something' is appropriate to your business and the titles you promote. In the US, for example, one major publisher, 'Bridge Publications', sponsors an Indy 500 racing team as a means of promoting one of its titles, 'Dianetics', which has already achieved worldwide sales of 10 million plus. Less costly events to promote might include a 'freebie' giveaway in some appropriate newsletter or an exhibition or get-together for major customers.
14
Create a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). This is something that sets your company apart from the rest. It might be a slogan, or it might be something unique, or just different, which you include with your books. Dan Poynter of Para Publishing, chose as the slogan for his self-publishing title: 'The Book That's Launched 1,000 Books', while for one major British advertising publication - no prizes for guessing - it's 'Let Your Fingers Do the Walking'.
15
Accept credit cards and allow customers to order by telephone. Research indicates that your response rate can be greatly increased by this simple act which allows you to capitalize on 'impulse buys'. Other advantages include the fact that credit card holders generally have better credit records, are usually familiar with buying by mail, and are likely to spend more on individual orders. For television and radio advertising, it is virtually essential that you provide credit card and telephone ordering facilities. To find out what's involved, simply ask your local bank manager to help you. A useful US title to help you here is: Merchant Card Status: Credit Cards for Publishers by Dan Poynter, available price $9.95 plus $2 for shipping, from:Para Publishing, P O Box 4232, Santa Barbara, California 93140, USA
16
Install a Toll-Free Telephone Number. Again, if your prospect doesn't have to pay for the order, your chances of making a sale are greatly increased. Benefits include: ConvenienceSpeeds responseEncourages larger orders and multiple sales where the publisher is allowed to interact and establish rapport with his audienceEncourage impulse buyingGenerates goodwill. The mere fact of there being someone at the other end of the line overcomes the kind of skepticism normally associated with such as P. O. Boxes and others where a telephone number is found to be unavailable through Directory Enquiries.
17
Give a fax number for quicker ordering and for anyone to use who doesn't like ordering by telephone. A leading American marketing analyst predicts that as much as 75% of all business-to-business correspondence will be carried out by fax before the turn of the century. Benefits include:Fax is quicker than letters and therefore benefits your cash flowOrders can be taken 24 hours a dayUnlike telephone orders, fax messages are less prone errors since all information is handwritten, more often typed, before processingThe message is evidence of an order being placed, should problems be experienced later.
18
Always include further offers with all orders received, by whatever means. 'Bounceback' orders, as they are known, cost little more than the price of a catalogue posted with the order itself. Response rates are higher here than for most other forms of promotion.
19
Always offer a money-back guarantee and be prepared to stand by it. Some publishers offer 14 days, others 30, some 365, while yet more include a lifetime guarantee with everything they send out and report vastly increased profits as a result. Examples of guarantees that really show how highly the publisher rates his products include:Enterprise Publishing offers the following in respect of its 'Basic Book of Business Agreements':- Risk-free, Postage-free, 100% Money-back guarantee- The 'Basic Book of Business Agreements' must save you at least $695 (10 times what you paid for it) within 6 months of purchase!- You will recover the full cost of the book in saved legal fees the first one or two times you use it- Regardless of how much money it saves you, you must be completely satisfied...... !!!
Boardroom Books, on the other hand, offers the following guarantee for its 'Book of Inside Information':- If 'Book of Inside Information' doesn't give you at least $100,000 worth of money-making/money-saving ideas, return it at any time up to a full year from the date you receive the book. We'll promptly refund the money you paid, no questions asked".
20
Go the extra mile and give something extra with everything you send out. For some publishers, this means including little gifts, like bookmarks, cards or stationery. For others, the extra special service (with a smile) they give to everyone is the extra mile.
Tips 21--30
21
Keep in touch with past customers, even where you don't have anything appropriate - yet - to offer them. Try publishing a newsletter, informing regular customers of what offers you will shortly be making, and so on. Most importantly, don't give customers the chance to forget you!
22
Let customers know you appreciate them. Say 'thank you' for each order you receive, add regular customers to your Christmas card list, and send them a small gift now and then. Even a simple handwritten note goes a long way to keeping your customers happy.
23
Syndicate a column in publications read by your target audience. In this instance, syndicating basically means writing and issuing an article which appropriate publications are invited to publish, free of charge, as long as nothing is removed and no amendments are made. This means that your 'plug' for whatever book, included at the end of the article, is also noticed by readers. These articles, incidentally, can often be combined and presented in book form with very few amendments necessary. Edith Lank, whose 'House Calls' column is syndicated to more than 100 newspapers across the USA, combined many of her published features into 'The Complete Homeseller's Kit'.
24
Think up great titles. Importantly, bear in mind that a great title can sell your book for you, without any indication of the usefulness, or otherwise, of its contents. To illustrate, consider that 'Everything Men Know About Women' has sold many, many copies over the years. Do the contents live up to readers' expectations? No one really knows because the pages, all 122 of them, are completely blank!If in doubt about what makes a great title and your own ability to create one, try creating a few titles for the same book, and test market these with similar sized sample advertisements and direct mailshots. Other pointers to great titles include: Be specific. While 'blind, curiosity-grabbing' titles might attract increased orders, they're also likely to generate a higher return rateUse subtitles if necessary. If you choose a 'blind' title for other reasons than to keep customers in the dark, try explaining the contents of the book in the subtitle. For example, 'Callanetics' on its own is confusing, not so with its subtitle (10 Years Younger in 10 Hours)Familiar leads will help customers and will generate an image for your company. Examples include the 'Ten Minute' series, 'How to ...' and 'The Joy of ....'If necessary, spend at least as long thinking up a great title as it takes to write the books themselves. In '1001 Ways To Market Your Books', John Kremer talks about creating 'Uniquely Wonderful Titles', like 'Parachutes and Kisses', 'Bus 9 to Paradise' and 'Awaken the Giant Within'. And he tells us never to be afraid to alter the title of a book, if necessary, especially where sales can be dramatically improved. The following will show you the kind of improvement you might expect when titles are changed. Yearly sales figures are:Patent Medicine and Public Health 3,000The Truth about Patent Medicine 10,000Art of Controversy Almost negligibleHow to Argue Logically 30,000And when 'Tomorrow is Another Day' was changed to 'Gone With the Wind', surely no one can ignore the benefits derived.
25
Take care over cover design. Arguably, you can sell a book by its cover, especially where the cover features in advertisements, catalogues and book reviews. And in marginal buying situations, it is frequently the cover that takes the buyer across the fine line of indecision. Elements of good cover design include:Use a standard formatMake that standard format stand out from the restIf you are publishing a series of books, look for a basic cover which is suitable for all.
26
Look for unusual ways to package your offers. The Pet Rock for instance, a massive mail order seller in the US was actually a book entitled 'The Care and Feeding of Your Pet Rock' which accompanied the unusual pet. Another unusual package was Richard Scary's 'Biggest Word Book Ever!' where 'biggest' didn't apply so much to the contents as to the size of the book - almost 2 feet high!
27
Package books with other items, especially where their perceived value is increased. To illustrate, Midwest Financial Publications packaged courses that contained two or three books, alongside a collection of tapes, and other information products. These packages sold at close to $300, well over the cumulative price of the contents.
28
Concentrate on how the inside looks, as well as the outside. Generally speaking:Illustrations help sell books, including line drawings, photographs, tables, graphs, charts, sidebars, and so onCreate a sense of spaciousness for your books. Resist the urge to pack everything into small print and large blocks of text. It's off-putting to readers; especially those who get to see a copy before deciding to purchaseReaders tend to equate size with value for money. Many publishers suggest making your books larger, where a correspondingly high cost is applied. Research suggests that where the same book is printed on high and low grade paper, sales of the former will far exceed the latter, even where a higher price is asked.
29
Where appropriate, include a table of contents and an index. This creates an appearance of professionalism and can sway the indecisive browser. Other additions to consider here include bibliographies, lists, prime sources, glossaries, and so on.
30
Include whatever add-on you can afford and which is appropriate. Bonuses you might consider include free gifts, bonus booklets, money off subsequent editions, and so on. With 'How to Solve Your Small Business Advertising Problems', William Witcher included coupons worth $75 in free offers, comprising primarily booklets to accompany the main title. A 1989 Berlitz series of travel books was accompanied by over $4,000 in money-saving coupons, and many directory publishers include coupons and money-off vouchers for services and goods available from advertisers and companies listed in their books.
31
Become a speaker or guest lecturer. Basically, do all you can to promote your book direct to your target audience. If your book is aimed at students, then offer your services to local colleges and universities. Your book can, in fact, form the basis of your talk or lecture. Alternatively, you could just drop in odd facts about your work as you chat about something else. Places to think about giving lectures or talks include: libraries, schools and colleges, bookstores, clubs, churches, civic groups, Chambers of Commerce, writer's groups, professional meetings, and anywhere else your target audience can be reached.A useful trick is to give something free to everyone who attends one of your lectures. US Art Fettig of Growth Unlimited, for example, gives a free copy of one of his verses, illustrated and ready for framing. Quite naturally, that verse includes his name, address and phone number. He reports numerous bookings and sales through this means alone. Other marketing tips practiced mainly by US author/publishers include organizing an author signing session, inviting the media, or arranging a series of lectures on a national, even international tour.
32
Write articles, letters and fillers for target magazines, especially where they relate to your publishing sphere of interest. You might also earn a fee in the process, but the main aim is to establish yourself as an authority in your chosen subject and, most importantly, to include an address from which readers might obtain further information about the subject of each published feature. For their book 'Encyclopedia of Self-Publishing', Tom and Marilyn Ross wrote articles about self-publishing for dozens of US magazines, including 'Southwest Airlines Magazine', 'Toastmaster Magazine' and 'ProComm Newsletter', each time insisting that details about the book be printed alongside.
33
Sell your books direct to the customer's home, not by direct mail or direct marketing, but by actually calling door-to-door with a copy of the book and introducing yourself as the author or publisher. People love to meet others they consider more important and successful than themselves. But if the thought of high-profile selling bothers you, then at least arrange to have your circulars distributed door-to-door, either by you or by paying teams of distributors to do the job for you. Gary Provost, author of numerous US titles, began his business by selling books from a suitcase in downtown Boston. He arrived each day, set himself up at some busy thoroughfare, and began selling to anyone who cared to stop by. He reports sales of some 20 to 25 books each day, more than many people make in a week!
34
Get your book reviewed in as many places as possible. US publishers are experts here and recommend sending out many more review copies of each book than you can really afford to, and certainly more than you think necessary. It only takes one good review from each one hundred copies sent out, they say, to sell thousands of copies to the public. Canadian publisher Leila Alba, reported in Britain's 'Home Business', says that just one review in 'Family Circle' yielded over 11,000 orders. To date she reports sales of close to 100,000 for her various books all from free advertising in the editorial columns.
35
Make full use of press releases. This simply invites a mention for your book, not necessarily a full review. Press releases - Americans call them 'news releases' - provide very basic information about some current matter, in your case a recent or forthcoming book launch. This can be one of the most effective marketing tools of all and many publishers in Britain and overseas report magnificent levels of sales just from press releases. 'Open Horizons', publishers of '1001 Ways to Market Your Books', confesses that they have often had better results to processing a simple news release to orders generated through book reviews, however favorable. Things you should know about press releases include:
* Keep them brief, preferably no longer than a page. Type in double spacing with generous margins
* Focus on the main benefits of your book to readers of the target magazine. If readership varies significantly between target magazines, edit each release to suit that readership
* Keep it simple
* Use quotes where possible, such as any received from the author or earlier reviewers. These add interest and credibility to your press release as long as they are accurate and genuine.
* Include a headline, in bold print in a larger, preferably different font. This will attract your addressee's attention from the rest of his mail.
Bear in mind that many reviewers and editors receive dozens of press releases and books every single week. Only a few can be published and space will probably be given to those that create an immediate, favorable impression
* Try to make your release sound like a standard news story: short sentences, snappy style, short paragraphs. Make a point of studying the writing style of regular writers for your target magazine and model your work on theirs. A useful tip here is to follow the '5 Qs' every news story should answer: What? Why? When? How? Where? Who?
* Try to create a powerful lead in, preferably one which will grab the editor's/reviewer's attention. One produced by Peachpit Press for their book 'Canned Art: Clip Art for the Macintosh', said:'What weighs 5 pounds and has 51 hands, 3 nuns, 1 neXT computer, 3 hypodermic needles, 8 hourglasses, 1 Ayatollah, 12 quill pens, 3 flying squirrels, 11 skeletons, 3 Kewpie dolls, 1 recycling symbol, 180 teddy bears, 5 windsurfers, 1 pot o'gold, 1 Pee Wee Herman, 17 butterflies, and more - all wonderfully organized and intelligently indexed?'
* For important editors and reviewers and any you know reasonably well, always attach a letter or signed compliments slip with your press release.
* Instead of a press release, ask an author to write features for you, based on the book. These can be submitted by the author to publications he or she normally works for. This way, you'll both benefit.
* Glamorize your news release wherever possible. For example, for a local history book, you might hook the reviewer or editor with the question: 'Do you know whose ghost walks the halls of XYZ Manor, or who was hanged on the village green for treason over three hundred years ago?'
36
Sponsor a contest, as do many US publishers with very favorable results. Sometimes you can charge a small fee for entry to the competition and therefore offset operating costs. Alternatively, you can sponsor a free draw which means just that and nothing must be charged to validate an entry, although you can include the free draw coupon with all orders for your book. Where a free draw is advertised for anyone to enter, British law stipulates that no entry fee be charged or entry made conditional on purchase. Laws relating to competitions, though not complex, do require specialist legal advice. Ask your solicitor to draw up the promotion for you or to check your proposals and recommend whatever amendments are necessary.The competition can even help you produce your book as was so for US publisher Sandy Soule who asked people to name their favorite country inns for a forthcoming publication 'America's Wonderful Little Hotels and Inns'. In another competition launch, publisher Simon & Schuster sent 90 copies of a new title to US radio stations, intended as a prize per day for a 3-month promotion. Now that's what I call extended 'free' publicity.
37
Offer something free through special promotions through many publications. For example, many US magazines and newspapers have a bargain column or others where freebies and special offers are singled out and recommended to readers. Major US publishers take advantage of this free publicity by offering a free report to anyone who asks for further information about another of their titles. Benefits are plentiful, including the chance to build a specialized mailing list completely free of charge and the opportunity to reach a virtually captive audience for one of your titles. The real secret, of course, is to offer a free report on a subject closely related, or identical, to the title you will follow up with.
38
Offer something free to everyone who orders from you, but make that 'something' an item which can't be purchased anywhere else and make it something your readers really want. In fact, the free report or booklet should be the most important feature of your offer, something your readers will willingly pay for but can't obtain without placing an order for the main title. Major British publisher Ray Berry of 'New Entrepreneur' accomplishes his objectives very professionally by offering a list of winning headlines with every subscription to his excellent newsletter 'Ray Berry Direct'. For further information contact:Ray Berry, New Entrepreneur, Sylvan House, Glenmoriston, Inverness, IV3 6YJ
39
Time the launch of your new title to coincide with some important anniversary, as for example US publisher Grove Press did when timing their book 'The Death of James Dean' to launch on the anniversary of Dean's death. And Peggy Glenn launched her book 'How to Start and Run a Successful Home Typing Business' during Secretary's Week and reports an unexpected level of interest from magazines and newspapers whose reviews generated numerous orders for the book. Author's birthdays can also be used as the date for your launch, especially where you work with famous authors, living or deceased. Take a look in any library for books of dates and anniversaries or ask for a copy of 'Writers' and Artists' Yearbook' where you will find a journalist's calendar listing major anniversaries for the year ahead.
40
Give a copy of your book to some major celebrity and make sure the press knows about it. Super-salesman and author/publisher Dr. Jeffrey Lant sent a copy of his book 'Unabashed Self-Promoter's Guide' to Rosalyn Carter shortly after her first book was published. As a result he received mentions in countless US publications with an obvious impact on sales of the book.
