by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Mon Oct 20, 2014
The Second Annual APSS Book Marketing University
October 24–25, 2014
Embassy Suites Airport Hotel • Philadelphia, PA
Sponsored by Bowker
The Association of Publishers for Special Sales is conducting its second annual Book Marketing University, with lots of great speakers and events. The program opens with a presentation by Dan Poynter, noted self-publishing guru. There will be an additional keynote by John Groton, former Vice President of Special Markets at Random House.
At Book Marketing University, you will discover how to sell your books in more ways than you ever imagined and to people you never knew existed— in large, non-returnable quantities.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue May 15, 2018
(This is the first part of a two-part series)
You can generate more publicity, sell more books and become more profitable if you follow several simple techniques for writing press releases. This is particularly true when communicating with buyers in niche segments such as corporations, associations, schools and the military. Part One in this two-part series describes writing the headlines, and Part Two tells how to write body copy that leads the reader through your release.
Publicity is the least expensive and perhaps most productive of the promotional strategies publishers use to generate exposure for their books. And a press release is the tool most commonly used to stimulate publicity. However, too many publishers' press releases go unheeded because the publicity copywriters make one major mistake – they write their press releases about their books.
by ISBN Agency
Bowker | Tue May 8, 2018
What is a ‘publisher imprint’, and why does Amazon/CreateSpace ask me for one?
An imprint of a publisher is a trade name under which it publishes a work. A single publishing company may have multiple imprints, often using the different names as brands to market works to various demographic consumer segments (for example, to differentiate between your cookbooks and general fiction novels).
When Amazon/CreateSpace asks for your ‘publisher imprint,’ it is the name you have registered with us at myidentifiers.com (and appears as your publishing company name on Books in Print). This name is displayed to the public wherever you sell your book and in distribution channels. It is also listed on your book’s copyright page, and assigned to your ISBN.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue May 1, 2018
Have you heard of Abraham Maslow’s Need Hierarchy? It describes a pyramid of needs through which people move as they are motived to fulfill unmet needs. The foundation is made up of the very basic needs (security, food, etc) and people advance ultimately to self-actualization.
Did you ever think about how this same concept applies to the business-to-business (B2B) buying process in which you can make large, corporate sales of your book? B2B buyers begin the purchasing process with objective criteria (prices and specification), but quickly move through underlying, subjective influences on the decisions. These levels of influence on the buying decision can be demonstrated in The Value Pyramid.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Apr 24, 2018
One of the most misused words in the publishing business is marketing. Some people think selling is marketing, but it is not. Others think publishing is marketing, but it is not. Marketing is a distinct business philosophy that, if understood and applied properly, can help your business become more profitable.
There are four competing concepts under which publishing companies can conduct their marketing activities. These are the Publishing Concept, the Product Concept, the Selling Concept and the Marketing Concept.
The Publishing Concept holds that consumers will favor those titles that are widely available and low in cost. These mass-market publishers concentrate on achieving high production efficiency and wide distribution.
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Apr 17, 2018
As indie authors, we all want to sell more books. And so, I want to share with you several ways that you can make the most of your book promotion efforts. As I’m sure you’ve learned a successful book marketing plan is made up of a range of actions that build on one another, and it’s wise to vary your efforts to get the most bang for your investment – whether its time or money, or a combination thereof. So with this in mind, here are some of the top ways that you can sell more books this year.
1. Be consistent: Whatever you do, do it consistently. So often indie authors try to do more than their time and bandwidth allow. Fix this by picking the things you know you can do consistently and forgetting the rest. Trust me, you will make greater strides if you remain consistent in your efforts.
by Richard Smith
Bowker | Tue Apr 10, 2018
If you’re an author and want to stay on top of the important issues in the world of publishing — issues that affect you — you need The Hot Sheet.
With all the chatter out there, it will help you sort through the noise with stories that focus on relevant topics from across the publishing spectrum. From author success stories to key industry statistics, you’ll find what you need to know in The Hot Sheet.
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Mar 27, 2018
It’s a fact of life. As you read this sentence, I have already begun to lose you and your attention. Maybe you’re thinking about dinner. Or your dog. Or what your kids are doing way too quietly in the other room. Now, let me try and get you back. On average, we have an 8-second attention span. And since goldfish have an average attention span of 9 seconds, they’ve surpassed us.
Do I have your attention now?
Attention is now the hottest commodity that you need to be after. If you can’t get and keep someone’s attention, you’ve lost the opportunity to close the sale. So what does that have to do with you? Well, if you look at most people’s pitches these days, you’ll see something repeatedly. They follow a stale format. By leading with a long, overly detailed backstory, they meander along for a paragraph or two, before coming to a point.
by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Mar 20, 2018
The world of book marketing is moving and shaking, and as with all things, change is inevitable. Part of my job is to embrace change and ensure that we are on the front edge of book marketing trends so that we can be the most effective marketing team for our clients. And although changes don’t mean the “old ideas” no longer work, it does mean that there are some exciting new ways to do things. So with that said, I’d like to share these 7 changes you can expect to see this year.
by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Mar 6, 2018
Direct mail has been given a bad reputation because of overuse and poorly designed mailing pieces. People tend to perceive direct mail as junk mail, and its Internet equivalent as spam.
However, when you have a finite, identifiable group of people who are potential customers for your books, direct mail may be the most effective and efficient marketing tool you can use to reach them. It gives you control of the timing, delivery and content of your promotion, a pre-determined fixed cost and the means to forecast and measure the return on your marketing investment.
Unfortunately, direct marketing is too often implemented simply by purchasing a mailing list and then sending an existing brochure. Unless you first prepare a plan, including a way to evaluate your relative success, you may end up wasting money and becoming disillusioned in the potential effectiveness of a strategic direct mail campaign.
