Significant benefits accrue to the astute publishers that grow their businesses through non-bookstore marketing. Here are the Top Ten Reasons You Can Make More Money Selling Books to Non-Bookstore Buyers.
1) Increased revenue. Increase your sales in a marketplace somewhat larger in size than the bookstore market. You could double your sales with additional marketing effort directed to non-bookstore markets.
2) Recurring revenue. In non-bookstore marketing, your customers may place a standing order (a given number of books to be shipped automatically on some predetermined schedule). This recurring revenue improves the predictability and velocity of your cash flow.
3) Sell more books non-returnable. To sell 10,000 books through bookstores you have to get 12,000 different people (allowing for returns) to buy one. To sell 10,000 books in the non-retail segment you can find one person to buy them all – non-returnable
4) Lower unit costs. The greater the quantity in which you print, the lower your unit cost will be. If you get an order for 10,000 books you can print an extra quantity for your inventory at the lower unit price.
5) Increased profitability naturally follows, since the lower your unit cost the greater your profitability, even at a lower selling price. In addition, the more frequently corporate buyers re-order your book, the more profitable each sale becomes.
6) Greater total sales. You can sell more books to an enormous number of buyers in entirely new market segments. Sell to millions of business buyers listed on www.manta.com (sort them by industry to reduce them to a manageable list) and there are over 135,000 associations.
7) Less competition. When you sell through specialty retailers yours may be the only book available in the store. Since most publishers ignore corporate sales, you may be the only one to call on corporate buyers. Since they have nothing to compare, they will choose your book.
8) Less discounting. Product or brand managers are looking for a premium to boost the sales of their products. They do not know if yours is priced above or below your competitors’ titles. They are only concerned with your book’s potential to increase the sales and profitability of their company’s products.
9) Fewer returns. Non-retail buyers do not return books.
10) Negotiable terms. You may increase your flexibility in negotiations since discounts are not fixed and are typically based on the number of books purchased. Even if you negotiate a 50% discount with a buyer, you are 5 – 20% better off than selling that same book through wholesalers or distributors. There are also non-price variables open to negotiation, such as shipping expenses and payment terms.
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Brian Jud is a book-marketing consultant, Executive Director of the Association of Publishers for Special Sales (APSS – www.bookapss.org) and author of How to Make Real Money Selling Books and Beyond the Bookstore. Contact Brian at brianjud@bookmarketing.com or www.premiumbookcompany.com and twitter @bookmarketing.
