I just spent a good part of my weekend moving, for the third time in nine months. And let me just say, by now, I am really good at moving. I can’t even explain how strange it is to feel like you are actually good at moving. Seriously, unless you are a professional mover, you should not be good at moving.
And while I was quickly and efficiently moving and loading and stacking all of my belongings into the back of my car, tetris-style, I had a lovely but bewildering thought. With the way things are going, as we conduct more and more of our lives online (reading, shopping, even attending classes), won’t it be great when we can just upload all of our belongings and (thumb)drive the files over to our new houses, where we will download the furniture into the living room and open the clothing pages into the drawer folders.
But, of course, we’re not there yet. Time to unpack the files, um, boxes.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Buy Buy, Book-y.
Book publishers use brand marketing as well as product marketing to sell books.
Penguin, for example, uses their iconic logo to create brand recognition. That penguin on the spine always catches my attention. In a sea of spines, anything that makes the eye focus on a certain book is an example of effective marketing. Because I continue to see and recognize a certain logo (or brand) associated with certain books that I identify with, I begin to trust that brand. I am drawn to the publishers I trust, and I am more likely to blindly buy a book (without first knowing or hearing about it) if I trust the publisher. I am more likely to buy from certain publishers because I trust their judgment as part of the grand filtration system.
Another tool of brand marketing is design recognition. By keeping continuity amongst certain titles, a reader may be drawn to a book that resembles other books they have read. This is the same idea. If a reader associates a book they like with another book they see, they are more likely to want to read it, and in turn, more likely to buy it.
This is sometimes done with author specific design. Many of Kurt Vonnegut’s books, for example, look similar. Because of this, I can recognize someone reading Vonnegut from across a crowded train, or more importantly, across a crowded bookshop. A reader may now associate the look of the book with the author and reach for more of the title that look like similar. It creates a kind of brand around a certain author.
Product marketing is also used to sell books, mainly new releases. But product marketing often relies heavily on the brand— either the brand of the publisher, or, more likely, the brand created around the author. When Dan Brown released his last book, the cover prominently boasted that this was the new book from the author of The Da Vinci Code. In fact, the font was almost the same size displaying the old title and the new title. The publisher was relying on the popularity of the author’s previous titles to sell the new release. In fact, in many cases, a previous release will be displayed alongside a corresponding new release so as to cross market each other.
Publishers rely heavily on whatever they can to make you pick up their book. After all, if you don’t pick it up, you’re not going to buy it.
Penguin, for example, uses their iconic logo to create brand recognition. That penguin on the spine always catches my attention. In a sea of spines, anything that makes the eye focus on a certain book is an example of effective marketing. Because I continue to see and recognize a certain logo (or brand) associated with certain books that I identify with, I begin to trust that brand. I am drawn to the publishers I trust, and I am more likely to blindly buy a book (without first knowing or hearing about it) if I trust the publisher. I am more likely to buy from certain publishers because I trust their judgment as part of the grand filtration system.
Another tool of brand marketing is design recognition. By keeping continuity amongst certain titles, a reader may be drawn to a book that resembles other books they have read. This is the same idea. If a reader associates a book they like with another book they see, they are more likely to want to read it, and in turn, more likely to buy it.
This is sometimes done with author specific design. Many of Kurt Vonnegut’s books, for example, look similar. Because of this, I can recognize someone reading Vonnegut from across a crowded train, or more importantly, across a crowded bookshop. A reader may now associate the look of the book with the author and reach for more of the title that look like similar. It creates a kind of brand around a certain author.
Product marketing is also used to sell books, mainly new releases. But product marketing often relies heavily on the brand— either the brand of the publisher, or, more likely, the brand created around the author. When Dan Brown released his last book, the cover prominently boasted that this was the new book from the author of The Da Vinci Code. In fact, the font was almost the same size displaying the old title and the new title. The publisher was relying on the popularity of the author’s previous titles to sell the new release. In fact, in many cases, a previous release will be displayed alongside a corresponding new release so as to cross market each other.
Publishers rely heavily on whatever they can to make you pick up their book. After all, if you don’t pick it up, you’re not going to buy it.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
YouDoIt.com
Q: How do you get your consumer to market your product?
A: Put your product on the internet.
Amazon.com is a special place where you can buy almost anything. It is the Sears Roebuck catalogue of the 21st Century. Though Amazon is an outpost for everything from chapstick to wedding dresses to car parts, Amazon happens to have a corner on the book selling market. One of the things that makes Amazon terrific (for the average consumer) and dangerous (for your local bookseller) is the fact that Amazon can read your mind. Amazon knows what you want to read before you do. It knows what new releases you simply must read, and it knows the classics that might have passed you by. It can recommend a title that you didn’t even know existed, and it does this simply by keeping track of what other people are reading. The magic of Amazon boils down to a formula: a+b=c (wherein a= the book you search, b= the books other people search who also search a, and c= your new favorite book). It’s so simple, and yet, pure genius. Amazon doesn’t need to have someone standing around at an information desk to field questions and offer recommendations. Rather, they let their sales records do the work for them.
Just like Amazon, user generated recommendations are popping up all over the internet. My new favorite site is Groupon, an enchanted land where expensive goods and services can be purchased for 50% off or more. Every day, Groupon offers a new deal, but the offer is only good if enough people buy it. They use this as a motivating factor for the consumer to spread the word to their friends. If I want to get my “deluxe massage” for $60, I need to make sure that 200 other people buy it. Now that Groupon has been around for a while, the buying public has expanded enough that the deals usually go through in a matter of minutes. So, how does Groupon continue to expand? Well, word of mouth for one thing. But even more effective than gabbing is monetary incentive. Groupon offers a $10 Groupon credit for each person you successfully refer to the site. This is another stroke of genius. The consumer acts as the marketer. By offering the incentive, Groupon has gotten people to actively seek new customers for them. (On that note, if anyone is interested in joining Groupon, feel free to follow this link and earn me $10: http://www.groupon.com/r/uu599544
One potentially profitable marketing tool used by many sites, including Google and Facebook, is pointed advertising. The ads that appear on my page differ than what appears on others’ pages, and it is all based on what we each answer in the “about me” page. I essentially filled out an advertising profile of myself and posted it on my page for them to use at their will. For example, when I took the time to write all about my “favorite books,” the longest, most detailed section of my profile, they got the impression that I am an avid reader, which accounts for all of the ads about books that pop up when I sign in. I don’t think I have ever followed any of those ad links, but I am sure there are some people who do. This ability to pinpoint advertising tactics based on personal interests is something that the internet pretty much revolutionized.
In the end, whether direct marketing is involved or not, the best of the internet does end up rising to the top. Popular sites become popular for many different reasons, but the more people that visit a site, the easier and easier it gets for others to find it too. Google (supposedly) ranks in order of the most popular hits, but sometime ago, the popularity contest turned into a good old-fashioned battle of funds. Whoever is willing to pay the most will get top billing in Google’s search pages. However, a sites popularity will make it easier to find. For one thing, when something really good finds its home on the internet, it generates a buzz. People will talk about it, blog about it, make YouTube videos and parodies about it, and eventually, it might even make the TV news. A sort of culture develops around these sites, and a circular pattern of searching emerges. All of this boosts the visability and accessability of the site. Though the site has not moved its location on the web, it has become much easier to find. It has expanded its market simply by existing. The internet has given us a tool to put marketing in the hands of the consumer, whether they know it or not.
A: Put your product on the internet.
Amazon.com is a special place where you can buy almost anything. It is the Sears Roebuck catalogue of the 21st Century. Though Amazon is an outpost for everything from chapstick to wedding dresses to car parts, Amazon happens to have a corner on the book selling market. One of the things that makes Amazon terrific (for the average consumer) and dangerous (for your local bookseller) is the fact that Amazon can read your mind. Amazon knows what you want to read before you do. It knows what new releases you simply must read, and it knows the classics that might have passed you by. It can recommend a title that you didn’t even know existed, and it does this simply by keeping track of what other people are reading. The magic of Amazon boils down to a formula: a+b=c (wherein a= the book you search, b= the books other people search who also search a, and c= your new favorite book). It’s so simple, and yet, pure genius. Amazon doesn’t need to have someone standing around at an information desk to field questions and offer recommendations. Rather, they let their sales records do the work for them.
Just like Amazon, user generated recommendations are popping up all over the internet. My new favorite site is Groupon, an enchanted land where expensive goods and services can be purchased for 50% off or more. Every day, Groupon offers a new deal, but the offer is only good if enough people buy it. They use this as a motivating factor for the consumer to spread the word to their friends. If I want to get my “deluxe massage” for $60, I need to make sure that 200 other people buy it. Now that Groupon has been around for a while, the buying public has expanded enough that the deals usually go through in a matter of minutes. So, how does Groupon continue to expand? Well, word of mouth for one thing. But even more effective than gabbing is monetary incentive. Groupon offers a $10 Groupon credit for each person you successfully refer to the site. This is another stroke of genius. The consumer acts as the marketer. By offering the incentive, Groupon has gotten people to actively seek new customers for them. (On that note, if anyone is interested in joining Groupon, feel free to follow this link and earn me $10: http://www.groupon.com/r/uu599544
One potentially profitable marketing tool used by many sites, including Google and Facebook, is pointed advertising. The ads that appear on my page differ than what appears on others’ pages, and it is all based on what we each answer in the “about me” page. I essentially filled out an advertising profile of myself and posted it on my page for them to use at their will. For example, when I took the time to write all about my “favorite books,” the longest, most detailed section of my profile, they got the impression that I am an avid reader, which accounts for all of the ads about books that pop up when I sign in. I don’t think I have ever followed any of those ad links, but I am sure there are some people who do. This ability to pinpoint advertising tactics based on personal interests is something that the internet pretty much revolutionized.
In the end, whether direct marketing is involved or not, the best of the internet does end up rising to the top. Popular sites become popular for many different reasons, but the more people that visit a site, the easier and easier it gets for others to find it too. Google (supposedly) ranks in order of the most popular hits, but sometime ago, the popularity contest turned into a good old-fashioned battle of funds. Whoever is willing to pay the most will get top billing in Google’s search pages. However, a sites popularity will make it easier to find. For one thing, when something really good finds its home on the internet, it generates a buzz. People will talk about it, blog about it, make YouTube videos and parodies about it, and eventually, it might even make the TV news. A sort of culture develops around these sites, and a circular pattern of searching emerges. All of this boosts the visability and accessability of the site. Though the site has not moved its location on the web, it has become much easier to find. It has expanded its market simply by existing. The internet has given us a tool to put marketing in the hands of the consumer, whether they know it or not.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Online Marketing for the Greater Goods
Who are publishers' websites really selling to?
The online book buying community does most of their shopping (and browsing) at Amazon. This is pretty common knowledge. Yet, most publishers’ websites are set up as a sort of market place, where books can be browsed and purchased. The question was posed in class as to why publishers seem to target book buyers with their websites as opposed to their other audiences (i.e. distributors, book sellers, potential authors, agents, and investors).
I think there are several reasons why publishers treat their websites as interactive catalogues, the most important of which, is that the books speak volumes. The backlist is a publisher’s foundation. A publishing house maintains a level of prestige (or not) based on the books it has published in the past. For this reason, it is important for a publisher to have their books readily searchable on their webpage. Also, when focusing on the front list, one must remember that publishing is a business, and that the book is the product. Book marketers and sellers may try all kinds of tactics and tricks to “sell you a lifestyle” or “sell the author” rather than the author’s work, but when it comes right down to it, the only way a publisher can make money is to sell a book. Hence, the “buy it now” buttons that appear under the image of the book cover on most publisher pages.
Amazon may have most of the book-buying traffic, but publishers have a few things in their favor, as well. Amazon can tell you a lot about a book, but it can only tell you what it has been told. From the book summaries to the blurbs to the recommendations, everything you read on Amazon has been generated by the author, the publisher, or the consumer. When you go to the publisher’s website you will probably find supplementary material about the book, perhaps the transcript of an author interview, a link to a blog about the book, or even videos and book trailers (if you’re into that sort of thing). The publisher benefits from having a real life relationship with the author. After all, the author is a handy tool for selling books.
As for potential authors, the major publishers do not accept submissions from Joe Nobody. The major houses accept manuscripts exclusively from agents; and besides, Joe’s agent doesn’t need to see the submission guidelines at Penguin Books to know what they publish.
Publishers’ websites are geared towards the consumer, but it may not actually be aiming to sell books. In my research for this blog, it could not help but wonder if the publishers were only pretending to market towards the end consumer. I have this theory that publishers set out to show book sellers the potential of their books. The websites, to me, say: “if you buy (and sell) our books, look how great they will look on the shelf.” I see the publishers’ sites as a sort of wildly interactive catalogue where a distributor can go to investigate the full line of goods.
And if it sells a few books in the process, well, that’s nice too.
The online book buying community does most of their shopping (and browsing) at Amazon. This is pretty common knowledge. Yet, most publishers’ websites are set up as a sort of market place, where books can be browsed and purchased. The question was posed in class as to why publishers seem to target book buyers with their websites as opposed to their other audiences (i.e. distributors, book sellers, potential authors, agents, and investors).
I think there are several reasons why publishers treat their websites as interactive catalogues, the most important of which, is that the books speak volumes. The backlist is a publisher’s foundation. A publishing house maintains a level of prestige (or not) based on the books it has published in the past. For this reason, it is important for a publisher to have their books readily searchable on their webpage. Also, when focusing on the front list, one must remember that publishing is a business, and that the book is the product. Book marketers and sellers may try all kinds of tactics and tricks to “sell you a lifestyle” or “sell the author” rather than the author’s work, but when it comes right down to it, the only way a publisher can make money is to sell a book. Hence, the “buy it now” buttons that appear under the image of the book cover on most publisher pages.
Amazon may have most of the book-buying traffic, but publishers have a few things in their favor, as well. Amazon can tell you a lot about a book, but it can only tell you what it has been told. From the book summaries to the blurbs to the recommendations, everything you read on Amazon has been generated by the author, the publisher, or the consumer. When you go to the publisher’s website you will probably find supplementary material about the book, perhaps the transcript of an author interview, a link to a blog about the book, or even videos and book trailers (if you’re into that sort of thing). The publisher benefits from having a real life relationship with the author. After all, the author is a handy tool for selling books.
As for potential authors, the major publishers do not accept submissions from Joe Nobody. The major houses accept manuscripts exclusively from agents; and besides, Joe’s agent doesn’t need to see the submission guidelines at Penguin Books to know what they publish.
Publishers’ websites are geared towards the consumer, but it may not actually be aiming to sell books. In my research for this blog, it could not help but wonder if the publishers were only pretending to market towards the end consumer. I have this theory that publishers set out to show book sellers the potential of their books. The websites, to me, say: “if you buy (and sell) our books, look how great they will look on the shelf.” I see the publishers’ sites as a sort of wildly interactive catalogue where a distributor can go to investigate the full line of goods.
And if it sells a few books in the process, well, that’s nice too.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Beautiful (Digital) Life
The bigwigs at Warner decided to pull The Beautiful Life, Ashton Kutcher’s show about supermodels, after airing only two episodes. Luckily for viewers who like to watch pretty people play out their angsty drama, AK did not give up that easily. TBL has now found its home on the internet, the place where Kutcher is King.
“What we feel like we’re doing is creating, in some ways, an industry first. A show that couldn’t find its legs on television, we believe can find its legs on the Web.” – the actor-turned-social media impresario said.
AK and Hewlett-Packard have teamed up to give this show a second chance, airing the five episodes (three of which never made it to network TV) commercial free on YouTube. Unless I am much mistaken, this is the first time that original, TV-quality programming will be aired exclusively online. This could be the next step in entertainment evolution, if it is successful. And, AK may be the only person in the world who could pull this off. With more than 4.3 million followers on Twitter and 3.2 million Facebook Friends, AK may just be the most popular man in the world (wide web). He is more connected on the internet that anyone else I can think of, and he is charming in real life too, which can’t hurt his ratings. And I would venture that he could market almost anything (be it digital cameras, or squeezy cheese, or even a show about models) just by taking a picture of it and putting it up on his Facebook page, or writing 140 well thought out letters, spaces, and commas. He is a one-man brand.
HP was smart to get in on the action. Not only does HP have the monopoly on viewers, they are also using their online sponsorship to promote their charitable efforts. This is essentially a triple marketing scheme. First: HP has all of the ad space on the site to promote their products. Second: They are focusing a lot of their ad space on the company’s “Create Change” program, a campaign where the consumer gets to choose an organization that will receive 4% of the purchase price. Third: By promoting the company in this way, it creates an image of a socially conscious business, which could drive more business to HP and away from their competitors.
Marketing side note: I can’t help but wonder if the people who watch this kind of “guilty please” programming (such as TBL) are the type to care about such humanitarian matters. To quote the show “Does anyone else find a group of models partying for global hunger ironic? Does anyone know the definition of irony?”
So, is the show going to reach its audience over the internet? For one thing, there does seem to be a lot of buzz about the show circulating. People are a-twitter about TBL on Twitter virally reposting: "You watch the beautiful life and make it or break it." And, I have to say, there are a lot of imbedded hyperlinks (that lead straight to TBL on YouTube) on a lot of widely read entertainment blogs. A response to one such blog said: “So glad that they've brought this back somehow. It'll do so much better online than it did on television, especially if word gets out!”
Well, with Kutcher at the keyboard, it seems that word just might get out.
“What we feel like we’re doing is creating, in some ways, an industry first. A show that couldn’t find its legs on television, we believe can find its legs on the Web.” – the actor-turned-social media impresario said.
AK and Hewlett-Packard have teamed up to give this show a second chance, airing the five episodes (three of which never made it to network TV) commercial free on YouTube. Unless I am much mistaken, this is the first time that original, TV-quality programming will be aired exclusively online. This could be the next step in entertainment evolution, if it is successful. And, AK may be the only person in the world who could pull this off. With more than 4.3 million followers on Twitter and 3.2 million Facebook Friends, AK may just be the most popular man in the world (wide web). He is more connected on the internet that anyone else I can think of, and he is charming in real life too, which can’t hurt his ratings. And I would venture that he could market almost anything (be it digital cameras, or squeezy cheese, or even a show about models) just by taking a picture of it and putting it up on his Facebook page, or writing 140 well thought out letters, spaces, and commas. He is a one-man brand.
HP was smart to get in on the action. Not only does HP have the monopoly on viewers, they are also using their online sponsorship to promote their charitable efforts. This is essentially a triple marketing scheme. First: HP has all of the ad space on the site to promote their products. Second: They are focusing a lot of their ad space on the company’s “Create Change” program, a campaign where the consumer gets to choose an organization that will receive 4% of the purchase price. Third: By promoting the company in this way, it creates an image of a socially conscious business, which could drive more business to HP and away from their competitors.
Marketing side note: I can’t help but wonder if the people who watch this kind of “guilty please” programming (such as TBL) are the type to care about such humanitarian matters. To quote the show “Does anyone else find a group of models partying for global hunger ironic? Does anyone know the definition of irony?”
So, is the show going to reach its audience over the internet? For one thing, there does seem to be a lot of buzz about the show circulating. People are a-twitter about TBL on Twitter virally reposting: "You watch the beautiful life and make it or break it." And, I have to say, there are a lot of imbedded hyperlinks (that lead straight to TBL on YouTube) on a lot of widely read entertainment blogs. A response to one such blog said: “So glad that they've brought this back somehow. It'll do so much better online than it did on television, especially if word gets out!”
Well, with Kutcher at the keyboard, it seems that word just might get out.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
In This Corner
Alyson vs. Bella
Alyson Books and Bella Books are targeting similar audiences. Alyson targets the gay community at large (GLBTQ etc.), whereas Bella targets mainly gay, queer, and lesbian identified women.
Alyson’s website is nicely designed, with a simple and elegant color scheme (slate gray, lime green, and white). Out of the kindness of their hearts, the designers of the site placed most of the text of white and light gray backgrounds. The logo is simple and easy to recognize.
One is welcomed to the page by a brief publishers note giving a bit of history, mission statement, and a sort of profile of the press. There is more detailed information that one can read on the “about us” and “press” pages.
There is a section of featured titles that includes the 5 newest releases from the last publishing season. There is a blurb about each with convenient links to the designated book pages. All of the featured books include a link to a sample chapter. The home page also has a list of the “new releases” which includes the titles from Alyson’s front list.
The page is user friendly and easy to navigate.
The titles and prices of each book are conveniently located on the home page of the site, but, for more in-depth searching, there is a list of genre links one can follow to browse the categorized backlist.
The submission page does not give strict guidelines, but recommends that an author search the backlist to see if their manuscript would fit. This seems to me that they respect the intelligence of their readership and their potential authors.
There are quick and easy links on every page where you can add books to your cart and buy them directly from the publisher.
I browsed the site much longer than I had planned to, because I kept finding things to look at. It took a lot of self-control not to order several of the books I had browsed.
There is a general flow to the website. I did not have to think about what to click next, it always seemed like an obvious transition from one page to the next. The site is accessible and pleasing to the eye. It is a site I will visit again, and I will look for the Alyson logo on the spines of books next time I am in the bookstore.
Bella Books’ homepage seems scattered and has little direction. The three main columns of the main page consist of “new books,” “more new books,” and “more new books.” This is repetitive, redundant, and redundant. It forces the eye to move both across the page and down the page simultaneously: which resulted in me looking neither down, nor across, but for a place to escape.
I directed my attention to the almost comical use of a decorative typeface. I don’t know if they were trying to be clever or what, but the typeface that the web designer chose has boobs for O’s. Seriously? Overall, the site design is outdated and cheesy (did I mention the booby-o’s?), and there are way too many pieces of clip art included in the design.
Much of the pertinent information (such as giveaways, contests, and publishing house information) is listed in a box off to the side of the homepage. It is all stacked on top of one another and is a jumbled mess to read.
In the context of the website, the books seem less credible. Also, in the tradition of bad design, many of the books look like they came right of the shelf of the drugstore, yet, the prices are those of trade paperbacks.
I found it curious and confusing when I discovered random links leading to sites that have nothing to do with books, publishing, or queer people. If they are related, they did a terrible job of contextualizing. I clicked on a link of a beach sunset that had the caption “gulf coast getaway” thinking it was a contest they were holding. Upon following the link, however, I arrived at an advertisement for a vacation house for rent in Florida. Is this link actually an advertisement? Why is it here?
If a member of your target audience comes to your site and is as confused and annoyed as I was at the Bella Books site, the publisher is definitely missing their mark.
Alyson Books and Bella Books are targeting similar audiences. Alyson targets the gay community at large (GLBTQ etc.), whereas Bella targets mainly gay, queer, and lesbian identified women.
Alyson’s website is nicely designed, with a simple and elegant color scheme (slate gray, lime green, and white). Out of the kindness of their hearts, the designers of the site placed most of the text of white and light gray backgrounds. The logo is simple and easy to recognize.
One is welcomed to the page by a brief publishers note giving a bit of history, mission statement, and a sort of profile of the press. There is more detailed information that one can read on the “about us” and “press” pages.
There is a section of featured titles that includes the 5 newest releases from the last publishing season. There is a blurb about each with convenient links to the designated book pages. All of the featured books include a link to a sample chapter. The home page also has a list of the “new releases” which includes the titles from Alyson’s front list.
The page is user friendly and easy to navigate.
The titles and prices of each book are conveniently located on the home page of the site, but, for more in-depth searching, there is a list of genre links one can follow to browse the categorized backlist.
The submission page does not give strict guidelines, but recommends that an author search the backlist to see if their manuscript would fit. This seems to me that they respect the intelligence of their readership and their potential authors.
There are quick and easy links on every page where you can add books to your cart and buy them directly from the publisher.
I browsed the site much longer than I had planned to, because I kept finding things to look at. It took a lot of self-control not to order several of the books I had browsed.
There is a general flow to the website. I did not have to think about what to click next, it always seemed like an obvious transition from one page to the next. The site is accessible and pleasing to the eye. It is a site I will visit again, and I will look for the Alyson logo on the spines of books next time I am in the bookstore.
Bella Books’ homepage seems scattered and has little direction. The three main columns of the main page consist of “new books,” “more new books,” and “more new books.” This is repetitive, redundant, and redundant. It forces the eye to move both across the page and down the page simultaneously: which resulted in me looking neither down, nor across, but for a place to escape.
I directed my attention to the almost comical use of a decorative typeface. I don’t know if they were trying to be clever or what, but the typeface that the web designer chose has boobs for O’s. Seriously? Overall, the site design is outdated and cheesy (did I mention the booby-o’s?), and there are way too many pieces of clip art included in the design.
Much of the pertinent information (such as giveaways, contests, and publishing house information) is listed in a box off to the side of the homepage. It is all stacked on top of one another and is a jumbled mess to read.
In the context of the website, the books seem less credible. Also, in the tradition of bad design, many of the books look like they came right of the shelf of the drugstore, yet, the prices are those of trade paperbacks.
I found it curious and confusing when I discovered random links leading to sites that have nothing to do with books, publishing, or queer people. If they are related, they did a terrible job of contextualizing. I clicked on a link of a beach sunset that had the caption “gulf coast getaway” thinking it was a contest they were holding. Upon following the link, however, I arrived at an advertisement for a vacation house for rent in Florida. Is this link actually an advertisement? Why is it here?
If a member of your target audience comes to your site and is as confused and annoyed as I was at the Bella Books site, the publisher is definitely missing their mark.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Judging a book by…
Since we were given a list of choices, I used them as a jumping off point. I went through the list and starred the titles that appealed to me at first glance. Then I did a generic Amazon search. I wanted to see which of the books I had selected from the list would come up first (Plug Your Book! was the big winner). My goal was to see which books I would have come across on my own if I had been searching for a book without a list to work from.
In my first keyword search, two of the four titles I starred showed up on the first page results. Much to my surprise (and disgust), almost all of the books that showed up in my initial search were listed as kindle books only, or with e-book prices listed more prominently than analogue book prices. I had to follow several links before I had the option to buy a book made of paper. Luckily, for the paper loving masses, my second search yielded many more analogue results. I imagine that by using the word “online” in my initial search, I prompted Amazon to believe that I was looking for digital reading material.
I then specifically researched the four titles I had starred on my list. I flipped though the “look inside” features of each of the titles to get a feel for the book— the way I would flip through the pages of an analogue book in a bookstore. I like to check out the design and the format of the books I am going to read. One of the books (Radically Transparent) was not available to browse, however, and this deterred me from choosing that one.
After flipping back and forth between the Amazon pages, I narrowed my list down to two titles (The Age of Engage and Online Marketing Heroes) and moved my search over to Powell’s where I checked their reviews and availability of the two titles. I feel better about buying books from our wonderful independent bookstore. Since both were available, I went back to Amazon and read the first few pages each one. I finally selected the book that seemed most interesting to me and easiest to read.
When it comes down to it, I shopped the online bookstore in much the same way I shop at a brick and mortar bookstore. I browsed for a while, picked up a few choices, narrowed it down, and committed. I took into account the reviews and recommendations, the readability and relevance. I agonized and scrutinized… and then picked the prettiest one.
I will be reading Online Marketing Heroes: Interviews with 25 Successful Online Marketing Gurus
In my first keyword search, two of the four titles I starred showed up on the first page results. Much to my surprise (and disgust), almost all of the books that showed up in my initial search were listed as kindle books only, or with e-book prices listed more prominently than analogue book prices. I had to follow several links before I had the option to buy a book made of paper. Luckily, for the paper loving masses, my second search yielded many more analogue results. I imagine that by using the word “online” in my initial search, I prompted Amazon to believe that I was looking for digital reading material.
I then specifically researched the four titles I had starred on my list. I flipped though the “look inside” features of each of the titles to get a feel for the book— the way I would flip through the pages of an analogue book in a bookstore. I like to check out the design and the format of the books I am going to read. One of the books (Radically Transparent) was not available to browse, however, and this deterred me from choosing that one.
After flipping back and forth between the Amazon pages, I narrowed my list down to two titles (The Age of Engage and Online Marketing Heroes) and moved my search over to Powell’s where I checked their reviews and availability of the two titles. I feel better about buying books from our wonderful independent bookstore. Since both were available, I went back to Amazon and read the first few pages each one. I finally selected the book that seemed most interesting to me and easiest to read.
When it comes down to it, I shopped the online bookstore in much the same way I shop at a brick and mortar bookstore. I browsed for a while, picked up a few choices, narrowed it down, and committed. I took into account the reviews and recommendations, the readability and relevance. I agonized and scrutinized… and then picked the prettiest one.
I will be reading Online Marketing Heroes: Interviews with 25 Successful Online Marketing Gurus
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Design Frustrations
I am annoyed by the restrictions of the "customize" page. I just want the freedom to move my blog title where I want it to be. Is that too much to ask?
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