After our discussion of what people want when they go to a publisher’s website, I relayed the information back to my co-manager of External Promotions, or, as it is sometimes called, the events group. We immediately contacted digital in order to find out what we needed to do to get a calendar of events of the Ooligan page.
Simon and Schuster must have been listening in on our class discussion as well, because they have just launched a brand new site specifically geared towards those in the publishing business. After much thought and a whole lot of blogging, the online marketing class concluded that there really is no good explanation for why all the big publishers market their websites to the book buying public. So, it is news worthy (thanks PW) when one of the big boys decides to launch a site that might actually be helpful to some of the people who actually do business with the company. The site (http://www.simonandschuster.biz/) is the “source of corporate information and B-to-B resources for Booksellers, Media, Authors, Partners, Vendors, and more…” Hazzah
The site is a bit overly complicated, however, and the seemingly easy layout proves to be more convoluted than it first appears. To begin with, there is a main box in the center of the page displaying a succession of snippets about the features of the site. “Great,” I thought, until I tried to read the copy and found that it changes about ten seconds too early each time. “Oh well, I’ll just click the handy links that correspond.” Foiled again. The flashing, link-like red arrows are nothing but dead ends. This is a perfect example of what not to do when designing a website. In class we talked about the fact that there is a certain set of expectations that we must abide by when designing a good website. I think perhaps the S&S team missed that class.
But when it comes right down to it, this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. Once they work out the kinks, Simon and Schuster could go down in history as the first big publisher to realize what the internet is for.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Riddle me this: What's the opposite of 1984?
I have been thinking a lot recently about the future of books in terms of the publishing industry. What are we going to do about DRM? Is apple going to rename the “unicorn” (a.k.a iPad) so that it doesn’t sound like a feminine hygiene product? Is Amazon going to put the “buy it now” buttons back on Macmillan’s pages? The funny thing is, though all of this contemplation— the writing and reading and talking about books, I have not given a whole lot of thought to the books I would like to see on the shelf in the next few years. Then I came across this question on a site: What book do you think will be on the NYT bestseller list in 2020?
This is a rough draft of a submission I am working on. It is supposed to be a one-paragraph answer. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.
The year is 2020. Chelsea Clinton has just been voted the first woman president of the United States America. We are 3 years into the analogue revolution. The great internet epidemic of 2017, known by the survivors as the blue screen of death, has led to communities of people with common interests meeting face to face, relying entirely on word of mouth. With the fall of the internet came the rise of the “outernet,” a place where you must be present to purchase goods, and you have to send a physical, handwritten card to your aunt Mildred instead of texting her "hpy brthday." For 12 months the #1 New York Times bestseller is Say it to my Face: A Survivor’s Guide to Life After Facebook. It is printed using recycled house paint on “paper” made from fused-together, post-consumer plastic grocery bags. It is available exclusively through the publisher’s bookstore.
This is a rough draft of a submission I am working on. It is supposed to be a one-paragraph answer. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.
The year is 2020. Chelsea Clinton has just been voted the first woman president of the United States America. We are 3 years into the analogue revolution. The great internet epidemic of 2017, known by the survivors as the blue screen of death, has led to communities of people with common interests meeting face to face, relying entirely on word of mouth. With the fall of the internet came the rise of the “outernet,” a place where you must be present to purchase goods, and you have to send a physical, handwritten card to your aunt Mildred instead of texting her "hpy brthday." For 12 months the #1 New York Times bestseller is Say it to my Face: A Survivor’s Guide to Life After Facebook. It is printed using recycled house paint on “paper” made from fused-together, post-consumer plastic grocery bags. It is available exclusively through the publisher’s bookstore.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Goliath vs. Goliath
This week, one of the giants of the book industry faced off against the giant of the, well, everything industry. Macmillan vs. Amazon is a total conundrum for me because I like to rout for the underdog. Clearly, in this situation, there is no such dog. They are two over-dogs, barking at each other from either side of a chain link fence. There was a lot of dirt kicked around, both dogs showed their teeth, and Amazon even sunk its teeth in a little before realizing it was actually biting itself on the (proverbial) rear end.
When the dust finally settled, Amazon went limping home with its tail between its legs. Some people rejoiced. The headlines read “Victory for publishers everywhere!” But I am skeptical. Sure, if Macmillan makes a stink about something, Amazon is much more likely to respond then if Mom’n’Pop Publishing were to make the same case. However, just because Macmillan was able to wiggle their way out of the $9.99 price cap, doesn’t mean that we are free from the monopolizing hand of Amazon.
By raising the prices of e-books, consumers will be expecting more from the ebooks they buy. For publishers like Macmillan, this could pose a bit of a problem. First of all, Macmillan (unlike smaller publishers) has a huge backlist of titles that are not easily converted to digital content. Also, so far, it doesn’t seem like publishers really know what people want from their ebooks. I certainly hope that Macmillan has not bitten off more than it can chew. I also hope they can figure out a way to make people want to buy ebooks. People will not spend $14.99, or $9.99 for that matter, for poorly formatted, unreliable books.
Amazon needs to be careful the way they treat publishers. Even though Amazon has a lot of characteristics that make it like a publishers, I would venture that they still need the big dogs of publishing to make their business work. They need to be especially careful now that the “unicorn” has arrived and the apple bookstore is ready to open its digital doors.
I think there has to be an easy answer in here somewhere, I just don’t know what it is.
When the dust finally settled, Amazon went limping home with its tail between its legs. Some people rejoiced. The headlines read “Victory for publishers everywhere!” But I am skeptical. Sure, if Macmillan makes a stink about something, Amazon is much more likely to respond then if Mom’n’Pop Publishing were to make the same case. However, just because Macmillan was able to wiggle their way out of the $9.99 price cap, doesn’t mean that we are free from the monopolizing hand of Amazon.
By raising the prices of e-books, consumers will be expecting more from the ebooks they buy. For publishers like Macmillan, this could pose a bit of a problem. First of all, Macmillan (unlike smaller publishers) has a huge backlist of titles that are not easily converted to digital content. Also, so far, it doesn’t seem like publishers really know what people want from their ebooks. I certainly hope that Macmillan has not bitten off more than it can chew. I also hope they can figure out a way to make people want to buy ebooks. People will not spend $14.99, or $9.99 for that matter, for poorly formatted, unreliable books.
Amazon needs to be careful the way they treat publishers. Even though Amazon has a lot of characteristics that make it like a publishers, I would venture that they still need the big dogs of publishing to make their business work. They need to be especially careful now that the “unicorn” has arrived and the apple bookstore is ready to open its digital doors.
I think there has to be an easy answer in here somewhere, I just don’t know what it is.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Moving On(line)
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.
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
