Viral Marketing 1.0

As a publisher or an author, it is never too early for you to begin your viral marketing program.  Instead of waiting until your title has been placed on the shelves of Barnes & Noble or Borders Books (in which there is no guarantee) I strongly encourage you to become proactive in helping introduce your ideas, i.e. book to the users of the World Wide Web. 

   First, at Midpoint we encourage all of our publishing clients to have a substantive brainstorming session with their authors.  I would suggest this to happen at the manuscript stage.  The first discussion point should be about the author’s platform.  Is the author an expert in his/her field?  Does the author have published works, lecture, consult, blog, and/or give speeches?  Who does the author know?  Next, who are the author’s readers?  Who cares as deeply about the subject as the author does?

   Let’s say that the book is Predicting Technology,  We know by anecdotal research that the passionate technology reader is most likely to be male, early to late 20’s, a gamer, an entrepreneur, someone who is computer, IPod and, MP3 savvy, college educated, and with northwest and east coast sensibilities (areas in which the majority of tech jobs congregate).  These basic generalities about “your reader” can set you up for the next stage of your outreach to them. 

   Once you have established who “your reader” is, continue with your research by asking more questions.  Where are these young men hanging out virally?  What magazines or books are they reading, watching on TV, downloading from iTunes or seeing at the movies?  What are their favorite websites and blogs?  Do they have a profile on MySpace or Facebook and who are their friends on these sites? (Most likely, they will be likeminded guys.) 

   Finally, how do you form an online relationship with these folks?  How do you share your passion for technology and the future of technology with these core readers?  What are some effective ways to reach out to them?  I will begin to answer this shortly.

   This brainstorming meeting between an author and a publisher could take a few hours or up to several weeks as you explore and develop a sophisticated profile of your reader.

   Once you have a detailed report on your readers and think you know them well, you will be ready to start forming relationships with them. As they get to know you, they will begin seeking you out for information and will feel comfortable sharing ideas with you.  These viral relationships will begin to grow.  In real life social situations I know it takes many “bowling nights” to befriend even one or two new acquaintances.  As we all know, relationship-building is an ever-evolving process.  Your job as an author is essentially to start a club, invite members, and give them a reason to keep coming to your meetings, share your expertise, plant ideas and nurture these new relationships one by one.  As importantly, you must participate in their meetings, post comments on their blog or website.  Become an active part of their group.

  Your efforts in outreach should never be about a monetary transaction (i.e. a sale of your book).  Savvy consumers know when they are being sold and they are turned off by the overture.  Selling is not your primary objective.  The goal of your “branding efforts” is to establish yourself  as one of the experts in your field.  You must believe that your ideas and solutions are unique, different, and important to share.  Your book is the “souvenir” of your knowledge, the compilation of all of your expertise and passion.  Folks will want to have this more detailed, researched “souvenir” whether it is packaged as a hardcover or paperback book, an eBook, a weekly podcast, a blog or a downloadable audio version.  As an aside, it is important to repurpose your intellectual property into all of these different formats so that all readers, regardless of their preferred reading or listening method, will be able to have access to your knowledge.

   Your next step is to set up domain names that best describe what you are trying to share.  I would suggest setting up a minimum of two domain names.  The first should be the title of the book, and the second, your name.  I recommend purchasing your domain names at www.godaddy.com.  The purchase price and yearly charge is minimal, and setting up a domain name is an easy, straightforward process.  I also recommend that you buy only the “dot com” extension.  It is not necessary to buy “dot net” or “dot org” extensions, as they are not as popular among web users.  Choosing good domain names is vital to the success of your efforts.  You may not be knowledgeable about websites and domains just yet, but try not to let this hold you back!  Owning your own web “real estate” in the form of a domain name will insure that your book and your name will be reserved especially for you.  No one else can use your domain name once you have made the purchase  The domain name is yours to keep forever (as long as you pay the yearly fee!) and it can evolve into your most powerful branding tool as you explore how to monetize your knowledge, ideas, expertise and lastly, the “souvenir”.

   In conclusion, two key components for successful viral marketing efforts should happen in the manuscript stage of the publishing process – asking good questions to discern who your reader is and choosing and purchasing domain names for your website.  You will then be two steps closer towards reaching the goals you have set for yourself and your book! 

How to develop your website for maximum “relationship” building will be in a future post.

Contact me with any feedback.

  

Social Networking Sites

Maintaining a Social Networking Site (SNS) requires considerable thought and time since it is necessary to add fresh and new material weekly. I believe it is worth the time and intellectual energy because of the benefits an author and publisher will receive when they are fully engaged on the World Wide Web.We currently maintain twelve SNS’s where we post title information, jacket art, author’s Q&A, videos, book trailers, reviews and anything else we believe to be relevant to the book, author or subject.

The leading benefit of posting your title on a SNS is that it maximizes your title’s search results. We believe that the more access there is to “impressions” of your book on the web, whether it be a review, bloggers post, an SNS, a podcast, and/or a dedicated website, the more likely your book will be noticed by those niche readers interested in the book’s particuliar subject.

Tip: When entering a BISAC for your title, list a minimum of three codes if your subject touches on different areas. This broadens the reach of your niche markets.

One example of how joining as many SNS’s that interest you can increase your chances of coming up on the first page of a search engines results involves a title, Charanavi. If I search through Yahoo’s search engine for “animal fortune telling,” the top results include this title, which was recently added to twelve SNS’s.

The conversation between the author and/or publisher and the reader begins when you meet on the web and begin to share your knowledge and passionate interests. As an author or publisher your goal is to form or join a community of likeminded readers that you can begin to form a relationship with. Did they like your book, what character did they find most interesting, would they like to see you expand on your idea? This kind of social networking is vital for your goals of sharing information, a story, a passion or an idea.

I have heard recently that the new mantra of “Content is King” has been replaced by “Contact is King.”

Be out in cyber space, engage with people and encourage your authors to be out there also.
For a list of SNS sites: http://www.midpointbooksnyc.com/

Book Expo America raison d’être 2008

Book Expo America (BEA) 2008 will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 29 -June 1.

This annual book convention, formerly known as the American Booksellers Association, was established in 1901. The show moves from New York, Chicago, Wash DC and Los Angeles throughout the years. The public is not allowed access to the show, thus insuring attendees are part of the decision makers of the book industry.

There were 36,000 attendees at the New York show in 2007; 9,000 were book buyers and 4,000 librarians. Participation from librarians increased 107% in 2006.

Many times I have been asked by publishers, “How can I best utilize my time at the show?” and “Why am I here?” In response to these questions, here are some of my thoughts…

The BEA is about individual experiences and serendipity. Your goal is to make connections with a book buyer, librarian, magazine editor, rights manager, or a person who will inspire, surprise or challenge you. Sometimes you will be planting seeds for future connections that may not be obvious at the time. In these cases, it may not be until a few months later when you realize how fruitful your meeting was for you and your project. Essentially, you are building social capital at trade shows.

Come fully prepared to exhibit your passion. Booksellers, librarians, wholesalers, media people, and rights buyers are all looking to you to help them figure out what your booth is all about and why they should care. Folks can tell when you are fired up, charged and excited about publishing the books you are presenting. So first, before you come to the show, identify what you are excited about. This could include a book you are publishing, the subjects in which you publish, the authors you work with, the associations that inspire you. One of our publishers is passionate about their primary subject matter, Catholicism. They publish the former Cardinal Ratzinger’s backlist, now Pope Benedict XVI’s books. Expressing their enthusiasm for Catholicism, the Pope, and their books will be the driving force behind their conversations. They will then ask questions and listen intently to the attendee as the attendee’s needs, wants and expectations for the show are revealed. Remember to make the majority of your conversation about them. Ask questions about what they do, what they specialize in, and how you, as a publisher, can help them.

If you feel reluctant to approach attendees, rise above and just do it! The most meaningful conversations I have had at trade shows occurred because I forced myself to speak up. I look for interesting faces and slow-walking attendees and I lunge right in. This is imperative if you want to make the most of your BEA experience. If you prefer not to engage with strangers, send someone on your staff who can. As long as they understand the passion of your company and believe in its message they are more than qualified to attend the show. Wear comfortable shoes as standing is the most effective and inviting posture to attract attendees.

Conversations starters to use when introducing yourself to:

Booksellers: Are you looking for a particular subject category or a regional title? How many titles do you carry in your store? What is your store’s specialty? Do you like receiving galleys and/or finished books from publishers? Would you have time to give me feedback if I sent you our big book galleys? May I have your card and may I contact you with any additional questions about independent bookstores? May I give you a copy of our [galley, book, flyer, postcard, etc.]? Please take my card and thank you for your time.

Librarians: Are you an acquisition librarian? How many libraries do you purchase for? What is more important to you in making a buying decision: a galley, a review (what magazine), a wholesaler’s recommendation? Which wholesaler do you buy from most frequently? What times of year are you granted the most purchasing power in your city? Are your patrons asking for e-book downloads?

Wholesalers: What region in the country are you strongest in? Do you specialize in a particular subject? Do you have a direct relationship with Midpoint? Are you receiving Midpoint’s catalogs?

Media People: What type of media do you work in (print, TV, radio, blogs, internet, etc.)? Do you accept galleys for review? Who is the best person to send a galley to? What is the most convenient way for me to follow-up with you (email, phone, wait for you to contact me, etc.)?

Rights Buyers: What countries do you represent? What subjects do you specialize in? Do you accept unsolicited books for consideration or only submissions through an agent?

What do I bring to the show?

Galleys are the most coveted freebie. Galleys convey to the attendee that they are ahead of the buzz of a book and that you are on schedule with your publishing process. If you plan to bring galleys, ship 200-300. If you do not have galleys, finished books are another giveaway option. Ship 100-200 books. Additionally, bring flyers, bookmarks, posters, and/or postcards to give away. Don’t forget your business card with your email address noted.

Booths to visit in your spare time:

Ingram Lightning Source for print-on-demand and e-book information. Re-purposing content is vital to the independent publisher. Harlequin, Harper Collins, Random House and Simon & Schuster to name a few are digitizing all of their properties. Do you have books you cannot afford to print because you only need ten? Why not re-purpose to an e-book or a print-on-demand book? It is easier than you think.

Microsoft Live is offering a free scan of your books, unlimited, if you do not have a PDF of the file. I will be writing about this in a later blog.

Audible.com for audio downloads. Amazon purchased this #1 audio book reseller in early 2008. This is another way to re-purpose your content. No printing costs, no shipping, no returns.

Midpoint works with all of these vendors on your behalf but we think it is important for you to educate yourself about the transformations in our industry. Have you thought about selling a chapter online for $.99? This model is already available to us. Adding digitization rights to your author contracts, converting the file to digital, and monetizing this re-purposed content is vitally important for you, the independent publisher. Don’t be caught without digitization rights.

Your competition: How are they pricing their books? Are they available in e-book and/or audible download formats? How does their jacket art look? Which subjects are they publishing?

I hope you will take full advantage of the opportunities you are sure to find at BEA. Bring paper and pens to take lots of notes. Mingle with our Midpoint team. And most importantly, have fun promoting the project you love!!