Will 2007 will be “The Year of the Authorpreneur “ for Internet Book Marketing?
As an author, you possess the true secret to Internet book marketing success – your writing skills. Why? The biggest hurdles that Internet Marketers face is providing original content that is written to satisfy:
• The search engines to obtain good positioning
• Information hungry surfers searching for quality niche content
• The continuous need to provide quality content to maintain search engine positioning and targeted traffic
Becoming an Authorpreneur
An Authorpreneur does not compete using the traditional book marketing model. Instead, they view their books as products and effectively combine their writing skills with proven Internet Marketing techniques to accomplish better results. This allows them to become an expert within a niche based upon their book’s theme.
If you become an Authorpreneur, you can dominate your niche by doing what you love - writing. By understanding the writing process, you will accomplish what other Webmasters either fail to do or pay ghostwriters to accomplish. It isn’t a matter of well-written material from an editor’s viewpoint. Rather, it is well-written from an Internet Marketing perspective. For example, Web pages, sales letters, and articles all require different writing techniques to accomplish different Internet marketing goals:
• Theme-based Web pages pre-sell products and convince visitors to continue on to the product’s sales page
• Sales pages drive home the product benefits and converts visitors into customers
• Articles provide links back to your Web pages to obtain good search engine positioning and drive targeted traffic to your Website’s landing pages. They can also link directly to a Web page that is pre-selling a product which is a solution to a problem that you discussed in your article.
The Importance of Providing Unique Well-Written Content
Too many Website owners are more concerned about cutting corners and rushing to get their Website online rather than:
• Ensuring that their site addresses the needs of their visitors
• Properly designing their Website’s navigation
• Properly writing their Website content to place well in the search engines
• Developing a linking strategy that improves search engine placement and generates targeted traffic
• Developing a list of subscribers that grows into long term customers
By placing well in the search engines, you can increase your chances of making sales and gaining PR exposure by as much as 46%. By knowing how to correctly research your theme-based keywords, and properly optimizing them into your unique and original content, you will achieve what 95% of authors and Internet Marketers fail to achieve – dominating your niche in the search engines.
Just imagine your book sales, PR accomplishments and the supplemental income you can acquire by becoming an expert in a niche based upon your book’s theme while incorporating an effective Internet book marketing program.
My prediction is that when we look back, 2007 will be remembered as “The Year of the Authorpreneur” for Internet book marketing. Writers without a solid knowledge of Internet Marketing techniques will not survive online. Internet Marketers without effective writing skills will either fail or have to continue to invest in ghostwriters to survive. By becoming an Authorpreneur, which blends both skill sets, you will be part of the next generation of successful Internet marketers with the added benefit of possessing publishing credentials.
About The Author
V. Michael Santoro is a published author and successful Authorpreneur. For a free training course on how to become an Authorpreneur, visit his Website at http://www.proauthors.com and sign up for his e-zine. Additionally, you will receive a powerful PDF creation program as a special bonus.
The Amazon Book Reseller: How To Make Money With Books?
About a year ago, Kevin found himself searching for a book that he wanted to purchase. His searches lead him to Amazon. He had used this internet site for many purchases but did not know until now that he could purchase used products here. This really cut down on his costs. As an avid reader, he found it very useful to go to this website and to tap into the vast amount of used books that came to him in perfect condition.
After making a few purchases, a light went off in his head. He realized, after looking around at the piles and piles of books that he had accumulated that he could potentially sell these books and at least get some of his money back for them. After doing some research, he found that many people were interested in some of the books he had. He found it simple to sign up with Amazon as a seller and was soon making enough to fund his reading habit. After a while, Kevin learned more and more about this business and actually turned it into a healthy second income for him. Why not? He loved to read and he loved to get things back in the form of cash too!
The Business Of Amazon Book Reseller
Amazon.com is a website which millions of individuals venture to each day to make purchases. Many of the industries leading retailers have their websites linked to Amazon as it draws so many viewers. One of the nice features here is that individuals can resell their products. What is also nice is that Amazon features these on the searches that people do for related products. This means that individuals can choose to pay full price or they can go with a used product.
For those that have bookcases of books (you know you are out there) that you have read, or planned to read about ten years ago, there may be a market for them. If you have dusty books that are in decent shape (always make sure they are not musty or mildewed) you may find that Amazon is the ideal location for you to find a way to get rid of them and earn some money for it.
The process is quite simple. You will first need to list with Amazon as a seller. This is a free and easy step that will take only a few minutes. Next, sit down with a stack of books that you would like to sell. All you need to do is list the title and author on the website and Amazon does all the rest for you. They provide all the details of the book to the viewers. Like eBay, Amazon will charge you a percentage of the amount that you sell the book for. But, unlike eBay this is not an auction but just a listing service. You are not charged anything until the book (or other item) sells.
In order to make it profitable, it is necessary for the individual to research how well the books of this type or by this author are selling. You do not want to go so high as to keep the book from being sold but you don’t want to go so low as to undermine your profit abilities. This research is simple to do on Amazon as well.
Don’t have any books to sell? You simply need to check out the wide range of options open to you in your local area. For example, there are often garage sales filled with books (again, make sure they aren’t smelly!) Or, you can visit a thrift shop or other second hand type stores, giveaways, or even the bargain bin at your local bookstore. Even second hand bookstores are a great way to buy cheap books which you can retail on at a profit!
Another way that you can earn an income from Amazon if you are a webmaster includes earning an income for referral fees. If you refer others to come to Amazon, you can earn a little extra income too. You can learn more about how to do this right on the website.
The process is simple and the rewards are fairly good. There are no outright costs to becoming an Amazon book reseller and much to be gained. In fact, it is a decent way to easily make a second income from home. Gather up those dusty books and begin your search for money through Amazon.com reseller programs.
About The Author
Keith Lee is a motivational speaker, a life coach and a fitness instructor for the past 10 yeras. He study and did research on the Internet Marketing Industry for years. Go to his webiste http://www.MyInternetMarketingSuccess.com for some superb tips.
Promoting Your “How To” Book - Customer Confidence Building
Once you have your book completed and out in the marketplace you cannot sit back and hope the sales will be great unless you have no desire or care to see it sell, YOU have to promote it. So, what can you offer that will boost customer confidence and promote additional sales? Of course there are the traditional promotion tools, e.g., advertising, blogging, banner cross-promotion with other websites with themes that you book can enhance, etc.
Publishing a newsletter is a great idea too, and a very popular way of supplementing the information that your book already provides, but the communication with your customers is still one-way. To really get your customers involved, you need a way for them to participate and contribute whether it be by asking questions, or by sharing their experiences and you providing validation of their efforts. With a newsletter this is difficult because customers do not want to submit a question or share an experience and then have to wait until the next publication to get a response. They also like to participate in near real-time. If you choose to set up a blog and allow customer/reader comments, you may find customers apprehensive about posting because there is no privacy to their post and their post itself is subject to public rebuttals. After trying both, I found very little willingness on the part of my customers to contribute or to supply content to share with other customers.
One of the things I found that is really appreciated is to set up a restricted access message board for customers only. This seems to be popular with customers for several reasons, including:
1) It gives them a place where they can communicate with other customers and discuss various topics of your book.
2) It allows them to share their experiences with each other as they work their way through what you have conveyed in your book.
3) It gives you a platform for sharing additional explanations or information that you may not want to share with the world by posting it on your website.
4) It gives your customers a place to ask questions that you can answer.
5) Access is restricted, so your customers get a sense of it not only being their special place, but that they are protected from the harassment and intimidation normally associated with open message boards.
6) The message board will allow you to answer common questions once rather than answering individual customer emails.
Besides being a way of establishing additional credibility, providing a message board for your customers is a great way to say “Thank You” to them and to let them know that you are not just interested in selling them a book, you are interested in making sure they are able to implement what it teaches. You will also realize, and very quickly, that your customers can teach you a few things about the very topic you wrote a book about. This is a good thing because learning a few things from your customers and accepting that you do not know everything about the subject gives your customers a feeling that you are genuinely interested in listening to them.
You might also consider inviting some other experts on the topic to join your message board. This will not only add to the content of the board, it demonstrates to your customers that the intent of the board really is to help them and that you do not feel threatened by having another expert involved.
I believe that if you opt to give this concept a try, and let your customers know before they purchase your book that the board is there for them, you will find the entire scenario to be a win-win situation.
About The Author
Michael E. Mould is the author of “Online Bookselling: A Practical Guide with Detailed Explanations and Insightful Tips,” [Paperback ISBN 1427600708, CD-ROM ISBN 1599714876] and the developer of “Bookkeeping for Booksellers” [CD ISBN 1427600694], you can learn more about online bookselling at: http://www.online-bookselling.com.
Should You Publish a Book?
It used to cost a fortune to get a book printed and published. Today it can all be done online for considerably less than $1,000…and most of that is going to go to your cover designer.
Instead of ordering 1,000 or 5,000 titles at once, you can order 1 at a time using print-on-demand publishing. So it’s not a question of whether you can publish a book or not. It’s a question of whether you should.
Not everyone should publish a book.
If you have the dream of selling a million copies and getting rich through your book, keep dreaming. It can happen, but it’s a million to one shot.
Books have the lowest margin of any information product. A CD costs $1 to $2 to duplicate and sells for $15 and up. A DVD costs $1.50 to $3 and sells for $20 and up. A multimedia course with manuals, CDs, and DVDs may sell for $100 to $1,000 or more.
A book printed in low numbers costs $3 to $5 and sells for $20 or less in most cases. Can you make money from a book? Yes…but I would never want to be in a position where I had to make money from a book.
They’re an entry product and they’re a tool for generating publicity.
I would never recommend a book for someone’s first information product. Start with a CD, DVD, or even an eBook. If that proves successful, then consider a book.
While not everyone should publish a book…every consultant, coach, and information product developer, and professional speaker should!
Let’s say we’re both consultants or coaches and we’re talking to a business owner. You sit down on the plane beside them and give them your card. When they ask me what I do, I hand them my card and my book.
Who stands out as an expert in the field?
Now let’s say we both contact radio stations and offer to do an interview. You tell them how you coach people about success in business. I tell them the same thing and send them my book. Who stands out as the expert in this case?
The book author does…Face it. You might know more than the author right now, but they will often be perceived as the more knowledgable expert because they put it in a book. Will the radio host read the book? Not likely…There are some pretty crappy books that get major publicity.
That’s enough on that before I get myself into trouble.
If you want to be perceived as an expert in your field…create a book. You don’t even have to write it yourself. Put together the materials and hire a ghostwriter to create it if you want.
Now let’s say you want your book to be a profit center. It can definitely be that, but it requires you to create large scale publicity. If you do an interview on a major radio station, you can sell 300 books or more.
If you were published by a publishing house, you might only get $1 per book. So that appearance was worth $300. Using POD publishing, you might be averaging $10 a book…so you earn $3,000. That’s not bad for the hour interview. Get a major TV appearance…and you can sell tens of thousands.
You can also do book signings and other events to sell more books…but remember this all requires you to do something. If you want a fully automated business, books are not the job for you (although you could have a PR agent making the contacts for you). There are other products where this can be done much easier. The math simply doesn’t work out for paid advertising in most cases.
When I work with a author, I like them to have additional products and services to sell on the backend. Sure…it’s nice to make money selling your book. What else do you have? Do you have a CD set or a DVD showing your techniques in more detail? Do you offer consulting or coaching on the backend? That’s where the real money is in books for the average author.
About The Author
Terry Dean is the owner of the Integrity Business Blog athttp://www.terrydean.org, Find out more about how you can Earn More By Working Less by creating your own books, CDs, DVDs, and more at his Free blog today: http://www.terrydean.org
My Favorite Books on Book Marketing and Promotion Every Author Must Read
As a book marketing guy and book publicist it’s imperative for me to keep up with all of the great books and magazine articles being published on the topic of book marketing.
I’ve read dozens and dozens of books on book marketing and usually have found a morsel or two of useful information in each one. Here’s a list of my favorites. By the way, I’ve personally met or have spoken to each author and can attest to the veracity of the material they present and their credentials to discuss these topics.
PyroMarketing. Book marketing professionals know the secrets of success that drove the sales of Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life to a chart-busting best-seller and Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” into a huge cinema phenom. Those of us in the business understand that sales of both blockbusters were driven by techniques outlined in a book called PyroMarketing by Greg Stielstra who gained fame in book publishing circles when he served as the marketing director for The Purpose Driven Life, the best-selling hardcover book in history.
PyroMarketing embraces an idea that really has been in use for some time – niche marketing. That tool is well-known and used every day by book promoters but Stielstra lays out the niche marketing principles with a new, crystal clear message that is so compelling that it is a must-read for anyone who wants to promote an idea, service or product. Read my in-depth review and watch a short entertaining video on the concept at: www.westwindcos.com. Buy it at: www.pyromarketing.com.
The Web-Savvy Writer: Book Promotion with a High-Tech Twist
This is an excellent “how to” book on the ins and outs of online book promotion and publicity focusing on the latest technology. Author Patrice-Anne Rutledge is a bestselling author, successful technology journalist, and online book promotion expert who has utilized online marketing techniques extensively to promote her books and writing career. Patricia plows new ground filling the gap in the book promotion marketplace with her highly focused book on bringing technology to the forefront in a book marketing campaign. “Web-Savvy Writer” is a MUST read if you want to utilize the most cost effective and viral methods in promoting your book like blogs, pay per click advertising, online reviews, ezines and more. After reading a few chapters you’ll soon realize what you don’t know about online marketing could fill volumes. She’s truly brilliant. Buy the online version of the book as it has hundreds of clickable links at: www.websavvywriter.com
John Kremer’s “1001 Ways To Market Your Books”
His 6th Edition published in 2006 describes more than 1000 ideas, tips, and suggestions for marketing books – all illustrated with real-life examples showing how other authors and publishers have marketed their books. John, who is a walking encyclopedia about book marketing says, “Eighty percent of all books are sold by word of mouth, but it’s publicity that primes the marketing pump. Remember that you cannot do everything, so hire the right persons to do the things you can’t do. If you’re not comfortable doing your own publicity, then hire someone who does it for a living.” I could not have said it better. Be sure to check out his seminars on book marketing held around the U.S. too. Find out about that and his book at: www.bookmarket.com
Author! Screenwriter! How to Succeed as a Writer in New York and Hollywood
I always enjoy talking with Peter Miller, President, PMA Literary Film and Management, Inc. He’s one of the “big” agents in New York City. Known as ‘The Literary Lion,’ he has successfully managed over 1,000 books and dozens of motion picture and television properties. From big names like Vincent Bugliosi to the “next big star” he’s had eleven New York Times bestsellers and eleven produced films that he has managed or executive produced. He likes to do “three book deals” once he gets a writer he likes. In addition, he has a substantial number of film and television projects currently in active development. He divides his time between New York and Los Angeles, and frequently tours the country to speak at writers’ conferences and workshops. His insight into the publishing world and Hollywood is priceless. Buy his book, but if you can see him in person do it and tell him I said hi! www.pmalitfilm.com.
I strongly recommend the purchase of MAXIMUM EXPOSURE Marketing System Book Marketing Training Program for Publishers and Authors by Tami DePalma and Kim Dushinski. This is a very well written resource that teaches authors all about marketing their book. For example they have a complete list of reviewers you can send your book to, sample timelines, lists of distributors and much more. You can stay on top of the changes in the market too as they keep it updated on their web site and blog. Believe me, if it’s not in here it’s not important. Buy it at: www.MX-TheMatrix.com.
Since understanding all of the money making opportunities with your book can be a daunting task, I also recommend that you purchase Jim Donovan’s How to Write, Publish & Sell Your Book and Turn it Into a Never-ending Money Machine. His system will teach you the inner workings of the book business and how to leverage your books so they generate substantial multiple streams of income long after they’ve been published. Jim Donovan’s books have been published in eighteen countries and are being read by hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world so he knows what he’s talking about. www.writepublishsellyourbook.com
Free Book! That’s right, Midpoint Trade Books, a major book distributor has published an excellent handbook which features seven keys that are important for independent publishers to understand and master. If you want a quick read on everything you need to know about publishing, printing, editing, marketing and distributing your book then this is the one. The importance of using a book marketing professional is stressed by author Eric Kampmann, President of Midpoint Trade Books. Says Kampmann, “Of course, there are many reasons why a book might become a success or even a bestseller, but we believe that the single best investment for you is an effective publicist.” The 7 Keys To Publishing Success can be downloaded at no charge at: www.midpointtrade.com
Here’s a Very Expensive Book… but well worth the price. Its called “The Insider’s Guide to Large Quantity Book Sales.” Quite literally exactly what the title implies. BTW, we’re talking thousands of books at a time! Do I have your attention? You’ll be very impressed by the insight provided in the material about selling your book in large numbers. You have useful contact information for book club buyers and more importantly how to pitch and position your book for consideration. It also has sample contracts and agreements which are easily worth hundreds of dollars in saved legal fees alone if you had your attorney draft the documents. Written and published by the Jenkins Group Inc, this book is the result of years of the author, Jerrold Jenkins, publishing and selling massive quantities of books. If you are serious about selling large quantities of books and want the inside tips from a publisher who does it every day, then make the investment and download the book at: http://www.specialmarketbooksales.com/
Author 101 Bestselling Book Publicity: The Insider’s Guide to Promoting Your Book–and Yourself. One thing about the book marketing and book promotion business is that there are so many nice people in the business. I rank Rick Frishman as one of the top publicists in the U.S. not to mention he’s a nice guy too! His book, co-authored by Robyn Freedman Spizman and Mark Steisel, offers advice and insight about every stage of the publishing world. Using testimonials and commentary, this book lets authors, agents, and publishers alike show you the things you should and shouldn’t do in promoting your book. Buy it at Amazon
Brian Jud’s “Beyond The Bookstore” is a terrific book about selling your book to everyone else other than a bookstore. I met Brian while co-presenting on a panel at a Learning Annex seminar in NYC on the topic of book marketing. I covered the topic of book publicity, he covered selling books. Brian Jud says since more than half of all book sales come from outside bookstores it’s important to target these markets. Mass merchandisers such as Wal-Mart or Costco, gift shops, airport stores, home-shopping networks, book clubs, libraries, network-marketing companies, catalogs, associations, government agencies, corporations, educational markets, retail stores and military branches all buy and sell books.
Brian walks you through creating a special sales plan, where to find the people you need to contact to make your pitch. If you really want to sell books outside the bookstore market then buy Beyond the Bookstore at: www.bookmarketingworks.com
Book Marketing A-Z by Francine Silverman. More than 300 authors, marketers and publicists, including yours-truly tell about their best promotional strategies with regards to book marketing. You’ll undoubtedly find several good ideas to implement. While you’re at it, check out Fran’s Book Promotion Newsletter which for $7.50 a year is the best value in book marketing in the USA. Buy her book here: www.bookpromotionnewsletter.com
There are many books out there on the topic of book marketing, book publishing and just plain everyday business marketing in general. You can read the ones I’ve described above but unless you want to spend days and weeks learning about book marketing, you might find it useful to retain an expert on book marketing or hire an experienced book publicist. I am sure that after you read two or three of these you’ll seriously question the idea of self promotion.
Why? The reason is that today’s book market is extremely competitive. The world is awash in books. Bowker (The keeper of all ISBNs) says that in 2005 more than 172,000 books were published in the United States, plus 206,000 published in the UK. How can Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, your local library or anyone else effectively sell or showcase that number let alone the millions of previously printed titles? The answer: They can’t.
Furthermore, I do not recommend self-promotion, for the same reason you don’t cut your own hair. You can do it, but it’s not going to be that good. Book marketing and book promotion requires special skills and most authors simply do not know how to market a book nor do they have the time or, more importantly, the patience. A publicist develops and nurtures relationships with writers, editors and producers so they trust us when we give them a story idea about a book or author.
The bottom line: While I do recommend these books as a basis for understanding the book marketing and book promotion process a wise author would be even wiser to retain a book publicist to market and promote their book. If you come to the same conclusion please by all means give me a call!
About The Author
Scott Lorenz is President of Westwind Communications, a public relations and marketing firm that specializes in book marketing and author publicity. His clients have been featured by Good Morning America, FOX & Friends, CNN, ABC Nightly News, The New York Times, Nightline, TIME, PBS, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Washington Post, Family Circle, Woman’s World, & Howard Stern to name a few. To discuss how Westwind Communications helps authors get all the publicity they deserve and more call 734-667-2090 or email scottlorenz@westwindcos.com. For more information visit http://www.westwindcos.com/book
The Role of the Book Publisher
A book publisher is a group or person who is responsible for bringing the book to the public for reading purposes. The book publisher is involved in the major steps of developing, marketing, producing, printing, and distributing the book. The book publisher negotiates with authors over intellectual property rights, rights to distribute, and rights to change the book. The publisher also offers the author a bonus, royalties, or a percentage of sales. See self-publishing-steps.com for the steps required to publish a book yourself.
Book publishers must go through an initial process of negotiation with the author. Intellectual rights must be negotiated. The intellectual rights laws for every country is different, so the author must demonstrate which countries he/she would like to market the book in, and what his/her desires are for the rights of the book in each country. If there is a digital printing of the book, the author would also discuss which rights would be allowed with the internet. There have been many issues of download copyright protected material from the internet, however this is a complicated issue, as many countries have not yet passed laws against this act, or do not enforce already present legislation on downloading copyrighted material from the internet.
The book publisher also deals with the editorial phase of book creation. This phase involves utilizing a large staff of editors, artists, copyeditors, writers, and other members to change and alter the book to the chief executive editor’s preferences, as well as the author’s preferences. The amount of editing that takes place, as well as the different levels of editing depends on how large the book publisher is. Larger publishers may go through several rounds of editing before the book is finally released, and there is more of a lengthy process involved. The more clout that an author has, the less that the editor can alter the book.
Finally, the book publisher will produce and distribute the book. The production process is the process of physically creating the book. This process may be accomplished using onsite facilities, or the publisher may go to a third party production company to fulfill this need. The book is then wrapped and shipped to a variety of bookstores where it is displayed to the public. The publisher usually has negotiated some kind of deal with the bookstore to get their books displayed.
About The Author
Russell Clark owns and operates http://self-publishing-steps.com.
“5 Tips for a Successful Book Launch”
Have you written a book? Is this book part of your Internet business? Are you going to sell this book online through retailers such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com? If so then one of your main goals is to have a successful book launch. A successful book launch is one that promotes your book well before and during publication thus garnering amazing sales.
Many top Internet gurus have sold books through these outlets. They have sold books based on their seminars, workshops, and business tactics. These books are highly valuable, but only if everybody knows about them. If your book shows up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble with little fanfare then you will experience low sales which can be devastating to your bottom line.
The basics of promoting your book include letting people know the title, cost, and publication date. How do you promote these details in the most effective manner to massive audiences that will want to buy your book? Read on to find little known tips from top Internet gurus who have traveled this path before you.
Book Launch Tip #1: Focus on Amazon.com first. It is more difficult to drive traffic to Amazon.com so you want to conquer that task in the beginning. Then focus on sending traffic to Barnes & Noble.com. Plus, achieving an Amazon.com bestseller designation is worth its weight in gold.
Book Launch Tip #2: A great way to drive traffic to either Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com is to have an opt-in page on your website. Once people subscribe to your list automatically send them to your Amazon.com (or Barnes & Noble.com) landing page where they can buy the book.
Book Launch Tip #3: Verify that your book information appears correctly on Amazon. Make sure that the title, author, price, etc. are correct before people are sent to your page. If your page has errors then it will look unprofessional and may turn away customers.
Book Launch Tip #4: Don’t make your book launch schedule too short. Some people try to complete a book launch in 45 days which is very difficult. There are so many details to take care of that people don’t realize how long they actually take. For example, obtaining an ISBN number can take a long time.
Book Launch Tip #5: Don’t wait until the last minute to find joint venture partners. Try to find these partners well in advance because you want people to commit to your book launch right from the start. In order to obtain joint ventures you need to establish and build relationships earlier as well. For example, the minute you determine that you are going to launch a book is the minute you should get on the phone and call your friends and colleagues for their support and joint venture possibilities.
About The Author
Matt Bacak began investing his first earnings at the tender age of 12, a young businessman in the making. Now, 15 years later, Bacak survived failed businesses, botched partnerships, heavy credit card debt and bankruptcy - all in preparation for the accomplishments he has achieved today as a well-established Internet millionaire and best-selling author.
For more information, visit Bacak’s site at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or sign up for his Powerful Promoting Tips at http://www.promotingtips.com
Where now for used booksellers?
Where now for used booksellers?
The traditional high street bookshop is fast disappearing and so what does the future hold for the professional bookseller? The move towards the internet has been massive but competition is ferocious and margins have gotten tighter and tighter. Who will survive and in what form?
There will always be a place for bookstores. The internet cannot provide for the casual browser who loves the smell and feel of that dusty cosy book filled haven from the real world. Rare books, collectors items, first editions you need to see them and haggle with the owner over the price. This used to be the only way to buy a used book, but we all know that book buying has exploded onto the internet in the guise of Amazon, Abebooks, Alibris et al. This is definitely the future, at least for the volume trading of cheap, mass produced novels, textbooks, reference books, manuals, literature etc. etc. etc.
Most bookstores survive by adding their inventory to the database of these big book listing services but the trend is relentlessly moving away from the costly main street premises to the relatively cheap shop window of the internet where the biggest cost is often shipping.
I remember from my school economics that the ‘perfect market’ was when everyone knew the price that everyone else was selling for. This theoretical market is now a reality and book comparison sites and book search engines like usedbooksearch.co.uk instantly give the best price and location for any given book criteria. It has gotten so competitive in the used book market that paperback novels are selling for 1 cent and any profit is contained in the shipping charge. Herein lies the future where no dealer can afford to rent a shop, cannot afford the cost of any storage area, cannot even afford to employ staff because the profit margin is so small on every single book, just to make a sale.
The most efficient means of delivering the written word is electronically. But e-books apart from the ‘get rich quick’ fraternity does not seem to have gone the same way as say, electronic music where downloading your favourite track is fast becoming the method of preference. Most people would still rather print out a document rather than read it exclusively from the screen which is not easy on the eye for a relaxing dip into that favourite novel.
Until the handheld electronic book becomes the next part of the cell phone, i-pod, organiser merger then we are stuck with the good old paperback. This is not as archaic as it might seem as when you order a book you are pretty sure what you will be getting through the post in the next day or two. It is also already fairly compact, lightweight and instantly usable upon delivery.
So, I believe the future will be some form of automated system (website?) that enables a book to move directly from the current owner to the customer with only shipping costs in between. Yes, there will always be room for dealers who can buy in bulk or even find a source of free books (they would have to work from home and store the books under the bed), but the principal would be the same. The contract would be between the customer and the individual selling. This is being done already by Ebay with the added excitement of an online auction to determine the price. Unfortunately the book you want to buy may not be up for auction just when you need it for that project at college! Amazon allow individuals to post their books for sale , and in my opinion, this comes closest to the way used books will be sold in the future, but they charge a standing fee and then 15% commission on top and this is still probably subsidised by their other activities. There is plenty of room for competing with this for someone without the overheads that Amazon must be carrying each year. Everyone else (and including the main part of Amazon) is part of the ‘book industry’, dealing with dealers, each level taking a bit off the top.
So, that is my vision of the future of used book selling. A person to person arrangement without middlemen, just service providers putting people together.
About The Author
Mike Nankivell, the man behind http://www.usesdbooksearch.co.uk and http://www.used-textbooks.ws, has been in ‘the business’ as a used book affiliate for seven years.
Why Anyone Can Write A Book
Ask anyone that you meet if they’ve ever had an idea to write a book and I bet that 99% of the time their eyes light up and they say ‘Yes.’
Everyone has numerous wonderful book ideas. My experience and conversations with thousands of people tell me that this is true. The difference between those that actually write a book and those that don’t is simple. Those that don’t write a book don’t believe that they can.
That’s simply not true. Anyone can write a book.
If you can talk, you can write.
Take a look at 5 of your favorite books, fiction or Non-fiction it doesn’t matter. In fact, grab a few of each. Now, open each book and read a few paragraphs. What do you see? What you’ll likely notice is that there is a common theme running in all of them.
They’re written conversationally. They’re written like you talk. Conversational style is the best style because it is easy to read, easy to understand and easy to write.
Take a look at some of the most prolific authors, both fiction and Non-fiction. Stephen King comes to mind as a very prolific fiction writer. Non-fiction writers might include the Chicken Soup series and co writers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. All of those books are written conversationally. They’re accessible to readers of all ages, income levels, and IQ’s.
Conversational style eliminates jargon. It eliminates large words that people have to rely on a dictionary to understand. Conversational style also uses the word ‘you’ often. It’s written as if you were writing a letter or telling a story to a friend.
Basically, if you can write a letter to a friend, then you can write a book—I promise. Of course you need to be able to plan a book too but all that requires is a plan or an outline. Once your outline is established, writing the book can take as little as a month to complete.
About The Author
Bob Burnham
Entrepreneur, Consultant and Author of ‘101 Reasons Why You Must Write A Book’
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How To Promote Your Business by Publishing a Book!
There isn’t a more effective way for you to promote your business than to write a book! Writing a book not only allows you to provide information but it allows you to establish your company’s credibility, position yourself as an expert in your field, leave a lasting impression on clients you meet directly as well as to those they pass your book onto, as well as create a profit while you sleep!!
So how do you do this? Well, it is easier than what you may think. Here are seven easy steps:
1.Write the book! Create an outline of the information you want to provide in your book and write it! A full-length paperback book should be at least 50 pages.
2. Publish the book. The great thing about book publishing today is that you don’t have to mortgage your home to be a published author nor do you have to experience a slew of rejection letters from traditional publisher. You can self-publish your book and keep 100% of the products.
3. Promote the book! Once the book is finished send out a press release to your local and regional newspapers about its release. Also don’t neglect online newswires to announce your book to the world.
4. Give the book away for free to clients or potential clients. As a special “thank you” for your clients using your business offer your book! Not only will this help you retain the clients that you have, but they will share your book with the people that they know. Talk about inexpensive marketing!
5. Create a Website: If you don’t already have a website for your company, this is the time to have one designed even if it is just a contact page. The fact is that more and more people have access to the internet and they are always searching for information. No matter what your budget may be, you can have a website. Look into companies like www.freewebs.com or www.bravenet.com both are excellent for the novice and professional web designer.
6. Promote with E-Books! Turn your book into an e-book and offer it for free or for nominal cost on your website. If you choose to offer it for free this is a great way to build your email list. In exchange for visitors receiving your free information ask they to provide their name and email address. This will give you the opportunity to send them information about your products and services.
7. Write articles based on the content in your book. Take an extra step in establishing yourself as an expert by writing articles. Articles don’t have to be long they just have to be informative. Make sure to include short byline so that readers can find you and your company.
Writing a book can an inexpensive and practical way to promote your business. Self-publishing just may be the avenue you want to take when having your book published.
About The Author
Tamika Johnson-Hall is the CEO of Anointed Word Media Group, an award winning Christian book publishing company. The author of four books she is committed to helping people put their voice into print. For more information please visit: http://www.publishyourchristianbook.com or call 1-800-597-9428.