If it's good enough for Saks Fifth Avenue shouldn't it be good enough for you?
Have you heard the buzz about
Cashmere If You Can? This book was produced by Saks Fifth Avenue in partnership with HarperCollins. So what does this partnerships mean? It means that Saks paid HC a publishing fee and an undisclosed share of the royalties. What? Let's see if I get this straight. Saks is paying HarperCollins to publish their book. Ok. Now I get it. And everyone seems to think that's ok. Interesting because these are a lot of the same people who thought authors who pay to publish themselves where bottom dwellering-desperates with no other choice and their manuscripts could well be eh, less than adequate. So, does anyone feel that way about Saks? I doubt it. Did HarperCollins suddenly become a self-publisher? Ha! Not likely. But the truth is, someone's finally catching on to the one trend that seems to be working in publishing: let the author take some of the financial responsibility and please, let's not couch it in fatalism, shall we? So there you have it folks, the trend that's been looming for longer than most of us have been in the business is being touted as a grand holiday idea (and won't that just make cash registers sing) and no one's even questioning the motives of Saks. And why should they? It makes sense. You take a big name department store and cross it with a big name publisher and what do you get? A book that's sure to sell like hot cakes (or crepes) to every Park Avenue-type toddler around the globe. And who will be next? Macy's, Nordstrom's, Target, you?
So authors take heart, this "deal" between Saks and HC is just one of many I predict that will soon set the industry on a new and exciting path, one it's been on for a while but no one else but us visionaries is willing to admit. Dear authors, it's nearly your time to play ball with the A team and soon you will no longer be shoved in the outfield with all the other "self-publishing desperates" but given your chance at bat and maybe even, a home run or two.
High Profile Publicity: Menendez or Murphy the secrets to great PR
Many have asked me what it was like to work on a project as high-profile as the Menendez book. It was challenging certainly but in the end, publicity is publicity the only difference is *what* or who you're publicizing.
Certainly I've worked on high-profile projects before but nothing with quite the cache as the book Tammi Menendez wrote about her life with convicted killer, Erik Menendez. The challenge with this project wasn't who we'd go after, it became who we'd pick and which programs would offer the best strategy for book sales. It's unlikely that any of us will have a topic as controversial as marrying a convicted killer (Tammi married Erik after he was imprisoned for the 1989 murder of his parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez), but you might find that you're in a situation that offers the same or similar choices as those which were presented to us while I was publicizing this book. In those situations I recommend that you pick your media carefully. Remember that many times, media outlets won't follow each other. By this I mean that Good Morning America won't take a segment that's already been featured on The Today Show and vice verse. Even People Magazine has its limitations and often wants to lead in with a story that will then be followed by televised media. But this is where it gets tricky, if you've agreed to a segment in People you can probably kiss Oprah goodbye because they won't feature something that People Magazine has already covered. So why do outlets enforce these strict "following" rules? Well, for ratings of course, being the first show to get a celebrity or hot topic is what they all want. The challenge with this of course is that most authors who aren't using publicity firms don't know this. Many times they'll be so excited to get the requests that they'll agree to the first one they get and put themselves at a disadvantage when other shows come a-calling. When you're booking yourself for a hot or high-profile topic, hit all the major outlets at the same time and see what comes back. Know that most shows can create "packages" for you, meaning that they'll offer you a segment on 20/20 and tease it on Good Morning America. Or you might get a segment on Oprah that they tease in an early issue of her magazine. These are all things you should know about and consider before setting up your campaign. Also, as you're booking your media remember to choose the right type of media to suit your reader demographic. As in the case with the Menendez book the readers of this are very personality driven and more likely to watch celebrity shows like Entertainment Tonight or The Insider. By personality driven I mean that the readers of this book might also buy Jennifer Wilbanks book (Jennifer was the runaway bride) or the Amber Frye book, Witness for the Prosecution. All of these are celebrities or personality titles that do well in entertainment type shows.
The experience of working on a project this high-profile was one I won't soon forget and one that offers lessons for all of us. Whether you're publicizing Menendez or Murphy, pick the right media for you and be cautious of your choices, it can mean the different between a book sale or a book dud.
See the interview with Tammi Menendez and Erik Menendez here:
http://et.tv.yahoo.com/topstories/13113/Disclaimer: Our publicity contract with this book has ended and AME no longer represents the Menendez book, the authors, or any affiliates.
Cause-conscious Marketing
Last year 86% of Americans said they would rather buy a cause-conscious product than one of equal value not associated with a charity. This figure is up from 56% 12 years ago.
How does this affect you? Well if you have an association you support you might want to tie your book into this. By giving a portion of the proceeds from every sale you could increase sales and do good at the same time.
It's All Burger King's Fault
The iPodding of America has finally happened and now it's Amazon leading the brigade of our micro-niched society. Amazon recently announced that beginning in 2006 they will be selling portions of books on-line, either chapters or pages. No more buying an entire book for just one chapter, page or section, now you can get what you want when you want it. Everyone in the media seems to be turning the blame on iTunes and iPod but in my opinion this is not the fault of the iPodder, this dire need for customization started when Burger King announced: Your burger your way. Well, yeah! I mean why would we want it
any other way? Shouldn't we have what we want, when we want it? And that's the truth. So dear super-savvy marketer if you're ready to enter the customized new world it's time to consider this for your book. I've done it for years with my books and people have always questioned my reasoning but in my opinion, it's always made sense. I mean let's say you only want to get onto radio and you can't be bothered with things like Oprah or The Today Show. Well then, great! Now you can plunk down $5.95 and get all the ins and outs of radio promotion but if you decide the entire book is worth your time it's there too, ready and waiting for your purchase. The thing is, while we spend a lot of time profiling our reader and identifying our audience, never assume that they'll want to read the entrie book. It's a blow your ego might not be able to take but it's a marketing decision that could net you more sales and I say: capture them wherever you can! And ok, I hate to say I told you so and I won't but check back a few posts and you'll see what I mean: let the micro-niching of America begin.
And speaking of book buying, check out our store and see what you think:
http://www.amarketingexpert.com/store/ ok, I know it's shameless but what kind of a marketer would I be if I
didn't include it?
Happy customizing!
