| Do you include selling books to organizations | | | | or as an incentive to employees or channel |
| in your marketing program? You should.By | | | | partners. (Some people use the term |
| getting outside of the bookstore channel, you | | | | "premiums" to differentiate the merchandise |
| will have the potential of selling - not just | | | | portion of incentives. That is, to |
| one book at a time - but 1000s of books at a | | | | distinguish merchandise from cash, travel, |
| time. You'll want to take advantage of these | | | | etc.) When these organizations buy a book, |
| powerful strategies if you are...* A | | | | they order it by the 1000's, the 10's of |
| published author who desires to help more | | | | thousands, even the 100's of thousands.A |
| people through higher book sales* A published | | | | study conducted by the Incentive Marketing |
| coach, consultant, speaker or trainer who | | | | Association (IncentiveMarketing.org) among a |
| wants to catapult your reputation and open | | | | broad spectrum of companies revealed that 82% |
| opportunities to sell other products and | | | | of them used merchandise or travel as |
| services* A published author who wants to | | | | incentives. Even more significant, they |
| make serious money by selling books by the | | | | reported an 80% success rate in achieving |
| 1000s at a time* A published author with | | | | their goals.Is Your Book a Candidate for |
| disappointing book sales who wants to recover | | | | Incentive Sales?If your non-fiction book |
| your financial investment in your book* A | | | | provides quality how-to information, if it |
| self-published author who wants to leverage | | | | inspires or entertains, if it's well designed |
| better sales into acquiring additional sales | | | | and put-together, it's a candidate. Any |
| channels or a publishing house* A published | | | | corporation, association or other non-profit |
| author who is ready to update an existing | | | | which has target audiences that match those |
| book but needs to sell the remaining | | | | of your book, and whose management feels your |
| inventory of the current version to help | | | | book reflects positively on its brand values, |
| finance the update* An aspiring author who is | | | | are potential candidates. How Big are |
| looking for direction about what kind of book | | | | Incentive Deals, Really?* As a incentive for |
| will be attractive in the marketplace* An | | | | joining their condensed book club, Reader's |
| aspiring author who knows you will be much | | | | Digest gave away 750,000 copies of Judith |
| more successful if you plan ahead about how | | | | King's Greatest Gift Guide Ever.* Grossett & |
| and to whom you will market the book before | | | | Dunlap offered Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys |
| and during the creation of itWhy Authors Get | | | | books as a self-liquidating (break-even) |
| Frustrated with Book Sales: The Bookstore | | | | incentive on 20 million boxes of Post Raisin |
| Trap - Boxes of Books with Nowhere to GoIf | | | | Bran cereal, resulting in the sale of over |
| you're like most authors, the process of | | | | one million books!* R.J. Reynolds distributed |
| writing and getting your book published was a | | | | 1.5 million copies of the Great Trails Road |
| painful experience - whether you | | | | Atlas as an on-pack (attached to the package) |
| self-published, were fortunate enough to get | | | | incentive offer on cartons of Marlboros to |
| a traditional publisher or opted for a | | | | promote the image of the Marlboro Man.Are all |
| print-on-demand publisher. It took far longer | | | | the deals that big?No...* U.S. West purchased |
| and far more effort than you ever imagined it | | | | 2,000 copies of Talking with Your Customers |
| would.Next you may have experienced the | | | | to demonstrate appreciation to their Yellow |
| "post-partum blues," the separation anxiety | | | | Pages advertisers* Before its publish date, |
| that comes with your book finally being | | | | Kenneth Blanchard sent copies of Who Moved My |
| "delivered" - a vague empty feeling haunts | | | | Cheese to the CEOs of corporations. The Bank |
| you.After getting your life back to some | | | | of Hawaii bought 4000, Mercedes Benz 7000, |
| semblance of normalcy, the day came when you | | | | and Southwest Airlines 27,000.* Judy Dugan |
| fully confronted a realization. The books | | | | sold 5,000 copies of her self-published book, |
| aren't selling in any significant numbers. | | | | Santa Barbara Highlights and History, to a |
| You have boxes of books sitting in your | | | | Santa Barbara bank who gave a copy to every |
| garage or basement, your office, a warehouse | | | | customer who came in to a new branch |
| somewhere. Sure, you've sold a few books at | | | | openingThe Average Size of DealsAccording to |
| events, or a dozen here and there at book | | | | MotivationShow.com, most of the sales of |
| signings and such. But at that pace, you're | | | | books as incentives start at a quantity of |
| in the storage business more than you're in | | | | 5,000 books and goes up from there. That's at |
| the practice-building business!You begin | | | | least 5,000 people benefiting from having |
| musing, "What's the point of creating a book | | | | your expertise in their hands and each of |
| to help people and promote yourself if nobody | | | | them telling probably 5+ other people about |
| ever sees it? What's the point of taking time | | | | it.And if you personally made a profit of $1 |
| away from my clients or other work to do book | | | | a book, that's $5,000 |
| signings, only to sell a mere dozen or so | | | | |
| books per event?"Since the books aren't going | | | | $2 a book = $10,000 |
| to sell themselves, you may have made some | | | | |
| efforts to figure out the book marketing and | | | | $4 a book = $20,000And what if they wanted |
| distribution business to try to break into | | | | 30,000 copies of your book or more? Such |
| bookstores, only to find it all archaic, | | | | deals are happening all year long.So, Giving |
| complex and frustrating. You may even have | | | | Things to Customers is Pretty Much How |
| gotten into a bookstore or two. But the books | | | | Organizations Use Incentives?Nay, nay. |
| didn't move, because nobody knows the books | | | | There's a real "whew" list of ways. In a 2003 |
| are there."I don't have time for this!" you | | | | study by Louisiana State University and |
| probably exclaimed at some point. "This is | | | | Glenrich Business Studies, 2000 randomly |
| not how I want to spend my life!"But the | | | | selected promotional product distributors |
| reality is, if book sales are to be, it's up | | | | ranked usage of promotional products in |
| to thee.Welcome to the Bookstore Trap.You're | | | | different types of programs as follows:RANK |
| not alone. The vast majority of authors have | | | | USAGE CATEGORYBusiness Gifts: Gifts to foster |
| a disappointing publishing experience. At The | | | | customer goodwill and retentionEmployee |
| Book Standard Summit 2005, Nielsen Bookscan | | | | Relations & Events: Morale and motivation, |
| reported that 93% of the books sold at retail | | | | corporate/employee events, employee |
| in 2004 sold less than 1000 | | | | orientation, organizational commitment |
| copies!Self-publishers don't do as well. | | | | corporate identity, corporate communication, |
| Overall, the average self-published book | | | | employee training (other than safety), |
| sells around 250 copies! (Granted, it allowed | | | | employee referral programsTrade Shows: |
| them to get their book published when it | | | | Trade-show traffic generationBrand Awareness: |
| probably wouldn't have been published | | | | Promotion of brand awareness and brand |
| otherwise. But yikes!)The problem is, most | | | | loyaltyEmployee Service Awards: Anniversary |
| authors and independent publishers focus | | | | recognition, service awards, etc.Dealer |
| almost exclusively on trying to get their | | | | Distributor Programs: Dealer incentives, |
| books into bookstores. Even if you're | | | | co-op programs, company storesPublic |
| initially successful in passing muster, if | | | | Relations: Corporate involvement with |
| your marketing efforts don't drive people to | | | | community, fundraising, sponsorship, school |
| the bookstore to buy your book in significant | | | | programs, media relations, corporate imageNew |
| numbers within the first 30 days or so, the | | | | Customer/Account Generation: New customer or |
| books are going to be returned. Bookstores | | | | new account generationInternal Promotions: |
| return some 60% of all books they order!!!But | | | | Sales incentive, TQM/quality programs, |
| There is Good NewsHere's the fact that I'm | | | | productivity, inventory reduction, error |
| asking you to focus on to break out of the | | | | reduction, attendance improvementNew Product |
| less-than-1000-copies bookstore sales trap: | | | | Service Introduction: New product or service |
| According to a Feb 2005 report from the | | | | introductionSafety Education/Incentive: |
| Association of American Publishers, of the | | | | Employee safety and educationNot-For-Profit |
| $23.7 billion of books sold in 2004, only 45% | | | | Programs: Not-for-profit use for fundraising, |
| were sold through bookstores, the most | | | | public awareness campaigns (health, |
| competitive and challenging-to-penetrate | | | | environment, public safety, etc.)Customer |
| channel for selling books. That means that | | | | Referral: Customer referral incentive |
| non-bookstore outlets account for more book | | | | programsMarketing Research: Marketing |
| sales than bookstores!!!So, if you learn how | | | | research, survey, and focus group |
| NOT to be dependent on bookstores for sales, | | | | participation programsSo, How Big are the |
| you're tapping into the majority of the book | | | | Benefits to the Author of Selling to This |
| market (55%)!!!So, What's the Author's | | | | Market?You be the judge:* It's likely to be |
| Answer?One of the most powerful strategies | | | | the best thing you've ever done to promote |
| for tapping into the non-bookstore market is | | | | your practice and other products and |
| selling large quantities of books to | | | | services. Success provides you greater |
| organizations for use as incentives, the | | | | exposure, credibility, pride and |
| billion-dollar book portion of the $29 | | | | self-confidence.* Unlike bookstore channels, |
| billion* (and growing) incentives | | | | you have little or no competition! Because |
| marketplace. (*year 2000)The what? The | | | | authors and independent publishers don't |
| incentives marketplace is that part of | | | | understand this market, organizations receive |
| non-bookstore sales comprised of | | | | very few, if any, proposals. Present yourself |
| organizations - corporations, associations, | | | | professionally and persuasively (with the |
| charities, etc. - that buy books to use as a | | | | tools I'll give you) and you have a great |
| incentive (gift ) for customers and prospects | | | | chance at getting noticed and considered. |