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