It's an unfortunate truth about books that it's never simply been about being a good writer, but as literal thousands of new books are published every month, marketability is arguably more important — and harder to define — than it's ever been.
Category: Marketing
Commentary and advice on marketing, mostly for publishers (traditional and brands) and writers, but sometimes from a broader perspective.
One year later, the problem with social media is clear: PEBKAC
I don't usually buy into "blame the user" for most problems, but our collective addiction to vanity metrics ruined everything, and even those who didn't buy into them have suffered the consequences. The problem exists between keyboard and chair.
Five Things: April 27, 2023
"Be the change you want to see." Five things for April 27, 2023. That's it! That's the excerpt.
Stop Getting Clowned by Twitter
Whether it's the outright banning of individual journalists he doesn't like, or the recent mis-labeling of NPR's account, Twitter has become an even more dangerous platform for spreading misinformation under Musk — a comically dystopian combination of The New York Times and Truth Social.
Penguin Random House’s “Two Percent” Marketing Gambit
Math is important, even in a creative industry like publishing. What numbers are publicly available to establish a clearer picture about PRH’s marketing spend and what it means for authors?
Five Things: September 15, 2022
Five things for September 15, 2022. That's it! That's the excerpt.
Five Things: June 16, 2022
Five things for June 16, 2022. That's it! That's the excerpt.
Five Things: January 6, 2022
Five things for January 6, 2022. That's it! That's the excerpt.
Five Things: November 4, 2021
Five things for November 4, 2021. That's it! That's the excerpt.
The Rise and Fall of Digital Book World | On Platforms
I used my own modest platform to build a following for DBW's Twitter account and early content. Rather than blow a limited marketing budget on traditional channels and standard registration promotions, I built our email list by producing three free webinars ahead of the first conference, and promoting them via paid emails to used Publishers Weekly's email list. I also launched a weekly "webcast" called DBW Roundtable where a panel of industry colleagues discussed the topic of the week, not only steadily building our audience and email list, but also serving as a test lab for potential conference programming and speakers. My content strategy wasn't to make DBW another traditional media outlet, but a trusted platform for informed opinions and industry expertise that offered the kind of actionable insights we promised at the annual conference—on a year-round basis. In doing so, it would not only ensure the continued relevance of the annual conference, it would also become a steady source of new ideas, content, and voices while also developing additional revenue streams.