Publishing Chicken: Who’s Gonna Blink First?

by Jonathan

Hey there,
 
So, there’s an interesting game of chicken we see happening in book publishing… 

For a few generations, a small number of companies who fund and publish content have relied on an extensive network of distributors and resellers to sell their books, extract and return cash. They don’t consider the ultimate viewer/reader the customer, in their minds the distributor/reseller is.

The publishers see the handwriting on the wall, but every time they hint at doing something that’d go direct to the real ultimate consumer (the reader), their current perceived customer–distributors and resellers–freak out and say they’ll stop selling their stuff.

So, it ends in one big, fat stale-mate. Nobody wants to blink, because both sides know the change that’s necessary will mean a huge amount of creative destruction and, very likely short-term financial hit, while publishers build the machinery and attention-assets necessary to make up the loss of a potential immediate hard-stop in the current mode of distribution. Of course, resellers can’t really hard stop, or they’d have nothing to sell.

Thus the big fat game of chicken…

I don’t know if there’s a viable future for distributors or brick and mortar resellers (beyond collectibles and gift books) in a world that’s going digital at break-neck speed. It’s nearly impossible to preserve a value proposition as a middleman in a digital world.

But, there is a future for publishers IF they embrace the opportunity to build huge, vertical-specific communities, prime them with regular non-book value and establish direct relationships with ginormous numbers of readers. That will become the new value proposition that replaces distribution as the big sell for authors. And, it’ll let publishers be able to finally reclaim the ability to tell authors, “hey, you just write, we’ve got your market right here.” 

Because even if authors can go indie/self with increasing ease, most still don’t want to. They just want to hide out in some cafe and write. I know this firsthand, because I run a business that trains the few who are willing to embrace the massive opportunity to become not just authors, but enterprises and powerhouse book marketers. Most, however, given the option to just write, will.

Meanwhile, the direct-to-consumer market, driven by amazon and super-savvy enterprise-oriented authors, keeps chipping away and increasing the realization that change is inevitable and it’s going to hurt, at least for a short while, and very likely eliminate a huge number of people in the middle.

At some point, the actual pain of not changing will become greater than the perceived pain of changing, and the publishers will say screw it and make an aggressive move to go direct and serve the people they need to be serving to stay alive. Could be a year, or maybe five. Nobody knows the real time-frame. But that move will have to happen.

In the end, publishers who finally accept the need to build and/or acquire their own digital attention assets will be a lot better off because of it. But, nobody wants to endure the inevitable disruption to the current paradigm until they have to. Until the publishing waters are maroon with digital blood.

This is the future. The only question is when.

What say you?

 
Click here to read on the blog or comment

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Killer Book Marketing Pre-Order Campaign: Watch It Live

by Jonathan

I love being able to share cool book marketing campaigns in real-time as they’re happening.

Today, my good friend, Danielle LaPorte is running a 24-hour campaign designed to drive pre-orders for her forthcoming book, The Fire Starter Sessions…4 MONTHS before the book is even out. What she’s doing is a great example of one of the tactical launch/pre-order strategies we talk about a lot in Tribal Author Camp, and she’s executing on it flawlessly. How flawlessly?

She’s driving so much traffic to her own website and online booksellers that her site crashed, her amazon rank as I write this is #75 OVERALL and her bn.com rank is 162…4 MONTHS BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN GET THE BOOK!

Here’s the video, watch and learn…

I’ve used a similar strategy to move large-numbers of pre-orders for my last two books. When you understand the core pieces that need to be in place–positioning, irresistible offer with the right value/cost ratio, call-to-action, scarcity, among them–it becomes an immensely powerful way to drive early buzz, publicity, brick and mortar opening-orders and reader sales. Enjoy!

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Tribal Author Camp: October 17th Session – Limited Seats

by Jonathan

I was having so much fun launching my last book, Uncertainty, that I nearly forgot to announce open enrollment for the Tribal Author Camp Book marketing program that runs October 17-December 15.

If you’ve got a book in you and you’d love to learn how to:

  • Craft a killer digital author platform, then
  • Leverage it to create a tactical book launch campaign capable of generating a ton of buzz and selling a lot of books,

…this 9-week intensive online experience may be perfect for you.

Using many of the strategies we outline in the training, I was just able to pre-sell thousands of copies of my last book (both digital and print), have a very strong launch week and land a mountain of features, reviews, interviews, contributions and mentions on more than 100 top-ranked websites and blogs (including places like FastCompany, Amex OPENForum, Forbes, CopyBlogger, The99Percent, etc.). And that’s before the second wave even kicks in (which will include major news websites like CNBC, CNN, major market radio and who knows what else).

I also did a lot of experimenting with the use of video for the last launch, including a trailer that’s already generated more than 4,000 shares on Facebook, more than 2,000 tweets on twitter, more than 20,000 views and, to my surprise, it’s even been emailed more than 700 times. I’ll take you behind the making of the trailer and some super cool subliminal ninja stuff we did on the landing page and reveal a bunch of inside information about what made it so effective that I haven’t yet (and likely never will) share publicly.

I’ll also show you how I built a simple tool that is currently growing my email list at more than 100 people a day, which will be a huge asset for future launches.

Many of the seats for the October program have already been taken by people on the early-notice list. So if you’d like to lock in one of the remaining spots, click on the link below to learn more about the program, then claim your seat before someone else does and you have to wait until 2012 to join the next training.

Click here to learn more about the program.

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More Fun With Video Book Marketing

by Jonathan

So, I’ve been having a lot of fun exploring how to use video to launch a book.

The first piece of content I released was the book trailer and it really hit home, generated a ton of great feedback and, from the emails and social messaging I’ve seen, has also inspired a lot of pre-orders. I have another more emotional, cool video that I’ll be releasing in another week or so.

But, today, we decided to go in a totally different direction, mixing it up and having some serious fun with a completely over-the-top, campy, goofball video offer for 10,000 books.

Here it is…

Will anyone actually take me up on the offer? Who knows, but it was a lot of fun making, it has the potential to generate some attention and it’s a great way to reach people with a different sensibility.

And, like all marketing, until you actually put something out there, you never know what works and what doesn’t. The only surefire way to lose is to never try.

Here’s to tapping your goofy side!

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Riding Shotgun on My Book Launch: Creating Irresistible Bundles

by Jonathan

In my last post, I shared a bit about the trailer I created and released as part of my pre-release campaign for Uncertainty.

There’s a ton of stuff going on behind the scenes right now. But yesterday launched phase 2 of the pre-launch campaign. It started with a sneak peek email that went to those who’d signed up for advance notice of the book pre-order bonuses, then went public on my blog today.

What was it? A 3-book pre-order bundle.

But, this bundle isn’t like anything else that’s been put out there before. Instead of going the “million bonus with fake value” route, I decided to include only three components in the bundle, beyond the books. The goal was to deliver an educational and inspirational experience much bigger than the book. One worth somewhere between 10 and 50 times the cost of 3 books.

To do this, I needed to have certain elements created from scratch, while reworking and editing others.

First, I teamed with badass Austin illustrator, Marty Whitmore to create two amazing signed, 16″ x 20″ limited-edition concept illustrations based on passages in the book. Then, I created an in-depth interview series with top-creatives from the book and finally added in a 6-week advanced Q&A-driven online/teleseminar training with me.

Each single element has a real value that is greater than the cost of 3 books. Many, many times greater. Together, they create an experience that people can immerse themselves in, revel in and even show off to friends, and learn from on a level that even the best books cannot come close to.

I didn’t know how it’d be received. Well, I got my answer very quickly, from the moment I hit send on the original sneak peak email, people began to claim their spots in the bigger experience. The orders are still coming in briskly, and I’ll keep accepting them as long as the limited edition art is available.

The really big takeaway as an author is that people respond to value. Give way more than you get, create experiences that go beyond the book and everything else gets easier.

If you’d like to read more about the bundle in detail and see the concept illustrations and how they were created, just click here now.

Btw, there’s still a lot more to come, including something that’s going to get a LOT of attention in another week or so. I’m having a lot of fun letting you guys ride shotgun on this launch campaign. Let me know if you have questions along the way.

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Uncertainty Book Trailer Premieres Today

by Jonathan

We’ve looked at a bunch of book trailers here on Tribal Author over the last year.

I love the idea of book trailers, tapping the power of video to build interest in a book. But, truth is, I wasn’t going to do one for my next book, Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brilliance. Because, they’re so hard to do really, really well.

I’ve seen trailers that are entertaining, but don’t make me want to buy the book. And I’ve seen others that make me a bit curious, but then the emotion and energy of the video itself leaves me flat and that transfers to the book. And I’ve seen a whole more that niether entertain, nor create a desire to learn more about the book. And, if I did one, I wanted to at least feel like it had a serious shot at hitting home. That’s a daunting task.

Still, there was a nugget of an idea and, c’mon, I was writing a book about taking action in the face of uncertainty, so it was time to follow my own advice.

The trailer took only a few weeks to shoot, edit and score. There was no script, no fancy effects, just a simple two camera shot on me, telling a story. It doesn’t get much more stripped down than that, though the production values were high.

As I shared on JonathanFields.com today:

Sharing this with the world makes me nervous. It’s different. Very different. Very real. Truth is, I almost lost it for a minute during the shoot. And watching the final trailer, you can tell exactly where and why.

So, today is the day. It’s go time.

The campaign for Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brilliance officially launches right now with the release of the new book trailer.

Go check it out at TheUncertaintyBook.com.


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Will Digital Books Deliver More, But Kill The Read?

by Jonathan

It’s something I’ve been wondering about for some time now.

There’s a ton of talk about the move from print to digital books. And as more and more publishers report in, the trend has become clear there. In fact, my own publisher, Portfolio, which is part of Penguin, just revealed earlier this week that ebook sales had grown at a rate of 128% over the last year and now comprise 14% of all revenue, which is actually lower on both counts than most of the other big publishers.

I get the move from print to digital (though I personally still love the feel of a book in my hands). At some point, even print curmudgeon’s have to acknowledge that the ability to search for, buy, download and read a book from your chaise lounge at the pool is pretty damn cool. And the ability to take along 100 or so books when you travel is pretty nice, too.

But, what about the leap to more fully-featured interactive book experiences and apps, jam-packed with video, games, background and all sorts of other add-ons?

I can see how, for certain types of books, this could truly add to the experience. But I also wonder if much of it will end up amounting to bells and whistles that will taunt readers repeatedly out of the story, potentially even create a sense of sensory and processing overwhelm and, in an odd way, potentially diminish the sweet, simple, linear experience of the “pure read?”

Curious, what do YOU think?

+++Weekend Nuggets+++

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The 99 Cent eBook: What’s It Good For?

by Jonathan

David Carnoy wrote an interesting article on the 99 cent ebook phenomenon over at CNET. He makes a lot of good points about the recent push to drop the price of ebooks to 99 cents, how easy it’s now become to publish with the help of tools like Powered by Amazon, Pub It and Smashwords.

No doubt, if 99 cents is the new $6.99, that spells trouble for a lot of traditional players. But I think there are a few important missed points.

Two big ones that nonfiction writers should note in particular:

1 – This is almost entirely a fiction phenomenon, at least for now. While there are plenty of nonfiction books priced at 99 cents, the books on the Kindle Top 100 are consistently all-fiction. Even bigger name nonfiction authors who are traditionally or self-published, including NYT bestsellers, are finding it near impossible to hit or stay on that list.

2 – Many of those self-pubbed fiction writers on the kindle top 100 list are using the 99 cent price point for single books as points of entry or loss leaders (though they’re actually still making money) into a funnel for a much bigger body of work. Amanda Hocking and J.A. Konrath experimented with rotating certain books into the 99 cent slot knowing that once a reader likes their style, fiction readers often attach to the author in a way nonfiction readers dont. That fuels them to want to read the authors other books…for $2.99 to $4.99. So one 99 cent book can lead to many more higher priced sales and readers for life.

Curious, what are your thoughts on this?

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Tribal Author Talks: Featuring Shama Kabani

by Jonathan

Yes, I’ve been underground finishing off my next book for a while. But now I’m back and I though I’d kick off spring with this interview with The Marketing Zen Group founder, star of Shama.TV and author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing, Shama Kabani.

Shama did something many authors would kill to do. She started with a self-published ebook, built a big enough platform and sold enough copies to get the attention of a publisher who then released it as a traditionally-published book.

She then continued to build her audience and ramp an increase in awareness of the book that’s led it to make a huge leap in sales over time, now ranking consistently in the high hundreds on amazon almost a year after publication.

In this candid interview, we talk about how she pulled this off…

You can learn more about Shama and her book here:

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Bringing Readers Into The Book Title Process

by Jonathan

So, later this year, my next book comes out with Portfolio and, we’re working on the title right now.

From a marketing standpoint, the title is pretty critical. It’s an interesting process, too, when you publish traditionally, because there are many layers to consider that don’t come into play when you self-publish. And the process is usually kept behind closed doors.

But, I’m a big believer in giving my tribe a voice and asking you guys—the people who might eventually be readers—what title most draws you in.

So, last week, I shared a private survey with more than 20 title options, a variety of subtitles and more detailed information about the book with my private Creation Tribe (If you’d like to join and share in the journey more intimately as I bring this book to life, click here).

From this, we created to a Top 5 Title list.

I’ve already got some solid feelings about it, but I’m keeping them to myself for now so as not to influence anyone. And, as I mentioned, because of the inside process at traditional publishers, the survey isn’t dispositive…but I’d love your voices to carry as much weight as possible.

So, if you’re game, please…

Click Here to Take My 30-Second Book Title Survey

I’d be grateful, too, if you’d share the link to this survey wherever you hang out online (twitter, facebook, linkedin). The more people who vote, the stronger a voice you guys have in the process.

Thanks!

[Comments are closed on this post in an effort to avoid having anyone else' comment influence your survey response. If you'd like to share more thoughts directly with me, feel free to email me.]

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