A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: So, what works to sell books?
It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.
This week, we look at how book marketing has changed over time--and especially recently. What used to be effective is not now effective and what is now effective is new to many authors and small publishers. The shift means new skills, and it also means financial investments in new ways, though there is some good news in there. While not all authors and presses will have the same experiences, here we share the experiences that have accrued to MSI Press over the last 21 years.
Bulk Mail
In the 1990s, this was a staple--and a pretty good source for revenue--for the small press arm of American Global Studies Institute. (This pre-dates MSI Press, but some of the same people joined MSI Press when AGSI closed. (There was a gap of about five years.)
AGSI's return on investment through bulk mail was relatively high. Typically, a response rate of 1% was considered good. AGSI was getting a 5% response rate, likely mainly because it filled a narrow niche of educators in book production and in bulk mail book marketing.'
AGSI had quite a troop of people involved with the book production and marketing department. Some of these were professionals; the director of the press had been the director of the press at the University of Pittsburgh prior to moving to California and joining AGSI. Some highly manual labor, such as formatting mailing lists and printing and folding flyers fell to a group of special needs students at the local high school, who learned job skills while performing useful jobs at the institute -- a win/win and highly recommended for all businesses.
Paid Print Advertising
When MSI Press was established, the year was 2003, and bulk mail was on the way out. Digital printing of books was on the way in, saving thousands of dollars in book production and storage. E-books were not yet the thing, but they would become so over time, as would virtual downloads of books.
MSI Press invested a fair amount in paid advertising in leading catalogues for bookstores and libraries as well as in niche catalogues. These were (and in some cases, still are) print catalogues.
Until about five years ago (up until covid, to be precise), the return on investment from paid print advertising made this manner of book promotion desirable. However, paid advertising is not cost-effective anymore.
According to msn, "The digital revolution continues to transform the media landscape, leading to a steep decline in print circulation. Advertising revenue for print has plummeted, causing many newspapers to fold or transition entirely to digital formats."
Paid Social Media Advertising
This is not to say that no paid advertising is helpful. Some of our authors have found paid advertising on social media platforms to be cost-effective. We have not, but perhaps we have just not found the right platform and right format for advertising.
E-blasts
E-blasts is the modern equivalent of bulk mail. Like bulk mail, response rates can generally be low. We don't get the nice 5% anymore, but we probably do get around 1%.
E-blasts can be sent for special occasions. They can also be newsletters that go out regularly to an email list.
Social Media Platforms as Springboards for Promotions
Social media has replaced print media as the more effective form of getting the word out. Retweets and shared posts are invaluable. The advantage to social media is that it is free; it also can vastly expand your mailing list when others share your posts with their followers. It provides an "oomph" to the word-of-mouth advertising that is critical for good book sales.
It probably does not matter which platform is used although one more than one platform, we have found, is needed. There are the traditional (now) platforms like FaceBook and Instagram, the newly popular BookTok and TikTok, as well as Book Bub, Blogger (or other blog hosts), and gathering sites for readers like Goodreads and Library Thing, among others. A challenge is not getting fragmented while dashing between the various possibilities. Pick a couple, become comfortable with their formats and requirements, and make an active home for yourself with them.
Word of Mouth
This means of book promotion has never gone away, and it remains, as always, the most effective means of garnering sales. Whether potential readers hear about the book through re-postings, your workshops and webinars, local presentations, book clubs or other social groups, or from casual conversation with your or with their friends, word of mouth has always been and continues to be a very reliable way to promote books (though it is hard to get and keep the ball rolling).
See more Publisher Conversations with Authors HERE.
Learn more about publishing from an acquisitions editor -- how to get your book proposal accepted, why proposals are turned down/accepted, and how to find the right publisher for your book. On special sale for $5 while inventory lasts at MSI Press webstore. Also available as an e-book and an audiobook.
The Tuesday talks reflect real discussions between the management of MSI Press LLC and our own authors or those would-be authors who come through our doors but don't make the cut--yet. If you have a topic that you would like addressed, leave the question in the comment section. Chances are, in our 18 years of publishing first-time and experiences authors, we have had a conversation with one of our authors that we can share with you.
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