Marketing Question - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T05:07:41Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/marketing-question?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A236033&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThanks for the input, Bob! Al…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-30:537324:Comment:2360332010-05-30T01:14:46.861ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
Thanks for the input, Bob! Always great to hear from booksellers.
Thanks for the input, Bob! Always great to hear from booksellers. Good for you, Bob.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-29:537324:Comment:2360112010-05-29T21:11:21.691ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Good for you, Bob.
Good for you, Bob. I have operated a chain of "b…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-29:537324:Comment:2360092010-05-29T20:43:42.441ZBobhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Bob24
I have operated a chain of "brick and mortar" book stores for over 25 years. In that time, I have used every marketing tool available and many more off beat from my imagination. The proof is in the product. A good product sells on its own merit. A bad product, even by a brand name, may sell out of the gates but falls off fast.<br />
<br />
For a book, the cover and book title are tremendous tools to get the consumer to view the first page. If the product on the first page is good, the consumer may…
I have operated a chain of "brick and mortar" book stores for over 25 years. In that time, I have used every marketing tool available and many more off beat from my imagination. The proof is in the product. A good product sells on its own merit. A bad product, even by a brand name, may sell out of the gates but falls off fast.<br />
<br />
For a book, the cover and book title are tremendous tools to get the consumer to view the first page. If the product on the first page is good, the consumer may purchase. If it isn't good - it's back on the shelf.<br />
<br />
BTW: My marketing budget is at an all time low and sales year-over-year are still increasing.<br />
<br />
Smiles<br />
Bob People are suspicious of FREE…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-29:537324:Comment:2360052010-05-29T20:31:51.385ZBobhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Bob24
People are suspicious of FREE. The comic book industry has Free Comic Book Day the first Saturday of May every year. We promote that and set up at local events to draw more people to the stores. I'm amazed when the people want to pay for the free comic books - duh, there are dozens of signs that say "Free". Yes - they are free. No, you don't have to buy anything. No, you don't have to leave your name. No, I don't want your e-mail address. That's right - it's 100% FREE! Well, it's your choice if…
People are suspicious of FREE. The comic book industry has Free Comic Book Day the first Saturday of May every year. We promote that and set up at local events to draw more people to the stores. I'm amazed when the people want to pay for the free comic books - duh, there are dozens of signs that say "Free". Yes - they are free. No, you don't have to buy anything. No, you don't have to leave your name. No, I don't want your e-mail address. That's right - it's 100% FREE! Well, it's your choice if you don't want to take one. I assure you there is no GPS tracking device in any of the free books. Thanks, Jon!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-26:537324:Comment:2357562010-05-26T21:26:41.269ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
Thanks, Jon!
Thanks, Jon! Sounds like a fun one, Jude.…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-26:537324:Comment:2357552010-05-26T21:21:49.609ZJon Loomishttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonLoomis
Sounds like a fun one, Jude. Good luck!
Sounds like a fun one, Jude. Good luck! One thing I'm beginning to le…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-26:537324:Comment:2357542010-05-26T20:42:18.799ZCamille LaGuirehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/CamilleLaGuire
One thing I'm beginning to learn about the "book hoarders" is that continued promotion helps. You get them to buy or download it, then you remind them it's there. In the old days, standard marketing practice was to get your product in front of the audience multiple times before they buy. Well, now that the barriers are lower for each step, they may buy or acquire sooner, but we still have to do the same stuff to get them to _read_ and then it may take a little more visibility to get them to…
One thing I'm beginning to learn about the "book hoarders" is that continued promotion helps. You get them to buy or download it, then you remind them it's there. In the old days, standard marketing practice was to get your product in front of the audience multiple times before they buy. Well, now that the barriers are lower for each step, they may buy or acquire sooner, but we still have to do the same stuff to get them to _read_ and then it may take a little more visibility to get them to talk to others about it.<br />
<br />
Don't put it all into one marketing method. Do it all. Be ubiquitous. That takes time and energy, but it's like critical mass - it adds up. Yeah, marketing could take up all of your time and energy but you can budget that time.<br />
<br />
The other key is variation. You don't want everyone you meet to see the same blurb every time they hear of your book. Do interviews, do "about the author" notes, post short and interesting excerpts in blogfests or just on you own blog. Give them different kinds and levels of exposure. Thanks, John!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-26:537324:Comment:2357532010-05-26T20:35:13.490ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
Thanks, John!
Thanks, John! But I guess it's sort of a ca…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-26:537324:Comment:2357522010-05-26T20:11:51.539ZJohn McFetridgehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
<i>But I guess it's sort of a catch-22. You can't get reviews in prominent publications unless you write well; nobody knows how well you write unless you get reviews in prominent publications.</i><br />
<br />
For a first novel in a gene there are a lot of publications that might not be considered prominent but are very important. Places like Crimespree and all the online mystery discussion groups like 4MA and so on. Let's face it, genre was invented as a marketing strategy and in many ways it works.<br />
<br />
If…
<i>But I guess it's sort of a catch-22. You can't get reviews in prominent publications unless you write well; nobody knows how well you write unless you get reviews in prominent publications.</i><br />
<br />
For a first novel in a gene there are a lot of publications that might not be considered prominent but are very important. Places like Crimespree and all the online mystery discussion groups like 4MA and so on. Let's face it, genre was invented as a marketing strategy and in many ways it works.<br />
<br />
If your book is PI there are PI specific places for reviews like the Thrilling Deective site. Think of those as peer review. If your book is well-reviewed there it'll get some buzz.<br />
<br />
And, of course, an award nomination s good, too, so make sure it gets submitted to everything. Good luck with it. But I guess it's sort of a ca…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2010-05-26:537324:Comment:2357512010-05-26T20:01:16.980ZJude Hardinhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/festus
But I guess it's sort of a catch-22. You can't get reviews in prominent publications unless you write well; nobody knows how well you write unless you get reviews in prominent publications.<br />
<br />
As for a sexy hook, I've been working on the flap jacket copy for <i>Pocket-47</i>, to be released by Oceanview Publishing May 2011. Here's my latest version:<br />
<br />
Rule #2 in private investigator Nicholas Colt’s <i>Philosophy of Life</i>: If you have a good Tuesday, Wednesday is likely to be a bitch.<br />
<br />
Welcome…
But I guess it's sort of a catch-22. You can't get reviews in prominent publications unless you write well; nobody knows how well you write unless you get reviews in prominent publications.<br />
<br />
As for a sexy hook, I've been working on the flap jacket copy for <i>Pocket-47</i>, to be released by Oceanview Publishing May 2011. Here's my latest version:<br />
<br />
Rule #2 in private investigator Nicholas Colt’s <i>Philosophy of Life</i>: If you have a good Tuesday, Wednesday is likely to be a bitch.<br />
<br />
Welcome to Wednesday.<br />
<br />
Fifteen-year-old Brittney Ryan has taken to the streets. Colt is hired to find her and bring her home.<br />
<br />
Piece of cake, he thinks. A surprise visit to the forbidden boyfriend should put this one in the scrapbook.<br />
<br />
But something more sinister is behind Brittney’s disappearance, and Colt soon finds himself in an ever-widening maze of deceit, betrayal, and murder.<br />
<br />
And, when he learns what the mysterious phrase <i>Pocket-47</i> means, he is haunted even more by the plane crash that killed his family and rock band twenty years ago--a crash he now realizes might not have been an accident.<br />
<br />
Colt is determined to save Brittney and untangle the threads of his own tortured past.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, one of the most heinous and violent criminals in modern history has other ideas.<br />
<br />
Which might be okay, because…<br />
<br />
Rule #1 in Nicholas Colt’s <i>Philosophy of Life</i>: Screw the rules. Let’s jam.