Fauzia Burke is the Founder and President of FSB Associates, an
Internet marketing firm specializing in creating online awareness for
books and authors. FSB has played a role in
the success of numerous chart-toppers, including novels by Daniel
Silva, Mitch Albom, Michael Cunningham, Tana French, Barbara
Delinsky, Jonathan Franzen, Sue Grafton, and Jacqueline Winspear; and
nonfiction titles by Doug Stanton, Alan Alda, Barbara Ehrenreich, Dr.
Arthur Agatston, Al Gore, Linda Greenlaw, Tony Horwitz, Richard A.
Clarke, Vincent Bugliosi, Marlo Thomas, and Bob Woodruff.
With today's search empowered readers, do we need to market and publish books differently? Does general publishing makes sense in an age of Google searches, micro communities and niche marketing?
With today's search empowered readers, do we need to market and publish books differently? Does general publishing makes sense in an age of Google searches, micro communities and niche marketing?
Today's readers are tech savvy and resourceful. They know how to
get the information they need and have higher expectations from
publishers and authors. They don't just expect a book, they expect a
community with their book.
I often hear publishers say
that there are "very few brands in book publishing." But to
thrive in today's competitive, niche markets, perhaps brands are
exactly what we need. What readers choose to read is personal and an
extension of who they are. Shouldn't their book choices be supported
by a publisher, a brand that is invested in their interests?
Many
small publishing companies have done an enviable job of branding
themselves and building reader communities around their books. Take
O'Reilly, TOR and Hay House. You may not read their books, but you
know what they publish. Their communities trust them. People who
share their point-of-view flock to their lists. These companies
publish for a niche community, and are trusted members of their
community. They provide extra resources, and often their authors are
members of the community itself. TOR has even launched a bookstore to
meet their readers' needs. These publishers show passion for their
books and an understanding of their readers, and as such their
readers reward them with loyalty.
Publishing books for the community
Besides reader loyalty, publishing for micro communities may have
other long-term benefits as well. For example, the focus would help
publishers save money on marketing. Marketing through online
communities is less expensive and much more powerful than trying to
reach the general public and hoping to find the right match. The
publisher's Web site wouldn't have to cater to a wide variety of
people, it would be designed to serve the needs of a small group.
Instead of expensive advertising, they could announce the book to the
community that has already bought into their brand. Publishers and
authors could enlist the support of the community to spread the word
(which will always be the most efficient method for marketing books.)
The logo on the book spine would mean the readers have a promise that
the book is worth reading. The readers would know that the publisher
looked at over a thousand manuscripts all on the same topic and is
offering them the very best.
So are large, general
publishers at a disadvantage with today's search-empowered, community
oriented readers? I think so. General trade publishing is for
everyone, yet there is no "everyone" out there.
Readers are part of micro communities. They want good books, and they
need publishers who will support their interests and passions.
The
bottom line is that publishers and authors need to evolve their
marketing and publishing strategies to accommodate for a new kind of
reader. A reader whose expectations demand more interaction and
community. A reader whose loyalty you can have once you have earned
it. A reader who wants more than a 6 week marketing campaign so you
can sell a book. This new reader requires an investment of months and
years.
Is that too much to expect? Perhaps. But this is
your new reader, and she will stay with you if you stay with her.