Direct to Consumer Sales

How to Earn Repeat, Large-Volume Book Orders by Optimizing the Post-Sale Process
February 9, 2016 at 10:07 am

Negotiating a large, non-returnable sale of your books to a corporate buyer can be a euphoric event. As you leave the premises you may celebrate with large smiles and high-fives. But unforeseen by many publishers are the various post-sale emotions experienced by the buyers, especially if this is their first time dealing with you. Their…

The 3 Biggest Challenges of D2C Bookselling in 2016
February 4, 2016 at 2:36 pm

As Book Business’ year-end trendspotting survey indicated, direct-to-consumer marketing and bookselling will be top-of-mind for all segments of the publishing industry in 2016. It’s clear from these results, as well as the slew of newly-launched consumer-facing sites, apps, and newsletters that publishers are eager to learn how consumers find books, why they buy, and how…

What’s Your Mobile, Snackable Content Strategy?
February 1, 2016 at 12:52 pm

Last week I highlighted some of the more interesting findings reported in a document Google published called Micro-Moments: Your Guide to Winning the Shift to Mobile. This week I want to focus on a couple of other important points in that document as well as provide an example of how publishers need to leverage the…

Pottermore's Ebook & Audiobook Sales Double
January 28, 2016 at 2:16 pm

JK Rowling’s Pottermore company, which until recently maintained a stranglehold over digital versions of the acclaimed books, has enjoyed an upsurge in revenue in recent months. Sales rose by more than 100 per cent in the final three months of 2015 compared with the previous quarter. With the firm continuing to expand its reach in…

8 Ways Publishers Can Engage Their Super Fans Through Email
January 26, 2016 at 1:18 pm

Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram may be the marketing platforms that earn all the buzz, but here’s a fact: Your email list is a more valuable direct-to-consumer marketing tool than all of those social media sites put together. The power of your community exists in your list -- those people who have actively…

instaFreebie Grows Publishers’ Email Lists With Ebook Giveaways
January 20, 2016 at 12:10 pm

One key component of successful direct-to-consumer marketing is the consumer’s email address. But earning that email address can require a lot of legwork from the book publisher, from social media marketing to advertising and publicity. instaFreebie attempts to streamline the audience development process for authors and publishers by hosting limited-time ebook giveaways and using data…

When Will Content Truly Become Mobile?
January 18, 2016 at 8:58 am

After seven-plus years of working remotely from my home office I recently started a new job with a daily commute. It’s actually quite an enjoyable ride and I originally planned to make it even better with a variety of mobile/audio content. Podcasts were at the top of my list but I also figured I could…

Barnes & Noble’s New Strategy: Get People Drunk
January 15, 2016 at 2:31 pm

The aspiring “lifestyle brand” has been moving away from books for some time. The fiction section at the Barnes & Noble I am writing this dispatch from has retreated roughly 30 feet over the past decade; from my perch I can see board games, R2D2 mugs, chocolates, and, yes, some books, too (mostly written by…

My 2016 Ebook Marketplace Hopes And Wishes
January 4, 2016 at 9:21 am

Rather than speculate on what might happen in the ebook sector this year I thought it would be wiser to simply list the developments I’d like to see. So although some, and perhaps all, of these are a long shot, here’s my short list of hopes and wishes for the ebook market in the New…