If You Build Better Metadata, Readers Will Come
November 29, 2016 at 10:26 am

Creating or aggregating content and actually getting readers to see it are two sides of the same coin. Without both content and a reliable way for people to find it, the motivation to create or house such content becomes less. One feeds the other. So, how do content aggregators and authors find that sweet spot…

3 Marketing Success Stories from the Publishing Trenches
November 8, 2016 at 3:10 pm

Every publisher represents a storehouse of interesting content that can be used to attract readers, capture email subscribers, and increase book sales. In past articles, I’ve written about these concepts and reasons why publishers should invest in inexpensive digital marketing tactics. Free content attracts readers who become email subscribers. Those email subscribers can be converted…

Taking Book Search and Discovery to the Next Level
October 17, 2016 at 9:03 am

How are you helping consumers find the perfect book for their needs or interests? If you’re like most publishers, you offer a search function on your site. Visitors simply type in a topic and relevant titles from your catalog are displayed. This is pretty similar to how search works on Amazon. In both cases, book…

Google Experiments With Book Discovery…And Fails
October 3, 2016 at 12:45 pm

Even though you probably never stray from the Kindle reader app I’d like to encourage you to expand your horizons. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on Apple’s iBooks and Google Play, for example, to explore other platforms and keep Amazon honest. After all, Amazon’s need to innovate diminishes if ebook platform competition…

How to Market Books From the Customer's Perspective
September 29, 2016 at 3:15 pm

What is the process you follow when you go to a store to buy something? You probably go to the most convenient place (bricks or clicks) and peruse the assortment available. You may search for a particular brand if you are aware of it. If not, you look at the prices to compare the value…

Should Educational Publishers Be Disruptors?
September 27, 2016 at 11:24 am

Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve never warmed to the idea that disruption is a good thing in business. I’m not a fan of companies that set out to disrupt the industries in which they operate (take that, Jeff Bezos and Elizabeth Holmes) and I am particularly skeptical about those that set out to disrupt education,…

Classified! Does "The Bestseller Code" Divulge Its Secrets?
September 23, 2016 at 11:23 am

The Bestseller Code is already the most talked about insider’s book on the writing and publishing industry. Who wouldn’t want to know if a computer can predict whether a manuscript will be a bestseller? What author wouldn’t want to know if there’s a scientific formula for plotting and writing novels that will propel them onto…

Bibblio Uses AI-Powered Recommendations to Drive Reader Engagement & Learning
September 23, 2016 at 11:13 am

Taking its cue from media giants like Netflix, Facebook, and YouTube, startup Bibblio recognizes that high-quality recommendation is the future of content consumption. Bibblio wants to improve the quality of publisher recommendations by using artificial intelligence (AI) and transforming how readers discover learning content. The startup offers a B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool that enables education…

How Publishers Can Cure “Ugly Sample Syndrome”
September 20, 2016 at 11:38 am

What if publishers could sell more books by learning the secrets of selling chicken sandwiches? In my hometown of Atlanta, GA, Chick-Fil-A is the dominant fast-food restaurant chain. Started in 1967, the company’s annual sales now eclipse over $6 billion. In addition, their stores generate more revenue per restaurant than any other fast-food chain in…