Thirty-Six Tips for Developing a Successful Mobile Publishing Strategy

8. Be careful with teens.

While applications like Foursquare, which involves real-world meetups, do have a place in book marketing (such as when used to "check in" at author events to get exclusive content), tread carefully with what you encourage teens to do, O'Connell cautions.

9. Think long-term audience development.

Database building and long-term customer relationship management is a key component of HarperCollins' strategy moving forward. "ECRM [electronic customer relationship management] is becoming increasingly important to our industry," O'Connell says. "We have an opportunity to [acquire] a teen subscriber [through mobile] and grow with them—so as they age up, we can, through this ECRM database, start getting their preferences and seeing their changes in reading habits, and deliver content based on those changes and preferences.

"I think long-term is going to be about taking this database and cross-selling e-books and digital product, and that [applies] especially for the adult market," she adds.

Tips From … David-Michel Davies, executive director, The Webby Awards

The Webby Awards have been honoring the best of the Internet on an annual basis since 1995. The awards, held in June (this year's deadline for entries is Dec. 17), include categories for mobile and various forms of online publishing. Here, Davies draws on the best of what he has seen and learned of what works in the digital realm.

10. Involve the authors from the get-go.

"If the author isn't involved, then the process dilutes into just a marketing exercise and won't translate as well," says Davies. "When the author is looped into the process, he or she can think about how to use the medium to better tell a story."

11. Alice can literally go down the rabbit hole.

"Part of the reason people like these mobile apps is that they tell stories with more than just words. Integrating tools such as imagery and audio can provide the audience with a greater, more imaginative work," he says.