Marketing

In 1957, when she was 31 years old, Harper Lee submitted her first attempt at a novel to the publisher J.B. Lippincott. Titled 'Go Set a Watchman,' it was set in the '50s and opened with a woman named Jean Louise Finch returning home to Alabama. Ms. Lee's editor found the story lacking but, seizing on flashback scenes, suggested that she write instead about her protagonist as a young girl. The result was a Pulitzer Prize-winning classic: 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'

Hachette Australia has announced an open casting call for a woman who is willing to "donate" her back for a large, permanent tattoo that will be used to promote the fourth book in Stieg Larsson's wildly successful Millennium Series (it's being called, explicitly, "tatvertising"). The series is best known for its first volume, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which was adapted for film by Danish director Niels Arden Oplev in 2009 and again by thriller magnate David Fincher in 2011 - hence the obvious need to promote with an actual dragon tattoo on a real person.

What has struck me in the hundreds of schools I have visited is the influence that a school library and a school librarian have on the children I meet. I can tell as soon as I start interacting with them that the children are more engaged and more articulate; they ask questions, their minds race to make connections. They share something precious: a love of reading, a curiosity, an open mind and a boundless imagination. And the reason is that they have access to a wide collection of books, 

The Quarto Group has launched a new consumer-facing website to promote its global publishing programme, and will start selling direct to customers in the UK this autumn.

The site will showcase and make available titles published by Quarto Publishing UK, and Quarto Publishing Group USA, and marks a continuation of Quarto's strategy to strengthen its brand. In 2013 Quarto rebranded its UK publishing business Aurum Publishing Group as Quarto Publishing Group UK, with c.e.o. Marcus Leaver describing the move as a "consumer-led approach". Earlier this year Quarto rolled out a create-your-own cook-book website"This is Your Cookbook".

Harlequin is offering its readers in the US and Canada rewards such as autographed books via a new rewards program.

Readers can sign up to Harlequin My Rewards via the dedicated website www.harlequinmyrewards.com and earn rewards by buying books or sharing book information, including book reviews, online. As well as books, rewards include gift baskets and Skype conversations with Harlequin authors.

"What makes Harlequin My Rewards so unique is that it offers personalized experiences you really can't put a monetary value on or replicate anywhere else," said Craig Swinwood, publisher and c.e.o. of Harlequin.

There is a big payoff for publishers willing to invest in developing an author’s brand. Here’s three steps to get started.

Harvard Business Publishing is a unique press in the fact that it manages both book acquisition and publishing as well as a popular magazine brand, the Harvard Business Review. The combination of the two has allowed Harvard Business Publishing to develop a strong, recognizable consumer brand that now spans events, ebooks, HBR.org, and more. Its digital assets, especially HBR.org, allow the book publisher to learn more about its audience and actually develop book ideas based on reader interest.

Booklaunch wants to streamline the online book marketing process. "We see a future where you can enter your ISBN and click one button and you'll have a beautiful website, an automated social campaign, press releases sent, ad campaigns enabled, drip email being sent, and a massive network to tap in to," says CJ Alvarado, co-founder of Booklaunch. While the startup isn't there yet, it has created a number of tools for authors and publishers to quickly create book websites that increase book visibility, capture leads, integrate with social, and play well with mobile devices. The goal is to allow publishers to be more nimble in their marketing efforts and create a central online hub for all of their titles. Here Alvarado shares how Booklaunch is boosting book discoverability and his plans for future expansion.

As the digital revolution gathers pace, the pressures on writers and publishers only increase. But authors, magazines and independent presses are starting to respond to the challenge of the online world by turning to the internet themselves, reaching out to readers through crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter.

Since launching in 2009, Kickstarter has seen $70m pledged to projects in the site's publishing category. But recent years have seen the number of successul books-related projects more than double, from 735 in 2011 to 2064 in 2014.

Discoverability, the buzzword du jour among book publishers, is a crucial part of book marketing. But it makes up only half of an effective digital marketing campaign, contends Mark Schroeder, chairman and co-founder of social marketing tool Find My Audience. The other half of the marketing puzzle is what Schroeder calls "findability." Discoverability is a passive strategy, argues Schroeder, that uses metadata and SEO so that readers can find the books they want, whereas findability is an active strategy that attempts to qualify potential readers so that publishers can target them directly. "Both discoverability and findability should be two key pillars of any publisher's marketing plan," says Schroeder.