Based on my 25 years as a participant in, and consultant to, the publishing industry, I estimate that more than 90% of independent publishers seek sales only through retail buyers (primarily bookstores), both bricks and clicks. If you are in that category, you are significantly reducing your ability to reach and sustain profitable growth.
Rob Johnson is the founder and director at Research Consulting Limited and former head of research operations at the University of Nottingham. He will be leading a free webinar Open Access: The Journey So Far with the Copyright Clearance Center reviewing the progress of the OA movement and its future.
As we move forward into the ever-changing digital content world, publishers have to ask themselves what type of subscription model will dominate in the future. Publishers are used to the simple individual model, where a consumer buys access for a single title (e.g., newspaper or magazine).
Why don't more publishers seek sales in non-bookstore markets where they can sell more books more profitably? One theory is that they are skilled at executing clearly defined strategies but are not comfortable applying out-of-the-box thinking. Or, when a new idea does emerge it is usually doomed because the publisher is organized to support one way of doing business and doesn't have the organization to support a new one, i.e., special sales. Here are Ten Ways to Search for New Business Opportunities and Still Stay in Your Comfort Zone
One buzzword in today's business world is "marketing." However, people are often confused about what marketing really is. Well, here are Definitions of the Top Ten Marketing Terms.
When sales decline, many publishers immediately lower their prices to seek new sales. This tactic can hurt short- and long-term profitability. A better tactic is to maintain a higher price and re-positioning your products. Perhaps the best source of ideas for doing that is your target buyers.
You may get an "Aha" moment from isolated pondering, but these innovative flashes are few and far between. In general, the best ideas surface when offered by the thoughts and experiences of others. But danger lies in generating ideas by relying upon the thoughts and experiences of the same group of people. You may get many new thoughts, but they tend to be recirculated variations of the same old ones, cloaked with enthusiasm to appear different. Before making decisions about your books or business, seek input from a variety of diverse but trusted sources. Here are the Ten Ways to Balance the Quantity and Quality of Ideas.
In this last segment of our series on making better decisions the focus will be on what you can do to improve the accuracy and impact of your major decisions. Here are the Top Ten Keys to Making Better Decisions.
Making a decision with significant impact on your business is never an easy event. And it is getting tougher with the availability of Big Data, a faster rate of technology change, increased competition and multiple variables to consider. Here are the Top Ten Ways in Which the Decision-Making Process Has Changed.
Product development today requires a much more nimble approach, one where customers not only see but also provide detailed feedback long before the product is considered final. In fact, products often need to change so rapidly, based on customer demand, that there never really is a "final" stage.
