| Do you include selling books to organizations in your | | | | prospects or as an incentive to employees or channel |
| marketing program? You should.By getting outside of | | | | partners. (Some people use the term "premiums" to |
| the bookstore channel, you will have the potential of | | | | differentiate the merchandise portion of incentives. |
| selling - not just one book at a time - but 1000s of | | | | That is, to distinguish merchandise from cash, travel, |
| books at a time. You'll want to take advantage of | | | | etc.) When these organizations buy a book, they |
| these powerful strategies if you are...* A published | | | | order it by the 1000's, the 10's of thousands, even |
| author who desires to help more people through | | | | the 100's of thousands.A study conducted by the |
| higher book sales* A published coach, consultant, | | | | Incentive Marketing Association |
| speaker or trainer who wants to catapult your | | | | (IncentiveMarketing.org) among a broad spectrum of |
| reputation and open opportunities to sell other | | | | companies revealed that 82% of them used |
| products and services* A published author who | | | | merchandise or travel as incentives. Even more |
| wants to make serious money by selling books by | | | | significant, they reported an 80% success rate in |
| the 1000s at a time* A published author with | | | | achieving their goals.Is Your Book a Candidate for |
| disappointing book sales who wants to recover your | | | | Incentive Sales?If your non-fiction book provides |
| financial investment in your book* A self-published | | | | quality how-to information, if it inspires or entertains, |
| author who wants to leverage better sales into | | | | if it's well designed and put-together, it's a candidate. |
| acquiring additional sales channels or a publishing | | | | Any corporation, association or other non-profit which |
| house* A published author who is ready to update an | | | | has target audiences that match those of your book, |
| existing book but needs to sell the remaining | | | | and whose management feels your book reflects |
| inventory of the current version to help finance the | | | | positively on its brand values, are potential candidates. |
| update* An aspiring author who is looking for | | | | How Big are Incentive Deals, Really?* As a incentive |
| direction about what kind of book will be attractive in | | | | for joining their condensed book club, Reader's Digest |
| the marketplace* An aspiring author who knows you | | | | gave away 750,000 copies of Judith King's Greatest |
| will be much more successful if you plan ahead about | | | | Gift Guide Ever.* Grossett & Dunlap offered Nancy |
| how and to whom you will market the book before | | | | Drew and Hardy Boys books as a self-liquidating |
| and during the creation of itWhy Authors Get | | | | (break-even) incentive on 20 million boxes of Post |
| Frustrated with Book Sales: The Bookstore Trap - | | | | Raisin Bran cereal, resulting in the sale of over one |
| Boxes of Books with Nowhere to GoIf you're like | | | | million books!* R.J. Reynolds distributed 1.5 million |
| most authors, the process of writing and getting | | | | copies of the Great Trails Road Atlas as an on-pack |
| your book published was a painful experience - | | | | (attached to the package) incentive offer on cartons |
| whether you self-published, were fortunate enough | | | | of Marlboros to promote the image of the Marlboro |
| to get a traditional publisher or opted for a | | | | Man.Are all the deals that big?No...* U.S. West |
| print-on-demand publisher. It took far longer and far | | | | purchased 2,000 copies of Talking with Your |
| more effort than you ever imagined it would.Next | | | | Customers to demonstrate appreciation to their |
| you may have experienced the "post-partum blues," | | | | Yellow Pages advertisers* Before its publish date, |
| the separation anxiety that comes with your book | | | | Kenneth Blanchard sent copies of Who Moved My |
| finally being "delivered" - a vague empty feeling | | | | Cheese to the CEOs of corporations. The Bank of |
| haunts you.After getting your life back to some | | | | Hawaii bought 4000, Mercedes Benz 7000, and |
| semblance of normalcy, the day came when you fully | | | | Southwest Airlines 27,000.* Judy Dugan sold 5,000 |
| confronted a realization. The books aren't selling in | | | | copies of her self-published book, Santa Barbara |
| any significant numbers. You have boxes of books | | | | Highlights and History, to a Santa Barbara bank who |
| sitting in your garage or basement, your office, a | | | | gave a copy to every customer who came in to a |
| warehouse somewhere. Sure, you've sold a few | | | | new branch openingThe Average Size of |
| books at events, or a dozen here and there at book | | | | DealsAccording to MotivationShow.com, most of the |
| signings and such. But at that pace, you're in the | | | | sales of books as incentives start at a quantity of |
| storage business more than you're in the | | | | 5,000 books and goes up from there. That's at least |
| practice-building business!You begin musing, "What's | | | | 5,000 people benefiting from having your expertise in |
| the point of creating a book to help people and | | | | their hands and each of them telling probably 5+ |
| promote yourself if nobody ever sees it? What's the | | | | other people about it.And if you personally made a |
| point of taking time away from my clients or other | | | | profit of $1 a book, that's $5,000 |
| work to do book signings, only to sell a mere dozen | | | | $2 a book = $10,000 |
| or so books per event?"Since the books aren't going | | | | $4 a book = $20,000And what if they wanted |
| to sell themselves, you may have made some | | | | 30,000 copies of your book or more? Such deals are |
| efforts to figure out the book marketing and | | | | happening all year long.So, Giving Things to |
| distribution business to try to break into bookstores, | | | | Customers is Pretty Much How Organizations Use |
| only to find it all archaic, complex and frustrating. You | | | | Incentives?Nay, nay. There's a real "whew" list of |
| may even have gotten into a bookstore or two. But | | | | ways. In a 2003 study by Louisiana State University |
| the books didn't move, because nobody knows the | | | | and Glenrich Business Studies, 2000 randomly |
| books are there."I don't have time for this!" you | | | | selected promotional product distributors ranked |
| probably exclaimed at some point. "This is not how I | | | | usage of promotional products in different types of |
| want to spend my life!"But the reality is, if book sales | | | | programs as follows:RANK USAGE |
| are to be, it's up to thee.Welcome to the Bookstore | | | | CATEGORYBusiness Gifts: Gifts to foster customer |
| Trap.You're not alone. The vast majority of authors | | | | goodwill and retentionEmployee Relations & Events: |
| have a disappointing publishing experience. At The | | | | Morale and motivation, corporate/employee events, |
| Book Standard Summit 2005, Nielsen Bookscan | | | | employee orientation, organizational commitment |
| reported that 93% of the books sold at retail in | | | | corporate identity, corporate communication, |
| 2004 sold less than 1000 copies!Self-publishers don't | | | | employee training (other than safety), employee |
| do as well. Overall, the average self-published book | | | | referral programsTrade Shows: Trade-show traffic |
| sells around 250 copies! (Granted, it allowed them to | | | | generationBrand Awareness: Promotion of brand |
| get their book published when it probably wouldn't | | | | awareness and brand loyaltyEmployee Service |
| have been published otherwise. But yikes!)The | | | | Awards: Anniversary recognition, service awards, |
| problem is, most authors and independent publishers | | | | etc.Dealer/Distributor Programs: Dealer incentives, |
| focus almost exclusively on trying to get their books | | | | co-op programs, company storesPublic Relations: |
| into bookstores. Even if you're initially successful in | | | | Corporate involvement with community, fundraising, |
| passing muster, if your marketing efforts don't drive | | | | sponsorship, school programs, media relations, |
| people to the bookstore to buy your book in | | | | corporate imageNew Customer/Account Generation: |
| significant numbers within the first 30 days or so, the | | | | New customer or new account generationInternal |
| books are going to be returned. Bookstores return | | | | Promotions: Sales incentive, TQM/quality programs, |
| some 60% of all books they order!!!But There is | | | | productivity, inventory reduction, error reduction, |
| Good NewsHere's the fact that I'm asking you to | | | | attendance improvementNew Product/Service |
| focus on to break out of the less-than-1000-copies | | | | Introduction: New product or service |
| bookstore sales trap: According to a Feb 2005 report | | | | introductionSafety Education/Incentive: Employee |
| from the Association of American Publishers, of the | | | | safety and educationNot-For-Profit Programs: |
| $23.7 billion of books sold in 2004, only 45% were | | | | Not-for-profit use for fundraising, public awareness |
| sold through bookstores, the most competitive and | | | | campaigns (health, environment, public safety, |
| challenging-to-penetrate channel for selling books. | | | | etc.)Customer Referral: Customer referral incentive |
| That means that non-bookstore outlets account for | | | | programsMarketing Research: Marketing research, |
| more book sales than bookstores!!!So, if you learn | | | | survey, and focus group participation programsSo, |
| how NOT to be dependent on bookstores for sales, | | | | How Big are the Benefits to the Author of Selling to |
| you're tapping into the majority of the book market | | | | This Market?You be the judge:* It's likely to be the |
| (55%)!!!So, What's the Author's Answer?One of the | | | | best thing you've ever done to promote your |
| most powerful strategies for tapping into the | | | | practice and other products and services. Success |
| non-bookstore market is selling large quantities of | | | | provides you greater exposure, credibility, pride and |
| books to organizations for use as incentives, the | | | | self-confidence.* Unlike bookstore channels, you have |
| billion-dollar book portion of the $29 billion* (and | | | | little or no competition! Because authors and |
| growing) incentives marketplace. (*year 2000)The | | | | independent publishers don't understand this market, |
| what? The incentives marketplace is that part of | | | | organizations receive very few, if any, proposals. |
| non-bookstore sales comprised of organizations - | | | | Present yourself professionally and persuasively (with |
| corporations, associations, charities, etc. - that buy | | | | the tools I'll give you) and you have a great chance |
| books to use as a incentive (gift ) for customers and | | | | at getting noticed and considered. |