Writing a Marketing Plan for Your Book and Other Content, Part 2
by Bobette Kyle

Publisher Note: Here, Bobette and book marketing consultant Brian Jud continue their discussion on marketing written content. (Part 1 of this book marketing plan interview is here).

Bobette: Which leads us to another of the 4 P's: product. I noticed you often say "content" instead of "book." I gather this is because it's important for authors to remember a book is only one product. They are really selling information and content. By understanding how your audience uses information, several opportunities for new products can present themselves.

Brian: Exactly. We found, for example, that Hispanics made up a large part of the job search market. This, together with a lack of material printed in Spanish, led to both a new product (a Spanish version of the book) and an additional distribution network, one experienced selling to the Hispanic market.

Strategic thinking along those lines could lead to audio versions, DVDs, ebooks, shorter booklets, alternate bindings, and others. For example, we found that Job Search 101 was a perfect tool for use in job search workshops. There was one major problem with the bound book, however. It did not lay flat on the table. Attendees do a lot of writing in the workshops and using a book they had to prop open was a problem. In response, we introduced a spiral bound workbook version, which lay flat on the table.

Bobette: Let's back up to the comment you made about pricing. Market pricing is only one pricing strategy, yes?

Brian: Yes, there are several others. When planning, it's important to think strategically. Always go back to why you are implementing a certain strategy or tactic. Penetration pricing, where you set a low price, allows you to reach more deeply into the market to attract more price-conscious buyers. Conversely, you may want to utilize a short-term skimming strategy if you have unique content with no close competitors. Set a high price in order to sell to the few people who highly value the content and make high per-unit profit.

Publisher Side Note: For more on general pricing strategies, read Bobette's "7 Pricing Strategies that Improve Profit."

Bobette: I've purposefully left promotion as the last of the four 4's. This is the one people tend to jump to first, often to the detriment of other parts of the plan. Several promotional ideas will come up while developing goals, defining target audiences, and researching distribution channels. Can you give us a few words of wisdom about promotion and some different promotional methods to consider?

Brian: It's important to remember WIIFM, "what's in it for me." People must understand how they will benefit before they will take action. They don't care about your costs or that you haven't met your sales goals. They want to know how it can make their lives better. Also, it can take up to ten exposures to your marketing message before they take action. For this reason, it's important to reach each market multiple times, with a mix of methods. Some ways to do this include: publicity (like book reviews and endorsements), sales promotions (such as coupons or free give aways), advertising (direct mail, ads in very target publications, etc), and personal selling (person-to-person interaction).

Bobette: The final critical piece to a marketing plan is the financials. For authors -- and entrepreneurs in general ― predicting profits or break even points  are particularly difficult. You've included some helpful tools in the marketing planning CD accompanying your book Beyond the Bookstore.

Brian: Yes. The formulas behind financials tend to be a mystery to many, so I've made profit planning easier with several spreadsheets to help publishers stay on track. They can help you develop marketing plan implementation timelines; choose the distribution channel mix that maximizes book profits; and figure break even points for sales tours, trade shows, and direct mail programs.

Bobette: Authors should also save these "pro forma" calculations to compare to actual numbers.

Brian: Yes. That's the "E" in PIE. Evaluate. In order for planning to be productive, you must know if you are getting closer to your goals. Comparing actual to planned results helps you take actions to improve and reach goals.

Bobette: Thank you so much, Brian. I appreciate the insights. Are there any final points of encouragement you'd like to leave use with?

Brian: Independent publishers can be successful selling books if they take the time to plan, implement and evaluate. But there are at least three other considerations that can help. First, they should think in the long term and not let short-term challenges deter them. Second, be persistent and do something every day to market their books. And third, apply some creativity to their product development, distribution, pricing and promotion efforts. The results can be amazing as well as profitable.