Why a Company Might Use a Book as a Marketing Tool
by Brian Jud

(Reprinted with permission from Brian Jud’s Book Marketing blog at http://www.bookmarketingworks.com)

Note from websitemarketingplan.com publisher, Bobette Kyle: The right book can be an excellent premium or promotional marketing item for a business. Consequently, there are several reasons you may want to write a nonfiction book as a marketing tool for your own business or target companies as customers for your book. Brian explains seven good reasons for doing so:

Books do not have the liability that some products carry.

Some toys and products oriented to children may come apart or be swallowed, leading to negative publicity and legal problems.

Books are tasteful.

"Their high-perceived value does not demean the sender or recipient. In a way, a book defines the taste of the giver," says Mark Resnick, partner in FRW Company. "People like a premium that flatters their intelligence, and books do that."

A title may be coordinated with a season or holiday.

For example, Nestles, Betty Crocker or Pillsbury might seek a book as a premium offering recipes for Christmas cookies. Independent publishers may have an edge over larger publishers in the sense that a company may not want a bestseller as a premium. If everybody already has it, it would be less desirable as a sales promotional tool. A less known, but equally applicable title, may be preferred. For similar reasons, your prospect may want an exclusive on your title. It will not want to waste its promotion dollars if someone else is offering the same title in a promotion.

A book can be personalized to the recipient.

You might place the company’s name on the cover of the book, or replace the cover with one of leather.

"Most companies won’t advance the money to pay for the production of a customized book. Be prepared to front the money yourself," Mr. Resnick notes. Then he adds, "Small publishers may be required to put some money in escrow to guarantee that they will fulfill the contract for the books as agreed."

Additional books can be supplied quickly.

CD/DVDs do not have the "feel" of a book; they do not elicit the same emotions a book does.

About the Author

Brian Jud is host of the National Special Sales Summit™ sponsored by Simon & Schuster, Publishers Weekly and R. R. Bowker. Brian also conducts Book Marketing Monthly™ teleseminars. He is the author of Beyond the Bookstore (a Publishers Weekly book) and The Marketing Planning CD-ROM describing new ways to sell more books profitably to special-sales buyers. Contact Brian at P. O. Box 715, Avon, CT 06001; (800) 562-4357; brianjud@bookmarketing.com or visit http://www.bookmarketing.com.