by Louis Bertrand Shalako
c2010
All Rights Reserved
On Lulu.com there is a bulk cost book calculator. One hundred copies of 'The Case of the Curious Killers' would cost about $1,018.00. A thousand books was about $8,500 and ten thousand was $76,000. First, we see that the cost per book goes from $12-$13 down to $10, then $8.50, and then to $7.60.
Presumably there might be some price break on bulk shipping. In this example, an extra 4,000 words in a manuscript, half a blank page in nine differenet places, and excessive end matter, bring costs up significantly. The minimum order to put one title on shelves across a territory would have to be something on the order of $100,000 to $200,000.
A few years ago, I ordered something from the east coast and it was shipped from the west coast. The product was made in Japan. That's called 'drop-shipping.' It saves the retailer and ultimately the customer money, if this is indeed an edge on the competition, and if it results in lower cost to the consumer. This could be done creatively with POD publshers in different parts of the world. Much food for thought here. Essentially what we need then is a POD platform in Germany, a translation, some kind of quality control, and a German 'campaign.'
A Print On Demand publication solves the problem of lack of initial capital. It replaces physical plant and material costs. It is a kind of 'drop-shipping hyphen drop manufacturing,' which has certain limitations. Lulu offers a cheaper grade of paper, but only inside the US shipping; i.e., a limited market. One book would cost $21.00 to ship to my house here in Canada, and that's a hard sell for a paperback book.
Starting up a business and learning one's way around by serving a niche market is not exactly unheard of, but the fact is I have no experience in retail sales or management. However, I have gone past business planning to, er; 'business experimentation.'
One thing I remember from being a stock boy at K-Mart (going back a few decades,) was that they had regular promotions. 'Dollar-forty-four days,' and things like that.
The e-books lend themselves to this very nicely, because I can literally give a different one away every month, for free. This is why reading my own stuff and revising the hell out of it, is a necessary part of the process. Before I can effectively promote a product, I prefer to have full confidence that it actually does the job.
E-book sales generate data. If I shoot my yap off about the government one day on facebook, and the next day see a spike in sales figures, well, it's an obvious inference, isn't it?
Forgetting that, it appears that a little over a hundred previews, which are people actually downloading a sample and 'viewing' it, sells two e-books. Bear in mind that people don't necessarily judge a book by its cover, but the cover is an important key to attracting their attention.
So what I want to do in the short term is to generate views. I want people to sample the product, to enjoy it, to see that 'it really isn't so bad after all,' and then I want them to tell two friends, who hopefully will also tell two friends.
If my product is any good, someone will buy it. The most expensive product I have is twenty bucks; and the e-books are all under two bucks as I recall. I've got them in pretty much every major online bookstore, except the iStore, iTunes, and Apple...and I'm not even too sure about that. They might show up there sooner or later.
No one knows what a difference a year of thoughtful, professional applicaton might bring in terms of sales results. Assuming that I have a pretty good chance of living to about 85, this could go anywhere.
Showing posts with label Marketing 101. E-Books. Micropublishing. Lou Shalako.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing 101. E-Books. Micropublishing. Lou Shalako.. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Marketing 101. E-Books.
by Louis Bertrand Shalako
c2010
All Rights Reserved
I know so little about internet marketing that I read pretty thoroughly. While I am always interested in what other people have to say on the subject, I don’t always have the sort of experienced judgment to know which writer really has something to say and which one doesn’t.
I also have a few thoughts of my own, which are either lame, or brilliant, depending upon who we ask! But in my own limited experience, the toughest calls are ‘which contracts not to sign,’ quite honestly. Those are real gut-twisting decisions; because you don’t know when or if you will ever get another offer, let alone a better one.
Going by classic theory, I should be sending out complimentary promotional copies, and according to one highly placed source, ‘the more the better.’ His absolutely top-line publisher gives him fifteen or twenty, and he would prefer a hundred. If I mailed paperback books by Canada Post, it is slow. But we also know that it will eventually get there. We have no way of knowing what happens to that mail once it arrives at its destination, but someone would open that envelope or package for sure. That paperback is going home with somebody.
From ‘createspace,’ this would cost $11.99 plus shipping and handling, (last time I looked.)
It is a free gift. It has value. It is tangible. You can hold it in your hand and feel the weight. You can wrap it up and give it to Aunt Minnie for Christmas.
With an e-book, theoretically I could send out an unlimited number of free promotional copies, a gift of some value, if you will. I probably should be doing it, but I’m not. Here’s why.
Theoretically, if I have the right e-mail address it will arrive very quickly at its destination. Ah, but we ourselves are rather reluctant to click on attachments, and so are they. We know there is some risk in clicking on a link, and so do they. We have junk folders and spam filters, and so do they.
The problem is, with a free promotional e-book, is how to let them know that it is safe, or that it is coming, or available upon request. How do they even know that it is there? The trick is to let them know who you are, maybe.
There are other factors. Aunt Minnie doesn’t know what an e-book is, and does not own a computer, and doesn’t want Kindle, Kobo, or whatever. People love books, and change is often threatening or merely unwelcome. It is a free country. It is her choice, and my challenge.
How much time staff members spend combing through e-mail junk and spam folders is unknown to this writer.
Now. Any system can be defeated by using its own rules against it. And my business model is predicated on getting every possible service for free. That’s because this February is my fifteenth anniversary on disability, and poverty has its own logic which I won’t dwell on. I guess you could say education costs money, or time, or effort, or something.
At the risk of seeming to be hypersensitive, I am perfectly aware that I am in no position to offer e-book advice to aspiring authors. I know no more than you do, and arguably less. It is true that I could self-publish POD with createspace and lulu.com. The former would cost about $300.00 US or thereabouts. I simply don’t have the money, and I will not have that money for months, maybe longer. Four titles equals $1200.00, and I would have one author’s copy per title. This is ‘vanity publishing,’ with all due respect, at its best.
I may be sarcastic, to some small degree. Buddy, there’s no way in hell that I’m throwing that on my credit card at 28 % per annum. I want to see some sales and some traffic. I want to generate some buzz. Show me the demand for my product and I will find the money to invest in increased profits. Show me enough demand, I will go the bank and ask for a loan!
And I make no claims whatsoever about knowing what I am doing. It is an experiment, no more, no less. I have nothing to lose and much to gain, and you win by playing the game.
The only way I can lose is if I quit; and a ‘quick victory’ is a myth of military science.
That is the theory, until someone respectable and credible tells me different; or my circumstances change.
So how do I defeat the system? I have a plan. I have the wit to conceive it and the audacity to carry it out.
The details of this plan are confidential, but will become apparent as time goes on.
Oh, and don’t forget to sign up as a follower on my blog.
c2010
All Rights Reserved
I know so little about internet marketing that I read pretty thoroughly. While I am always interested in what other people have to say on the subject, I don’t always have the sort of experienced judgment to know which writer really has something to say and which one doesn’t.
I also have a few thoughts of my own, which are either lame, or brilliant, depending upon who we ask! But in my own limited experience, the toughest calls are ‘which contracts not to sign,’ quite honestly. Those are real gut-twisting decisions; because you don’t know when or if you will ever get another offer, let alone a better one.
Going by classic theory, I should be sending out complimentary promotional copies, and according to one highly placed source, ‘the more the better.’ His absolutely top-line publisher gives him fifteen or twenty, and he would prefer a hundred. If I mailed paperback books by Canada Post, it is slow. But we also know that it will eventually get there. We have no way of knowing what happens to that mail once it arrives at its destination, but someone would open that envelope or package for sure. That paperback is going home with somebody.
From ‘createspace,’ this would cost $11.99 plus shipping and handling, (last time I looked.)
It is a free gift. It has value. It is tangible. You can hold it in your hand and feel the weight. You can wrap it up and give it to Aunt Minnie for Christmas.
With an e-book, theoretically I could send out an unlimited number of free promotional copies, a gift of some value, if you will. I probably should be doing it, but I’m not. Here’s why.
Theoretically, if I have the right e-mail address it will arrive very quickly at its destination. Ah, but we ourselves are rather reluctant to click on attachments, and so are they. We know there is some risk in clicking on a link, and so do they. We have junk folders and spam filters, and so do they.
The problem is, with a free promotional e-book, is how to let them know that it is safe, or that it is coming, or available upon request. How do they even know that it is there? The trick is to let them know who you are, maybe.
There are other factors. Aunt Minnie doesn’t know what an e-book is, and does not own a computer, and doesn’t want Kindle, Kobo, or whatever. People love books, and change is often threatening or merely unwelcome. It is a free country. It is her choice, and my challenge.
How much time staff members spend combing through e-mail junk and spam folders is unknown to this writer.
Now. Any system can be defeated by using its own rules against it. And my business model is predicated on getting every possible service for free. That’s because this February is my fifteenth anniversary on disability, and poverty has its own logic which I won’t dwell on. I guess you could say education costs money, or time, or effort, or something.
At the risk of seeming to be hypersensitive, I am perfectly aware that I am in no position to offer e-book advice to aspiring authors. I know no more than you do, and arguably less. It is true that I could self-publish POD with createspace and lulu.com. The former would cost about $300.00 US or thereabouts. I simply don’t have the money, and I will not have that money for months, maybe longer. Four titles equals $1200.00, and I would have one author’s copy per title. This is ‘vanity publishing,’ with all due respect, at its best.
I may be sarcastic, to some small degree. Buddy, there’s no way in hell that I’m throwing that on my credit card at 28 % per annum. I want to see some sales and some traffic. I want to generate some buzz. Show me the demand for my product and I will find the money to invest in increased profits. Show me enough demand, I will go the bank and ask for a loan!
And I make no claims whatsoever about knowing what I am doing. It is an experiment, no more, no less. I have nothing to lose and much to gain, and you win by playing the game.
The only way I can lose is if I quit; and a ‘quick victory’ is a myth of military science.
That is the theory, until someone respectable and credible tells me different; or my circumstances change.
So how do I defeat the system? I have a plan. I have the wit to conceive it and the audacity to carry it out.
The details of this plan are confidential, but will become apparent as time goes on.
Oh, and don’t forget to sign up as a follower on my blog.
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