The Magic of Niche Marketing

I have spent a lot of time on this blog talking about why niche marketing is so important to authors.  The publishing industry is awash in new books.  Last year, more than one million titles were released.  It's not enough anymore for an author to hope their book gets carried in every bookstore nationwide or that they will get a book review in Publisher's Weekly.  Authors need to reach out directly to the specific audience that would be interested in reading their book, and niche marketing is the key to making that happen.

Earlier today, I was meeting with one of the authors I work with, and he mentioned that he was a bit disappointed in the results of his book signing events, which have mainly been held at bookstores.  He sells anywhere from 4-6 copies of his book at each event, which is actually the number of books that the average bookstore signing sells.  His book is for a very specific niche audience, and I mentioned that speaking engagements and events at local public libraries might actually be more productive.  He could either do five bookstore events and sell 25 books, or do one niche event and sell the same number of books.  A light went on in the room, and he immediately saw the value of niche marketing.

More well-known authors are also jumping on the niche marketing bandwagon.  Forbes.com featured their work in an article called The Magic of Niche Marketing for Authors.

* Erica Bauermeister posted recipes to her blog as if they were written by the characters from her novel, The School of Essential Ingredients.

* Garth Stein reaches out to fans at NASCAR events to promote his book, The Art of Racing in the Rain.

* Abby Stokes, author of Is This Thing On? attends computer user conferences to promote her book for the computer illiterate.

These are some great examples, but I thought I would also add a couple my own, using some of my authors as examples:

* Nancy Dane, author of the Civil War-era novels Where the Road Begins and A Difference of Opinion, sells copies of her books at Civil War re-enactment events and museums.

*  J.A. Sanderlin, author of Europa:  Book One of The Black Chronicles, has found a receptive audience for his Sci-Fi book at comic book shops.  He will be participating in the Austin Comic Con this Fall at the Austin Convention Center.

What is the target audience for your book?  Where would you find members of this audience outside of the bookstores? 

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Best Book Recommendation Services

The folks over at Lifehacker polled their thousands of readers, and came up with a list of the Top Five preferred book recommendation services.  If you're an author looking to get more exposure for your book, it's worth checking out one of these services.  Better yet:  most of them are totally free!

Top Five, by order of popularity:

1.  GoodReads
2.  Amazon
3.  Shelfari
4.  LibraryThing
5.  GetGlue

Honorable mention:  Word-of-mouth from friend, bookstore clerk or librarian.


This poll is by no means scientific, but it's worth noting that bookstores and libraries didn't even make the Top Five.  If you have ever had any doubt about how important it is to have an online presence, this poll should be a good reminder!

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What Happens On Your Book's Release Date...and What Doesn't

"Hi Terry.  Today is my book's release date, and I went to 18 different bookstores and didn't see my book in any of them.  How many books have I sold so far?  When am I going to be on TV?"

At least a couple of times a month, I receive a phone call or an email from an author an their book's release date asking me these questions, or something similar.  The marketing guide we send to our authors does a pretty good job of explaining the significance of a book's release date, but I think many authors have built up this date in their minds into something it is not.

Frankly, I think too much is made of the book's release date.  There are certain things that happen on a book's release date, but many of those are things that occur in the publisher's office and are not things that would be immediately noticeable by an author.  I wish I could come up with a name other than "release date," because I think that term conjures up images of a movie premier, or people lining up around the block at midnight waiting to buy the latest "Harry Potter" book.  More often than not, an author isn't going to notice anything different occuring on their book's release date then what was happening the day before that date.

With that being said, here is what happens on your book's release date, and what doesn't:

Your book likely won't be in a bookstore on this date.   Some publishers have distribution deals with certain bookstore chains, and some of their new releases do appear in bookstores on this date.  This usually happens with titles by bestselling authors, or with titles that the publisher really expects to do well.  More often than not, the release date is simply the first date on which bookstores are able to order a title from the distributor.  If they can't order a title until the release date, then bookstores certainly won't have it on the shelf on the release date...unless the author has placed the book in the store on a consignment basis.

You might have a TV or radio interview on this date...or you might not.  Landing media time to push a book is something every publisher and author strives for, whether it's on the book's release date or not.  However, publishers and authors have to work around the media's interest and availability.  An author may have an interview or an article published about their book on a book's release date, but getting publicity any time after a book's release date is good, too.  More often than not, publishers and publicists don't even start working on media opportunities until the book's release date, because the book isn't widely available until then.

Your publisher probably doesn't know how many books have sold on your book's release date.  Sales are tabulated quarterly, and many book sellers and distributors pay their invoices once every 90 or 120 days. 

You might have a book signing event on this date...or you might not.  If bookstores can't order your title from the distributor until the book's release date, they likely won't be able to schedule a book signing event for you on the book's release date, unless they do so on a consignment basis or get the books directly from the publisher.  Many authors throw their own "book release party" on their book's release date, and that's good, too.  A sale is a sale, whether it's in a bookstore, a rented hall or a private residence. 

There are probably a limited number of books available on the book's release date.  With new authors, distributors and publishers have no idea how many copies of their title is going to sell, they they aren't going to print and stock hundreds of thousand of copies of a book (again, unless it's the new Harry Potter title).  They are going to have enough on hand to meet expected demand.  For the publishers who print their books in print runs, they may or may not sell all of the books in that print run.  If they do sell all of the books from that print run, they go into another printing.  If they don't, they are stuck with overstock, and they have lost money.  Many publishers are switching to digital printing and printing books as they need them.  That means they don't have to print huge numbers of books that may not sell.  It's a cost-control measure, not a statement on how they expect an author's book to sell.

Bottom line:  The success of a book hinges on much more than the first day it's available for sale.  Work on generating consistent sales and demand for your book, not just a big launch date.  Books that sell in consistent numbers month after month, year after year, will be much more successful than a book that did well its first couple of weeks out of the gate, and then fizzled. 

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