Monthly Theme - Course Outline
Independent Publishing is as Simple as
Pie!
When Brian Jud, book marketing pro and long time SPAN supporter, say's that publishing success is as "simple as pie," he is referring to an acronym that stands for: Plan, Implement, and Evaluate (P.I.E). Notice that Brian say's simple...not easy!
If you are just starting out in the independent publishing industry, or are struggling to achieve your publishing goals, SPAN aggregates and maintains educational resources that will help you with the P.I.E. process.
(Application: Since we can't customize individual plans, SPAN offers resources to help you generate specific ideas that will become action items in your written business plan. A basic approach for keeping track of these ideas is to make notes under the broad, but traditional market planning categories of Product, Price, Place and Promotion. An additional resource is available to our SPANpro Members who can click here and download SPAN's Marketing Plan Workbook.)
Start with these Four Foundational Topics!
1. Independent Publishing Overview - Don't be overwhelmed!
The tile of last month's SPAN Webinar with Brian Jud says it all: "A Beginner's Guide to Book Marketing; or, Back to the Basics!" In a little over 90 minutes, Brian overviews the basics of successful independent publishing: Product, Price, Place (Distribution), and Promotion. This foundational education can be seen by clicking here.
In this audio recording entitled "Laying a Profitable Publishing Foundation", renowned self-publishing expert and SPAN Co-Founder, Marilyn Ross will not only inspire you, but will help you generate a specific independent publishing "to-do list." Ms. Ross' presentation (recorded at a SPAN conference) overviews the book production process from mission statement and ISBN, through book cover design, distribution and promotion.
http://spanpro.info/audio/marilyn-ross-fri-am-2005.mp3
(FYI: The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 5th Edition by Marilyn Ross and Sue Collier, is considered by many to be the "Bible" of self-publishing and can be ordered from this website: http://selfpublishingresources.com/)
2. Target Market Identification - Everybody recommends it!
This is critical, and from experience, I know how hard it is to coming to the realization that your book, business, or product is not for "everybody." Better said: Your marketing budget is not big enough to sell to "everybody" - even if you are Wal-Mart. So, click here for a great article by Katrina Sawa and start to Define Your Target Market in 5 Easy Steps.
If you already have a successful cause or business model (sometimes referred to as a platform), independent publishing can offer a product extension - adding a way to communicate with your established audience (target market), and providing the potential for an additional revenue stream. Click the following link to overview an excellent example (including an ongoing marketing plan critique) of this platform concept from SPANpro member Margi Taber and the RockStar/SuperStar Project.
http://www.spannet.org/forum/topics/thoughts-to-share-with-a-new self-publisher
3. Publishing Business Fundamentals - Brick by Brick!
You will have to establish a business structure and understand what that means legally and financial (read here: taxes!). Don't worry; people from around the world have come to America to start successful businesses since the pilgrims landed at Plymouth. You can do this! The United States Small Business Administration is an excellent place to begin your business education. Click to this resource: 10 Steps to Starting a Business.
In SPAN's last eNewsletter, we provided this link to the United States Small Business Administration's website that overviews, among other things, different business structures like Corporation, LLC, and Sole Proprietorship. But another issue that is fundamental to this industry is Copy Right Law, and SPANnet member Russell Mickler has provide this excellent video that overviews this important subject. Thank you Russell!
http://www.spannet.org/profiles/blogs/copyrights-and-title-17
4. The Digital Revolution - Changing everything!
Change creates opportunity and this industry is changing. But before I recommend some futuristic reading, remember this: there is still a market for vinyl records and print books are not dead! I know, Amazon sold more eBooks than pBooks, but they are not the market - just a marketplace. By most estimates, pBooks still make up over 85% of total book sales. Here my point: before reading Russell Mickler's excellent SPANnet Blog on the future of independent publishing, review number 2 above - Target Market Identification. What type of book will your market purchase? At what price? Where are you going to sell it to them? How will you promote it? Now click here to read Russell's Blog: The Paperchase Manifesto.
Since SPAN's own Larkin Flora published the following article on eBook Best Practices, SPANnet has added 100's of new members, and Larkin's article is as applicable as ever! If you are considering publishing an eBook (and you should be!), here is a great article that will provide a foundation to your digital education.
http://www.spannet.org/page/ebooks-best-practices
Digital Bonus: eBook or print book marketing starts by helping readers, bookstore buyers, and librarians find your book with a Computer Search. Understanding and controlling the digital information (metadata) that is associated with your book is critical to online marketing, and the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) is offering a discount (only $119) to SPAN members for a series of four webcasts that will teach you how to utilize this information!
Click here for additional detail, and use discount code SPAN-20 when registering
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Additonal Resouces, Articles & Blogs
1. Independent Publishing Overview - Don't be overwhelmed!
From the SPANpro Webinar Series with Brian Jud:
Click here for: Marketing on a Budget - Get the Most Buzz for Your Bucks
2. Target Market Identification - Everybody recommends it!
Click here for a detailed process on:
How to Identify a Target Market and Prepare a Customer Profile
Copyright © 1999-2008 Edward Lowe Foundation. All rights reserved.
3. Corporation, LLC, Sole Proprietorship - Oh my!
More coming soon!
4. The Digital Revolution - Changing everything!
More coming soon!
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Short Links:
Just like old times! Morning breaks over a cup of coffee and the daily paper. The coffee is the same, but now the paper is digital, social media generated (Twitter), and focused on industry news and education. Subscribe to the #publishing daily!
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