Back in 2004, Eric and I decided to take the plunge into the small business world. I wanted to work with the independent authors and publishers that I had fallen in love with throughout the 90s with my work with Jan and Terry Nathan and the #IBPA (then called Publishers Marketing Association), and we devised a plan. I explained that I wanted to "get authors where they can't get themselves" -- My husband and business partner asked, "Like a hotel concierge?" And thus, the light went off for Eric and it made sense to me, so WHY NOT Concierge Marketing Inc.?
At the time, "Concierge Marketing" was not a type of marketing -- that came several years later. Now, "concierge" is often used with "marketing". We captured the name that night in every possible variation.
Initially, we worked with artists and musicians too -- but I won't waste too much time on that, except to say that Seth Godin's "The Dip" helped me make the decision to focus solely on my authors and small publishers and refer the musicians and artists to other marketing experts.
My first client, Janie Peterson of Behaven Day Centers and Behave'n Kids Press, gave me extremely valuable advice. She said "Make friends with your attorney, your accountant and your banker. They are going to be close for a long time." So I went to the Small Business Administration's excellent full day seminar where I met one of each as they taught our class. I still employ the same people that presented that day, and I do consider these people friends (business friends). Janie has always been a trusted friend, and also a valuable mentor. Thank you Janie (and Roger)!
After I took the #SBA classes and another full day #SCORE seminar on taxes, Eric and I decided to go for it. The first official thing I did was to call the attorneys and start the process to incorporate.
The second official thing I did was to join the Omaha Chamber of Commerce on October 20, 2004. The educational and networking opportunities were fun, well run, and priceless. Worth every penny of membership and I highly recommend it to anyone opening a business in Omaha. I don't know about other cities, but our Chamber is top notch. Heck, in 2012 when a group of thieves tried to steal our copper cable in the building and we were down for the count for 9 days, the Chamber let me use their conference room and phones, and even allowed me to have Fedex and UPS deliver my packages to their offices. Last March, 2013, Concierge Marketing was honored as the @OmahaChamber of Commerce's Small Business of the Month and then nominated for Small Business of the Year in 2013.
On April 2, 2005, I was standing at the Starbucks at the Mall waiting for a press conference to begin for the National Sleep Week festivities, with Janie's Sleep Fairy, and the Nebraska Sleep Fair I had organized. Well, if that date seems at all familiar, it was the day Pope John Paul II passed away. Needless to say, no press thought my Sleep Fair was more important than that. Hmmph. That's the day I met Sandra Wendel, owner of Write On Inc. who happened to strike up a conversation at that Starbucks. Not only is she the finest book editor without question, but she has also been a wonderful mentor and friend. Concierge Marketing would not have been able to do what we have done without her. Thank you so much, Sandy.
Bottom line, I could go on and on and on about the people who have been part of my life and my vision. It takes trust, support, courage, humility, faith in your idea and your skills, and a lot of people to make the dream of owning a small business a reality. It also takes a sense of humor, and I can tell you we have laughed a lot in the strangest of situations. I'm grateful for the opportunity to do business with amazing, bright, smart, caring, thought-leading people who I admire and love -- as mentors, staff, friends, clients, and partners. I'm ready for the next ten years.
Humbly,
Lisa Pelto
Showing posts with label IBPA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IBPA. Show all posts
Monday, November 17, 2014
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Book Awards, Seals of Approval, and Shiny Things
Ok, admit it. You like shiny things. Things with bling stick out among the vast array of choices. We like shiny things too. Shiny things often come with someone else saying sparkling things about your book, and we like that too!
Are Awards Competitions and Seals of Approval Worth the Cost?
After decades of entering books, I have to say that experience with the award helps me make better decisions about them. If their Call for Entries says "Winners will be announced to the media in a National press release," I suggest Googling the award to see if they indeed did that last year! If their Call for Entries says you'll get additional exposure from winning, Google that too.
We find there are many fantastic awards programs that we enter frequently because they do what they say they will do. Here are a few of my personal favorites (and yes, we know there are lots more!):
Once a year competitions with approaching deadlines:
Foreword Reviews IndieFab (formerly Book of the Year): https://indiefab.forewordreviews.com
IBPA Ben Franklin Awards http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com/
Eric Hoffer Awards http://www.hofferaward.com/
Next Gen Indie Book Awards http://www.indiebookawards.com/
Global E-book Awards http://globalebookawards.com/
You can enter this one all year:
Mom's Choice Seal of Approval http://www.momschoiceawards.com/enter.php
Be aware that sometimes when you win, you have to purchase a license to use their seal -- they don't want just anyone saying they won their award, so they charge a fee to use it.
It's very simple really.
#1 Write a great manuscript
#2 Produce a great book
#3 Enter it and win lots of awards.
See it's easy! :) Do it! Enter something. You'll get good feedback on your book, and you just might win something shiny. And here's proof that shiny things make a difference...
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Monday, May 30, 2011
BEA and IBPA Book is Closed for 2011
It was true at Publisher's University, and confirmed at the Book Expo: Self Publishing is evolving...quickly.
Turning the page to the future of books, the Publisher's University seemed to be all about Amazon. They are seemingly taking over the world. They were everywhere at Pub-U. Yes, Amazon is important, no critical, for any self publisher's toolbox. But it's only one tool - okay maybe 10 tools, but still. Today's DIY publisher needs to be forming a platform, sharpening their focus, and needs to be tightly edited and well formatted and designed.
My presentation at Pub-U was all about how to work with publishing services companies; starting with hiring professionals for editing, cover design, interior layout, and other publishing duties, to evolving our mindset to serve the customer. Much of my presentation covered "orientation" in the growth and evolution of self publishing -- product, production and customer orientations. It's a concept right out of college marketing texts, but fits perfectly with the publishing e-volution.
Product Orientation - In the infancy of modern self publishing, authors found that they could get their work published and pushed out to the public with little regard for the customer. What they had to say, they had to say ... and "everyone" should buy it and like it. They published with the product foremost in their minds because they could do it, no matter the cost to them financially, nor the cost to editorial quality.
Production Orientation - The next major evolutionary step loomed in the production and printing advancements in the self publishing industry. Virtually anyone could publish their product and push it through to the public easier than ever. Thus the technology drove much of this era in publishing.
Customer Orientation - Now that over a million books are being published (and countless others are being produced that the general public never even sees), the customer has finally become a critical piece in the mix. For the first time, the customer's editorial, quality and content needs are a factor in what authors are writing. In addition, the way in which the customer consumes the book is also driving how the publisher produces their book. It's finally the way it should be.
Hopefully the current customer orientation will never change. With the customer in the mix as the major element driving publishing, the industry is bound to flourish.
Turning the page to the future of books, the Publisher's University seemed to be all about Amazon. They are seemingly taking over the world. They were everywhere at Pub-U. Yes, Amazon is important, no critical, for any self publisher's toolbox. But it's only one tool - okay maybe 10 tools, but still. Today's DIY publisher needs to be forming a platform, sharpening their focus, and needs to be tightly edited and well formatted and designed.
My presentation at Pub-U was all about how to work with publishing services companies; starting with hiring professionals for editing, cover design, interior layout, and other publishing duties, to evolving our mindset to serve the customer. Much of my presentation covered "orientation" in the growth and evolution of self publishing -- product, production and customer orientations. It's a concept right out of college marketing texts, but fits perfectly with the publishing e-volution.
Product Orientation - In the infancy of modern self publishing, authors found that they could get their work published and pushed out to the public with little regard for the customer. What they had to say, they had to say ... and "everyone" should buy it and like it. They published with the product foremost in their minds because they could do it, no matter the cost to them financially, nor the cost to editorial quality.
Production Orientation - The next major evolutionary step loomed in the production and printing advancements in the self publishing industry. Virtually anyone could publish their product and push it through to the public easier than ever. Thus the technology drove much of this era in publishing.
Customer Orientation - Now that over a million books are being published (and countless others are being produced that the general public never even sees), the customer has finally become a critical piece in the mix. For the first time, the customer's editorial, quality and content needs are a factor in what authors are writing. In addition, the way in which the customer consumes the book is also driving how the publisher produces their book. It's finally the way it should be.
Hopefully the current customer orientation will never change. With the customer in the mix as the major element driving publishing, the industry is bound to flourish.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Utilizing Publishing Services Companies
I'm preparing my presentation for a program in New York with Amazon CreateSpace's VP of Marketing. My job is to talk about using the "new tradition" of publishing. In the initial stages of deciding the direction of my presentation, I planned on talking about Amazon and their print-on-demand division, CreateSpace, as the main players to get you where you need to be. I do believe that they are an important and very major player in any new hybrid publishing endeavor, but they aren't the only option. I like them especially because you own ALL the rights to your book (not just the copyright --you want publishing rights too.)
My plan at IBPA is to soak up all I can about all of the upcoming publishing avenues for our clients and other publishing friends. At BookExpo, in addition to it being the biggest book show in the world, we have appointments set up with our foreign rights agent, the press room, a distributor, a couple of ebook companies, five printers, and two catalog buyers. Two days at IBPA, and one rockin' day at BookExpo.
I'll be writing a lot about different publishing options over the next few days, blogging about our trip to New York, and bringing new information from IBPA's Pub-U, and BookExpo.
If you are so inclined, you can still register for both:
Pub-U May 22-23
BookExpo America May 24-26
Stay tuned!
My plan at IBPA is to soak up all I can about all of the upcoming publishing avenues for our clients and other publishing friends. At BookExpo, in addition to it being the biggest book show in the world, we have appointments set up with our foreign rights agent, the press room, a distributor, a couple of ebook companies, five printers, and two catalog buyers. Two days at IBPA, and one rockin' day at BookExpo.
I'll be writing a lot about different publishing options over the next few days, blogging about our trip to New York, and bringing new information from IBPA's Pub-U, and BookExpo.
If you are so inclined, you can still register for both:
Pub-U May 22-23
BookExpo America May 24-26
Stay tuned!
Friday, April 29, 2011
CMI is presenting at IBPA’s Publishing University on May 22-23 NYC
It's official!
I will be one of the industry experts slated to appear at IBPA’s Publishing University in NYC, now in its third decade of offering the best in publishing education to new publishers.
Here's their announcement:
Speaking in the session entitled The New Publishing Tradition: Q & A with Pub Service Professionals. Pelto will be sharing the nuts and bolts of utilizing the new options for self publishers and small presses through publishing services companies with attendees.
Join Lisa Pelto along with keynote speaker and visionary Skip Prichard of Ingram Digital, the E-magination Panel of ebook experts, private consulting sessions in the “Ask the Experts” event, and enjoy more than 20 concurrent sessions, general sessions and the Benjamin Franklin Awards Gala at IBPA's Publishing University in New York City on May 22-23 at the Javits Center.
Highlights:
No matter what stage of publishing you’re in—an author-publisher, a one-book publisher, a more experienced publisher—IBPA Publishing University, held at the Javits Center just prior to BEA, brings you hands-on tools and techniques to succeed in a world where the only constant is perpetual change.
I will be one of the industry experts slated to appear at IBPA’s Publishing University in NYC, now in its third decade of offering the best in publishing education to new publishers.
Here's their announcement:
Speaking in the session entitled The New Publishing Tradition: Q & A with Pub Service Professionals. Pelto will be sharing the nuts and bolts of utilizing the new options for self publishers and small presses through publishing services companies with attendees.
Join Lisa Pelto along with keynote speaker and visionary Skip Prichard of Ingram Digital, the E-magination Panel of ebook experts, private consulting sessions in the “Ask the Experts” event, and enjoy more than 20 concurrent sessions, general sessions and the Benjamin Franklin Awards Gala at IBPA's Publishing University in New York City on May 22-23 at the Javits Center.
Highlights:
No matter what stage of publishing you’re in—an author-publisher, a one-book publisher, a more experienced publisher—IBPA Publishing University, held at the Javits Center just prior to BEA, brings you hands-on tools and techniques to succeed in a world where the only constant is perpetual change.
- 20 breakout sessions including the hottest how-to topics in publishing led by industry experts
- General sessions featuring the movers and shakers of the industry—including keynote speaker Skip Prichard, CEO of Ingram Content Group
- The opportunity to “Ask the Experts” in your own private consulting session.
- Formal and informal networking with colleagues and future mentors
- Celebration concert with Beatles tribute band “Mostly Moptop” at the conclusion of the Benjamin Franklin Awards for Excellence in Publishing
- Discounted badge for BEA
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Join a Publishing Association for Networking and Marketing Opportunities
In 1993, I joined Publisher's Marketing Association. From the first day, they offered great advice, but mostly they offered me a chance to be with like-minded people at events, and to talk to people about what they did for their own books, from printing to marketing. Truthfully, the organization changed the direction of my career and I fell in love with the independent publisher/author/illustrator/expert members in the group and elsewhere in the world.
In 2009, they became the Independent Book Publisher's Association, focusing more of their resources and attention on the business aspects of book publishing. It's been a valuable relationship, and I have met some amazingly creative people. If you plan on publishing a book, I highly suggest joining IBPA, one of their affiliates, or another association. Don't just join. Participate and be involved for the greatest payback.
http://www.ibpa-online.org/
What other organizations do you rely on for your book publishing and marketing?
In 2009, they became the Independent Book Publisher's Association, focusing more of their resources and attention on the business aspects of book publishing. It's been a valuable relationship, and I have met some amazingly creative people. If you plan on publishing a book, I highly suggest joining IBPA, one of their affiliates, or another association. Don't just join. Participate and be involved for the greatest payback.
http://www.ibpa-online.org/
What other organizations do you rely on for your book publishing and marketing?
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