Not knowing why someone doesn't like you doesn't make you better.
Most customers don't tell you why they aren't doing business with you -- they just quietly disappear. Since it is so rare that someone will tell you, be sure to mine any criticisms or negative comments you are lucky enough to hear about your book or yourself until you get to the heart of the problem. Then try to fix it.
Understanding the Nature of Your Customer Relationships Helps You Utilize Criticism
In helping authors self publish, I understand that my work involves handling someone's baby – a book he may have dreamt of his entire life. With that in mind, my own opinions may need to be carefully weighed before I push them too hard.
Most clients are ecstatic because we are so good at what we do. However, there is a rare frown or unpleasant long pause. I understand that an author must love their book, so if I sense any unhappiness, I sit down with them and all but beg for them to tell me any criticisms they have about me, my company, the product we created, how they have been treated -- you name it, I want to know. I assure them that I want to know what they are thinking and that they may indeed hurt my feelings, but I would be more hurt if we didn't create something they absolutely love.
Criticism is a Gold Mine of Business Intelligence
I treasure any and all criticism and/or negative comments as nuggets of gold -- little bits of wisdom I can mine both to make our company better at serving our clients, and to make products and services that our clients are proud to affix their name (in 1 inch letters on the front cover!).
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Coming Up For Air Can Net You the Biggest Fish
As a book marketer and packager of many different genres, I know how distracting the various markets can be and how hard it is to catch every little fish in the pond -- let alone the big fish. I know how bad it feels to just miss an opportunity that should have been mine, or one of my client's. "The One That Got Away" always feels awful for a long time.
I'm sure you have experienced it, too. Everyone misses opportunities because we are drowning in information. To make it worse, the news always bubbles to the surface only one measly day too late -- you hear about an event that would have been perfect for featuring your book, or you see an article in the paper where you would have been the perfect expert to interview, or a conference brochure arrives in the mail with another author delivering your topic, or someone tells you the most horrible news of all: Oprah just did a show on just your topic.
How can you be sure you are reeling in the best opportunities when there are so many places to fish? Realistically, you can't. You are probably forehead deep in your topic already and can barely find time to come up for air as it is. But you need to if you are going to thrive as an author. Using tools that are available can certainly help.
Here are three of my best fishing holes for automating a constant flow of useful information. Yes, I know any angler will tell you never to reveal where the fish are biting, but these will help you be more on top of things.
1. Google Alerts with daily notifications:
"Call for Presentations" caregiving
"Call for Presenters" caregiving
"Call for Speakers" caregiving ..... and so on.
The results will come up with various Calls and you will be asked to prepare proposals for your presentations -- some are very short and concise with their requirements, and some are extensive proposals. Knowing they are available is 3/4 of the battle!
3. Subscribe to HARO.com (Help a Reporter Out) and PitchRate. Every day, you will receive an email (sometimes more than once a day). That email contains a list of articles for which reporters and bloggers are currently looking for experts to interview. Casting your line into the water is simple, and you'll be surprised at how you can easily and quickly build your reputation for being a helpful expert.
Come up for air, use the tools that are free and readily available, and start catching those opportunities!
I'm sure you have experienced it, too. Everyone misses opportunities because we are drowning in information. To make it worse, the news always bubbles to the surface only one measly day too late -- you hear about an event that would have been perfect for featuring your book, or you see an article in the paper where you would have been the perfect expert to interview, or a conference brochure arrives in the mail with another author delivering your topic, or someone tells you the most horrible news of all: Oprah just did a show on just your topic.
How can you be sure you are reeling in the best opportunities when there are so many places to fish? Realistically, you can't. You are probably forehead deep in your topic already and can barely find time to come up for air as it is. But you need to if you are going to thrive as an author. Using tools that are available can certainly help.
Here are three of my best fishing holes for automating a constant flow of useful information. Yes, I know any angler will tell you never to reveal where the fish are biting, but these will help you be more on top of things.
1. Google Alerts with daily notifications:
- Your name (and all its misspellings)
- Your book title (ditto on the misspellings)
- Your company name (ditto)
- Your competitors' names (ditto)
- Your competitors' book titles (ditto)
- Your topic areas -- in as many ways as you can think of saying them (ditto)
- Celebs, VIPs, experts in your topic area (ditto)
- Associations, organizations, groups important to your topic (ditto)
"Call for Presentations" caregiving
"Call for Presenters" caregiving
"Call for Speakers" caregiving ..... and so on.
The results will come up with various Calls and you will be asked to prepare proposals for your presentations -- some are very short and concise with their requirements, and some are extensive proposals. Knowing they are available is 3/4 of the battle!
3. Subscribe to HARO.com (Help a Reporter Out) and PitchRate. Every day, you will receive an email (sometimes more than once a day). That email contains a list of articles for which reporters and bloggers are currently looking for experts to interview. Casting your line into the water is simple, and you'll be surprised at how you can easily and quickly build your reputation for being a helpful expert.
Come up for air, use the tools that are free and readily available, and start catching those opportunities!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Weigh Your Options -- And Your Book
If you are expecting book sales that will require mailing single copies, have your printer make a mock up of your book with the actual papers and page count prior to printing, and then weigh it. Then add an envelope and a mailing label -- and any other collateral items you are considering including in your orders. This is operations, my friends. And operations can make or break a publishing company (or any other type of company for that matter). Does it really matter?
Challenge: We completed a project wherein 75% of the books were sent out to individuals one at a time. The book weighed 15.2 ounces, but with the envelope, bookmark and label, the final weight was 16.1 ounces. That meant that rather than paying $2.41, he was paying $2.82 per piece. (see Media Mail pricing sheet). With a margin barely at $4 per book when he arrived, that was a pretty significant difference. Prior to working with us, my client had paid for the whole second pound on each package because of one stinking 10th of an ounce. In this case, he was already using the lightest weight envelope and a regular mailing label, and my client liked the papers used in his book, so we didn't want to change that. Did we have an option?
Solution: On the next printing, we cut off 1/8th inch off the height of the book -- and that did the trick. There are creative solutions to nearly every problem, and this was a great fix for a potential profit hog. In our case, the buyers didn't even realize anything was different, and my client's profit margin rose over 10% per sale.
Moral of the story: Consider how you will be selling and fulfilling your books, and make the shipping operation part of your initial planning process. Make sure your shipping costs reflect the actual weight of the book, and that you have thoughtfully considered whether or not your buyer values that extra fraction of an ounce over saving a little on shipping. It could be the difference between making a profit and losing money on books sold, depending on the buyer's terms.
Challenge: We completed a project wherein 75% of the books were sent out to individuals one at a time. The book weighed 15.2 ounces, but with the envelope, bookmark and label, the final weight was 16.1 ounces. That meant that rather than paying $2.41, he was paying $2.82 per piece. (see Media Mail pricing sheet). With a margin barely at $4 per book when he arrived, that was a pretty significant difference. Prior to working with us, my client had paid for the whole second pound on each package because of one stinking 10th of an ounce. In this case, he was already using the lightest weight envelope and a regular mailing label, and my client liked the papers used in his book, so we didn't want to change that. Did we have an option?
Solution: On the next printing, we cut off 1/8th inch off the height of the book -- and that did the trick. There are creative solutions to nearly every problem, and this was a great fix for a potential profit hog. In our case, the buyers didn't even realize anything was different, and my client's profit margin rose over 10% per sale.
Moral of the story: Consider how you will be selling and fulfilling your books, and make the shipping operation part of your initial planning process. Make sure your shipping costs reflect the actual weight of the book, and that you have thoughtfully considered whether or not your buyer values that extra fraction of an ounce over saving a little on shipping. It could be the difference between making a profit and losing money on books sold, depending on the buyer's terms.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
What Makes a "Good Contact"?
I was talking to a few people upon my return from BookExpo, and found myself saying "I met a couple great leads and a few good ones." But now, I'm thinking "What makes them a good lead?" Are they saying "I made a great contact" after meeting me at the show?
It's not just the connection at the show that makes a "Good Contact," it's the relationship that buds at the show, and then blossoms with care and nurturing after the show.
Just like any other type of relationship, a "Good Contact" requires give and take, too. It requires trust on both parts and integrity on both parts. And you need to plan how to handle your new relationships from the early stages so they are able to grow. At CMI, we plan what we are doing with contacts before we go to a show or networking event. Sometimes you are the one getting the contact; sometimes you are the contact. You have to decide if the relationship is something you need and want in your professional life. Here are the questions that you should ask yourself:
Set your own list of non-negotiables in the contacts you make -- and be aware that others are also doing the same (you hope). The most difficult part in the networking relationship is looking at yourself in the mirror and asking "Am I a good contact?"
For more great information on networking, read Jeff Beals' book Self Marketing Power.
It's not just the connection at the show that makes a "Good Contact," it's the relationship that buds at the show, and then blossoms with care and nurturing after the show.
Just like any other type of relationship, a "Good Contact" requires give and take, too. It requires trust on both parts and integrity on both parts. And you need to plan how to handle your new relationships from the early stages so they are able to grow. At CMI, we plan what we are doing with contacts before we go to a show or networking event. Sometimes you are the one getting the contact; sometimes you are the contact. You have to decide if the relationship is something you need and want in your professional life. Here are the questions that you should ask yourself:
- Is this going to be a one-way relationship, or are there reciprocal benefits?
- Do we have something legitimate to offer each other in our businesses or is it not really a perfect match?
- Do the benefits of this relationship outweigh the costs of nurturing and maintaining it?
- Am I willing to share my network with this person?
Set your own list of non-negotiables in the contacts you make -- and be aware that others are also doing the same (you hope). The most difficult part in the networking relationship is looking at yourself in the mirror and asking "Am I a good contact?"
For more great information on networking, read Jeff Beals' book Self Marketing Power.
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.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Book Expo America and NYC -- Here we come!
Keeping it light and easy this year on our way to BEA. First stop Saturday: DIY Conference (if our flight is on time.) Sunday: Brunch with a client, and then off to the first day of IBPA - Publisher's University. Monday: Into Javits by 7am for networking, then presenting with Amazon's CreateSpace guru Jon Fine on how to work with a publishing services company, and then meetings, meetings, meetings. Monday night: Ben Franklin Awards. Tuesday: It's off to the races at BookExpo, starting off the day with a rights agent to explore what our clients have been up to... then off to meet with distributors and printers, catalogers and buyers.... and finally, meet with the CEO of Baker and Taylor about a few things that are on my mind.
We're out there advocating for our clients nationally. Many of our clients are advocating for their platform all around Nebraska and in many places nationally. It's a crazy weekend and a crazier two days to follow, but I'm SO EXCITED!!!
Thanks to my AMAZING staff for pulling everything together, and to my wonderful family for putting up with my passion for the independent author. We have some really cool tricks up our sleeves for finding real business for y'all! We'll be reporting regularly here on this blog... stay tuned for news!
Lisa
We're out there advocating for our clients nationally. Many of our clients are advocating for their platform all around Nebraska and in many places nationally. It's a crazy weekend and a crazier two days to follow, but I'm SO EXCITED!!!
Thanks to my AMAZING staff for pulling everything together, and to my wonderful family for putting up with my passion for the independent author. We have some really cool tricks up our sleeves for finding real business for y'all! We'll be reporting regularly here on this blog... stay tuned for news!
Lisa
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!
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