The Next Chapter in Book Marketing

At first glance it seems like a contradiction.  Gary Vaynerchuk, new media advocate, signing a ten book deal with HarperStudio?  In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions in social media, and the internet landscape in general, is that all old media forms have effectively been rendered antiques by the new means of distributing information.  It would be ridiculous to assert that these industries won’t need to undergo massive changes in order to adapt to the new world of content, but it’s equally as ridiculous to completely write them off.  Some thoughts about what we’ve learned about the future of the book industry from our experiences with Gary’s upcoming book, Crush It!:

1. Competition doesn’t mean irrelevance.

This is basic economics, or, if you would prefer, evolutionary theory.  Qdoba isn’t out of business because Chipotle exists, Apple and Microsoft are both successful, and Wal-Mart’s dominance didn’t force Target out of business.  Competition forced each competitor to deliver better value to the consumer, and the easiest way to do that was to continually improve their services.  This is not to say that there weren’t plenty of Burrito Bonanza’s and Thrifty Spendless stores that suffered because of the aforementioned companies, but the overall quality of the respective industries improved as a result.

The same thing is happening in media.  Is the book industry going to take some lumps because of the prevalence of blogging and the proliferation of condensed information?  Absolutely.  At the same time, there are still many people who derive tons of value from the the book format. As such, these are still extremely important mediums, and their format will just need to adapt to the current marketplace.

2. With Crush It!, we’ve stayed true to our progressive roots and attempted to embrace the fact that content is getting cheaper and cheaper.

We’ve tried to add value to purchasing books through a number of avenues, from sending out free wristbands to offering a private dinner with Gary.  Ultimately though, one of our strongest weapons has been the goodwill accumulated by Gary through his years of providing free content through his various platforms.  While it’s scary to rely on your community to repay you for free content, we’ve learned that while not everyone will return the favor, the generosity of those who do, can more than make up for it.

3. If you’re selling a book and only looking to market to individual consumers, you’re digging yourself a hole that will be incredibly difficult to climb out of.

With Crush It!, we’ve not only promoted the book to individual consumers, but also to teachers and businesses who could derive value from the book.  Obviously it’s gong to be a tougher sell if you’re trying to sell a fiction novel through those same outlets, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek out organizations and clubs that would find your book relevant.  It’s easier to sell 40 books to one person than to sell 40 books one by one.

This post only grazes the surface of the lessons we’ve learned, and the strategies deployed, in the lead-up to the release of Crush It!.  I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas about the book industry and am excited to come back on here in a couple of weeks to relay how the book’s actual release has shaped our opinions.