Whether you are a writer or the publisher, your success depends upon getting your books out in the market and available to buyers. In fact, it can be said that a publisher’s role includes ensuring that the content gets to where it needs to be, and that the readers know it is there. The digital era has changed the way information is presented, purchased and consumed. Interactive books, eBooks, audio books etc. are taking over the reading landscape. As products evolve, they require a new kind of marketing and distribution strategy as well, from a publishing strategy partner.
A publisher has the responsibility to ensure that every book they publish reaches the target readers, at the right time, in the right format, and at the right place. For this, publishers need to draft and implement a proper digital strategy that will assist them to effectively market and distribute their books. Publishers of today are redefining their target market and rethinking their marketing and distribution strategies accordingly. This can be done with the help of from a publishing strategy partner
Distribution
Distribution enables your book to be ordered by and distributed to booksellers and retailers around the world. This allows you to reach a wide audience across the world. The distribution channels will depend on the format of your book, how many copies you intend to sell and the production cost of the book. Print book distribution today involves print-on-demand publishing which is the combination of digital printing with digital online distribution. When a customer purchases your book online, the book is printed and shipped to the customer. For digital books, distribution channels include
* Working directly with online retailers
* Working with eBook distribution services
The internet provides new and better opportunities to distribute content and reach an audience. Selling your digital books through online booksellers will also improve discoverability of your book across the channels.
Marketing
The news of a new book’s publication will not reach the people automatically; publishers and authors have to use a strategically designed plan to take it to them. Marketing books is about engaging the readers with the content that you are selling and inspiring them to buy a copy. In many ways, an important aspect of the publishing world is the marketing campaigns they run.
New technologies like e-book-readers, iPad, Android devices etc., has changed the way readers access books, forcing publishers to redefine their marketing styles in the digital era. For e.g., the content should be optimized for search and marketing should embrace the power of social media. Or the cover page design should be creative and speak to the millennial audience. Publishers are now joining hands with advertising and marketing companies as a publishing strategy partner, to draft and implement digital strategies to sell their e-books online.
Marketing and distribution capabilities that help readers discover and engage with books will be differentiators, perhaps even more than the content itself. In a digital marketplace where the marketing and distribution can be overwhelming, you need publishers that understands the structures of the industry and has the right connections. When you publish with Versatile, a publishing strategy partner, you ensure just that; the potential readers around the world will know about your book and the books will be available to them through various retailers and distribution channels
