online marketing class, winter 2009

The Power of Words and Sh*t

2009-03-08T23:32:00.000-07:00

After spending a week reading my marketing book, I have had my fill of the jargon that's being used. I know every industry has it, but online marketing terminology seems a little showy to me. I'm willing to admit that maybe it's just my perception--I mean, I work in an industry that commonly refers to an entire excavator as a shovel. The language in the construction industry tends to get more simplified over time, easier for everyone to understand, rather than disguising itself behind words that seem to obscure the meaning rather than enhance it.

Ironically, the one I'm most tired of, due to its intentional ambiguity and overusage, is transparent. This word is being thrown around in all of the business world, as well as politics, which immediately raises a red flag in my mind. Okay, so my understanding is that it is being used in place of the word honest, which we all know cannot be used directly. It seems that the minute you assert that you are an honest person or business, the immediate question is, "why did you feel the need to say that?" Being honest is supposed to be expected. It's like this guy on the bus who was trying to pick up on me by literally bragging that he "doesn't hit women".

I think the other thing the word transparent is trying to convey is that its business practices are visible to all. That makes sense, especially in light of the recent fiasco in the banking and mortage industries. But still... I feel sure that I have heard or read the word transparent more times in the last month than any other time in my life. Enough already.

In the same vein, (regarding word choices, anyway), it's also interesting to note the differences between the preferred terms of corporations and the words used by consumers. One such example, from my book Online Marketing Heroes is that Southwest Airlines advertised their discounted fares as red hot airfares!. But nobody types that into a search engine, so they weren't getting as much traffic as they expected. Consumers liked to use the term cheap airfare or cheap airline, but the executives at Southwest Airlines were reluctant to use that term. The obvious connotation with the word cheap is a sense of worthlessness and low quality. But it was brought to the airline's attention that, if Southwest did not use the word cheap, it will certainly be used by some other airline who will get the customer's business.

So I guess the point of my ramblings today has to do with the power of words and how they affect people. Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare for a date with my new boyfriend who never hits me.

Publishing 10 years from now...

2009-03-06T23:44:00.000-08:00

Ten years from now... (in my imagination)

There will certainly be continued growth in Print-on-Demand and online material. These options will be the preferable choice just for the lower overhead and lack of need for storage for the printed book. Consequently, there will likely be a smaller need for distributors.

I'm not sure about this whole e-book thing. I'm wondering if the Kindle will go through so many versions that it will require users to upgrade their devices in order to enjoy better technology, and then will be subject to the kind of frustration that we experienced with the Nintendo system-- that eventually, you have to upgrade (or change to a whole new manufacturer for the better procudt) because all the new stuff is only supported by the newest version of the reader. If that happens, I feel like people will eventually get wise to that game and give up on it.

Walking past a music store last weekend, I stopped to ponder how it would be if the printed book went the way of the vinyl record--relics, cool and retro, still existing as the truest media for the artform. But I feel pretty sure it won't happen in the next 10 years, because there are still too many types of books whose content do not lend themselves easily (or at all) to electronic media. Picture books and board books come to mind, and books on photography and art would just not sell well as images on a screen. The tactile aspect feels appropriate and necessary for image-laden books. For these, I do think the small presses are more fit to handle the demand. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but I think in the long run, small publishers are better suited to determine readers' changing demands and respond to them, much like Kelley was sayimg.

On further speculation, how would it be if something happened that wiped out the internet--completely, irreversably destroyed it? What if this event rendered all computers useless? We would have bigger problems than book publishing , that's for sure, but perhaps this would be the only circumstance under which we as a society would get back to creating things by hand, without the aid of electronic devices. We are hopelessly dependent upon the digital world. But without it, we would still have books. We would still share stories. We could still look up information in printed format. I feel more secure just knowing that there are books around us, and the presence and rediscovery of books I knew as a child give me a warm and happy feeling. It makes me sad to think about a child who would not have the opportunity to feel this way about a favorite book. The experience is just not the same with an electronic screen.

Of course, I do believe it will be well over 10 years before any of the giant publishers close thier doors or fail to meet public demand. The three will likley remain strong, and become more competetive with each other over time. Personally, I look forward to the day when the small presses join forces to slay the ugly conglomerate corporations.

*sigh*

Books and Childhood, continued

2009-03-01T23:01:00.000-08:00

Since I really enjoyed the last blog assignment to talk about books that changed our lives, I thought I would say more about the topic of childhood and books.

As soon as I could read, I was enamoured with books. Fiction was my favorite, but if someone's real life had an engaging story to it, I was into that as well (Anne Frank and Helen Keller come to mind here). I liked to feel like I really understood the characters and was with them during their adventures, and I aspired to create fun characters and situations for myself when I wrote.

I didn't grow up with parents who read. My dad liked Isaac Asimov and had some of his novels on his bookshelf, but I don't recall ever really observing my parents reading. In fact, I would go so far as to say that my mom is an anti-reader, and says that she doesn't have time to sit around and "do nothing". I thought about that recently, and I asked her why she never got into reading as a child, and I discovered something interesting and sad. I knew that as a child, my mom spent five years in Doernbecher's Children's Hospital with a chronic kidney condition, and her parents visited her on the weekends. But my mom said that she doesn't remember there being very many books around the ward when she was there. That would have been during the late 1950's or early 1960's. That seems terribly sad to me. I had other questions, too, that I couldn't bring myself to ask, especially the question about why didn't her parents bring her some books, or read them to her when they came to visit?

I worked as a nanny for four and a half years, and I read to the kids every day I was there. I chose funny and interesting picture books and middle grade novels, and fell in love with those books myself. I loved the reactions the kids had, and the discussions it sparked. I read to them at dinner every night, which we all looked forward to. It was such a gratifying exchange between us, and I am sad that my mother missed out on that in her own childhood. For myself, I still feel a strong connection with my childhood when I read and write. It may be the reason I am drawn to children's books. I'm right there with Whitney when she talks about her love of YA literature, and that's why I want to be involved in some capacity with creating/publishing/editing books for kids. It still feels like home to me.

Thank you, E.B. White

2009-02-28T08:51:00.001-08:00

The first book that ever changed my life would have to be Charlotte's Webb. I think I was in third or fourth grade when I read it, and it was during silent reading time in the afternoon, after recess (my teacher always thought reading was a good way for us to calm down after the chaos of recess).

So, there I was, reading away, never anticipating how this story would end. Maybe I was so focused on the threat on Wilbur's life that I didn't see it coming. But really, I wasn't one to try to anticipate the endings. I liked to be surprised. Well, this one just pulled the rug out from under me... I couldn't believe one of the main characters DIED! It was the first book I had ever read that was sad. I was really embarrassed that I was the only kid in the class who was crying while reading, and my teacher pulled me aside to make sure I was okay. I had not yet known anyone who died, I was so affected by the permanence of death, and more particularly by Charlotte's sacrifice for her friend. It was so moving to me.

Reading that book affected my writing. I loved to write, and had always been in the habit of creating books with drawings and giving them to my parents, teachers, and friends to look at. I enjoyed getting some kind of reaction, hopefully entertaining the reader, or making them laugh. This time, I tried writing a sad story. My characters were a horse and a cat who were friends, and the cat died during some fight trying to defend his friend. What was the reaction? My teacher was concerned about the violence, and my parents were openly disapproving. They asked me why there needed to be a fight, and why the character died. So, I went back and rewrote the end! It was hand written, of course, so just above the drawing on the last page, I squeezed in a line that said something like, "But wait, what's that around the corner? It's Charlie! He was alive!"

But even at the age of seven or eight, I knew that was lame. This was my story! My readers don't get to tell me how it ends! So as a future editor, I have complete respect that a story belongs to the author first, and that my job as an editor is to help with how it's told, to help the author shape it, and to help them come up with the best version of the story they want to tell.

As a side note, I later discovered that my parents have an issue with sad endings in general. They get uncomfortable during movies that end sadly, and if they know a movie will be sad, they will choose not to watch it. So last year, I took a sick satisfaction in making them watch "Million Dollar Baby", which they knew nothing about. They were pissed!

Scholastic's "book" clubs

2009-02-22T23:48:00.000-08:00

I read this article that Brian posted in his comments on Whitney's last blog:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/books/10scho.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=Scholastic&st=cse

It was about how 1/3 of the items sold in Scholastic's brochures were either nonbook items or books packaged with other items. That's a rather high proportion, and it was called into question whether Scholastic was misusing its book clubs to market other types of retail items in schools.

In my opinion, the strongest statement that was made in that article came from the director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. She said that these items send the wrong message to kids-- that a book alone is not enough, and that children may start choosing books by what they receive with it rather than for the book itself. I believe she's right, and it's a bit offensive to see books marketed this way. It seems, to me, the ugly side of marketing. A "we'll do anything that works" attitude. I'm also turned off by the greediness of the publisher who raked in the money from publishing Harry Potter. I mean, how much money is enough of a profit? Doesn't this publishing house make enough revenue not to have to resort to such obvious marketing tactics?

On the other hand, it does work. Kids will get excited about the stuff they'll get with the books, and it will get books into the hand of kids. But effective sales is no measure of ethics. How do we know the kids won't toss the book aside with the packaging, just to get to the "fun stuff"? It scares me to think of books being devalued this way.

It reminds me of how much things have changed since I was a child reader. I used to LOVE getting the Scholastic brochures, bringing them home to peruse through and circling all the things I wanted. I was allowed to get only one book each time, so I would use pencil and start circling all the ones I wanted. Then I'd go back through and erase the ones I had decided against until I finally left only one book circled, and then I gave it to my mother to place the order. I wonder how much stickers and posters and such would have influenced my choices? It's a hard question to answer retrospectively.

Okay, Amazon. You win THIS time...

2009-02-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

Just as I was about to smugly declare that I couldn't remember the last time I even bought anything online (even without online promotions)...that's when Amazon reared its ugly head.

There it was, a message in my e-mail box as if they knew what the blog topic was going to be. The subject line declared innocently, "Amazon recommends 'Caroline in the City, Second Season' and more..." This was a TV show from 13 years ago that I loved, and it was impossibly hard to find. Six months ago, I did find the first season by searching on Amazon, and I put the second season on my wish list. So, I made it easy for them.

I clicked on the link and filled in my info, and on the way through this process, I had two more offers: The first one was if I signed up for a free trial membership of Amazon Prime, I would get free shipping. I didn't even stick around long enough to find out that the little program was all about, because I do not like signing up for things and having to remember to cancel them later, once they are no longer free. Plus, for me, free shipping is not enough incentive because I'm not in a hurry and will pay a couple bucks for the slowest shipping they have.

The second offer was for an Amazon credit card, and if I applied, I would get a $30 credit on my order which would bring the total down to almost nothing. (I suppose the combination of both these offers would have made my purchase "free"). But I categorically decline all credit card offers because I like to shop for my own credit card terms (I worked for a credit card company for 5 years, so I'm very specific about what I want).

So, the total for this order was something like $32.00, which was both Cheap (Commerce) and Convenient. But I didn't get to feel like part of a Community like I would if I bought something at Powell's (of whom I'm a fan on Facebook). But I rationalized that Powell's doesn't sell DVD's, so I have to buy from the evil corporation who knows what I want.

Fun with Print-on-Demand, recreationally speaking

2009-02-15T22:22:00.001-08:00

A week ago, I spent the entire weekend writing and illustrating a short children's book for my library media class. It was one of those times where a great idea occurs to you almost too late, and you have to rush to make it happen. In short, my instructor was going to Guatemala (leaving on Friday the 13th) for a literacy conference, and had mentioned to our class that the schools in Guatemala have very few books. Therefore, she was taking with her as many books in Spanish as she could carry in her suitcase. Since we are required to complete a creative project for that class, I decided to make a book to be translated to Spanish by my friend who is a native speaker.

Because the schools in Guatemala have no climate control, my teacher advised that if we were to find any books to donate, they needed to be hard backed. That's when I knew I'd have to find a printing service to print my book, and so I looked into the options through an online company called Blurb (http://www.blurb.com/). They have a free software program called Booksmart that you can download on your computer, and then you can upload your scanned images into the file to create your own book.

The software was easy to download and incredibly easy to use. I am confident that a child could use it. And the finished products are pleasing--I spent some time perusing some of the other children's books that other people created. Blurb even has a feature to set your own price, so that you can mark up your book and make a profit. I did not choose to utilize this feature, as I made this book for a specific purpose and felt that it had limited marketability. But for those who choose to market their creations, the site provides a number of avenues, including starting a blog through blurb's website, linking to social networking sites, and using Google tools.

This was a unique experience for me. When I discussed it with my teacher, and worried about if finished product would be good enough, she said to me, "Just do your best. In a school that doesn't have enough books, the difference between something and nothing is a lot." That changed my perspective. So then, for me, the appeal of this assignment was that I did not have to feel the pressure of creating a saleable product. My focus was entirely upon creating a simple book with an easy storyline and interesting pictures. For the purpose of that assignment, once the finished product was done, so was my work, as the marketing aspect was completely removed.

On a side note, the other missing piece was editing. Of course, I had my friend's translation edited by a Spanish professor for grammatical accuracy, but no one edited the content. Since I was using the story of the three pigs, it was not really necessary, but I still felt the void. I feel that editing by a third party is an important and crucial step for every piece of writing, and regardless of a story's simplicity, it will never be as good as it could be without the input of a good editor. Looking at the other people's work, I could also recognize the creativity that had not been fine-tuned, and the resulting rawness that these books exhibited. That is why I feel a strong attraction to becoming an editor.

As another experiment, I am considering creating another simple project, perhaps one more heavily laden with photos/imagery rather than writing, and putting it on the Blurb's website just to play with the marketing aspects.

Anybody have any ideas for a generic and simple, image-focused book I could create for this purpose?

E-mail, I <3 You!

2009-02-12T23:48:00.000-08:00

Currently, I think I have five e-mail accounts. There could be more. But the main ones I use are my Yahoo account and Comcast. I use Yahoo most often, because it's the one most of my friends use to contact me. I set up Comcast as a way to filter spam, since I got absolutely no noise there. My intention was to use it solely for school or job-related things, but I am more neglectful in checking on it.

I can't remember how or why I have a gmail account, but I rarely check it. My friend Corina started a hotmail account for me, which she also used to start a MySpace page for me, both of which I almost never use. And then there's the school's pdx.edu account. I don't even know how to log into that, so there are probably at least twenty thousand messages in that box. So, the more unread messages I feel are sitting in that box, the less likely I feel like checking it.

My e-mail habit began at a young age, when I was married to a Marine. During his first deployment to the Western Pacific, we did not have e-mail accounts, and we were stuck with hand-written letters. Sometimes, weeks at a time went by between letters, then I'd get like five at once. We even had to number them to avoid confusion in the conversation. During the second deployment, we bought a laptop for him to take on the ship, and that made things both better and worse for us. Better, because we had more frequent and immediate communication, and worse because we could argue on it. We made good use of WRITING IN CAPITAL LETTERS TO SIMULATE SHOUTING. Since the e-mail was the old odin, DOS- based kind, we couldn't pepper our messages with sweet little emoticons, so we had to settle for the standard colon-dash-end parenthesis. Man, those were the old days, back in the late 90's...

Life is a whole lot better now with the ability to send attachments and live hyperlinks, and to paste photos in the body of your text when you feel like it. I'm sure that makes it more complicated for deployed military personnel, though-- maybe e-mail communication isn't even allowed on aircraft carriers anymore, for reasons of security. How easy is it to intercept an e-mail that may contain classified information? How secure is e-mail in general?

2009-02-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

So, after our lesson about Google analytics, I was eager to try it our in real time.

I work for a small company that sells and rents heavy equipment for construction, and this is the slow season. There are still people out there looking, but it's a matter of successfully connecting with those few buyers. We are at a point where we must reduce our inventory, so some of the equipment may have to go to auction. The salesman (my boss) and I are adverse to this idea, knowing that we will experience a financial loss if we go this route, so we've been stepping up the pace to bring in more prospects.

So, I told my boss about Google's analytics, asking if I could use the company credit card for the pay-per-click feature, but he said he didn't think it would be worth it. I didn't like that answer, so on my own time and with a small budget, I tried it out. Of course, in my imagination, calls would suddenly come pouring in, and my boss would wonder what kind of ethereal force was at work to bring about such a mysterious change, and he would tell me about all the prospects who had called him over the weekend. Then, when I describe my Google ad campaign, he would be forced to admit that he was wrong, and I would be showered with praise and bonuses. (My adult mind knows better, but a girl's got to dream).

Here's what I found:
I put in 78 keywords, including industry jargon and common misspellings from e-mails I have received over the years, and makes and model numbers. After it had been active for 2 hours, I looked at the report and found that the ad had been shown 994 times, and had 4 clicks. Although this represented a .04% success rate, I was happy about the four clicks. As of this evening, the ad has been shown 6719 times and has had 12 clicks. The words Hitachi, John Deere/JD and Cat/Caterpillar got the most hits. (I found out that if you Google "cat"-- even if you're looking for the feline kind-- the first site to appear organically is Caterpillar's home website. I guess that means that there are more people searching for Caterpillar products than domestic cat-related topics/products).

For the sake of curiousity, I intend to leave this campaign going for another week, and maybe I'll change the ad to appear only regionally, and see how that changes the results. If anyone has any other ideas for how I can manipulate this ad in other ways, I would love to hear suggestions.

Anyway, I thought it was a fun experiment, and I'll be sure to report back if it appears that business seems to improve slightly. Or maybe it will be obvious when I start arriving at school in a limo.

Internet Privacy: an oxymoron?

2009-02-01T23:38:00.000-08:00

After my post last week about the internet and social interaction, opinions were shared about social networking. I tend to view Facebook the way Brian Ridder does, that it helps me stay connected to people with whom I otherwise would have lost contact with. But for people who are unfamiliar with its usage, these sites (MySpace and Facebook in particular) can feel like "spying". I'm not much of a MySpace user, but regarding Facebook, I know that only people whom I have approved can look at my profile have access to my information, and also they only know as much as I put out there. To that end, I am still mindful of what comments and photos I am willing to share, and I also behave knowing that anything I write to anyone else is considered public conversation.

But after that, I went on to think about how much information is available online about individuals. I started wondering what is out there for people to see without my knowledge. I'm not really concerned about it, but the curiosity burned so that I wanted to search my own name and see how much someone could find out about me if they were really determined.

So I started with the easy stuff, like just googling my name and my previous name, and using the same names in yellowpages and people-finding sites. I didn't find any current information, such as my redidential address or phone number, but a limited amount of outdated stuff. So I decided to take it a step further and buy a cheap people search feature through "People Finders". I was kind of surprised at how much came up-- yet still, none of it was current. I have had the name "Dey" for 4 years, and my current address and cell phone number were not on the report I viewed. But under my old name, the report gave the names and ages of my parents and brother, and all of my ex-in-laws names and ages, including the grandparents who died 15 years ago. I found all my previous addresses and phone numbers and my date of birth. When I did an address search on a home I preniously owned, I found all that information about my former roommate as well!

Beyond this information, the site keeps prompting you to pay more money for more reports, including a criminal background check and other such reports, so a person of serious or stalker-type intent could potentially find out more. I thought this was an interesting experiment into what is out there, floating around on the internet. I was glad not to find any photos or information that I was unaware of, and to not to discover anything embarrasing or terribly inaccurate about myself.

Case against publisher direct web sales as viable marketing option

2009-01-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

At first, I was tempted to play devil's advocate with this question, and try to make a case for how and why a publisher could manage to successfully sell books in large volume through their own website. Certainly, the profits of direct sales seem incentive enough for the publisher to make the effort.

But after substantial thought, I simply couldn't make a case for it. Currently, average consumers just don't care much about who the publisher of a book is, regardless of the book's popularity, and it would take a monumental effort on the part of the publisher to change this dynamic. The reality is that it would require far more effort and capital than it would ultimately produce. In fact, I could imagine that the publisher could even conceivably lose money at this effort. As we talked about in class, Amazon is able to offer discounts to consumers in such a way that publishers couldn't possibly compete.

Of course, it is necessary for publisher, as with almost any business, to have an online presence. But they have plenty to offer concerning author info and interviews, event info, promotional book information, videos, and podcasts. I think it would be better, despite the profit concession, if they could try to view their distributors as channel partners rather than as competitors. In that regard, publishers and their various distributors should be willing to set up reciprocal links to one anothers' websites. For example, they could consolidate their marketing efforts by using Amazon solely for the book sales, but with tag lines about author signings and supplemental information on the page that directs the user to the publisher's link to view. Bestselling books will often intruige consumers to find more information, and will likely draw traffic to the publisher's website.

After all, a consumer doesn't go to GM's website to buy a car; they go there to find more information about the product and then they go to the dealership (distrubutor) to make the purchase.

Technology: The Beauty and the Beast

2009-01-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

I often think about whether technology makes things better or worse for people, especially on a social level. Personally, I am glad for things such as e-mail and text messaging. I am person who values the written word so much that when friends or family write something personal to me, I tend to save it because it holds tremendous sentimental value to me. I love the exchange of written words with other people.

But technology really caters to what I consider to be our “attention deficit society”, in which we are all so preoccupied with devices that we don’t necessarily interact with one another in a natural way anymore. Case in point: I was recently in line at Costco when the man in front of me suddenly said, “So, what’s for dinner?” Since his face was turned slightly in my direction and there was no one else in close vicinity, I asked, “Are you talking to me?” Then he turned his head completely and pointed to the Bluetooth I hadn’t seen from the angle I was looking at him. He gave me an annoyed look and said, “I’m on the phone!” (Which also means he either answered the phone or called someone without the customary “hello”, but with the forthright question about what was for dinner—and he treated me like I was the jerk). Also, I really hate it when somebody can’t have the decency to get off the phone long enough to make the three minute transaction with the cashier.

I notice the influence of technology every day as I go from one place to the next. People walking through the park blocks, standing in line, or riding on the bus often talk on the phone (even about quite personal information!), or are listening to their iPods, as if to intentionally avoid interaction with the people around them. It seems like we’re always plugged into something. Admittedly, I have the same problem. I’ve had to get by for a day without my cell phone when I forgot to charge it, and I found it almost unbearable. There were probably a dozen times that day when I thought of people I needed to call, and couldn’t. (Payphones? Do they even exist anymore? Plus, 50 cents per call? Please!)

Additionally, e-mails, texting, and IM allow people to neglect proper grammar and punctuation. I consider myself a purist when it comes to these matters, and I am personally offended when I see things that are grammatically incorrect, such as the omission of an apostrophe. When I make those mistakes myself, especially if it is in a format that can’t be corrected, it pains me to see it. Blogging is a new experience for me, which I have found to be difficult because it’s the first time all my classmates have access to reading my assignments. I notice it elicits sort of a performance anxiety, making it take twice as long for me to do the work because I have a fear of sounding ignorant or banal.

So after all these ramblings, I know I will likely continue to have this love-hate relationship with technology… Now, if you’ll excuse me, Facebook awaits.

Allen & Unwin

2009-01-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

After looking over websites this week for class, I decided to examine a website from an international publisher to see how it differs from a national press. In particular, I looked at the website for Allen & Unwin (http://www.allenandunwin.com/), a publisher in Australia. Through Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_&_Unwin), I learned that this publisher has a relationship with Bloomsbury in the U.K., and also acts as a distributor for the Harry Potter books to Australia & New Zealand. This website had more information available about their children's authors, with most of them having a Q & A section.

But for me, the most striking difference was that this particular publisher had so much available information for potential writers under a link called "Being a Writer". This included the common details such as the publisher's submission guidelines and information on a writing competition, but also so much more. There were many exerpts from books about writing (published by this press), broken down into specific topics: Character, Setting, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, and Revision. Additionally, under "Getting Started", there are details about writing journals, memoirs, and family history. So, in summation, I found that this website set itself up to attract yet another type of user--new writers--by taking the time to consider what that group would be interested in seeing. The website staff clearly devoted some time and energy deciding what exerpts would be included from which books under each topic, so this was obviously something the publisher believes that potential writers are an important avatar to address.

With the budget crises most American publishing houses are facing at the present time, I think publishers in the U.S. are not likely to make the effort to cater to the desires of potential writers, as most presses cannot affort to publish very many books per year. But also, an American publisher might expect potential writers to spend their own time finding out about the publishing process and finding ways to improve their own writing skills.

websites

2009-01-16T22:25:00.000-08:00

I agree with Nancy that Simon & Schuster has done a good job with its website, as it appealed to the end user looking to buy books, as well as teachers and librarians searching for lesson plans and supplemental materials.

I liked the website for Chronicle Books a little more, particularly for their organization of children’s books by age categories (I also noted a further division of YA literature from its standard 12-18 age bracket, which is often too large. This publisher has subdivided the books into 12-14 as “Advanced” and 15-18 as “Young Adult”). I thought Chronicle Books did a thorough job of thinking about what their users would want, especially targeting readers and individual book buyers. When a user clicks on a book, several things display on the page without making it appear overly crowded: a link to buy the book, a summary, related titles/recommended reads, and a link to customer reviews. I think that the average reader would care more about customer reviews than critics’ reviews, as most consumers are prone to choosing their books based on entertainment and sentimental values rather than literary merit. I also like the simple layout of the authors’ and illustrators’ bios, each with a link to the author’s own website. The video library was a neat addition, too—I watched a few animated children’s books. I assume these videos are meant to target the parents, not necessarily the children, because although a child would probably enjoy them, I can’t imagine how a child would find him/herself on that website without the direction of a parent. By design, this website really doesn’t appeal to children, which I think is intentional, as the publisher doesn’t need to attract the attention of the children (the press can leave that job to the websites of illustrators and children’s book authors).

With the same website, I do have a couple criticisms. The “kids contests” page was not working, and under “author events”, nothing was posted. Also, maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t quite get the point of podcasting. Was there supposed to be visual feed as well? I was not engaged with only audio feed (the narrator on Episode 47, the narrator introduced an interview with author Noah Holly, “poolside”, which seems an unimportant detail without visual media). Maybe it would have more appeal if they had a sample reading of a chapter.

Our class in Online Marketing

2009-01-11T20:40:00.001-08:00

My first blog. I feel like such a newbie.

But, seriously, I am feeling good about having signed up for this course. Even on the first day, looking at the list of items on the board that we'd be covering-- I just felt so uninformed. Some things on the list were things I had just never heard of before, and I am looking forward to becoming more knowledgeable about what resources exist on the internet and how they can be used for the benefit of marketing books. The internet really feels boundless to me, yet it's so huge that it seems like anything we put out there can be so easily drowned by all that's already out there. Even thinking about this blog makes me feel as though, once it is posted, it's nothing more than a drop of water in the vast ocean. Outside of this class, who's ever going to read it or care about it? For that matter, what is the point of a blog at all? I can imagine an author using it as a sort of message board for his/her readership, but beyond that and personal use, I can't imagine why people use it. I suppose I will soon learn the answer to that.

A re-occurring in my head is that if I can learn to cultivate an instinct for how online marketing can be used, then it could make ME more marketable as a potential intern/employee at a publishing house. Over the summer at a writing conference, I met an editor who is starting a new imprint in San Diego, and I had approached her with the question of whether or not she might need an intern. Since the imprint was so new at the time I asked, she had to tell me that she didn't know yet if she could use an intern. So I thought about how I could approach her in the future-- what strengths and knowledge could I bring to her to help promote books published by her new imprint? Well, certainly marketing knowledge would be helpful, but more specifically, how to market online could be even more valuable to her. So I am bearing that in mind as I go through this class and next term's classes, to work on aquiring knowledge and skills that I can use with a specific angle to apply to the needs of a publishing house.

Thanks for reading!