Bringing Book Publicity Up-to-Date

A great article by Cory Doctorow.

How to Write a Cease-and-Desist Letter

See the letter Jack Daniel sent to the author of a book whose cover mimics their Trademark.

What a great way to enforce your intellectual property rights -- friendly-like, reasonable and great for public relations.

Brilliance at Staples

Yesterday I returned a $6 binder to Staples. It had been intended for use at my previous job and it no longer fit my needs. My return was processed quickly and a refund issue to my credit card. This is the norm with Staples returns: ease of transaction and nothing to sign.

Then they surprised me: The clerk gave me a coupon for $5 off my next purchase of $25 or more. How brilliant is that?

Since I had thought about a different need for a binder or two, it took less than ten minutes for me to redeem that coupon.

Without the coupon I would have spent less than $25, but the coupon inspired me to pick up two extra items for a total $36 value purchase that cost me $31.

More importantly, it reinforced my already positive feeling about Staples and strengthened my loyalty.

My approach to sales and marketing management

Try new things, analyze, do more of what worked. Then continue to experiment.

Have a plan, but be ready to deviate from it based on new ideas and information.

Cultivate finance and operations colleagues, and understand what they need and do.

Hit on all the cylinders that drive profit: Increase revenue, lower expenses, improve margins.

Develop business models that work for you and your customers.

And don't forget to ask for the order.

Advice to Authors

I am on a number of book publishing forums. Regularly, a new author complains about the difficulty of finding an agent. Others talk about self-publishing. And then I read stories of people who have paid large fees to "agents" or "publishers" and I cringe. So here are a few thoughts.

There are plenty of agents who are looking for new authors. However, you can't just bombard them. You need to find agents who are interested in the kind of book you've written. Many authors mention their agents in their acknowledgments. Look at books in your field or genre or aiming at a similar audience. Then, look at the agent's web site -- every agent has requirements for how to submit to them. One I'm friendly with requires submissions online and is very specific about the process. In return, she reviews and responds to every submission. Not all do.

Ignore any who ask for a fee. They are not real agents. An agent is a broker who represents you in a transaction for a commission. Also, any "publisher" who asks for money isn't a real publisher. A publisher is a manufacturer who licenses your product (i.e. book) and takes the risk of producing and marketing it. They get your intellectual property and pay you a royalty when they sell it (or in advance). The money goes from them to you; not the other way.

A comment on one of the forums recently said the difficulty in finding agents is leading to more self-publishing. I don't agree. It's always been challenging to get an agent. It's always been challenging to get published. Ironically, more books than ever are being published by real publishers, and most of them are sourced through agents. However, more people than ever seem to be writing books. Most of what's called self-publishing is really self-printing. Just because you now can easily get a book printed or set up for POD...that's not publishing. Publishing is a business that includes sales, marketing and distribution, editorial development, design and manufacturing. If you're not expert in these areas or willing to become competent, you are unlikely to be successful at self-publishing. There are always exceptions, but that's what they are.

When Sales Is Also Customer Service

New to the area, I selected a new dentist this April and went for a cleaning. As I was checking out, they had me address a postcard to myself that they would send in six months to remind me to call for an appointment, a common practice. All they then needed to do was correctly file the postcard and mail as scheduled.

I received the postcard, and kept intending to call for that appointment. I've done that before, and eventually I do call and make the appointment, but it could be a month or more late, despite my intentions to stay on a six month schedule.

This time something new happened. A week after I received the card, the dentist's office called and asked if I'd like to make an appointment. I was grateful they did, and made the appointment.

Perhaps it's always been the practice at this office, or perhaps business is slow. But they provided a service by reaching out to me, and made a sale at the same time.

What can you do to increase sales and leave your customers thanking you for doing so?

Is "Dress for Success" Dead?

This piece is inspired by an article titled The Tragic Decline of Business Casual.

In his work life, my father dressed above his pay grade. He shopped at Wallach's and had "his" salesman. I remember accompanying him there one time. He told the salesman he wanted two summer suits. The salesman knew which suits to propose. Dad put each one on and proceeded to the tailoring platform. While they were being marked, the salesman was pulling shirts and ties to go with them. He knew Dad's style preferences. Over time, he was also able to move Dad up the price ladder. That was salesmanship! But Dad knew that to be successful, you had to look successful.

Times certainly have changed, and I admit to having mixed feelings about it.

I recently worked in an office in Colorado where shorts, sneakers and t-shirts were common. I wore them too, happily. It provided a comfortable work environment in an office where there were few outside visitors.

Before working for that company, I had regular business at their headquarters in Washington DC. Going there in the 90s, a shirt and tie were the minimum requirements for men, and if you were meeting with an executive, you always put on a jacket. A new CEO came in and introduced business casual. Today, you'll see some executives in jeans.

I like being comfortable, and I like not having to invest a lot of my pay in clothing. But I wonder if a lack of standards is a good thing.

In todays world it's so hard to decide what appropriate dress is for a given event. The toughest calls are job interviews. I think there is still truth to the idea the better-dressed people get treated better. But ten years ago I came to a job interview dressed in jacket and tie, and found my interviewers were all 15 years younger than I, and dressed in jeans or business casual. There is no question in my mind that my more formal dress worked against me.

Last week I exhibited at a trade show in San Francisco. My sense of the industry was that a suit or jacket and tie would be appropriate as opposed to the polo shirts I now sometimes wear at trade shows. Indeed, many exhibitors were dressed this way (women wearing the equivalent suits or dresses), although some wore logo shirts. Among the attendees, a sizable minority wore suits, and most of the rest were business casual. However, a fair number were dressed in sneaks, jeans and t-shirts, and some of those were ratty looking shirts and frayed jeans. Sorry, but they looked like bums. And perhaps they don't care -- they're buyers and have money to spend, so there. To me it makes them seem less serious.

I knew the world had changed when I exhibited at a computer trade show in the early 90s and the IBM folks had logo polos instead of the traditional white shirt and dark suit and tie. I think I'm OK with a more casual look in any business environment, but where I draw the line is when you transition from clean and neat, to sloppy and worn-looking.

There must still be a perception among the public that a suit makes you more important or trustworthy. Note that nearly every male news anchor or or talk show host wears a suit (with women wearing the equivalent). Would you deposit your money with a banker dressed in a t-shirt with printing on it, torn jeans and untied sneakers?

The Price Is Right

Seth Godin has a wonderful post on pricing your products or services to reward your customers and partners for their loyalty.

Two personal stories, both of which relate to services whose prices have gone down radically over the past decade:

I used to use register.com for my domain registrations. A few years ago I switched to godaddy, despite their awful commercials, because they had the best price. After using godaddy, I found I also like their web site and domain management tools. So I decided to switch the domains that were still at register.com to godaddy. This required actually calling register.com. In an effort to keep my business, they offered to match godaddy's price. I told them that if they had offered that price in the first place I wouldn't have switched, but now it was too late.

For more than ten years, I have used intermedia.net for my domain hosting. They have a great service, a useful online knowledgebase, and when I do need support they are responsive. However, as more competitors have entered the field, they have remained the high-priced supplier. I am willing to pay something more to retain their excellent service and avoid the hassle of moving all my files and learning new procedures at another supplier. About five years ago, I was considering a switch, but they lowered their prices enough to keep me. But now, I am paying $35 a month for services I could get from highly rated companies for well under $10. So I wrote to intermedia on their customer service web form, giving them an opportunity to keep my business. No response. This may not be my highest priority, but I will be switching.

They

Recent interactions with customer service people at supermarkets, other stores and on the phone indicates that many companies have not trained their people in what for me is the number one item on my list when I hire a customer service person:

There is no "they." There is only "we."

Make the Calls!

I've been in the publishing business for 30 years. A lot has changed, but at least one thing remains true: If you are selling to independent retailers, no matter how many customers you have, you need to call them.

They may love your company and its products, and perhaps you're not worried about a competitor taking your place on their shelves. But they have a lot of vendors, employees to manager and customers to serve. In this economy many have reduced employee hours, which means the owners and managers are doing more.

My wife and I own a small publishing company, and running it is one of several gigs we each have. Ours is a somewhat seasonal business, Memorial Day was approaching, and we had both been busy with other things. She started calling and the result is May will be our best month to date. A number of dealers thanked her for calling because they just hadn't got around to ordering our product.

"Smiling and dialing" still works.

Press Agents Shining Hour, today 3:15 - 4:15 local time

On this 47th Press Agents Shining Hour, I recall PASH's greatest coverage when my dad hired college students to picket the White House:

On May 5th,1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson's White House observed one of the more unusual "special events" -- Press Agents Shining Hour (PASH).

PASH was the first client of a company called Proxy Pickets, formed by and employing DC college students to picket for hire. The PASH demonstration was picked up by AP and numerous local papers, resulting in more than 100 placements nationally. And we almost made national TV: the founder of Proxy Pickets was later on "To Tell The Truth," and just as Kitty Carlisle asked the real founder who his first client was, Bud Collyer said that time was up!

In Marc Benioff's book, Behind the Cloud, the founder of salesforce.com writes about a similar tactic. From the Business Week review:

Benioff could have written an entire book about marketing. This one is peppered with ideas that once seemed over the top but turned out to work. Early on, for example, Benioff hired actors to pose as protesters outside a user conference held by larger rival Siebel Systems. They chanted that traditional software was "obsolete" while a fake TV crew interviewed passersby. The stunt generated a lot of press—aka, free advertising.

Great minds...

For a New Book Publishing Model

Once upon a time, there was the hardcover.

Then there was the pocket (mass-market) paperback.

Then there was the high-quality "trade" paperback.

Then there was the audiobook.

Then there was the e-book.

Publishers looked for a way to deploy these different formats in order to maximize profits. Not unreasonable. In general, they believed that either paperback format would cannibalize the hardcover. So would e-books, if priced less than the hardcover. Audiobooks not as much of a problem as long as they were priced appropriately.

Also, they found that a paperback release about a year after the hardcover created a new marketing opportunity.

What they did not realize is that by postponing release of paperbacks, and in some cases e-books, they were squandering their best marketing opportunity. The one that comes when the book is new.

A consumer who hears or reads about a new title and gets excited, but is among the majority of readers who will not pay $25 for a book, is unlikely to remember that interest a year later, and unlikely to be reminded by a renewed marketing effort which in nearly all cases will have weaker results than the original campaign.

The most consumer-oriented and profitable approach in today's world of insta-demand is to publish every format simultaneously (including the decision on whether to even have a hardcover edition).

Kevin Smokler has a great piece in this week's Publishers Weekly on this subject. More than ever before, making consumers wait is a losing strategy.

Challenges of Selling to the Retail Channel

I started selling to retailers thirty years ago. Then, most retail segments were not controlled by national chains. You could have a successful product by selling to regional chains and independents. As such, even the national chains were not horribly demanding as long as your terms met industry standards.

As retail has become dominated by national chains, they have gained leverage over suppliers and demanding deeper discounts, longer payment terms, and instituted a variety of fees, fines and discounts they will simply deduct from your payment when they feel justified. As a supplier, it's very frustrating. There is little if any opportunity for a supplier to negotiate.

Some suppliers react by choosing not to accept these terms of business, and that's their prerogative. My suggestion is that they not do so emotionally, but rationally consider their choice.

In my experience I have always found that more distribution is better. You'll make more on some transactions than others. But unless the smaller margin transaction is literally taking away larger margin potential sales, I'll still go after it as long as the revenue justifies whatever sales effort I have to put into it. It may not be true for every product, but often, the more places a consumer can run into your product, the more you will sell.

While there are certainly cases where the pricing and other challenging policies demanded by a retailer makes selling to them less attractive, I have yet to find a situation where I lost money instead of making profit by increasing my retail distribution.

Although sometimes I scream at retailers in my head, I try not to let my annoyance at their demands cloud my judgment on whether I am better off making the sale or not. To the "small guy" it may seem predatory, but they're just trying to get the best deal they can, and in today's world they are in a position to do so.

Getting Past Your Worst P.R. Nightmare

Remember Michael Richards' blow-up at a comedy club several years ago when he called out black hecklers using racist slurs? It was captured on a cell phone camera and seriously hurt his reputation despite an unusual apology that came several days later. He retired from stand-up and had been out of the public eye until the recent season of Curb Your Enthusiasm that centered on a Seinfeld reunion show.

Larry David said Richards "is like a new man. He really went through something (with that incident). He used to be very angry and bitter. He's completely different now. You can see it, and he can feel it. I'm very happy for him."

To prove it, Richards bravely parodied the incident on Curb:

A comment on the Extra web piece about this show:

That Michael Richards club blowup turned me off to him (Kramer was my fav Seinfeld cast member) and you know what? This past episode had me roaring with laughter both when he answered the door and his last scene. The show addressed it head on rather than ignored it, he admitted his mistake, and I’m more mellowed towards him now. For those who are protesting the show, I’m also Black and have a more forgiving viewpoint.

Tiger's Tale

I will admit to being one of the many who have been curious about Tiger Woods' personal situation and what really went on around the recent accident; whether his wife was really chasing after him with that golf club rather than trying to rescue him. Nonetheless, I think the statement below, placed on his web site yesterday, is eloquent.

While it will not stop the speculation nor keep reporters from trying to ask him about the incident, perhaps it should. Without specificity, he indicates he did something/some things that were wrong and implies this was related to the accident. The language leads one to believe he had an affair, and the reason for being even this explicit probably has to do with revelations in US Magazine (I've always thought that name is strange, it's about THEM, not US). I expect he'll have nothing more to say on this subject unless forced to in a court of law (as Rachel Uchitel may take legal action against the National Enquirer and/or its source).

I do think it's time for the p.r. pundits to shut up. They have been all over television, mostly claiming that Woods has reacted poorly to the event from a p.r. point of view. They have been critical of his decision not to talk to the police, but he was under no obligation to, and the opportunity for his police interview to be leaked was great. While his first statement could have come a bit sooner, I think he has handled it as well as he can. Yes, maintaining his position as a great athlete and effective endorser is important, but he is a person who has had to deal with the emotional and family implications of the event along with his injuries.

The real issue for his public is that it has been clear since his return to the game that something was amiss. There have been numerous occasions of bad behavior on the course. Whether related to his personal situation or athletic frustrations, if being admired and being paid as an endorser are important to him, he needs to find a resolution to this problem.

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.

But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don't share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one's own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn't have to mean public confessions.

Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it's difficult.

I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.

Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post has a very different view that's worth reading.

Christine Brennan in USA Today also would not agree with me as her thoughtful piece demonstrates.

Here's Jon Stewart's take on the coverage:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Tiger Woods Newzak
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Relationships & Targeting

Relationships & Targeting are where the new rules of publicity equal the old rules.

I was amused by this post on a book pitch gone bad. The p.r. guy is arguing to an unhappy pitch recipient that he couldn't possibly personalize his pitch because he has so many thousands of targets.

Even in my father's day's in p.r. (1950s-80s), it didn't make sense to scattershot a pitch and it was critical to have relationships with writers, editors and producers.

In my youth I helped him select recipients of press releases, cut stencils and run the mimeograph, and stuffed, sealed and stamped the envelopes. I also listened to him on the phone. So I know his release list was always selective, and that he knew to some degree many of those on the list.

Now, with so many more media outlets than there were those decades ago, you need to be more selective, not less. Tailoring your approach will bring better initial results. And now, you have a chance to get "seconds" and "thirds" as your message is retweeted and reblogged.

Marriott Comes to Its Own Rescue

Marriott International has convinced a franchisee's attorneys to withdraw their offensive defense in the case cited here, and offered an apology.

Ten Years

Today is ten years since my father, Milt Riback, died. Here is a remembrance from a long-time client who became a close friend, sent a few days after:

I've been remembering the first time he and I met in 1964 (!) when I managed to get [my company] to pay for a return visit to NY (we'd been transferred [to California] the preceding February) to get pictures of its products in use at the NY World's Fair AND to hire a PR rep. Fortunately, I'd been given Milt's name and address by my boss (no idea how he came by them), as I hadn't the vaguest idea of how to interview PR people-or where one found them. After five minutes with Milt in the office at [50 E.] 42nd Street, I knew I needn't bother searching further. It wasn't so much that he exuded professional competence, which he did, but that the professionalism couldn't hide the mentshlikhkayt that permeated his being.

The Goold Ol' Days

It's easy to think things were better in the past. Although I am grateful for the potential unleashed by today's tools and technologies, and wouldn't choose to return to an age of false innocence, I sometimes yearn for the simplicity of earlier days.

The New York Times recently gathered a group of old-time theatrical press agents to reminisce about their exploits. Back then, with just a few newspapers and TV stations, a well-placed story or stunt could really have some impact. We weren't overwhelmed by media. And there weren't so many celebrities either, so more of them stood large in the public's mind.

Read the story here.

Press Agents Shining Hour

Today is the 46th Press Agents Shining Hour. If you're a P.R. professional, 3:15-4:15 p.m. is a time to settle back with an adult beverage and review your accomplishments.

While you're relaxing, read about PASH history... the White House demonstration, or the year we honored Baghdad Bob.