Consider both publishing options for your next book
For the past few years, there has been a great deal of press—and hence a great deal of excitement—about e-books.
Correspondingly, there is also significant debate about the relative merits of each option. The purists insist that the printed version is the way to go, nearly sacred. While the technologists say that e-books are where it’s at, declaring that paper is passé. Of course, the diplomat insists that there is room for both.
The price of e-books spans a wide range, from free to matching their printed counterparts, so it is hard to know their true demand. After all, if something is free or costs next to nothing, why not “buy” it.
Regardless of sales numbers, print is still driving the market. Author Annette Ehrhardt, in writing about e-book pricing strategies, once noted that “It seems that many readers value the printed word more than the digital world.”
While there may be viable instances where a book should only be in digital form or only in print, the vast majority of books need to be in both.
However, if for some reason you can only do one, go with print. Readers will apparently value it more—and what they value, they will buy.
Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.
Disrespecting Customers Is the Fastest Way to Lose Them
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
Though not as frequent as our biennial cell phone migration from one carrier to another, my family and I have all too often found ourselves forced to change entertainment providers due to escalating charges.
These companies have the same mentality as the phone carriers. They offer attractive incentives to gain new business and then jack up the rates, forcing customers to seek low-cost alternatives from their competition.
For several years we enjoyed bundled internet and television service from one provider. They offered attractive pricing for both services, which we were happy to pay.
Committing to two years with them, they committed to two years of no price increases. After our 24-month contract ended, we continued with them on a month-to-month basis.
Then the price increases began.
Escalating Rates
They first increased their fees on our television package. Every six months or so they raised prices to provide us with the same level of entertainment. Each time my wife would see what she could do to lower our bill.
Sometimes this required another commitment and other times we needed to scale back our options. Even then, the net result was often a price increase. And every time she did this required multiple phone calls and too much wasted time.
Though not as aggressive, they also inched up the rate for internet access. Over time they increased our bill 50 percent. Yet, as the only choice for a stable, high-speed connection, we had to accept it.
This wasn’t the case with entertainment. We had options. At the point when our television package nearly tripled from the original amount, and even after scaling back the number of channels, my wife had enough. She was ready to switch.
Several companies offered more for less. Our new entertainment provider charged 20 percent less than our initial bill from our existing provider. As a bonus, the new provider offered more channels, superior recording options, and better technology.
Their Best Wasn’t Good Enough
Before we switched, however, my wife made a final plea to our existing provider. She begged them for their best deal. They refused to budge. They didn’t seem to care about customer churn.
She even told them what both they and we knew would happen. “Once we cancel, you’ll offer us a great deal to come back. Can’t you just give us that deal now?”
“No. You’re already getting the best deal we can offer to an existing customer.”
She canceled service, and we switched entertainment providers. The side effect was that, without being bundled, our internet access rate went up. Even so, we still saved money. And we loved the service from our new entertainment provider.
The Marketing Onslaught
As expected, our internet service provider began trying to get us to return and buy our entertainment package from them too. Several years later, they’re still trying.
They are most aggressive. Each month they mail us at least two promotions to entice us to return. They also include a one-page ad in each invoice. In addition, they send several emails each month.
Though it shouldn’t be a surprise, the deal they offer has the same rates we had when we first signed up several years before. But we can only get it now because of customer churn.
More recently, they’ve given up offering to bundle internet and entertainment. Now they’re offering to bundle internet and cell phones.
The email frequency has increased, too. It seems like I get something at least once a week. I now no longer even glance at their messages and just delete them. This means that if they send me a truly important email, I’ll never read it.
In addition, each marketing initiative serves as a painful reminder of how poorly they treated me as a customer. Why would I want to buy more services from them and repeat the process?
Marketing Management Success Tip
If customer churn is part of your business, strive to reverse the trend. Empower your staff to keep existing customers instead of trying to win them back once you’ve chased them away.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.
He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.
In the world of book publishing, if we blink, something’s apt to change. Every day there seems to be a new option, a different twist, or better pricing. The best solution for a particular situation soon yields to an even better answer—often within months or even weeks.
Publishing books becomes an art of aiming at a moving target, a goal that ebbs and flows at the pace of a changing tide. New vendors emerge and existing players develop innovations to target a different niche.
How’s a person to keep up?
1. Join Industry Associations
Groups of like-minded individuals offer the means to stay abreast of changing conditions. Members share news and ideas with each other. It’s an easy way to be informed, although merely joining a group isn’t enough; participation is required.
2. Read Blogs
Find and follow blogs, podcasts, and v-blogs of thought leaders and news aggregators. They’re plenty to choose from; pick ones with a voice you like and a perspective you respect. Ironically, reading books about publishing is not the answer; things change too quickly. Even e-books risk being out of date by the time they reach us.
3. Network
Connect with others. The goal is to listen and to share. Benefits abound when giving, even more so than when receiving.
4. Ask Questions
Requesting advice in a respectful way usually results in new information to consider. People enjoy it when we seek them out and usually offer their opinions to sincere questions. We honor them when we listen to what they say.
The key is to always be in a learning mode; don’t become complacent, thinking you’ve figured out all the answers. Never disregard a vendor or idea as not viable. In a moment it could become the exact solution we seek.
Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.
As a consumer, the type of book and the form it’s in affects what I’m willing to pay. First, some background: I read both printed and e-books, having no overwhelming preference for one over the other; I like aspects of both and realize their limitations. The other item is for most of my adult life I’ve read nonfiction, only recently rediscovering the joy of fiction. Having said that, I do prefer to read fiction on my Kindle, while for nonfiction, I have a slight inclination for a printed copy. Here’s what that means:
I’m much more likely to buy a nonfiction book over a fiction book. I view nonfiction books as references, something I expect I’ll refer to later. I can highlight and make notes much easier on paper than in a device. The printed word provides a better means for me to learn and study, even though I greatly appreciate the search feature in e-books.
Next, I’m much more willing to buy a printed copy over an e-version. A printed book is tangible; an e-book is not. Something I can hold has value to me; something I can’t, doesn’t. Also, the production cost of an e-book is much less than a printed book, so it should be priced less. Plus, I’ve read many more shoddily produced e-books than printed books. So, I place far less value on e-books because I’m conditioned to expect lesser quality.
Combining these preferences, I’ll buy a printed copy of a nonfiction book, while I want a fiction book on my Kindle for free. I’m pained to admit this, but it’s true.
However, as a publisher and writer, I know all options cost money to produce and take time to do so. Without a revenue stream from the product, most writers will stop writing and all publishers will stop publishing. So, I’m working to change my attitude about buying books; I must be willing to pay and stop expecting something free.
If the current publishing model is to survive, consumers need to pay for the books they consume.
Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.
