Audience Insights, Content Marketing, Dumb Pipes – FOLIO: Show 2017 Takeaways
I was excited to attend my first FOLIO: Show in ages, and after a slow start that included HTC'S awkward plea for VR content and some uninspired Facebook examples, things picked up with some great...
View ArticleYouTube, Algorithms, and Sponsored Content
As broadcast and cable TV fragmented into hundreds of channels serving various overlapping demographics in search of the occasional mainstream hit, and streaming competitors leveraged nostalgia and...
View ArticleFacebook Isn’t The Problem, YOU Are
Facebook doesn't view publishers as valued partners and never has, despite so many helping it grow and engage a worldwide audience, handing over tons of invaluable data along the way, not just from...
View ArticleGet A Clue(train) — Sustainable Digital Strategy for Author Platforms
In reality, markets consist of human beings and the conversations they have with each other, and those conversations can be messy and involve multiple points of influence. For authors trying to develop...
View ArticleWhat’s Next? So many questions.
To be honest, my experience with consultants over the years has been mostly negative. Overpriced pundits promising more than they've ever actually delivered for anyone, who often knew less than the...
View ArticleThree Things Authors Should Know About Their Publishers’ Platforms
In 2019, I remain astounded (but not totally surprised) by how many authors' platforms lack the basics—if they have one at all—but far more egregiously, too many publishers are way behind the curve...
View ArticleScapegoating Libraries for Declining Sales. Again.
With few exceptions, publishers don't really know what drives most book sales, so the industry's focus on chasing bestsellers and trends lends itself to an unscientific combination of last-click...
View ArticleMarketing Memos: CMOs, Content Strategy, Private Equity, Team Warren, and...
I read (and listen to) a lot about what's happening in marketing and media these days, and while the desire for clicks and the illusion of engagement generates a lot of useless noise, there are still...
View ArticleMarketing Memos: Metrics, Churn, Authenticity, and Platform Personalities
I read (and listen to) a lot about what's happening in marketing and media these days, and while the desire for clicks and the illusion of engagement generates a lot of useless noise, there are still...
View ArticleMarketing Memos: Content, Commerce, and… Libraries?
I read (and listen to) a lot about what's happening in marketing and media these days, and while the desire for clicks and the illusion of engagement generates a lot of useless noise, there are still...
View ArticleOther Authors Are Not Your Competition—Marketing Advice from #WDC19
"Market research is a very dry, dull topic, but finding and connecting with readers is how we make money." Too often, market research is limited to the basics—high-level demographics (age, gender,...
View ArticleMarketing Memos: Quality Content, Diversity, and PowerPoint
I read (and listen to) a lot about what's happening in marketing and media these days, and while the desire for clicks and the illusion of engagement generates a lot of useless noise, there are still...
View ArticleAuthor, Audit Thyself!—Marketing Advice from Kilby Blades
“Most book marketing advice comes from authors who’ve had commercial success with books but no actual marketing experience. Many are taking advice that isn’t meant for them yet because they're not...
View ArticleOn Niche Audiences, Immersive Media, and Publishers’ Myopia
How a publisher defines, segments, and prioritizes its audience impacts every decision it makes about every book it acquires, publishes, and markets. As I noted in the new annual report for the...
View ArticlePanorama Project Pandemic Progress—Updates from Libraryland
I took over the Panorama Project last July—which really does feel like two lifetimes ago—so as my anniversary looms, it's a perfect time to check-in and see how things are progressing. It was only...
View ArticleHow I Built Platforms, and How They Deteriorated Over Time
While I've written about building and maintaining platforms myriad times, I've never purposefully looked back on the platforms I've built and examined how and why they deteriorated over time. Over the...
View ArticleThe Rise and Fall of Digital Book World | On Platforms
I used my own modest platform to build a following for DBW's Twitter account and early content. Rather than blow a limited marketing budget on traditional channels and standard registration promotions,...
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