Charles Watkinson

In this episode, Charles Watkinson, the Director of University of Michigan Press and the Associate University Librarian for Publishing at University of Michigan Library, joins us to discuss Open Access ebooks and their role in the publishing community. Open Access ebooks are essentially freely available ebooks, usually for scholarly monographs, that are released under a license that allows reuse (most commonly a Creative Commons license). University of Michigan Press has experimented with Open Access since the 1990's, but developed their current program starting in the mid-2000's. Their goal, under their Fund to Mission program, is to get their monograph program to almost 100% open access by 2024. Joshua and Charles talk in this interview about release schedules and approaches for Open Access ebooks, licensing models, hybrid chapter-only models, and more. Charles also shares some of the specific approaches UM Press is taking, including combining their open access titles with their catalog subscription program. You can learn more about University of Michigan Press' Open Access program, and see the list of books, at press.umich.edu. Also, the Directory of Open Access Books (doabooks.org) has more information about Open Access, a toolkit for authors, and more.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In this episode, Charles Watkinson, the Director of University of Michigan Press and the Associate University Librarian for Publishing at University of Michigan Library, joins us to discuss Open Access ebooks and their role in the publishing community. Open Access ebooks are essentially freely available ebooks, usually for scholarly monographs, that are released under a license that allows reuse (most commonly a Creative Commons license). University of Michigan Press has experimented with Open Access since the 1990's, but developed their current program starting in the mid-2000's. Their goal, under their Fund to Mission program, is to get their monograph program to almost 100% open access by 2024. Joshua and Charles talk in this interview about release schedules and approaches for Open Access ebooks, licensing models, hybrid chapter-only models, and more. Charles also shares some of the specific approaches UM Press is taking, including combining their open access titles with their catalog subscription program. You can learn more about University of Michigan Press' Open Access program, and see the list of books, at <a href="http://press.umich.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">press.umich.edu</a>. Also, the Directory of Open Access Books (<a href="http://doabooks.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">doabooks.org</a>) has more information about Open Access, a toolkit for authors, and more.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 28: Charles Watkinson on Open Access

Kevin Franco is a Product Manager at Firebrand Technologies with a background in digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and direct-to-consumer ebook sales. He is leading the development of some new technologies at Firebrand, and has been doing a lot of thinking about book marketing strategies that can help increase book sales. We talked about the book marketing funnel from discovery through conversion, with an emphasis on strategies you can use to increase your Book Exposure Optimization (BEO) and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). These strategies include metadata changes and enhancements, advertising campaigns, and data analytics, but the specific strategies you implement will impact different parts of the funnel. We also talked about the Firebrand Group Community Conference, the year's premier conference for publishing professionals, which will include informative and targeted sessions on marketing, sales, data, and workflows from industry experts. If you are interested in learning more about the conference, please visit firebrandtech.com/conference.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

Kevin Franco is a Product Manager at Firebrand Technologies with a background in digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and direct-to-consumer ebook sales. He is leading the development of some new technologies at Firebrand, and has been doing a lot of thinking about book marketing strategies that can help increase book sales. We talked about the book marketing funnel from discovery through conversion, with an emphasis on strategies you can use to increase your Book Exposure Optimization (BEO) and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). These strategies include metadata changes and enhancements, advertising campaigns, and data analytics, but the specific strategies you implement will impact different parts of the funnel. We also talked about the Firebrand Group Community Conference, the year's premier conference for publishing professionals, which will include informative and targeted sessions on marketing, sales, data, and workflows from industry experts. If you are interested in learning more about the conference, please visit <a href="https://firebrandtech.com/conference" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">firebrandtech.com/conference</a>.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 27: Kevin Franco on Book Marketing Strategies

In this episode we are joined by Pete Larson. Pete is the President and CEO of Bethany Press (https://www.bethanypress.com/), a printer based in Bloomington, Minnesota. He has been in the printing side of the publishing business for over 25 years, and has some interesting thoughts to share with us about the current supply chain issues that we are experiencing as an industry. Pete looks back at changes that have been happening to book printing since the early 2000's, and traces some of the issues we are seeing now to overall trends and changes in printing processes and paper stock needs over the intervening years. The current issues we are seeing with paper availability is not only due to the supply chain disruptions from pandemic shutdowns, it is also due to how the industry was changing before the pandemic and where the trends in print book sales were heading. This episode gives an interesting look behind the book printing curtain, and includes some thoughts about sustainability and recycled paper stock, as well.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In this episode we are joined by Pete Larson. Pete is the President and CEO of Bethany Press (<a href="https://www.bethanypress.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.bethanypress.com/</a>), a printer based in Bloomington, Minnesota. He has been in the printing side of the publishing business for over 25 years, and has some interesting thoughts to share with us about the current supply chain issues that we are experiencing as an industry. Pete looks back at changes that have been happening to book printing since the early 2000's, and traces some of the issues we are seeing now to overall trends and changes in printing processes and paper stock needs over the intervening years. The current issues we are seeing with paper availability is not only due to the supply chain disruptions from pandemic shutdowns, it is also due to how the industry was changing before the pandemic and where the trends in print book sales were heading. This episode gives an interesting look behind the book printing curtain, and includes some thoughts about sustainability and recycled paper stock, as well.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 26: Pete Larson on the Current Supply Chain Situation

This episode features a recording of a panel discussion I led with Mary McAveney, Chief Marketing Officer at Open Road Integrated Media, at the BISG 2022 Annual Meeting. The discussion, titled "Future Proofing Your Workflow," aimed to cover some open questions about the process of becoming more prepared for the future of publishing, whatever that might look like: Where do we start? How do we know what the future might look like? And will this ever end? My main takeaway from the conversation, and what I hope you also are able to glean from it as you listen, is that being adaptable and being able to engage with change, whenever and however it happens, is more important than seeking out change specifically. I do highly recommend that you listen to the rest of the sessions from the BISG, especially the keynote by Michael Pietsch, CEO of Hachette Book Group. BISG has graciously uploaded all of the recordings of the sessions to a playlist on their YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2tH-dwEMHs&amp;list=PL_yl6l18-hIsm6tdy-xivx_JTgGIT5H2x You might also be interested in listening to my previous interview of Mary McAveney in episode 14 of the BookSmarts Podcast, where we discussed book discovery: https://booksmartspodcast.com/2021/09/29/episode-14-mary-mcaveney-on-book-discovery/  ---   Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

This episode features a recording of a panel discussion I led with Mary McAveney, Chief Marketing Officer at Open Road Integrated Media, at the BISG 2022 Annual Meeting. The discussion, titled "Future Proofing Your Workflow," aimed to cover some open questions about the process of becoming more prepared for the future of publishing, whatever that might look like: Where do we start? How do we know what the future might look like? And will this ever end? My main takeaway from the conversation, and what I hope you also are able to glean from it as you listen, is that being adaptable and being able to engage with change, whenever and however it happens, is more important than seeking out change specifically. I do highly recommend that you listen to the rest of the sessions from the BISG, especially the keynote by Michael Pietsch, CEO of Hachette Book Group. BISG has graciously uploaded all of the recordings of the sessions to a playlist on their YouTube page here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2tH-dwEMHs&amp;list=PL_yl6l18-hIsm6tdy-xivx_JTgGIT5H2x" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2tH-dwEMHs&amp;list=PL_yl6l18-hIsm6tdy-xivx_JTgGIT5H2x</a> You might also be interested in listening to my previous interview of Mary McAveney in episode 14 of the BookSmarts Podcast, where we discussed book discovery: <a href="https://booksmartspodcast.com/2021/09/29/episode-14-mary-mcaveney-on-book-discovery/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://booksmartspodcast.com/2021/09/29/episode-14-mary-mcaveney-on-book-discovery/</a> --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 25: BISG - Future Proofing Your Workflow

Cory Verner

Cory Verner is the CEO of ONE Audiobooks, a publisher of audiobooks and a turnkey audio services provider. Cory has been working in the audiobooks industry for over 20 years, and has seen the changes in technology, the changes in focus, and the growth in sales as the format has taken off in 6-7 years. Cory and I talk about some of the reasons for that growth, the demographics of listeners, and some specific differences between the Inspirational Books market that he is closely connected to compared to the general audiobooks market. We also talk about how the audiobooks industry has changed over time, including technology changes that have driven much of the recent growth, and we discuss the risks publishers take on when they create their own audiobook program.  You can learn more about ONE Audiobooks at oneaudiobooks.com (corporate site) and oneaudiobooks.app (customer engagement tools).--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

Cory Verner is the CEO of ONE Audiobooks, a publisher of audiobooks and a turnkey audio services provider. Cory has been working in the audiobooks industry for over 20 years, and has seen the changes in technology, the changes in focus, and the growth in sales as the format has taken off in 6-7 years. Cory and I talk about some of the reasons for that growth, the demographics of listeners, and some specific differences between the Inspirational Books market that he is closely connected to compared to the general audiobooks market. We also talk about how the audiobooks industry has changed over time, including technology changes that have driven much of the recent growth, and we discuss the risks publishers take on when they create their own audiobook program.  You can learn more about ONE Audiobooks at <a href="https://oneaudiobooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">oneaudiobooks.com</a> (corporate site) and <a href="https://oneaudiobooks.app/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">oneaudiobooks.app</a> (customer engagement tools).--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 24: Cory Verner on the Growth of Audiobooks

In this episode we are joined by Mark Herschberg, publisher at Cognosco Media, author of The Career Toolkit, Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You, and the developer of a new app that is attempting to promote a new take on reader interaction with book content. I was a bit skeptical of Mark's approach from the offset, having seen so many ebook apps and new ideas about digital engagement flame out over the years. However, Mark and I had a great conversation about how the relevant content in a book might be more or less than the actual page count, how so many new technologies are just like sticking a fake horse head on the front of an automobile, and more. Mark shared some of the ideas behind his app, most notably the notifications feature that can help readers recall key points from books they have read. If you're interested in learning more, you can check out Mark's publishing company, Cognosco Media (https://www.cognoscomedia.com) and take a look at both his book and the related app (https://www.thecareertoolkitbook.com). Music by Timmoor from Pixabay #metadata #publishing  ---   Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In this episode we are joined by Mark Herschberg, publisher at Cognosco Media, author of The Career Toolkit, Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You, and the developer of a new app that is attempting to promote a new take on reader interaction with book content. I was a bit skeptical of Mark's approach from the offset, having seen so many ebook apps and new ideas about digital engagement flame out over the years. However, Mark and I had a great conversation about how the relevant content in a book might be more or less than the actual page count, how so many new technologies are just like sticking a fake horse head on the front of an automobile, and more. Mark shared some of the ideas behind his app, most notably the notifications feature that can help readers recall key points from books they have read. If you're interested in learning more, you can check out Mark's publishing company, Cognosco Media (<a href="https://www.cognoscomedia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.cognoscomedia.com</a>) and take a look at both his book and the related app (<a href="https://www.thecareertoolkitbook.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.thecareertoolkitbook.com</a>). Music by Timmoor from Pixabay #metadata #publishing --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 23: Mark Herschberg How Books Might Escape the Page

George Slowik

This week's guest is George Slowik, Jr., the Chairman and Owner of PWxyz LLC, the parent company of Publishers Weekly, who joins us to discuss the magazine's history, the digital archive, and more. Publishers Weekly was launched in 1872 as a bibliographic source for all publishers to list forthcoming titles. Over its 150 year history, the magazine has continued to provide news and features about the publishing industry, and has even expanded to provide over 9,000 new book reviews every year. George gives a brief overview of the magazine's history, discusses the development of the digital archive, the special anniversary edition to be released in April, and his thoughts about the future of publishing. You can learn more about Publishers Weekly and sign up for their free email newsletters, at their website, https://www.publishersweekly.com/.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

This week's guest is George Slowik, Jr., the Chairman and Owner of PWxyz LLC, the parent company of Publishers Weekly, who joins us to discuss the magazine's history, the digital archive, and more. Publishers Weekly was launched in 1872 as a bibliographic source for all publishers to list forthcoming titles. Over its 150 year history, the magazine has continued to provide news and features about the publishing industry, and has even expanded to provide over 9,000 new book reviews every year. George gives a brief overview of the magazine's history, discusses the development of the digital archive, the special anniversary edition to be released in April, and his thoughts about the future of publishing. You can learn more about Publishers Weekly and sign up for their free email newsletters, at their website, <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.publishersweekly.com/</a>.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 22: George Slowik, Jr. on the 150th Anniversary of Publishers Weekly

Thad McIlroy

In this episode I am joined by Thad McIlroy, an electronic publishing analyst and author based in San Francisco. Thad writes in-depth articles on publishing topics for his own website, The Future of Publishing, as well as for Publishers Weekly. We started off the conversation talking about the need to understand metadata from a strategic perspective, not just from a clerical or practical perspective, even as far up the food chain as the publisher or CEO. With that strategic understanding in place, the next step for any publishing company is to experiment with your metadata and find what works for your books. Every company is different, and every list is different, so it is important to put in the time and effort to see what will be most effective for you. Thad also provided his thoughts on the value of addressing metadata on backlist titles, choosing BISAC subject codes, creating keywords, and the differences between discoverability, findability, and conversion. I highly recommend you check out Thad's website, The Future of Publishing, and read his article, "We Need to Talk About the Backlist".--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In this episode I am joined by Thad McIlroy, an electronic publishing analyst and author based in San Francisco. Thad writes in-depth articles on publishing topics for his own website, The Future of Publishing, as well as for Publishers Weekly. We started off the conversation talking about the need to understand metadata from a strategic perspective, not just from a clerical or practical perspective, even as far up the food chain as the publisher or CEO. With that strategic understanding in place, the next step for any publishing company is to experiment with your metadata and find what works for your books. Every company is different, and every list is different, so it is important to put in the time and effort to see what will be most effective for you. Thad also provided his thoughts on the value of addressing metadata on backlist titles, choosing BISAC subject codes, creating keywords, and the differences between discoverability, findability, and conversion. I highly recommend you check out Thad's website, <a href="https://thefutureofpublishing.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Future of Publishing</a>, and read his article, <a href="https://thefutureofpublishing.com/2021/05/we-need-to-talk-about-the-backlist" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">"We Need to Talk About the Backlist"</a>.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 21: Thad McIlroy on Metadata Quality, the Backlist, and more

Todd Sattersten

In the first episode of 2022, Todd Sattersten, Publisher at Bard Press, discusses his research on The Magic Number: the number of units a title has to sell in the first year in order to go on to be a greater success. This conversation was inspired by Todd's insightful blog post from April 2021 on this topic, which I highly recommend you read. Todd's research into self-help and business books shows that if a title does not sell 10,000 copies in the first year after publication, there is only 11% chance that that title will ever sell more than 10,000 copies. However, if a title does sell 10,000 copies, it has a 40%-50% probability of selling enough copies to move into the next lifetime sales target of 25,000. This research sheds some light on a particularly important topic that publishers should be aware of, and Todd and I were able to dig into some of the strategies that he uses at Bard Press to ensure that every title gets the support it needs in the first year, and beyond. You can follow Todd's thoughts on publishing at the Bard Press Blog, and on LinkedIn.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In the first episode of 2022, Todd Sattersten, Publisher at Bard Press, discusses his research on The Magic Number: the number of units a title has to sell in the first year in order to go on to be a greater success. This conversation was inspired by <a href="https://bardpress.com/the-magic-number/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Todd's insightful blog post</a> from April 2021 on this topic, which I highly recommend you read. Todd's research into self-help and business books shows that if a title does not sell 10,000 copies in the first year after publication, there is only 11% chance that that title will ever sell more than 10,000 copies. However, if a title does sell 10,000 copies, it has a 40%-50% probability of selling enough copies to move into the next lifetime sales target of 25,000. This research sheds some light on a particularly important topic that publishers should be aware of, and Todd and I were able to dig into some of the strategies that he uses at Bard Press to ensure that every title gets the support it needs in the first year, and beyond. You can follow Todd's thoughts on publishing at the <a href="https://bardpress.com/blog/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bard Press Blog</a>, and on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddsattersten/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 20: Todd Sattersten on The Magic Number

Scott Miller

In our last episode for 2021, we are joined by Scott Miller, Former CMO and EVP of Business Development at the FranklinCovey Company, and now their senior advisor on thought leadership and publishing strategy. In addition to running the publishing program at FranklinCovey, Scott is a best-selling author in his own right, as well as the host of the "On Leadership" podcast (https://resources.franklincovey.com/on-leadership-with-scott-miller), which has between 6 and 7 million listeners every week. Scott talks with me about the publishing process at FranklinCovey, including how authors are chosen, how book topics are refined, and the general development schedule for new titles. He discusses the company's focus on social media platforms, and some of the strategies they engage when launching a new title. The topic of backlist sales comes up (it seems to be a pretty common topic on the podcast!), and Scott discusses how aggressive his team is about selling subrights, continuing the marketing of other titles, and connecting to businesses for B2B sales. Scott's latest book, Master Mentors: 30 Transformative Insights from Our Greatest Minds (https://www.franklincovey.com/master-mentors/), is a great read, with engaging thoughts and insights condensed from interviews with some of his podcast guests. I was able to listen to the audiobook over the last few weeks, and found the content to be quite inspiring. Please take a look! The Magic Number: https://bardpress.com/the-magic-number/ [The first episode in January will actually be an interview of Todd Sattersten on this topic!]--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In our last episode for 2021, we are joined by Scott Miller, Former CMO and EVP of Business Development at the FranklinCovey Company, and now their senior advisor on thought leadership and publishing strategy. In addition to running the publishing program at FranklinCovey, Scott is a best-selling author in his own right, as well as the host of the "On Leadership" podcast (<a href="https://resources.franklincovey.com/on-leadership-with-scott-miller" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://resources.franklincovey.com/on-leadership-with-scott-miller</a>), which has between 6 and 7 million listeners every week. Scott talks with me about the publishing process at FranklinCovey, including how authors are chosen, how book topics are refined, and the general development schedule for new titles. He discusses the company's focus on social media platforms, and some of the strategies they engage when launching a new title. The topic of backlist sales comes up (it seems to be a pretty common topic on the podcast!), and Scott discusses how aggressive his team is about selling subrights, continuing the marketing of other titles, and connecting to businesses for B2B sales. Scott's latest book, Master Mentors: 30 Transformative Insights from Our Greatest Minds (<a href="https://www.franklincovey.com/master-mentors/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.franklincovey.com/master-mentors/</a>), is a great read, with engaging thoughts and insights condensed from interviews with some of his podcast guests. I was able to listen to the audiobook over the last few weeks, and found the content to be quite inspiring. Please take a look! The Magic Number: <a href="https://bardpress.com/the-magic-number/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://bardpress.com/the-magic-number/</a> [The first episode in January will actually be an interview of Todd Sattersten on this topic!]--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 19: Scott Miller on Publishing at FranklinCovey

Get smarter about your books! The BookSmarts podcast features discussions about publishing data and technologies and interviews with industry experts, deep thinkers, and doers, bringing you insights that will help you sell more books.Joshua Tallent is an acclaimed teacher and guide on the role of data in publishing, and a vocal advocate for high quality book metadata. In his spare time, Joshua enjoys playing complex board games, playing Minecraft, and fiddling with his 3D printer.

Robin Whitten

In this episode, Robin Whitten, editor &amp; founder of AudioFile Magazine, joins us to discuss audiobook listener demographics and performance quality. Audiobook sales have grown significantly in a short amount of time. With that growth, we have also seen an increase in the number of available audiobooks and a revolution in audiobook production. Robin expounds on some of the major advances in the audiobook world, how the demographics of audiobook listeners are changing, and the genres that are the most popular. She also talks about how important the sound design and narration are to the success of an audiobook, and explains how AudioFile Magazine does its reviews. Be sure to Check out part two of the NetGalley Listener Survey, which focuses on audiobook reviewers and their listening habits: http://insights.netgalley.com/2021-netgalley-member-survey-part-ii/ Getting started (from the APA): https://www.audiopub.org/industry/getting-started AudioFile Magazine: audiofilemagazine.com Audiobook Break Podcast: https://audiofilemagazine.com/audiobook-break/ Behind the Mic Podcast: https://audiofilemagazine.com/podcast/--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In this episode, Robin Whitten, editor &amp; founder of AudioFile Magazine, joins us to discuss audiobook listener demographics and performance quality. Audiobook sales have grown significantly in a short amount of time. With that growth, we have also seen an increase in the number of available audiobooks and a revolution in audiobook production. Robin expounds on some of the major advances in the audiobook world, how the demographics of audiobook listeners are changing, and the genres that are the most popular. She also talks about how important the sound design and narration are to the success of an audiobook, and explains how AudioFile Magazine does its reviews. Be sure to Check out part two of the NetGalley Listener Survey, which focuses on audiobook reviewers and their listening habits: <a href="http://insights.netgalley.com/2021-netgalley-member-survey-part-ii/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://insights.netgalley.com/2021-netgalley-member-survey-part-ii/</a> Getting started (from the APA): <a href="https://www.audiopub.org/industry/getting-started" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.audiopub.org/industry/getting-started</a> AudioFile Magazine: <a href="http://audiofilemagazine.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">audiofilemagazine.com</a> Audiobook Break Podcast: <a href="https://audiofilemagazine.com/audiobook-break/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://audiofilemagazine.com/audiobook-break/</a> Behind the Mic Podcast: <a href="https://audiofilemagazine.com/podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://audiofilemagazine.com/podcast/</a>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 18: Robin Whitten on Audiobook Demographics and Quality

Fran Toolan, CEO of Firebrand Technologies, joins me to continue the conversation about cybersecurity in the publishing industry. Fran pulls back the covers a bit on this topic, revealing that Firebrand has had four security incidents in the last two years, including two ransomware attacks. And Firebrand is not alone; there have been a number of other breaches in the industry, too, so Fran is not the only executive losing sleep over this issue. We discuss phishing attacks, environment and server checks, the NIST framework, monitoring, two factor authentication, and more, and offer some advice for individual publishers, for publishing services companies, and for the industry as a whole about how we can work together to address this problem. If you missed the first episode on this topic, please listen to Episode 16, where I interviewed Nick Espinosa from Security Fanatics. If you have not filled out the listener survey, please do that at https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey. Also, be sure to tell your colleagues about this podcast!--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

Fran Toolan, CEO of Firebrand Technologies, joins me to continue the conversation about cybersecurity in the publishing industry. Fran pulls back the covers a bit on this topic, revealing that Firebrand has had four security incidents in the last two years, including two ransomware attacks. And Firebrand is not alone; there have been a number of other breaches in the industry, too, so Fran is not the only executive losing sleep over this issue. We discuss phishing attacks, environment and server checks, the NIST framework, monitoring, two factor authentication, and more, and offer some advice for individual publishers, for publishing services companies, and for the industry as a whole about how we can work together to address this problem. If you missed the first episode on this topic, please listen to <a href="https://booksmartspodcast.com/2021/10/27/episode-16-nick-espinosa-on-cybersecurity/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Episode 16</a>, where I interviewed Nick Espinosa from Security Fanatics. If you have not filled out the listener survey, please do that at <a href="https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey</a>. Also, be sure to tell your colleagues about this podcast!--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 17: Fran Toolan on Cybersecurity

Nick Espinosa

The month of October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this week's podcast features Nick Espinosa, an expert in cybersecurity and network infrastructure. Nick has consulted with clients ranging from small businesses up to the fortune 500 level for decades, and he's the Chief Security Fanatic at Security Fanatics, a cybersecurity and cyber warfare firm that's dedicated to designing custom cyber defense strategies for medium to large enterprise corporations. Nick is also a TEDx speaker, a regular columnist for Forbes, an award winning co-author of the best selling book Easy Prey, and he's also the host of The Deep Dive, a nationally syndicated radio show. Nick and Joshua talk about cybersecurity in the publishing industry, including the value of doing an assessment of your threat tolerance, the threat of ransomware to publishers, two-factor authentication, and other related topics. Nick gives his recommendations to publishers for securing their data, talking with their team about security, and more. Follow Nick online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickespinosa/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickaesp YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nickespinosa The Deep Dive: https://soundcloud.com/nickaesp/sets/the-deep-dive-radio-show  ---   Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

The month of October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this week's podcast features Nick Espinosa, an expert in cybersecurity and network infrastructure. Nick has consulted with clients ranging from small businesses up to the fortune 500 level for decades, and he's the Chief Security Fanatic at Security Fanatics, a cybersecurity and cyber warfare firm that's dedicated to designing custom cyber defense strategies for medium to large enterprise corporations. Nick is also a TEDx speaker, a regular columnist for Forbes, an award winning co-author of the best selling book Easy Prey, and he's also the host of The Deep Dive, a nationally syndicated radio show. Nick and Joshua talk about cybersecurity in the publishing industry, including the value of doing an assessment of your threat tolerance, the threat of ransomware to publishers, two-factor authentication, and other related topics. Nick gives his recommendations to publishers for securing their data, talking with their team about security, and more. Follow Nick online at: LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickespinosa/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickespinosa/</a> Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/nickaesp" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/nickaesp</a> YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/nickespinosa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/nickespinosa</a> The Deep Dive: <a href="https://soundcloud.com/nickaesp/sets/the-deep-dive-radio-show" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/nickaesp/sets/the-deep-dive-radio-show</a> --- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 16: Nick Espinosa on Cybersecurity

There are some changes happening around keywords and reviews at Amazon, so we take a few minutes this week to talk about them. Amazon recently changed their keyword requirements again. It is unclear how broad this change is, and whether it will even stay in place, but Amazon started restricting the Keywords field to 350 characters a few weeks ago for some titles at some publishers. Because this is such a new change, I recommend publishers who send ONIX to Amazon take a look at recently updated titles and make sure the changes they sent were not suppressed.  Amazon has also recently changed how it handles review quotes and endorsements, again at least for some publishers. Their system now apparently only shows the last quote or endorsement provided in the ONIX record, instead of showing all of them. This is problematic for many reasons, but it mainly means that ONIX files sent to Amazon now have to have these elements combined into one field, instead of in separate fields.  Hopefully we will see some more consistency on these issues, and better compliance with the ONIX standard, in the future, but as always I recommend every publisher check their titles on Amazon and watch out for issues. If you don't have a title performance monitoring tool in place, you should really take a look at Eloquence on Alert. It makes watching for changes on your titles much easier, and provides a unique mechanism that can help you quickly review your Amazon (and other) product pages. Take a look at https://www.eloquenceonalert.com/--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

There are some changes happening around keywords and reviews at Amazon, so we take a few minutes this week to talk about them. Amazon recently changed their keyword requirements again. It is unclear how broad this change is, and whether it will even stay in place, but Amazon started restricting the Keywords field to 350 characters a few weeks ago for some titles at some publishers. Because this is such a new change, I recommend publishers who send ONIX to Amazon take a look at recently updated titles and make sure the changes they sent were not suppressed.  Amazon has also recently changed how it handles review quotes and endorsements, again at least for some publishers. Their system now apparently only shows the last quote or endorsement provided in the ONIX record, instead of showing all of them. This is problematic for many reasons, but it mainly means that ONIX files sent to Amazon now have to have these elements combined into one field, instead of in separate fields.  Hopefully we will see some more consistency on these issues, and better compliance with the ONIX standard, in the future, but as always I recommend every publisher check their titles on Amazon and watch out for issues. If you don't have a title performance monitoring tool in place, you should really take a look at Eloquence on Alert. It makes watching for changes on your titles much easier, and provides a unique mechanism that can help you quickly review your Amazon (and other) product pages. Take a look at <a href="https://www.eloquenceonalert.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.eloquenceonalert.com/</a>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 15: Updates on Keywords and Reviews

Mary McAveney

Mary McAveney, Chief Marketing Officer at Open Road Integrated Media joins us this week on the BookSmarts Podcast. Mary has extensive expertise in marketing, strategy, and branding in the publishing industry, and now helps the Open Road team tackle marketing and discovery with data-driven tactics and a comprehensive understanding of direct-to-consumer marketing. In this episode, Mary and Joshua discuss the opportunities and challenges around book discovery. As sales have moved online, publishers have increasingly become more responsible for their own book discovery, and that can be a real challenge for publishers who have not tackled book discovery before. While the focus is often on the big titles that will make a splash, it is the debut authors and lesser-known titles that can suffer the most from discovery problems. As publishers take on that challenge, there are many opportunities available to them, but in essence book discovery comes down to building solid SEO on your website and creating and cultivating connections with your consumers. Mary shares some wonderful insights and suggestions to help publishers build their discovery platforms and cultivate those connections to increase visibility of their titles. BookNet Canada study: Aged like a fine wine: What's the ideal age for a backlist title?--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

Mary McAveney, Chief Marketing Officer at <a href="https://openroadintegratedmedia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Open Road Integrated Media</a> joins us this week on the BookSmarts Podcast. Mary has extensive expertise in marketing, strategy, and branding in the publishing industry, and now helps the Open Road team tackle marketing and discovery with data-driven tactics and a comprehensive understanding of direct-to-consumer marketing. In this episode, Mary and Joshua discuss the opportunities and challenges around book discovery. As sales have moved online, publishers have increasingly become more responsible for their own book discovery, and that can be a real challenge for publishers who have not tackled book discovery before. While the focus is often on the big titles that will make a splash, it is the debut authors and lesser-known titles that can suffer the most from discovery problems. As publishers take on that challenge, there are many opportunities available to them, but in essence book discovery comes down to building solid SEO on your website and creating and cultivating connections with your consumers. Mary shares some wonderful insights and suggestions to help publishers build their discovery platforms and cultivate those connections to increase visibility of their titles. BookNet Canada study: <a href="https://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2021/8/13/aged-like-a-fine-wine-whats-the-ideal-age-for-a-backlist-title" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Aged like a fine wine: What's the ideal age for a backlist title?</a>--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 14: Mary McAveney on Book Discovery

Alessandra Torre

Alessandra Torre, CEO of Authors A.I. and BingeBooks and a NY Times bestselling Psychological Thriller and Romance author, joins Joshua to talk about various strategies independent authors utilize when marketing and selling their books, and how publishers can take advantage of these strategies. Alessandra's suggestions cover a wide range of topics. Being flexible in pricing, testing new prices periodically, and setting affordable ebook prices can be a great way to see what price the market will bear for specific products. Cover reveals can be a great opportunity to get the word out about a new title, and sometimes the author can be a herald for that reveal event. Authors can also be helpful in getting upcoming books into the hands of blogger, influencers, and reviewers (for example, by using the widgets available in NetGalley). Also, an update to a backlist title's cover image has the potential to give older titles new life and keep them relevant to readers for many years to come. While some publishers have a dedicated team working on their backlist, no single publisher is able to completely manage every title. ------------------ Are you lacking access to the full picture when it comes to monitoring your titles? Are you feeling defeated, knowing that you are missing things, not catching the issues that impact your sales and can make or break your success? I understand how frustrating it can be to lack crucial information at the moment you need it the most. That’s why Firebrand, the most trusted name in publishing data, created Eloquence on Alert, the most powerful title performance monitoring tool available. Gain unique insights about your titles, take more control over what happens on retail sites with timely warnings and alerts about issues and opportunities you would otherwise miss, and the gain peace of mind that only comes from having a solid solution behind you. Schedule a demo today, or visit the Eloquence on Alert website to learn more.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

Alessandra Torre, CEO of Authors A.I. and BingeBooks and a NY Times bestselling Psychological Thriller and Romance author, joins Joshua to talk about various strategies independent authors utilize when marketing and selling their books, and how publishers can take advantage of these strategies. Alessandra's suggestions cover a wide range of topics. Being flexible in pricing, testing new prices periodically, and setting affordable ebook prices can be a great way to see what price the market will bear for specific products. Cover reveals can be a great opportunity to get the word out about a new title, and sometimes the author can be a herald for that reveal event. Authors can also be helpful in getting upcoming books into the hands of blogger, influencers, and reviewers (for example, by using the widgets available in NetGalley). Also, an update to a backlist title's cover image has the potential to give older titles new life and keep them relevant to readers for many years to come. While some publishers have a dedicated team working on their backlist, no single publisher is able to completely manage every title. ------------------ Are you lacking access to the full picture when it comes to monitoring your titles? Are you feeling defeated, knowing that you are missing things, not catching the issues that impact your sales and can make or break your success? I understand how frustrating it can be to lack crucial information at the moment you need it the most. That’s why Firebrand, the most trusted name in publishing data, created Eloquence on Alert, the most powerful title performance monitoring tool available. Gain unique insights about your titles, take more control over what happens on retail sites with timely warnings and alerts about issues and opportunities you would otherwise miss, and the gain peace of mind that only comes from having a solid solution behind you. <a href="https://calendly.com/joshuatallent/eoa-demo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Schedule a demo today</a>, or visit the <a href="https://www.eloquenceonalert.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eloquence on Alert website</a> to learn more.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 13: Alessandra Torre on Indie Author Strategies that Publishers Can Use

Michael Cader

In this episode, Michael Cader, Founder of Publisher's Lunch and PublishersMarketplace.com, joins me to talk about some of the challenges and opportunities publishers are encountering. Publishers are doing great right now, with record sales and profit margins, and larger year-over-year growth than anyone could have expected. Meanwhile, the people who work in publishing, including booksellers, authors, and many others, are feeling stressed and are not necessarily seeing the personal benefits that come from this extraordinary growth. Michael talks about what he sees as a reset: a reassessment of what publishing does and how it does it, and an opportunity to address some longstanding limitations that the industry as a whole has been unable or unwilling to address, from diversity to the locations of publishing offices, to the types of content being published. I would love to learn more about this podcast's audience, and make sure that I'm creating content that you like and talking about topics that you want to hear. So, I've created a short, four-question survey that will help me learn more about you and get some ideas for what you want me to cover more in this podcast. You can access the survey by going to https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey, or just visiting the podcast website and clicking on the link in the navigation bar. Please take a few minutes and help me understand you better!--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In this episode, Michael Cader, Founder of Publisher's Lunch and <a href="http://publishersmarketplace.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PublishersMarketplace.com</a>, joins me to talk about some of the challenges and opportunities publishers are encountering. Publishers are doing great right now, with record sales and profit margins, and larger year-over-year growth than anyone could have expected. Meanwhile, the people who work in publishing, including booksellers, authors, and many others, are feeling stressed and are not necessarily seeing the personal benefits that come from this extraordinary growth. Michael talks about what he sees as a reset: a reassessment of what publishing does and how it does it, and an opportunity to address some longstanding limitations that the industry as a whole has been unable or unwilling to address, from diversity to the locations of publishing offices, to the types of content being published. I would love to learn more about this podcast's audience, and make sure that I'm creating content that you like and talking about topics that you want to hear. So, I've created a short, four-question survey that will help me learn more about you and get some ideas for what you want me to cover more in this podcast. You can access the survey by going to <a href="https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey</a>, or just visiting the podcast website and clicking on the link in the navigation bar. Please take a few minutes and help me understand you better!--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 12: Michael Cader on Challenges and Opportunities in Publishing

Amazon has recently made two big changes to their publishing systems, and both of these changes will have an impact on publishers of all sizes. The first change is that Amazon now allows publishers using the Kindle Digital Publishing (KDP) platform to set up A+ Content for their book product pages. The A+ program has historically only been available to companies who are signed up for the Brand Registry, so this change opens the door for many more A+ pages to be made. Joshua discusses the impact this change will have on discoverability and sales, as well as some of the limitations and gotchas that publishers should watch out for. The second change is that Amazon no longer accepts ebooks in the Mobipocket format. The MOBI file type has been a fixture in Amazon's ebook program since the Kindle was released in 2007. It is a compiled file format that acted as a container for the HTML and other code behind the scenes. Amazon will no longer accept MOBI files from any publishers, either for new books or for books that are being re-uploaded, and they are recommending that publishers send EPUB, Word documents, or KPF (Kindle Create) files. Joshua discusses these changes, including offering some practical suggestions for publishers who are trying to figure out what to do next. I would love to learn more about this podcast's audience, and make sure that I'm creating content that you like and talking about topics that you want to hear. So, I've created a short, four-question survey that I hope will help me learn more about you and get some ideas for what you want me to cover more in this podcast. You can access the survey by going to https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey, or just visiting the podcast website and clicking on the link in the navigation bar. Please take a few minutes and help me understand you better!--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

Amazon has recently made two big changes to their publishing systems, and both of these changes will have an impact on publishers of all sizes. The first change is that Amazon now allows publishers using the Kindle Digital Publishing (KDP) platform to set up A+ Content for their book product pages. The A+ program has historically only been available to companies who are signed up for the Brand Registry, so this change opens the door for many more A+ pages to be made. Joshua discusses the impact this change will have on discoverability and sales, as well as some of the limitations and gotchas that publishers should watch out for. The second change is that Amazon no longer accepts ebooks in the Mobipocket format. The MOBI file type has been a fixture in Amazon's ebook program since the Kindle was released in 2007. It is a compiled file format that acted as a container for the HTML and other code behind the scenes. Amazon will no longer accept MOBI files from any publishers, either for new books or for books that are being re-uploaded, and they are recommending that publishers send EPUB, Word documents, or KPF (Kindle Create) files. Joshua discusses these changes, including offering some practical suggestions for publishers who are trying to figure out what to do next. I would love to learn more about this podcast's audience, and make sure that I'm creating content that you like and talking about topics that you want to hear. So, I've created a short, four-question survey that I hope will help me learn more about you and get some ideas for what you want me to cover more in this podcast. You can access the survey by going to <a href="https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://booksmartspodcast.com/survey</a>, or just visiting the podcast website and clicking on the link in the navigation bar. Please take a few minutes and help me understand you better!--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 11: Recent Kindle Changes: A+ Pages and the Death of the MOBI Format

Standards are an important driving force in every civilization. Standards help us all agree on how we define things, and provide opportunities for us to more effectively engage with each other in trade and in other ways. There is an interesting article in Science Magazine about how traders in the ancient Near East and Europe, during the Bronze Age, developed standardized weights and measures over time that allowed them to more easily trade goods with people from other parts of the world. The process of creating these standardized weights took place over a long period of time, but the weights are surprisingly consistent despite the time and distance. Standardization is much more complex today, and we now have international standards for weights like the kilogram. The Kilogram standard was developed in 1799, and a single cylinder of platinum-iridium that resides in Paris, France, has been used since 1889 as the internationally-recognized standard for a kilogram of mass. That changed in 2019, when scientists and governments around the world defined the Kilogram instead based on a newly defined value of Planck's Constant, in a process that took many years and many scientific experiments to define. Veritasium has an interesting video about this process.  All of this really leads to the point of this episode: standards are important. There is a lot of work being done in the publishing industry to define and update standards for things like BISAC subject codes, EPUB, ISBN, and ISNI. There are committees and working groups (especially at BISG) that discuss these standards, discuss best practices, and help the publishing industry advance. I highly encourage you to get involved with these organizations and join the committees that are developing and discussing these standards. More voices are always welcomed, and your unique input is needed.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

Standards are an important driving force in every civilization. Standards help us all agree on how we define things, and provide opportunities for us to more effectively engage with each other in trade and in other ways. There is an <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/these-ancient-weights-helped-create-europe-s-first-free-market-more-3000-years-ago" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">interesting article in Science Magazine</a> about how traders in the ancient Near East and Europe, during the Bronze Age, developed standardized weights and measures over time that allowed them to more easily trade goods with people from other parts of the world. The process of creating these standardized weights took place over a long period of time, but the weights are surprisingly consistent despite the time and distance. Standardization is much more complex today, and we now have international standards for weights like the kilogram. The Kilogram standard was developed in 1799, and a single cylinder of platinum-iridium that resides in Paris, France, has been used since 1889 as the internationally-recognized standard for a kilogram of mass. That changed in 2019, when scientists and governments around the world defined the Kilogram instead based on a newly defined value of Planck's Constant, in a process that took many years and many scientific experiments to define. Veritasium has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_e1wITe_ig" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">an interesting video</a> about this process.  All of this really leads to the point of this episode: standards are important. There is a lot of work being done in the publishing industry to define and update standards for things like BISAC subject codes, EPUB, ISBN, and ISNI. There are committees and working groups (especially at <a href="https://bisg.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BISG</a>) that discuss these standards, discuss best practices, and help the publishing industry advance. I highly encourage you to get involved with these organizations and join the committees that are developing and discussing these standards. More voices are always welcomed, and your unique input is needed.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 10: The Need for Standards

Erik Nelson

In this episode, Joshua talks with Erik Nelson, a friend and marketing consultant, about how publishers can approach rethinking their own branding, and develop a more powerful approach to marketing based on their passion and mission. Publishers, like other businesses, will fit broadly into three categories: 1) Those who are starting from scratch, have no major direct-to-consumer approach or marketing to speak of; 2) those who have a customer-facing brand, but know some things are broken and they don't know where to start on the repairs; and 3) those who already have some momentum on branding and direct-to-consumer, but want to throw some rocket fuel on that area. This podcast will be helpful for publishers in all three of those situations. Before you jump headlong into marketing and advertising, though, you have to start with the "Why". Where does the passion behind your company infuse your work? What's the deeper, more aspirational thing that got you in this business? What gets you jazzed and excited? You want to bottle that up and show it to your customers. After you know the Why, think about how you want to express it. That is where branding comes into the picture. Branding is like a mental shortcut for consumers. You want them to think of your brand when they think about the topic of passion behind it. Branding comes out in two areas: in the aesthetics or design, and in the messaging. Only after you have defined the Why, and developed the branding around that Why, can you start approaching the question of how to implement the sales and marketing aspects of your direct-to-consumer strategy. And that strategy will need to take on different forms in the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase stages. Joshua and Erik get into all of this, and more, with direct connections to the publishing business and suggestions for helping you get more out of your branding. Erik has agreed to offer a free 30-minute call with anyone who wants to talk to him more about these topics, and about ways that he might be able to help you. Please visit his website at https://nelsonconsulting.co/.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message

In this episode, Joshua talks with Erik Nelson, a friend and marketing consultant, about how publishers can approach rethinking their own branding, and develop a more powerful approach to marketing based on their passion and mission. Publishers, like other businesses, will fit broadly into three categories: 1) Those who are starting from scratch, have no major direct-to-consumer approach or marketing to speak of; 2) those who have a customer-facing brand, but know some things are broken and they don't know where to start on the repairs; and 3) those who already have some momentum on branding and direct-to-consumer, but want to throw some rocket fuel on that area. This podcast will be helpful for publishers in all three of those situations. Before you jump headlong into marketing and advertising, though, you have to start with the "Why". Where does the passion behind your company infuse your work? What's the deeper, more aspirational thing that got you in this business? What gets you jazzed and excited? You want to bottle that up and show it to your customers. After you know the Why, think about how you want to express it. That is where branding comes into the picture. Branding is like a mental shortcut for consumers. You want them to think of your brand when they think about the topic of passion behind it. Branding comes out in two areas: in the aesthetics or design, and in the messaging. Only after you have defined the Why, and developed the branding around that Why, can you start approaching the question of how to implement the sales and marketing aspects of your direct-to-consumer strategy. And that strategy will need to take on different forms in the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase stages. Joshua and Erik get into all of this, and more, with direct connections to the publishing business and suggestions for helping you get more out of your branding. Erik has agreed to offer a free 30-minute call with anyone who wants to talk to him more about these topics, and about ways that he might be able to help you. Please visit his website at <a href="https://nelsonconsulting.co/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://nelsonconsulting.co/</a>.--- Send in a voice message: <a href="https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://anchor.fm/booksmarts/message</a>

Episode 9: Erik Nelson on Branding and Marketing

Get smarter about your books! The BookSmarts podcast features discussions about publishing data and technologies and interviews with industry experts, deep thinkers, and doers, bringing you insights that will help you sell more books. Joshua Tallent is an acclaimed teacher and guide on the role of data in publishing, and a vocal advocate for high quality book metadata. In his spare time, Joshua enjoys playing complex board games, playing Minecraft, and fiddling with his 3D printer.

The BookSmarts Podcast, with Joshua Tallent

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