Interview With Marketing and Sales Director at Pubsoft

Interview With Heather Wied

What does Pubsoft do?

Pubsoft is a software company that develops software for the publishing industry. Our company is committed to bringing software solutions to an industry that is in a current state of disruption and turmoil, and people are unsure where to look for answers. We believe we have real solutions to real industry problems such as discoverability and developing a platform. 

 How did you come to get involved in book publishing?

Aside from the executive management team’s love affair with learning, literature, and stories, as a software company with many years of experience developing products for the hospitality and medical records sectors, our co-founders saw an opportunity for innovation in the book publishing realm. When we started the company there was a real outcry for help and solutions in the publishing industry, and we saw pockets where software could solve some of the current dilemmas. 

 Who should use it and why?

Publishers who want to regain control of their customers. As the publishing industry grows and changes, many experts leading the pack advocate that the way for publishers to regain a competitive foothold in an industry where the world’s largest retailer all of sudden decided they would offer direct distribution, is to reconnect with readers directly. Our platform enables publishers of all shapes and sizes to do just that. 

 How does it impact book sales?

The Pubsoft system impacts book sales by providing users book level data. Data is so important to strategic decision making and planning effective marketing and sales campaigns. The combination of a direct connection with an audience coupled with book level data that shows real consumer behavior patterns relating to the consumption of books is an unstoppable formula for success. When you know who your prototypical reader is, marketers or authors, whoever is actively promoting the book, can go out and speak to the right audience. We’ve taken the core fundamentals of target marketing and leveraging analytic data and applied it to the sale of ebooks for anyone who understands how important it is to have that information.

What advice do you have authors?

Know why you write, and set SMART goals.

How is technology transforming the publishing marketplace?

Technology is making it easier for authors to find and connect with their audiences to create lasting relationships that translate into future sales both by having an audience to sell directly into, as well as stimulating the all-important WOM demand across all downstream retail channels. Having a direct connection with an author’s influencer readers is critical because they will always be the product champions out in the world advocating for your work, and will always have more influence and credibility than any paid marketing activities. 

What is next in book publishing?

There are a couple of things that we see trending in publishing. The first is that we think there will be a fundamental shift in how the publishing industry accepts manuscripts. Instead of sending people away, we think technology will enable publishers to take on more authors and to help more people get their work to market with higher quality products. It seems the self-publishing craze has leveled off, now that authors see the extent of the work that goes behind promoting a successful self-published work. Conversely, publishers now see that it’s entirely possible for an  author to completely cut publishers out of the equation and still see huge success. So now it’s time for everyone to work together to create a publishing industry that serves the needs of authors to retain more creative control and their rights, while at the same time allowing publishing companies to mitigate upfront risks investing in new works, but still use their experience and expertise to support distribution, marketing, and sales.

The second trend we see coming up is an interest in developing transmedia story worlds as a new way of consuming content. We’re working on an upcoming project, but with explosive growth in casual gaming as well as steady trends in social media usage, there is real potential to create immersive story worlds from the outset that could be highly successful. 

DON’T MISS THIS!!!

Here is my 2014 Book Marketing & Publicity Toolkit: Based on 20+ years in publishing --

Master Publishing PR Toolkit

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2013