Books
do not contain advertising, at least not the printed ones produced by major
traditional publishers and sold in bookstores.
But you have to wonder why publishers have not tried to capitalize on
this obvious revenue stream that could increase profits significantly.
Look
at what book publishers could do:
1.
Sell
ads in the back of the book.
2.
Have
a sponsoring ad on the back cover – or front.
3.
Run
ads at the end of a chapter.
4.
Create a centerfold with advertisements.
The
ads would be for national brands, not local businesses, unless the book specifically has
a one-state, one-city, or one-region focus to its content. The ads could be totally unrelated to the
subject matter, such as an auto or fast-food ad in a business book or it can be
directly related to the content, such as sex toys for erotic novels or hotel
and airline companies for a travel book.
You just don’t want a conflict of interest to arise, between advertiser
and the book’s content.
You
also don’t want a book turning into a magazine or newspaper, where up to half
of the page count is full of advertisements.
It should be done on a smaller, more tasteful scale.
To
get ads would require a number of things from publishers:
·
A
way to secure ads.
·
A
method to design the ads.
·
A
vetting system to determine which ads are appropriate.
·
A
way to determine what could be charged.
·
How
to make use of digital ad platforms for the ebook.
Would
consumers be okay with the ads?
·
Who
cares – it’s a money-maker!
·
They
are expecting to see ads for videos and everything else, so why not this?
·
They
would love it if it keeps prices down or contained.
·
They
would appreciate it if the ads are useful and valuable.
But
I’m not the first person to think of this.
Obviously it’s been rejected and won’t become a reality any time
soon. However, I don’t see a clear
reason why this is not happening.
Some
books will advertise backlist titles.
Others will promote the services and products of an author. Bookstores
see those ads as competing with them and their ability to sell books. But they won’t balk if BMW is advertising in
a novel, would they?
For
that matter, why don’t publisher websites or retail bookstores features
advertising of non-books? Think about
it. If a publisher gets a lot of web
traffic, why not advertise Uber? Why
don’t local bookstores feature bulletin-board ads for neighboring
businesses? There’s money to be made
here!
Talking
about money and ads, I can’t get over Prevention
Magazine’s decision to publish without ads.
That’s right, a magazine with half of the 3.25 million readership per
issue of 2006, is dumping its ad stream.
They figured out that the cost to secure and print ads was more than it
paid. They’ll raise their cover price by
25% and double their subscription rate – but expect to shed two thirds of their
subscribers in the process. Under their
math, that’s all a winning plan.
I
don’t see how it could be, but if it is, something’s still wrong. You don’t just give up on a revenue stream.
You make adjustments – cut expenses, increase fees, and vary your
offerings. But the print model in the
news media still struggles.
Britain’s
major daily, The Independent, went
paperless last month. It’s all
digital. Spain’s largest daily warned it
may go the same route. That would be
horrible.
Meanwhile,
none of this stops the launching of a new newspaper. The New Day, a-five-day-a-week print-only outlet in Britain. They don’t even have a website.
The Trump University of Book Promotions
The Author PR Priority List
Rights of Cheating Spouses vs. First Amendment On Display
Can authors audit their writing like they do their taxes?
What is America’s actual reading capacity?
http://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-is-americas-reading-capacity.html
2016 Book Marketing & Book Publicity Toolkit
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