06/28/2009
This morning, after I washed the news print off of my fingers from the Sunday New York Times, I downloaded some sample chapters on to my Kindle. Several of those books were recommended to me by my dear friends at amazon.com. Others I found on blogs and through Twitter. The world of publishing is not simply changing .. it is colliding with technology and the world of social media.
Don't just take the word of a digital author but people in traditional publishing are taking out their red pens and looking at their current models with a critical eye. If the publishing business is to stay in business I would encourage publishers and editors to take a cue from the lessons that marketers have learned over the past few years. What is important to understand is that these changes come with options for the reader/customer. The "delivery channel" choice may be as important as the content. Do your readers want digital or traditional or an integration of both?
This month Debbie Stier @debbiestier - SVP, Associate Publisher, Harper Studio, Kaylie Jones @KaylieJones - best selling novelist ("Lies
My Mother Never Told Me." "A Soldier's Daughter
Never Cries"), Kevin Heisler (@KevinHeisler - literary executor and Ron Hogan @RonHogan - curator, Beatrice.com gave their insights about the future of publishing at the 140 Character Conference. The video is well worth a view.
Then there is the other Big Question: How are readers finding books in the new world of tweets, Facebook, blogs? Is the library still important? How has the promotion and building a readership community changed? Publishers and agents tell me not to even consider submitting a proposal without a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes social media tactics. The rules of engaging with editors are in flux also. If you follow me on Twitter or you Friend me on Facebook does that mean it's okay to send you a proposal without an agent?
Nathan Bransford, Literary Agent recently asked his readers- "Where did you hear about the book you're reading?" Over 300 people responded. I was curious about the break down and did a very informal tally. What is probably valid is not the count but the weight of each category.
- Friends (including book clubs) - 78
Blogs (including author blogs) - 62
Bookstores - 45
Websites/reviews sites - 33
Library - 22
Amazon recommendation/reviews - 22
Twitter - 19
Book tours/met the author - 11
Blog promotion/contests - 5
Read other books by author - 4
Other (ezines, book fairs, TV, Radio, book reviews, podcasts, cover/jacket - 29
It will be interesting to see how social media impacts traditional publishing, what emerges as new publishing model/s, who will lead the innovation and who will close their doors. In the mean time I'm curious .. "Where did you hear about the book you're reading?"
05/09/2009
Ta da .. for your reading pleasure here's a list of titles of social media books scheduled to be release 2009 – 2010.
1. The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grow Your Business Using Social Media by Paul Chaney - Sept 22,2009
2. Twitterville: How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods by Shel Israel - Sep 3, 2009
3. Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod - June 11, 2009
4. The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business by Tara Hunt - April 21, 2009
5. Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business by Larry Weber - Mar 3, 2009
6. The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success by Lon Safko and David Brake - May 4, 2009
7. Public Relations and the Social Web: How to Use Social Media and Web 2.0 in Communications by Rob Brown - May 28, 2009
8. Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation by Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones - Feb 28, 2009
9. Social Media Marketing: How Data Analytics helps to monetize the User Base in Telecoms, Social Networks, Media and Advertising in a Converged Ecosystem by Ajit V Jaokar, Brian Jacobs, Alan Moore, and Jouko Ahvenainen - Feb 15, 2009
10. Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs by Brian Halligan, Dharmesh Shah, and David Meerman Scott - Oct 19, 2009
11. The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media by Paul Gillin and Geoffrey A. Moore - May 1, 2009
12. Yes We Did! An inside look at how social media built the Obama brand (Voices That Matter) by Rahaf Harfoush - Jun 1, 2009
13. Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge - Mar 1, 2009
14. The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg - Jun 15, 2009
15. Mastering Web 2.0: Transform Your Business Using Key Website and Social Media Tools by Susan Rice Lincoln - Jul 28, 2009
16. Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business by Erik Qualman - Aug 24, 2009
17. Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm, Anthony Robbins, and Ken Burge - Feb 17, 2009
18. Online Public Relations: A Practical Guide to Developing an Online Strategy in the World of Social Media by David Phillips and Philip Young - Jun 28, 2009
19. International Communications Strategy: Developments in Cross-Cultural Communications, PR and Social Media by Silvia Cambie and Yang-May Ooi - Aug 28, 2009
20. The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth by David Silver - Feb 24, 2009
21. The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach New Audiences, and Sell More Stuff by Clara Shih - Mar 22, 2009
22. MediaMasters: Insider Secrets from the big names of broadcast, print and social media by Alan Stevens, Jeremy Nicholas, and Debbie Jenkins - April 3, 2009
23. Friends with Benefits: Online Marketing with Blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and More by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo - Aug 15, 2009
24. A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web by Deltina Hay - Mar 1, 2009
25. Understanding Digital Marketing: Marketing Strategies for Engaging the Digital Generation by Damian Ryan and Calvin Jones - Feb 28, 2009
26. How to REALLY use LinkedIn by Jan Vermeiren - Mar 4, 2009
27. The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick - Jan 7, 2010
28. The Internet: An Introduction to New Media by Lelia Green - Jan 1, 2010
29. You Need More Than a Website: Promote Your Professional Services Firm Using Social Media by Jan Davis - Dec 16, 2009
30. Social Media at Work: How Networking Tools Can Help Employees Work Better and Faster by Arthur L. Jue, Jackie Alcalde-Marr, and Mary E. Kassotakis - Nov 2, 2009
31. This is Social Media - Tweet, Blog, Post and Link Your Way to Business Success by Clapperton - Oct 15, 2009
32. Social Influence Marketing For Dummies by Shiv Singh - Oct 12, 2009
33. The Young and the Digital: What the Migration to Social Network Sites, Games, and Anytime, Anywhere Media Means for Our Future by S. Craig Watkins - Oct 1, 2009
34. Designing Social Interfaces: Principles, Patterns, and Practices for Improving the User Experience by Christian Crumlish and Erin Malone - Sep 15, 2009
35. Friends with Benefits: Online Marketing with Blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and More by Darren Barefoot and Julie Szabo - Aug 15, 2009
36. PR Strategy and Application: Managing Influence by W.Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay - Aug 14, 2009
37. Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time by Joel Comm, Anthony Robbins, and Ken Burge - Feb 17, 2009
38. The Twitter Book by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein - May 26, 2009
39. The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth by David Silver - Feb 24, 2009
40. All a Twitter: A Personal and Professional Guide to Social Networking with Twitter by Tee Morris - Jul 23, 2009
41. Everything twitter - From Novice to Expert: The Unofficial Guide to Everything Twitter - THE BLUE BOOK 2009 by Steve Soho and Monica Jones - 2009
42. Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan, Julien Smith - August 24, 2009
43. Social Media is a Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing by Jim Tobin, Lisa Braziel - Nov 5, 2008
44. 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking by Juliette Powell -Feb 10, 2009
Plus One - Social Media Marketing GPS #smgps .. the first business book written using Twitter as the major content platform and distribution channel. I've been working on the all-tweet SM book for about a month and it's nearing completion. More soon.
Update! I forgot my dear friend Tris Hussey book - Create Your Own Blog: 6 Easy Projects to Start Blogging Like a Pro by Tris Hussey - Sep 3, 2009
04/01/2009
The first day of April maybe April "Fools Day" but to me it marks the start of spring and new beginnings. The world seems to call out .. take a chance .. throw off your winter jacket and dance in the rain or watch as the yellow Forsythia bush blooms bright yellow flowers.
So I listened to the Spring Sirens and took a leap into something new. I'm writing a book. On social media marketing. But not just a 'regular' book. A book written on Twitter. This book will be built on using 140 characters per line. It will be quick ideas but woven together that flows in a consistent book "read.".
However, it will be "traditionally" formatted with a Foreword, written by Shel Israel @sheliisrael, and chapters. Each chapter will include a one question interview with industry experts who will tag their tweets - #smgps The # allows for easy search for tweet inTwitter search.
If that's too confusing or if you want to go back and read it at your own pace I've created a dedicated blog. Social Media Marketing - A Twitter-book . #smgps.
My goal is to create a resource for marketers where the social media marketing community can contribute their insights as well. Call it an experiment in crowd sourcing. Can it work? Wil it work? I don't know. Some Tweeters have said it will fail in less than 140 seconds; others think it's cool and has value; others have a wait and show me stance. For me, social media is all about trying new ideas. So I thought why not?
This quote by Erica Jong was part of the Introduction and captures what it's all about. On a fool's spring day or with a carefully structured marketing strategy. - "The trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more." I extend an invitation to join me on this adventure.
