TomBritt.com Online Marketing Blog

I was talking to a “newspaper insider” the other day about the convergence of media and the somewhat incestuous relationship between metro newspapers, radio stations, and television stations. In our market, the Indianapolis Star has tried to create as many new online properties as they have new print properties in the last few years. (See my “Why Newspapers Are Dying a Slow, Painful Death” post)

I asked a simple question, “why don’t television stations feel threatened by their newspaper ‘partners’?”

The answer I got was a bit surprising.

“Television is already there, newspapers are running from where they are…they want to be television stations.”

He pointed out that in markets where one company owns all three mediums (TV, radio, newspapers), the television stations are the cash cow, radio stations break even, and newspapers lose money. In the example he used in Columbus, Ohio, the newspaper is actually being shut down because it is losing so much money.

Given this, he revealed that the Indianapolis Star’s goal is to eliminate the print product completely by 2013. No more print?

Last month they “redesigned” the paper to use a narrower font, narrower broadsheet, and supposedly “easier to read” type. In other words, they put their presses on a diet and cut about 10% of their paper costs. The business section is now a 4-page flyer with a few business classifieds and some stock prices. Signs of a struggling newspaper business are everywhere and they are trying to mask it by waving shiny objects at us like we’re infants.

“Look over here Tommy, it’s a new website!”

“Lookie over here Tommy, it’s IndyMoms.com!”

“Heeeerrrrreeee’s a big puppy, Tommy. You like puppies? Go to IndyPaws.com like a good boy.”

You might be making money online, even faster than you thought. But in the long run, if you eliminate print, you’ll be doomed. You are selling online ads ‘better’ because you have a relationship with your print customers and they want something that works. Simple. Your newspaper ads never have and never will do what the online ads can do: generate and quantify leads.

I think Gannett is fattening up the IndyStar.com “Walton-family-sized” offering of print and Internet products to sell to a radio empire, like Emmis. Television giants won’t touch a newspaper, but radio has the need to grow and they already survived the streaming media tidal wave in the late 1990’s. Without a strong Internet video strategy and the paradigm fixed in the public mind that the newspaper will report on what we do, newspapers have too far to go spread too thin as it is.

Give up the print and newspapers will die. Jot this prediction down.

Besides the dashboard design, what is the big deal about Wordpress 2.5? The photo uploading has a bug which is a big problem, I’m working on this little problem now. I’ll be anxious to see the same design changes along with the ability to add users to blogs easier in MU.Wordpress.org.

Some Indiana-based bloggers are organizing the first-ever Blog Indiana Conference on August 16th & 17th at IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis. I’m going to speak on a subject or two, not sure what exactly yet, but I’m game. Blogging has matured quite a bit in the last 10 years, from “online diaries” to “business applications.” We need to enlighten the midwest that blogs aren’t just for weirdos anymore. For $49, this is a steal for two days. Just hanging around the lobby and reading name tags is worth $49. Hope you will all join me!

Disguised as “faster shipping and fulfillment”, Amazon announced this week that all print on demand book titles sold by Amazon MUST be printed by them (BookSurge.com). They claim:

If the POD printing machines reside inside our own fulfillment centers, we can more quickly ship the POD book to customers — including in those cases where the POD book needs to be married together with another item. If a customer orders a POD item together with an item that we’re holding in inventory — a common case — we can quickly print and bind the POD item, pick the inventoried item, and ship the two together in one box, and we can do so quickly. If the POD item were to be printed at a third party, we’d have to wait for it to be transhipped to our fulfillment center before it could be married together with the inventoried item.

Hmm, I wonder how many orders are “transhipped” (is that a word by the way?) with other items in their fulfillment center? Lighting Source, owned by Ingram which is the United State’s largest retail book distributor, has been printing and “transhipping” books for Amazon for years. Each book is put into an Amazon box, Amazon packing slip, and shipped on Amazon’s account. I guess Amazon isn’t making enough money on shipping and handling fees, their 35%+ commission, and cross-selling (or “trans-selling”) their CreateSpace.com or other publishing services.

The result of their strong-arm, take-it-or-leave-it tactics will be simple: Smaller, stubborn, or defiant self-publishing companies will die and Amazon will feed them to BookSurge.com. PublishAmerica might be the first to go, their executives claim:

PublishAmerica will not comply with Amazon’s ultimatum, and will not allow that company to dictate who will print PublishAmerica’s books, and at what conditions.

Xlibris is reported to have not signed an agreement with Amazon yet, either. The first self-publishing company could be the last if they don’t wise up and work something out. Business is business, fall in line to the 800 lb. gorilla or be fed to the BookSurge giant.

It’s rumored that AuthorHouse/iUniverse has reached a deal with Amazon. The market leader understands how the publishing industry is changing and is looking out for the best interests of their authors.

Be defiant all you want. Custer was defiant. Charles Manson is still defiant. Look at what it got them. Bad news PublishAmerica: You and your authors need Amazon more than they need you. As of the writing of this blog post, your 23,000+ books are basically turned “off” on Amazon. Unfortunately, no one has challenged Amazon for years in book sales because they were:

1. An online market leader, and
2. They worked well in their ecosystem of book sales and distribution

Now, they have gotten a little greedy and believe that they alone can provide anything and everything that a self-published author would want, including the printing. Amazon could be cutting off their own nose in an industry that has become more and more fragmented over the last 10 years. By turning on their own in an economic ecosystem that seemed to work for everyone, Amazon could and should see some publishers ally to form online bookstores that rival their catalog of books.

If Amazon is so concerned with the customers’ “speed of shipping experience,” why remove the “buy now” button and decrease the speed of buying a book? They have prided themselves on the “one click” purchase experience and spent millions of dollars to protect it legally. Why play hardball in a stadium full of publishers that used to support you and make it harder for them to sell books through your store?

In closing, I have two recommendations:

1. AuthorHouse/iUniverse and company needs to develop a new and improved e-bookstore and go head to head with Amazon on book sales. Charge them a premium and force them to join some hokey advantage program to sell BookSurge books through your new portal. Your own authors and the industry at large will thank you for it.
2. Amazon needs to stick to selling books and leave the distribution, printing, and fulfillment to willing partners like Lightning Source. You aren’t kidding anyone with this “speed of shipping experience” and “transhipping” speak.

After a lot of thought and several free luncheons teaching people how to use Wordpress, I\’ve decided to start up a full-day seminar focused on Wordpress, both wordpress.org and multi-user. jeu de poker a telechargerjeu de streap pokerregles poker holdemjouer video pokerforum poker en ligneguide poker en ligneworld poker tournamentapprendre a jouer au pokervideo poker onlinetelecharger poker holdtournoi de poker gratuitesregles poker pdfpoker gratuites macparty pokerles r�gles de jeu pokermalette jeu de pokerwinamax pokeryahoo france jeuxplay poker onlineplay 7 card stud onlinejeux gratuites poker texastournoi poker onlinesalle de poker en lignetournoi texas holdempoker en ligne argent virtueltelecharger gratuitement jeu de pokerjeux frtricher poker en lignestrip pokerjouer au poker parisjeu poker gratuites a telechargertelecharger poker starsregles du poker texasjeu poker tour gratuitesjeux poker en lignepocker texas holdemplay seven card studstreap poker onlinestrip poker en ligne gratuitesjouer au poker sans telechargertexas holdem rulesgagner poker en ligneregles stud pokerjeu de poker en francaisworld poker series tournamentjeux poker en ligne gratuitesapprendre poker gratuitesapprendre a jouer o pokerpoker totalement gratuitestelecharger jeux poker gratuites Attendees will need to bring laptops and commit two full days to learning Wordpress installation, set-up, and customization. I\’m talking to the Hilton on the northeast side of Indianapolis about a room and dates. Cost will be in the $200-$400 range, but you\’ll be able to build, host, and maintain your own blog platform site afterwards. If you are interested, email me.

Steve Yelvington wrote a great blog post about the arrogance and mindset of newspapers entitled “Resolution: Newspapers should be more like Apple.” One of my favorite quotes is:

After half a century or so of near-monopolistic market dominance, the average daily newspaper has developed a lot of really bad habits: rudeness, arrogant pricing, poor customer service and a really bad case of NIH, the “not invented here” syndrome. The newspaper often is as lame as the Zune and as resented as Vista.

Microsoft’s idea of a level playing field has been described as “bulldozing the other guy’s buildings.” Oh, what a dream solution that would be for today’s troubled newspaper publisher. Let’s get a law passed against Craigslist, or the new free commuter paper, or Myspace.

“Ditto” Mr. Yelvington. I’m facing this in Indianapolis where Gannett is trying to run everyone out of business, including Nuvo (with their Indy.com publication), Indianapolis Monthly (with their “Carmel Magazine”, “Fishers/Geist Magazine”, whatever other niche area they want magazine), and Indy’s Child (IndyMoms.com which is now launching a magazine). How thin can you spread yourself and how much more difficult can you make the advertising decision on a potential buyer?

I think we should all band together and start a daily newspaper. Wait a minute, that’s why they got into our business to begin with.

1.    Pick a target date for holding the first copy of your book in your hands – Staying focused on this date will help you remain productive and avoid procrastinating. Many first-time authors pick dates that have special personal significance, like their 50th birthday or their wedding anniversary.

2.    Figure out the best time and place for you to write productively – Not everyone works best at the same time or place. Once you’ve figured out where and when you do your best writing everyday, commit to it. One author, for example, stated that he could write more, and better, between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m., than he could in the afternoon between 2 and 5 p.m.

3.    Form a schedule and stick to it – Now that you’ve figured out where and when you work best, make writing a part of your daily routine. This will help you progress steadily and finish your book much more quickly.

4.    Make yourself accountable to someone for finishing your book – Choose someone who will check in periodically and make sure you’re staying focused. It can be a friend or family member; or someone familiar with the process. For example, Author Services Representatives at AuthorHouse have served in this role for thousands of authors. A firm but gentle hand can be all the encouragement you need to finish your book.

5.    Create a plan for marketing your finished book – The retail success of a book is often directly tied to a successful marketing program. Put together a plan for how you’ll get the word out about your fantastic new book. Publishers like AuthorHouse provide marketing tools that will make marketing much easier

6.    Plan an event to celebrate the book’s completion –Writing a book is one of the greatest accomplishments of your life. Celebrate this achievement by throwing a launch party at your home for friends and family. This is more than a book, its part of your legacy. Take a few moments to pat yourself on the back and enjoy your achievement.

To get more information, visit AuthorHouse.com.

Amazon finally released their Amazon Kindle e-book reader device, a clunky ’stone tablet’ looking device that doubles as a wireless laptop hybrid device. I have to say I’m a little disappointed in the design, but not the functionality. Instead of taking the ”book-like” trac that Sony took with their reader digital book, Amazon took the “techno gadget” road and debuts with an ugly, oversided PDA with built-in wireless. To add insult to injury, they are charging $9.95 for most book titles which is more than I pay for the used books on Amazon.

If I was Amazon, I would not have targeted e-book readers with this thing, I would have targeted Blackberry users that want another keyboard and screen to tantalize them all day. I’ll wait until the next model comes out that allows for wireless air cards (Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.) and has a color monitor. Thanks Amazon for not advancing the e-book market any further than it already was.

Until a few years ago, the term self-publishing usually entailed the likes of AuthorHouse, iUniverse, or Infinity Publishing taking a raw manuscript and converting it into a printed book via print on demand. Nowadays, self-publishing is being redefined as a “do-it-yourself publishing” process where you go online, upload your manuscript, format it, and then use print on demand to print and fulfill book orders.

One of the first in this space was Lulu.com who boasts over 10,000 new accounts per week. Unfortunately, the process was either deemed too hard or too confusing for most users with only a handfull of the 10,000 actually completing their book online. Beyond the printing, Lulu doesn’t offer too many other services beyond an ISBN and distribution at a cost.

Amazon even threw their hat in the ring with the debut of CreateSpace.com. Like Lulu.com, they provide an online process whereby a user can create their own book and sell it through Amazon.com. Again, the wheels fall off when an aspiring author realizes that designing their own cover or text pages is a little more difficult than what they thought. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea, but it’s the devil in the details that cause many authors heartburn when it comes to this new self-publishing model.

In my opinion, AuthorSolutions‘ Wordclay.com has a leg up on both of these established brands. AuthorHouse and iUniverse are well-versed in helping people along the process to becoming published. Besides, AuthorHouse has more marketing services to offer than anyone in this space which is always the lynchpin in any successful book. Like CreateSpace.com, Wordclay.com can give you Amazon.com distribution as well as visibility to any of the 25,000 retailers in the United States that subscribe to Ingram’s feed.

If you are publishing a wedding book, a reunion scrapbook, or other book where distribution is not a factor AND you are pretty tech savvy, it will come down to ease of use and pricing. If you are doing this new self-publishing model for the first time and you are willing to admit that you are a better writer than you are marketer and layout artist, then Wordclay.com might just be for you.

Interesting article from Jason Goldberg at SocialMedian.com today regarding the “new news.”

What is known is that the business of delivering the news has to change.  It’s no longer economical to produce print in the age of digital.  How can a printing company saddled with manufacturing and real-world product delivery compete with the economies of virtualization? 

I somewhat agree, but I know from experience that advertisers, the economic engine behind all media, put much more stock in print matter than they do a :30 second TV or radio spot or a click-through on a website. Something about print is ‘temporarily permanent’ and therefore more valuable. Companies that figure out how to bundle all medias and parse it out locally or by user will have the silver bullet.

That said, there is power in the masses.  Hundreds of thousands of citizen journalists, appropriately engaged, can deliver some awesome news — with a reach far greater than any wire service or modern day newsroom.

Where does all this lead to?  I’ve got plenty more ideas here which I will share over time.  It surely is an exciting time to be following the business of making news.

Jason goes on to highlight several news aggregation services pointing to them as the answer to this influx of citizen journalism. However, I believe that as more and more content comes online, people will be looking for more local, community content rather than putting their faith in an online service to sort it out for them. Digg and Reddit are great services, don’t get me wrong. But the majority of people still use iGoogle or myYahoo as their start-up page each morning vs. walking to the curb to pick up their newspapers off the driveway. Most folks know how to add an RSS feed to their ‘portal’ pages already, walking them through a news aggregation site is a little more clumsy and still doesn’t give them their email alerts.