Marketing Tips

by Carol Community Administrator
June 13, 2008
Comments (16)

How to create the BEST book trailer, EVER. (seriously.)

In Howto, Lulu Blog, Marketing Tips — Tagged: , , , ,

Book Trailer

Book trailers. You’ve seen ‘em and thought to yourself, “I could do that.” Perhaps you thought “I could do that better!” I’m here to tell you how!

  • First, write a book. This is the most difficult part of creating a book trailer. Once you’ve got that down, you are almost finished.
  • Publish your book on Lulu.com. This is imperative and will ensure that your book trailer will better than everyone else’s.
  • Be creative. Some book trailers have narrators explaining what the book is about, some book trailers are just words on the screen describing the book. I say make it interesting. You are obviously a creative person, you wrote a book! Use your imagination. Try asking some friends to act out an important scene in your book or maybe explain why people should buy your book using interpretive dance. What ever you do, be creative.

Avoid the book trailer pitfalls of despair:

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by Nick Popio Social Networking Team Lead
May 15, 2008
No Comments

Leveraging Lulu To Find Your True Fans

In Marketing Tips — Tagged: , ,

Kevin Kelly has an interesting idea about a way for independent creators to achieve success without trying to create a “blockbuster hit”. Given the difficulty involved in achieving blockbuster hit status, I was immediately intrigued. Kevin argues that independent creators can harness the idea of the “long tail”, and achieve success by trying to find 1,000 True Fans.

In case you haven’t heard the term before, the “long tail” is the idea that there are a nearly infinite number of niches, and that by leveraging a site like Lulu, independent creators whose work fills one of these niches can find a market for their book, CD, video, etc. which might not have a place in a more traditional setting. This benefits the company as well, since a large number of creators selling small numbers of niche titles can be profitable to the company.

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by Nick Popio Social Networking Team Lead
March 26, 2008
No Comments

Self-Publishing Tips For Small Businesses

In Marketing Tips, Tips and Tricks — Tagged: ,

Self-publishing avenues offer small businesses affordable alternatives to producing materials instead of going through a print shop. These options often include higher quality, provide commerce management, and fulfillment for your products, but how do you get started, and what should you expect?

The best tip I can give you for getting started on your project is to figure out who your target audience is. One of the major advantages of self-publishing is the ability to customize your content to your audience, and giving you the option of establishing multiple versions of your content if you would like to focus on specific groups based on location, company, etc. You can also update your content any time you learn more about your audience, or if you just need to bring the information current.

In many cases, you may already know the answer as your business fills a very specific niche, or you are producing internal materials. However, if that is not the case, you should consider who you are trying to market your materials to. What age bracket are they, what demographics do they belong to, and any other pertinent information. Some of this may seem obvious, but one of the hardest parts of self-publishing can be finding your audience, and if you don’t figure it out, you may find that the materials aren’t delivering at your expectations. .

Once you have figured out who your audience is, you need to determine the best way to deliver your materials to them. Self-Publishing offers a variety of options in this area, from direct sales (you purchase copies for yourself and resell them on your website or in person), online sales (many self-publishing sites give you features like “buy now buttons”, and direct linking to online ordering so that your users can buy the product online), and digital sales (downloadable PDFs or other formats that users can purchase). Figuring out the delivery method for your materials is an integral aspect of self-publishing, and depends on your business and your needs. For some small businesses it may make sense to have all of their materials sold out of their business, while others might find it easier to be completely online. Most are best served by a combination of all of the methods.

Once your materials are prepared and uploaded to a self-publishing website, or sent in to a self-publishing provider, the next step will be letting your audience know that the materials are available. Again, this will depend on who your audience is and how you are planning to distribute the materials, but communication is key. Some excellent methods to use are announcements on your website, sending out a targeted e-mail to your customers (of course, you should always observe the CAN-SPAM Act), and if you have a physical business, signs announcing the product’s availability.

Of course, this aspect is often much easier to manage if your focus is driven primarily towards internal materials like training manuals, but can also apply to materials you aren’t selling like brochures for new products. People want to know about new offerings, and are a lot more likely to pick up your brochure if you let them know it’s readily available. Too often I’ve seen businesses put brochures and similar materials in hard to access areas or haven’t drawn attention to the fact that they’re free (or if they are charging for it, made it look like it’s free). In short, you need to communicate the intent of your materials to your customer so they know exactly what to expect and to get them interested. If you can get them excited about your materials, even better!

-Nick

by Dan London Director of Search Engine Marketing
March 11, 2008
Comments (1)

Get Creative…Get People to Your Lulu Creation

In Marketing Tips — Tagged: , ,

Now that you have published on Lulu, it is time to get some people to buy what you have created. The Lulu Search Marketing Program can get your creation on the major search engines, but there are many other ways to get traffic to your Lulu storefront.

-Post on Internet Forums

Internet forums are a great way to let people know about what you have written. Find a website that relates to what your Lulu creation is about and become an active member. Make sure each post has a link to your Lulu storefront. This is a great way to get people who are more likely to buy your item to your storefront.

-Bookmarks and Postcards

Lulu offers a great service to help budding authors promote their creations. Get bookmarks, postcards and even business cards to help you promote your book. I had some made for my Lulu creation and left some at the coffee shops around the area. Click HERE to learn more.

These are just a few ways you can get people to your Lulu storefront. Visit the Lulu Forums for more great ideas.

-Dan

by Lauren Parker Senior Communications Specialist
March 4, 2008
No Comments

Tips and Tricks: Book Formatting 101

In Marketing Tips, Tips and Tricks — Tagged: , ,

Make sure your words don’t end up in the gutter!

You have the story. You’ve edited and re-edited it. Now its time to upload your file and publish your book, but before you press “Save and Continue”, make sure your book is consistent with your vision.

Ready, Set, Format!
Formatting is one of the most important steps in creating your file for Lulu to make sure a cut off head isn’t in a photo book or a word falling off the page. Important things to look out for include consistency, page size, paragraph sizes, etc. Go through the Editing Checklist to make sure your file is ready to go through the PDF process.

The Gutters for the leaves…. And other words in Book Formatting
There are many terms to understand in order to format your book correctly.
Below are just a few of key words to add to your publishing vocabulary. For more visit the Glossary.

Gutter - The inner margins of two facing pages in a publication
White Space - the border around the text; should be at least 1″
Bleed - The portion of an image that extends beyond the post-trim area of a page.
DPI - Dots per Inch; A measure of a device’s resolution; For graphic purposes how big your picture should be.

Want to Know More?
There’s plenty of information on the Book Formatting FAQ and in the Support forums if you get lost or just want more clarification. If you want expert advice and help, visit the Services Marketplace and use one of the many pre-publishing services.

by Nick Popio Social Networking Team Lead
February 5, 2008
Comments (2)

Giving It Away - How Previews May Help You Sell

In Marketing Tips — Tagged: , , , , , ,

I tend to come across a lot of material on the site because of my job. Sometimes, it’s because I’m looking for something to buy, other times I am checking out whether it’s in violation of our membership agreement, and still others I am looking for content to highlight. Regardless of the reason, I am often surprised by how much of it lacks a preview. According to Chris Anderson, author of the “Long Tail”, on average, 500 copies of a book are sold per year. For a self-published author, selling 500 copies in a year is considered a huge success, but how do you get 500 people to buy your book when most of them haven’t ever heard of you? The simple answer is to let them read it.

If I have never heard of a writer before, and I’m in a bookstore, three things that make me decide to take a chance on a book. First, does the summary grab me? If a book has a good description and it sounds interesting, I will take a closer look at it. I can’t tell you how many books I come across with descriptions that don’t tell me enough about what it’s about, because it’s a lot. So, that’s step 1, think about your description, and try to tell people what your book (or CD or whatever) is about, and why they should give it a shot. Show it to people you trust to give you constructive criticism, and get their advice. Remember, if you don’t draw people in, they probably won’t take a risk and pay for your book.

The second thing I look for is who is recommending the book to me. If I see an author I recognize (and like) telling me they like the book, then I am more likely to pick it up. Since self-published authors can’t always get someone well known in their genre of choice to recommend their book, it helps to have people who are willing to give thoughtful and honest reviews of your work regardless. If it looks like your mom is the only person who reviewed it and loved it, I hate to say it, but I’m probably not going to buy it (unless your mother is Haven Kimmel or another woman whose writing I enjoy).

The final thing that will convince me to purchase a copy of a book I’ve never heard of before is being able to read the book, or at least part of it. I cannot stress how important this is. Barnes & Noble will let me sit in their cafe, read a book while drinking some Starbucks and never blink. They do this because they know that A) I will buy their overpriced snacks (and I will), and B) because they know I am more likely to buy something if I can read some of it first. They also know, I am unlikely to read an entire book in the store and then put it back on the shelf. So, they let me sit down, get comfortable and read, hoping I will like what it and buy it. The same thing applies to selling books, cds, and anything else online. People are unlikely to read an entire book online, and even if they do, if they like the book, they are probably willing to pay $15 to own a copy. On the other hand, if you don’t have a preview, no one knows how good your book is, and they aren’t as likely to give it a try.

This is why we advocate offering a preview. You don’t have to put the whole book or album up for people to read/listen to, just put up what you are comfortable with, and you think will help convince strangers and loved ones that they want to read, and/or listen to the whole thing. I can’t guarantee that you’ll sell 500 copies, but I can guarantee you’re more likely to sell copies if you let people try it first.

Nick Popio

by Lauren Parker Senior Communications Specialist
February 5, 2008
No Comments

Tips and Tricks: Cover Design

In Marketing Tips, Tips and Tricks — Tagged: , , ,

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but most people do…

How many times have you picked up a book because it looked interesting?

Make sure your creation makes a lasting impression with an attractive, well-designed cover. It’s a great way to attract and pique the viewer’s interest and make your book stand out from the crowd.

With these helpfl guidelines, design the cover that will showcase your book in an extraordinary way.

Before designing you cover you should:

  • Identify the target audience: Consider their interests, reading levels, background.
  • Determine the purpose of your message you want to present and plan your cover layout around it.
  • Select appropriate typefaces and organize the text and graphics.

::Audience::

Remember that you are not designing for yourself; you are designing to communicate to others. Take the audiences needs, skills, and abilities, into account when developing your design.

::Layout::

Decide what you want the reader to see or read first and position it accordingly, then decide what you want the reader to read or see next.

Make the most important element you want your readers to see the largest and the least important element the smallest. A few ways to do that is to:

  • Establish a hierarchy of type sizes for headlines, subheads, etc.
  • Be consistent with formatting.
  • Use lines to organize information.
  • Outline a photo or separate it from other elements. The use of space (negative space), is very important as it gives the eye a visual rest, makes a layout easy to follow and can drown attention.

Color on a book-cover can convey moods, create images, attract attention, and identify objects, among other things. When you choose colors - think about the following:

  • Highlighting important elements such as headlines and subheads.
  • Attracting the eye.
  • Creating a mood.
  • Provoking thought or emotion.

Red - Energy, Passion, Power, Excitement Orange - Happy, Confident, Creative, Adventurous

Yellow - Wisdom, Playful, Satisfying, Optimistic Green - Health, Contentment, Harmony

Blue - Honesty, Integrity, Trustworthiness Violet - Mystic, Beauty, Inspiration

Brown - Easiness, Passivity Black - Finality, Transitional Color

:: Typography::

Key tips: Choose a font that embodies the personality of your book or theme. Aggressive, Violent, Peaceful, Confusion……..You should use two typefaces but make sure they are very different. If you decide to use only one font, choose one that has different variations.

::Images and Graphics::

Your Cover: the first impression on your readers. Once you have decided what type of feeling you want to create, choose an image. Don’t forget, unusual shapes can be used to attract attention. There are basically three types of shapes: Geometric shapes (a triangle), natural shapes (a being, plant, pet etc.) and abstract shapes (an illustration)

If you don’t have your own image and you are looking for one, check out public domain, royalty free graphics web sites or subscription graphics online services that charge a membership fee for unlimited graphics downloads….

Here are some helpful links:

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

http://www.freefoto.com/browse/04-00-0?ffid=04-00-0

http://www.pdphoto.org/

http://search.creativecommons.org/

http://www.clipart.com/en/

Lulu’s Services Marketplace:

If you would like the help of an expert, visit Lulu At Your Service: a Services Marketplace and find a designer near you.

by Dan London Director of Search Engine Marketing
January 30, 2008
No Comments

Lulu Search Engine Marketing Service

In Marketing Tips — Tagged: , ,

So you’ve published your creation on Lulu. . .now what to do? As the director of Lulu’s Search Engine Marketing program, I am excited to introduce a new way to promote your books, calendars and other content on Google and other search engines. Our new Search Engine Marketing program is powered by Lulu’s own internal Search Engine Marketing staff, capitalizes on our years and years of experience and is a great way for people to find your creations.

Wondering how it all works? The Lulu Team uses our research tools to find relevant keywords that relate to your content. First we look at each piece of content and craft a list of words that describe it perfectly. Relevant search terms are the essential ingredient of a good search engine marketing campaign.

search engine marketing

We then create engaging text ads based on our research that exactly convey what your book or calendar or other content is about. Your ad will be seen by thousands of people per day, but only those who are truly interested in it will click on the ad. This way, when they visit your Lulu product page or storefront, they are more likely to buy your work. Excited yet? Click Here to get more information and check out the different plans we offer. If you have any questions, check out our FAQ page.

Dan London