Month: February 2013

Go Read This | The Changes Nook Media Must Make | Mike Cane’s xBlog

~ Eoin Purcell ~ Leave a comment

I will never understand why B&N has not aggressively grown PubIt beyond the US and even there seems to be content to glide rather than soar. Mike Cane get’s it:

Use those storefronts to pimp PubIT! Get the writers in your inventory, as Amazon has done with KDP.

Hold sessions that teach writers how they can create for and publish their books on PubIT. That’s a strategic advantage that Amazon, Apple, Kobo, Sony, and Google cannot match. No print publisher can match it, either. Why hasn’t this been done from the start? I don’t know. But it needs to be done now. Nook Media can have books that Barnes & Noble will never have — because they are e-only.

via The Changes Nook Media Must Make | Mike Cane’s xBlog.

Nearly Three Years Old, Still True!

~ Eoin Purcell ~ 1 Comment

Quite a bit in this article could do with revision, but the  central point remains completely valid:

But the industry, despite notable and impressive exceptions, is still avoiding the inevitable accommodation and embrace of the Internet AS THE PLATFORM. As a body, we are ignoring the implications of digital change and seeking short and medium-term patches at the expense of long-term success.

via E-books are a Cul-de-sac: Why Publishing Needs to Rethink Its Digital Strategy | Publishing Perspectives.

Go Read This | Taking a Third Pass at Selling Movie Subscriptions – NYTimes.com

~ Eoin Purcell ~ Leave a comment

A thoroughly fascinating piece over at the New York Times looking at Stacy Spikes’ struggle to build a subscription based business in the film going space. It’s fascinating one so many levels but the one that sticks, firmly, in my mind is his answer to the question below:

Q. Are you saying that you could lose money on the subscriptions but make it up with other revenue?
A. We believe the best way to have a successful business model is to have multiple revenue streams. This model is very similar to that of a studio that is focused on more than just box office ticket sales.

via Taking a Third Pass at Selling Movie Subscriptions – NYTimes.com.

We should lock that idea in our heads and think of it every day in every way when we look at our own industries. Multiple revenue streams, multiple revenue streams, multiple revenue streams!
Eoin

Go Read This | If you’re in marketing, kill yourself now | FutureBook

~ Eoin Purcell ~ Leave a comment

Snarky and brilliant piece on discoverability from Chris McVeigh over at FutureBook:

Discoverability is a problem for publishers precisely because it’s NOT a problem for readers. There are so many books, so many places to buy them, so many routes to the checkout, so many subtle nudges towards choosing a title – the fact is, what remains is that publishers need to find some way of getting their products in front of potential customers.

The problem with the discoverability debate is that it’s often been framed the wrong way around. The real discoverability problem for publishers is how to they can discover their audience, not the other way around.

via If you’re in marketing, kill yourself now | FutureBook.

Go Read This | U.S. settles with publisher Macmillan in e-books case | Reuters

~ Eoin Purcell ~ Leave a comment

I think it’s fair to say this is more of a whimper than a bang!

Under the proposed settlement agreement, Macmillan must lift restrictions on discounting by e-book retailers and must report to the Justice Department its communication with other publishers.

Justice Department lawyers “expect the prices of Macmillans e-books will also decline,” as happened after settlements with the other publishers, Jamillia Ferris, chief of staff of the departments Antitrust Division, said in the news release.

via U.S. settles with publisher Macmillan in e-books case | Reuters.