Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

(Aside: The welcome video on the URL is slightly fuzzy. I don't know if the raw footage is likewise fuzzy, but it creates the wrong first impression.)

This appears to be one of those products that "are good for you" (i.e., they're not necessarily fun, but contains information that is important for your health). So my first question is: Can your client make the program fun? Can they integrate some web 2.0 social media, game, quiz, etc. to make the process of "getting" the information less like school (which they just graduated)?

Add testimonials on the website (videos, too!) of students who have become raving fans. Have them tell people how much money they saved, how much trouble their friends have gotten into financially (and perhaps how they've helped their friends with their knowledge), etc.

Marketing books (and CDs) is a world of its own ... and not an easy one to master. For starters, the margins are usually thin, the value of a sale is relatively low, there are usually no repeat purchases, and the purchaser can't/won't return it if they don't like it. Add to that the fact that the cost of acquisition for a new customer is relatively high, and you have a very difficult challenge.

Many authors aspire to be on Oprah, thinking that will somehow make them successful. But more often than not, Oprah would be a losing proposition. She won't book you if you don't have great distribution in all the bookstores, and the bookstores will order double what they think they'll need. Then they'll return whatever doesn't sell.

Meanwhile, YOU (or your publisher) will have to finance the press run and all the marketing expenses. So how does all this make sense?

The answer: You become Steven King or Dan Brown, or you get Bill or Hillary Clinton to put their name on the book. First-time authors -- particularly with niche markets like your client's -- don't have a chance.

Sorry to be so negative, but better you should hear this now than after you've put in a lot of time and money that won't be recovered.

The overwhelming majority of new titles sell fewer than 1,000 copies; and virtually all titles sell 90% of all the copies they'll ever sell in the first 6 months after publication.

Get your client to develop a solid marketing (and business) plan before you go too much farther with this project. You don't want to take their money and not deliver against their expectations.

Let me recommend a couple of books that between them do a very good job of discussing book marketing:

The Complete Guide to Self Publishing, by Tom and Marilyn Ross (The advice in the book is not just for self-publishers; it's for authors, publicists, others involved in book marketing.)

1001 Ways to Market Your Books, by John Kremer

There's also some information at www.dialoguepress.com that will give you a checklist of things to consider, issues first-time authors must address, etc.

Many Banks support Student Lines of Credit at reduced rates perhaps partnering with them would benefit all parties.

Any thoughts of Hallmark et al?
Dummies Publications?

Yes, jazz it up!!