It's been a busy day in the office. I've decided to take a more personal approach to my marketing scheme in a round two of email marketing, which I'm sure has a better feel than a quick flashy advertisement that can easily disappear with one quick stroke of the "delete" key. Round one didn't generate too much of a response but round two is coming off better. In regards to my marketing approach and expectations I consider any kind of response a good one. Even if a potential client responds that they can't use our services right now I know that I've had some success just by the fact that they took the time to respond, i.e. they actually read my email! Heck maybe they even clicked through and perused our website. This is a lot better than a non-reply and opens the door to future correspondence. Some potential clients asked about other types of service we might offer beyond just straight book cover design (which we do) opening the door for potential future revenue streams.
Another notable thing that is happening in the world of publishing is the emergence of E-books. We've begun to get some requests from former clients who now want to release editions of their published works in E-book format and are coming back to us for the electronic imaging rights for these covers. This is creating some revenue, but the bigger thing is that all of these inquiries open the door for other potentialities, like word of mouth testimonials on the good type of quality company we are and future work that might also include promotional items we do that goes beyond just print and E-book covers. Lots of authors are either getting dumped or dumping their big publishing houses and going the self publishing route. This means that they'll need help with marketing materials which is a niche we can fill. We can do postcards, posters, bookmarks, business cards, audio book covers, and yes now even have the technology to do book trailers (which are in fact creating a buzz in the age of youtube and similar sites)! Look for our first book trailers to be posted on our website and this blog within the next few weeks or so, once we've fine tuned and perfected the process.
All in all, the point is that we are gaining some traction and getting ourselves out there and known. I like the more personal approach better and how people react to it. We are a small company of people who like working and chatting with people. I think in this case its smart to present ourselves as such rather than trying to come off too slick and aloof. I'm excited to charge forward and see what the coming weeks bring.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
It's tough
During the past week I finally met with some success for all the efforts I've been putting in. During my first month with Encircle Publications I spent a lot of time building marketing lists of publishers and authors whom might be able to use our graphic design expertise. After I'd generated a couple fairly sizable lists I created a marketing email that went out en masse to all on the list. A good 20% of these emails were returned undeliverable. Several more were probably sorted into the recipient's spam folder and automatically deleted. Others were not even looked at. To be sure some did get through and got read. I know this because we had an author call on the basis of my email. We quoted him our price to do the cover design on his latest novel and any other promotional items he might want. After visiting our website and the portfolios of our various designers he was ready to go with us. High-fives all around. Me and Eddie were elated, my first sale! Great success! This week however, the fruits of that success were ripped away from me. Whatever. I'll still call it a success. It seems that our latest client needed the work done very fast, which we usually can do. The problem was that the specific designer he had chosen to do his cover is currently on vacation and wont be back in a timely enough manner. These things happen. The good part though is that this author is going to be coming out with a new book series encompassing several books in the coming years and is still interested in doing business with us on those titles. So perhaps it's not so bad after all.
The thing I've learned is that this is a tough business. We are not the only company out there that offers these services. I've had to create all the marketing schemes from scratch based off what little research I've done on my own and have yet to implement anything that is slick and efficient. Indeed I am still on the learning curve in regards to all of this. It's also a tough economy and in times like these everybody seems to want things done on the cheap. In my research I've found several self publishing outfits offering services at such low-ball prices that I wouldn't hesitate to call some of them a scam. Just how many self publishing authors get sucked into these scams and publish books of shoddy quality, with no distribution, in turn costing them more out of their own pocket than they can ever hope to make back in return. Our work is high quality work which we believe will produce high quality results, and it is because of this that we do not offer our services on the cheap. This doesn't mean we aren't reasonable or fairly priced with what we do. It's just a reminder that you get what you pay for. In an economy like this people tend to forget that. My job is to remind them and give them all the reasons in the world for why they'd want to do business with us. It's tough, but I know that once we get the ball rolling, the good word will spread and it will make things a bit easier.
The thing I've learned is that this is a tough business. We are not the only company out there that offers these services. I've had to create all the marketing schemes from scratch based off what little research I've done on my own and have yet to implement anything that is slick and efficient. Indeed I am still on the learning curve in regards to all of this. It's also a tough economy and in times like these everybody seems to want things done on the cheap. In my research I've found several self publishing outfits offering services at such low-ball prices that I wouldn't hesitate to call some of them a scam. Just how many self publishing authors get sucked into these scams and publish books of shoddy quality, with no distribution, in turn costing them more out of their own pocket than they can ever hope to make back in return. Our work is high quality work which we believe will produce high quality results, and it is because of this that we do not offer our services on the cheap. This doesn't mean we aren't reasonable or fairly priced with what we do. It's just a reminder that you get what you pay for. In an economy like this people tend to forget that. My job is to remind them and give them all the reasons in the world for why they'd want to do business with us. It's tough, but I know that once we get the ball rolling, the good word will spread and it will make things a bit easier.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
How this all started
While attending the University of Maine Farmington’s BFA in creative writing program I had the opportunity to intern at the small press poetry journal the Aurorean with editor Cynthia Brackett-Vincent. Following my internship and graduation in May of 2007 Cynthia asked me to stay on as assistant editor for the Aurorean, which I did, in a part-time as-needed basis. This was a good hat to wear for me. I was using my degree. Any one who’s ever earned a BFA will tell you that the opportunities to use it aren’t exactly flowing out of a cornucopia. Would this opportunity lead to bigger and better things? In the meantime I landed a job at a large communications company as an outbound sales rep.
In the summer of 2009 I began to experience a great deal of dissatisfaction with the communications company job. It was paying the bills though so I slogged through it, but by March of 2010 the recession coupled with the misguided and careless maneuvers of the hulking corporate monster I’d been dancing with caused me to give notice that I’d be jumping ship. “Where to?” they asked. “Down there” I pointed. “Into the churning waters of unemployment. I’ve got a better chance down there in that than staying on board here where your deaf captain is sure to drive us into the shoals!” It was a foolish thing I know but I also knew my worth and ability to stay afloat so overboard I went. Passing below was a skiff Captained by Ed-Vincent with First Mate Cynthia Brackett-Vincent. They saw my worth and brought me on board. “Let's build a bigger ship,” they said. “Let's build a better ship,” I said. “Yes let's.”
What we’re really trying to do is build better books. Cynthia who is a poet and writer herself (and still publishes/edits the Aurorean) has the managing editor and all things editorial side down. Eddie is the designer, with a group of freelance graphic designers who have designed over 2,000 book covers since 2003. I bring a writer/editor's eye, a wealth of sales skills, a desire to firmly grasp effective marketing strategies, and a dose of enthusiastic energy to the mix. Together we’ve got the talent and know how to one day publish several of our own titles a year and even tap into the fast growing world of E-book publishing. We’ve got to create a decent revenue stream first. If you are a book publisher or an author seeking to publish, we want to give your book the best chance at getting picked up and viewed. We believe that an eye catching quality cover is the best place to start. Check our website out here.
We are always open to ideas, suggestions, help, advice, or even a story. Lets share. Lets discuss. Lets build better books.
In the summer of 2009 I began to experience a great deal of dissatisfaction with the communications company job. It was paying the bills though so I slogged through it, but by March of 2010 the recession coupled with the misguided and careless maneuvers of the hulking corporate monster I’d been dancing with caused me to give notice that I’d be jumping ship. “Where to?” they asked. “Down there” I pointed. “Into the churning waters of unemployment. I’ve got a better chance down there in that than staying on board here where your deaf captain is sure to drive us into the shoals!” It was a foolish thing I know but I also knew my worth and ability to stay afloat so overboard I went. Passing below was a skiff Captained by Ed-Vincent with First Mate Cynthia Brackett-Vincent. They saw my worth and brought me on board. “Let's build a bigger ship,” they said. “Let's build a better ship,” I said. “Yes let's.”
What we’re really trying to do is build better books. Cynthia who is a poet and writer herself (and still publishes/edits the Aurorean) has the managing editor and all things editorial side down. Eddie is the designer, with a group of freelance graphic designers who have designed over 2,000 book covers since 2003. I bring a writer/editor's eye, a wealth of sales skills, a desire to firmly grasp effective marketing strategies, and a dose of enthusiastic energy to the mix. Together we’ve got the talent and know how to one day publish several of our own titles a year and even tap into the fast growing world of E-book publishing. We’ve got to create a decent revenue stream first. If you are a book publisher or an author seeking to publish, we want to give your book the best chance at getting picked up and viewed. We believe that an eye catching quality cover is the best place to start. Check our website out here.
We are always open to ideas, suggestions, help, advice, or even a story. Lets share. Lets discuss. Lets build better books.
Introduction
Welcome to Building Better Books blog, a blog for Encircle Publications and its graphic design division ENC Graphics. Hello. My name is Devin McGuire. I jumped on board with Encircle Publications in late March 2010. We are small. My job is to make us bigger. This is no easy task, but the challenge is engaging and the adventure could be fun. I’ll see to it that it is. This blog seeks to entertain, inform, share ideas, and gain connections and exposure in the book publishing industry. Link here weekly for adventures in the world of independent book publishing.
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