Jon Dale

How to save the publishing industry

Traditionally, what a book publisher brings to the table is two sets of relationships.

1. Relationships with the people who buy books...the middle men (not the readers).
2. Relationships with the people who review books...the editor of the Times book review section.

There's a problem with this. Books are now being bought directly by the readers, increasingly online from sites like Amazon. The readers are increasingly being influenced by a different type of reviewer. This reviewer doesn't write for the Times, she writes for herself, and her blog audience.

There's a huge opportunity here. The question is who will figure it out first? The authors or the publishers.

We all agree, that successful authors have nascent tribes. The opportunity lies in connecting authors with their audience.

Authors make the bulk of their income from their advance.  If a publisher wants a successful author they offer them a larger advance than their current publisher and there's a decent chance the author will walk.

But, what if the publishers actively helped their authors build tribes online? They'd be doing the authors a huge service and no author could afford to leave their publisher, because they'd be walking away from their tribe.

If the publishers don't help the authors do this, the authors will start doing it themselves.  And once they've developed their own tribe, what do they need the publisher for? I believe that publishers are in the perfect position to do this, because authors are used to the publisher brokering these relationships and most authors have no idea where to start.

At this point, the publishers by and large don't get this (with the notable exception of Hachette). A couple of months ago I received a referral from a publicist at a large NY publishing house who wanted me to help one of her authors build his tribe (on the author's dime). What most publishers still haven't thought through is that they should be the ones building the communities (so they own the tribe).

If publishers helped their authors build and serve their tribes they just might save the publishing industry.

The starfish, the spider and the orchestra

Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom, in their book The Starfish and the Spider, make a compelling argument for the power of leaderless organizations. They point to examples like Al Quieda and Alcoholics Anonymous to illustrate how much can be accomplished when a network is left to its own devices without a centralized command structure.

Today I had the opportunity to sit in an orchestra. It was an incredible experience. At one point the conductor left the stage and asked the orchestra to play a piece without him. Each group of musicians responded to those around them and the result was beautiful. Was it better with a conductor. Perhaps. But I was amazed at how well the orchestra played without one. The point is they didn't need him up there to make great music, but he was able to bring out the best in them.

That's what a great leader is like.

Could this be the future of advertising?

A few days ago, Chris Brogan posted a video on his blog featuring his daughter and a bag he'd received from one of my favorite companies, the "They'll fight over it when you're dead" bag makers, Saddleback Leather Company.

How much more effective is this video than any banner ad or commercial they could buy?

The key here is that Saddleback Leather has a great product and an even better story. It's the kind of story that Chris loves. And more importantly, it's the kind of story that Chris' readers love. And Chris has a huge permission asset that doesn't mind being told about products that Chris loves.

Perhaps this is the future of advertising. The self selected endorsement.

P.S. I've got a Saddleback Leather bag as well, it was a gift from a client...it's amazing and it smells as good as Chris says it does.

Questioning assumptions

A few of us in the SAMBA program have spent the last week stumped by a puzzle created by thinkFun. The puzzle is brilliantly designed to force you to look at it a certain way, to make a set of assumptions. We spent hours following what appeared to be the rules. But, only by questioning those rules and challenging your core assumptions are you able to solve the puzzle.

Many assumed that people wouldn't buy shoes online. You had to go to a shoe store because that was the only place to try shoes on. Tony Hsieh questioned those assumptions, added free shipping both ways and a one year money back guarantee. It changed the way people looked at buying shoes and Zappos was born.

By questioning our basic assumptions and changing the way we look at a problem we can often uncover incredible opportunities.

What to do if you don't want to compete on price

How would you like to have raving fans, who'll drive hundreds of miles to your stores to pay higher prices than your competitors charge?

REI has stores like that and I love to buy from them. They have great gear and knowledgeable staff (who actually use the gear). But they don't always have the lowest prices. In spite of that I go out of my way to buy from them rather than their competition.

Why?

Here's why:

That's right. A 100% satisfaction guarantee, no questions asked, for as long as you own the product.

I have a friend who went into an REI store with a tent he'd purchased over a decade ago. He wanted to order a replacement pole for one that he'd lost. They told him they couldn't get one exactly the right size. So they gave him a brand new (and better) tent.

Did they lose money on that transaction? Absolutely. But, they understand the lifetime value of a customer. And they understand that outdoor lovers talk.

The cost of a tent was a small price to pay for the number of people who've heard that story since it happened. REI's customers think they'd be crazy to take the risk of buying from someone else.

What's the story your customers are telling themselves?