Welcome back from…
…or is it a bit late for that salutation? At any rate, I hope you managed to take some well earned time off over the summer and that the autumn is shaping up nicely for your respective businesses. There have been some major developments in the market recently and there are more to come so I can’t see the pace of change/evolution letting up even if eBook sales growth might be slowing. This month’s newsletter touches on some of those developments, but I am sure there will be lots more to think about at and after Frankfurt. In the meantime, we wish you all the best at the fair and we look forward to seeing you all at our favourite German jamboree.
I’ve been wondering about the impact of Amazon’s decision to drop price parity and the launch of the Matchbook scheme in the US. Both moves, in my view, are potentially good news for publishers—but with the emphasis on ‘potentially’. I say that because I still see publishers struggling to come to terms with consumer engagement and understand what they need to do to sell direct to readers.
I talk to publishers who don’t want consumer relationships, or who don’t understand how they might benefit their businesses in any meaningful way in the short or medium term. What’s more, I see lots of publishers focusing on just one or two tools for reaching their readers, like social media or blogs. But I rarely meet publishers who understand the value of a great shopping experience and work out how to put that at the centre of a broader commitment to consumers and readers. This is something that Amazon does brilliantly.
Far too many publishers get hung up on design for design’s sake rather than for the user’s sake, and too few really think about creating calls to action, buying opportunities or promotions across all their marketing activities. They will not benefit to the same extent as Amazon unless they can cast off the shackles of the traditional wholesale market mentality and put up astimulating and effective shop front that is backed by diverse and more forthright marketing. That would make readers want to buy from them direct and pull in more traffic, better value sales and the opportunity for real consumer engagement. Then things will start to get very exciting.
Of course, making this happen requires a little cash, some technical know-how and a bit of gumption. But isn’t that a small price to pay to win back some custom and ownership from the retail behemoths?
– Charlie Warburton (Managing Director)
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