Publishing Insiders Wrap Up: The Year in Review and Predictions for 2012
by: PaulaThe Publishing Insiders – host Penny Sansevieri, CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. and her guest: Search Engine Marketing Expert Susan Gilbert, along with co-host Paula Krapf, AME’s COO – took a look into their crystal ball to make predictions for 2012 (last year’s predictions are here, http://ame.wpengine.com/publishing-insiders-wrap-up-top-publishing-trends-for-2011/).
Content is king: Social media used to be about joining social media sites – Facebook, Twitter, and more recently, Google+. Now being part of social media involves cross-channel marketing, using those and other sites to get your message out. It’s not just about creating the content; however, it’s about really working the content and figuring out how to use the tools the right way. We’re all publishers now thanks to the content we create and we need to learn how to repurpose that content and be transparent. Those who do it right, the cream, will rise to the top.
Personal connections count: The number of followers or Likes is not that important. The focus is on engaging your following and personalizing your relationship with them. Find out who’s in your tribe and how you can provide content with value for them.
Publishing: The traditional publishing world needs to change. Although its focus will probably remain on finding ways to fight Amazon, which is a losing battle, the goal should be to see where it fits in the ever-changing publishing landscape and move forward. There could be mergers between publishing companies and downsizing.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Oprah as publisher? We predicted last year that Oprah would start a publishing company. Now that her talk show has ended and her new network is struggling – while O magazine continues to do well – we still believe this will happen.
Ebooks: In 2011 ebooks will account for 2.9 percent of worldwide sales; by 2015, ebooks will account for 12.7 percent. People read across devices and do not need an ereader; in fact, many ebook consumers use their smartphones. Authors need to consider who their readers are and create content accordingly. If the majority of readers use their smartphones, shorter books or even short stories make more sense. Also, people who read ebooks are hungry for new content so it helps to publish more frequently.
Social media: Once you have followers, or Likes, you want to keep them. And your success or ranking on those sites is going to be based much more on the amount of activity you have on your page.
The downside to social media: Cyber smearing is more common and more likely to happen as your social media profile grows. It can be anonymous people or disgruntled ex-employees or someone just doing it for fun. Be vigilant. Set Google Alerts for your name, book title, business name, etc. Monitor the activity. You can’t prevent these attacks but you can act quickly to contain them if they occur.
Google Plus: With 62 million members, Google+ is a player. You don’t want to bypass Google+ since Google is the #1 search engine in the world. How active you are on all social media factors into Google’s rankings, and clearly being active on Google+ is going to work in your favor.
Amazon: There haven’t been many announcements since Amazon created its general interest publishing division, led by former Time Warner Book Group CEO Larry Kirshbaum. But Amazon is a visionary company that sets goals several years into the future. Its role in publishing will be interesting to watch. On the digital side, will Amazon be the first to offer free ereaders as part of a subscription service?
Self-publishing: The stigma of self-publishing has really declined thanks to the success of several self-published authors who became bestsellers, including Amanda Hocking, John Locke, J.A. Konrath, etc. We expect a lot to happen with self-publishing, whether via ebooks or print.
About our guest: An entrepreneur since 1987, Susan Gilbert has evolved years of traditional business experience into several cutting edge projects, which includes her Web 2.0 Internet Business. As co-author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting and Running a Coffee Bar,” she understands book promotion and has also been a regularly quoted resource in USA Today, Entrepreneur, Inc Magazine and many more.
Author and publisher of “The Land of I Can,” Susan has demonstrated her “hands on” success in both traditional and on-line publishing. Well known for turning her dog Spencer into a superstar thanks to his ebook, How to Take Your Small Dog EVERYWHERE, and building his expert status as Ambassador of Small Dog Travel, she combines savvy marketing and search engine understanding with her entrepreneurial experiences to create buzz marketing online promotions for both authors and publishers. Learn more at http://www.susangilbert.com
Download the full show at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepublishinginsiders/2011/12/28/the-best-of-2011–predictions-for-2012
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Upcoming Episode:
Please join us Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012 at 4 p.m. Pacific for Facebook Facts from Social Media Expert Mari Smith:
Facebook has gone through tremendous changes in the past few months. Expert and Facebook guru Mari Smith will discuss what’s new, what counts and how to make the most of your presence on Facebook.
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