Entries tagged with “brand building” from Tools of Change for Publishing

Where's the IMDb for Books?

Mac Slocum
October 27, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3) | Listen

Over on the TOC Community, David Henley expands on recent discussions around publisher and author brand building by drawing an interesting connection to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb):

Not everyone chooses a film because of who directs it or who the screenwriter was, but some of us do, and now with databases like IMDB we can easily find lists of films containing the actors we like, or directors and discover more things we might like to watch.

I think books can be the same. Currently I don't get to know who edits each book, or acquires the rights, but if I did I might start to follow their work. Authors need not be the only brands. Publishers can establish a brand identity the way imprints used to. Most will have to start over as they've diluted any meaning they ever had.

Related Stories:

• Kate Eltham: "Publisher as brand?"
• How Should Authors Promote Themselves Online?
• Web Publicity Grows Up, Learns the Value of Conversation
• What Authors Can Learn from Silicon Valley

Do Publisher Brands Still Have Relevance?

Peter Brantley
October 3, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5) | Listen

Kate Eltham espies HarperStudio, asking whether they should have a separate Web portal/site, or just operate with a blog. She wonders: can a publisher drive a brand these days? Or just authors? What would make the return on investment worthwhile?

Personally, growing up, discovering reading, I remember some imprints with fondness, and I might see their name as an added validation of quality -- e.g. Black Cat/Grove always meant something specific; so did Pantheon (not the same thing!). But I would never purchase solely because of the brand "hey another Black Cat by an author that i've never heard of -- I'll give it a go!" That never has happened to me.

Anyway ... back to Kate:

And all this got me thinking ... is the author the only brand? Isn't it possible, however unlikely, that some publishers could create an identity so strong and a community so vibrant that audiences seek out their books because they trust and like the people producing them? It's hard to imagine of the multinationals, but not so hard to imagine of the quirky independents who have well-known identities associated with them, such as McSweeney's (Dave Eggers) or Small Beer Press (Kelly Link).

Of course, even a wildly successful publisher blog is unlikely to generate the kind of audience that would shift books in the quantities required to make the ROI worth it. Then again, when you look at blogs like Boing Boing it's quite clear the awesome power of conversation and community. The publisher as brand may not be something to write off just yet. Perhaps publishers just haven't worked out how to do it well in the new paradigm.

Related Stories:

• Build Sites Around Authors and Subjects, Not Publisher Brands
• Artist Brand Building: An Idea Born from Free Debate's Middle Ground
• Opportunities in Book Publishing and Web Communities
• Maintaining a Web Community is as Hard as Building One

Artist Brand Building: An Idea Born from Free Debate's Middle Ground

Mac Slocum
July 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Listen

Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur and a critic of free models, says publishers can carve a niche by helping writers build their personal brands. From The Bookseller:

Keen said that publishers should not be seduced by the new technologies but use them to build brands, and nurture the expert through live events. "The future is the expert," he said. It was no longer about the copy, the selling of the book, Keen said, but about managing the talent. Addressing publishers, he said, "you are the nurturers of talent, and you will have to convince the creatives that you can build their brand."

Free model advocate Mike Masnick has been pushing a similar "big business as brand builder" option for record companies:

Some musicians can try to go it alone, but for many it doesn't make sense. These new business models still require plenty of business smarts and the ability to do marketing -- and that will require experts in those areas. It's just that the expertise needs to be in applying those skills to the new business models (using the content as promotional material and selling scarce goods), rather than the old model.

I find it interesting that the diametrically opposed Keen and Masnick and both discussing similar solutions for traditional content companies. Perhaps the middle ground of the free debate is where the fertile ideas lie.

Related Stories:

• TOC Resource: Free Models
• Essential Points in the Free Debate
• How Do Publishers and Authors Get Paid in a "Free" World?
• Author Notes Risks and Opportunities in Free Ebooks