The Tree Frog Blog

Powell's Gets It

Here's a great article about how Powell's Bookstore is using the internet, especially blogs and podcasts, to improve sales.

Long Tale Books

Here's The BookSmart Podcast, a new book-related podcast aimed at the self-published. If you're a self-published author, you may want to submit yourself for an interview. Free publicity!

Podcasts & Publishing

Here's an article from USA Today, about early tests of podcasting's effectiveness in drawing readers to publisher websites. So far, it seems to be effective. Whether the hits translate to sales is another question. People may go to the site, then leave and pick up the book on Amazon. What can publishers do to get a leg up on the trusted Amazon?

The Frog suggests amping up the added value. How about free mini-books that act as trailers for upcoming releases? Maybe 12 chapters total, each chapter from a different book and genre. This kills two birds with one stone. You encourage a sale on your site and you market your upcoming books simultaneously.

Darknet

Here's a partial review of J.D. Lasica's "Darknet," on my personal blog. This is a great non-fiction book about Hollywood's fear of the personal media revolution. Enjoy...

How to Use Podcasts to Sell Books

MJ Rose has the right idea. Publishers waste too much time trying to get readers to buy direct from their websites. Problem is, that's not where people hang out. You have to gather the foot traffic where it actually is -- the metaphorical mall -- and keep it there... in front of your storefront and not somebody else's.

That means giving something for nothing. Yeah, it may feel like begging, but think of it as street performing. You're offering someone a bit of entertainment with the vain hope that they may pay you for it after enjoying it.  Risky? Yes. But eventually somebody will toss you a dollar.