This article concludes our series on partnering with nonprofits to sell more books. Take what you’ve learned in the previous five installments in this series and apply it to for-profit corporations.
You can approach corporations with two very different strategies.

First, approaching them directly to buy in quantity for their own uses. Thus, a friend of mine sold 15,000 copies of a grits cookbook to Quaker, the largest seller of grits in the U.S. The company did a “self-liquidating offer,” which means customers had to send in a few bucks to cover the cost–and printed tens of thousands of grits boxes with labels offering the cookbook.

Quaker benefits because, firstly, when more people know all the ways to use grits, they sell more grits–and secondly, because they establish themselves in the customer’s mind as a pre-eminent company that has its customers’ interests at heart, and wants to make it easier to figure out new and different ways to use those grits sitting in the pantry.

Similarly, you can do deals with pharmaceutical companies, cookware manufacturers, travel and tourism boards, banks, service providers…the list is infinite. I have personally done deals with Southwest Airlines for 1000 copies of Principled Profit, with two foreign publishers for the same book, and with several meeting planners who bought copies of various marketing books to distribute to attenders.

Even better is the second approach, popularized by Brendan Burchard: look for nonprofits who could really use your book. Ask these potential partners what corporations like to partner with them. Then go to the corporations and suggest they sponsor and subsidize a quantity of your book for their preferred nonprofit partner. This way, everyone wins.

For more on forming win-win partnerships with other entities, I strongly recommend my award-wining sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First (www.principledprofit.com); for more on creative book marketing, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers (www.grassrootsmarketingforauthors.com). Use this link to get the paperback editions at the discounted price of $41.95, combined (plus shipping).

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.

When you craft your pitch to the organization you want to partner with, keep these things in mind:

• Focus your inquiry/pitch not on why you want to do this for yourself, but on how it will benefit the organization (please see Part 3 of this series if you need to remind yourself of those reasons)–and on what you can bring to the table to help them, over and above the donation (for example, how you can get them media exposure, how you can open up a new volunteer pool and/or fundraising channel among your workers, how you can get other businesses to donate time, money, or goods and services)
• Come across as thoroughly professional, as some one whose association with the organization adds value to that organization–this should be reflected not only in the quality of your book, but also the quality of your presentation
• Even if you will be donating money to the organization, remember that dealing with your needs could add stress and hassles to the lives of the busy staff and volunteers–so do everything you can to smooth out any rough places for them, and to be as pleasant as possible to deal with. After all, you want them to sing your praises, to want to work with you again, and to recommend you to their colleagues
• Be flexible if you get requests for custom covers or other things you might not expect. Accommodate when possible, but if there are costs to you, it’s not unreasonable to ask the organization to pick up the extra cost

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.

The types of books needed by organizations are as varied as the organizations themselves.

Just to peek at the tip of the iceberg; many others are possible:

• Local history (great for a bank, Chamber of Commerce, etc.)
• How-to (very helpful to manufacturers and distributors/dealers who need to train people in their product)
• Health and wellness (drug companies, hospitals, practitioners)
• Business theory (Southwest Airlines bought 1000 copies of my sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First–what I heard back was that the company president wanted to give them to people he wanted to impress)
• Travel/destination (Chambers of Commerce, attractions, airlines, travel agencies…)
• Coffee-table art book (whatever company, industry, or institution is being profiled)
• Cookbook/food book (food manufacturers, restaurants, gourmet or specialty grocery stores; Diane Pfeifer, author of “Gone With the Grits,” sold 15,000 to cereal maker Quaker, which manufactures grits)
• Fiction (tie-ins with locations, genres, equipment, cars…)
• Parenting and child-rearing (schools, play equipment and toy manufacturers, early-childhood education industry, counselors, even law enforcement–in my seventh book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, I cite the author of a book on bullying that had been picked up by several police departments)

Keep in mind that you can not only sell entire books (especially if you can offer a custom cover so the sponsor’s name is on the front), but also pieces (as booklets, special reports, audios, etc.).

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.

It’s absolutely vital to understand how an organization will benefit from your book before you make the initial contact–because you must answer that question in your proposal letter. This brief adaptation from Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers provides some possible answers:

The key question to ask yourself is this:
How does this organization genuinely benefit from using my book?

There are many possible answers; finding the correct answer may be the key that will turn your prospect into a buyer. Usually, the correct answer will involve drilling down with “so what” questions, until you find ways to either increase sales of the organization‘s products and services and/or increase the organization’s status in the minds of its customers, prospects, employees, vendors—and in some cases (especially to counterbalance negative publicity) the general public. Among many possibilities, the organization might want to:

• Show people how to use the organization’s product or services in creative or expanded ways.
• Establish its own expertise and/or disseminate its ideas to a wider audience.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the community (as when a local bank sponsors a history of the town).
• Overcome bad press.
• Show off the organization in time for an important anniversary or milestone.
• Woo lucrative clients, investors/donors, or business-venture partners with interesting and useful gifts.
• Use the book for internal training.
• Convey a point of view about a hot-button issue of the day (for instance, a organization might give out copies of a book to legislators, regulators, or policy makers).
• Demonstrate that it is a caring and concerned organization willing to help.

One I don’t mention in the book is more important these days than ever before: create (or supplement) a revenue stream through product sales.

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.

What kinds of organizations are we talking about? The possibilities are limitless; here are a few ideas:

• Nonprofit or not-for-profit charities (the difference is in their tax structure and doesn’t affect you, except that registered nonprofits have more clout) involved with medical or social issues
• Social service agencies
• Government agencies (federal, state, county, local)
• Public or private schools
• Other educational organizations
• Museums
• Trade and professional organizations within one profession
• Trade and professional organizations spanning many professions (e.g., Chambers of Commerce, BNI groups, organizers of business trade fairs
• Meeting planners and conference/convention organizers

Find them through your own networks, their websites and newsletters, trade or professional associations and directories, Chambers of Commerce, tourist information kiosks, Yellow Pages, and a thousand other ways.

Part 3 of this series will look at ways organizations might use your books, part 4 on the types of books that can work (you may be pleasantly surprised), and part 5, how to approach the organizations. And as a bonus, part 6 will apply what you’ve learned to bulk purchases in the corporate sector.

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.

When an organization buys your book, in quantity, there are many advantages to you beyond the dollars in your pocket. Not that those dollars aren’t a good thing; they most certainly are. But the cash in your pocket may not be worth as much as the massive marketing benefit you can get from it:

• Third-party validation. When an organization buys your book, it’s the highest kind of endorsement. The movers and shakers of that organization are telling their members that your work contributes valuable knowledge in the field where they’re the recognized experts. Is that cool or what?
• Access to the organization’s members. Depending on how the group plans to use your book (we’ll talk about some of the possibilities in Part 2), it may tell its members about you through newsletters, web sites, member events that feature you as a speaker, presenter, consultant, or visiting celebrity. The group could even bring you in as a paid spokesperson!
• Ability to mention this relationship in your other marketing. If, for example, you’re approaching a journalist to pitch your heart-disease recovery book, or talking to a medical book club about carrying your title, don’t you think you’ll get more attention if you can say honestly that you’re partnering with the American Heart Association?
• Potentially, you could even get access to the organization’s other partners, including for-profit businesses that might also buy your book in quantity, sponsor appearances, etc.
• If the arrangement is made before you go to print, you can lower your print costs by increasing volume to supply the organization’s purchase.

For all these reasons, it’s worth coming to a deal. Unless it’s a very small purchase, don’t be afraid to discount. If you can do better than break even, that’s terrific. But if you at least cover your costs, the deal still works in your favor, long-term.

Part 2 of this series suggests several types of organizations that might work for you. Part 3 will look at ways organizations might use your books, part 4 on the types of books that can work (you may be pleasantly surprised), and part 5, how to approach the organizations. And as a bonus, part 6 will apply what you’ve learned to bulk purchases in the corporate sector.

Book publishing/marketing consultant and copywriter Shel Horowitz is the author of six marketing books. His three most recently published books, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World have all won awards. Visit http://www.frugalmarketing.com to order his books or learn about his services.

For my own books, whether they were self-published, done with a small commercial house, or by a New York conglomerate, I’ve found that selling direct is more secure, more financially rewarding, and far less hassle than sweating out the returns game with the bookstore channel.

All along, I’ve sold through speeches (I love getting paid to do my own marketing), over the Web (the first of my four websites went live in 1996), to clients at my office, who stare at a rack of my work throughout their entire appointment, and through an extensive effort to create “buzz.”

The great thing is that *anyone* can generate buzz. Three of my techniques:

1. Be a source or guest for conventional media. I’ve been quoted in Reader’s Digest, the New York Times, Woman’s Day, Bottom Line, the Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, Inc, and dozens of other well-known and obscure publications (see a detailed list at <http://www.principledprofits.com/pressroom.html>). I’m also a call-in guest on at least a dozen radio shows per year. Whether or not I sell a lot of books directly through these interviews, I definitely create a lot of buzz (search for my name at Google and see for yourself)–and the best interviews sell a number of books through my websites or toll-free numbers.

2. Find your niche on line, and participate actively. There are literally hundreds of thousands of “communities” online:  virtual watercoolers where people gather to talk shop: mystery, historical novel reading groups, professionals in every line of work. Find a group whose audience is the same as your book, and participate often. I currently participate in three groups for small press publishers (a primary market not only for my books but for my copywriting services), a group for Internet marketing professionals, three for professional PR and copywriters, and several others. Yes, I spend an hour or two per day keeping up with–and participating on–these lists, but the impact on my business is huge.

3. Distribute content. Articles, book excerpts, blogs…if you write often enough about a subject, you become an expert. And you can find dozens of websites, discussion groups, print newsletters, ‘zines, even radio shows–all hungry for well-written, informative material. You get “paid” with a few lines of blurb and contact info.

For my newest book, “Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First,” I am adding three things to the mix: an Ethical Business Pledge campaign that ought to bring publicity for years <http://www.principledprofits.com/25000influencers.html>, a network of independent representatives who will sell my book on commission–thus reaching new networks I’ve not been able to reach on my own–and aggressive pursuit of corporate sales and foreign rights. I’ve had my first success with the latter: 1000 copies to a prominent airline, and deals inked with publishers in India and Mexico. And that means the book was already profitable before it rolled off the press!

Copywriter and marketing strategist Shel Horowitz has helped clients on three continents develop affordable, effective marketing approaches based in honesty, not hype. He works with authors and publishers to identify marketing channels that make the most sense for the particular product, entrepreneur, and market. He specializes in press releases that “tell the story behind the story,” and has gotten ink for his clients in the New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Talk of the Nation, and other national media.  Shel is the author of seven books, including  two award-winners: Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World; his latest book, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, will be available in late 2006. His websites at <http://www.frugalmarketing.com/> and <http://www.principledprofits.com/> offer over 900 useful article. Shel also invites you to take a free subscription to his newsletters, Positive Power of Principled Profit, available at principledprofits.com, and Monthly Frugal Marketing Tips, at frugalmarketing.com.

1. Publish With a Traditional Publisher

The wonderful thing about this approach: someone pays YOU for the privilege of publishing your book! And the other great thing is that if it’s one of the larger or well-known publishers, you can gain a lot of prestige and credibility by dropping the publisher’s name. When I did a book with Simon & Schuster, the respect factor went waaay up.

But there are three major negatives: first of all, it’s extremely difficult for a first-time author to land a book with a major house. They receive hundreds of submissions, typically, for every one they accept. Second, the New York publishing world moves glacially. It’s not uncommon for 18 months or two years to go by between submitting the manuscript and seeing the finished book. And third, the author earns very little per book. Most books never even earn back their advance, which means the up-front money is all you’ll see. Still, if this option is open to you (you have a magnificent book AND a magnificent author platform/marketing plan), it’s often the best choice.

2. Self-Publish On Your Own
On the plus side, true self-publishing can be very inexpensive, and very quick-if you want to get a product out just to sell at your events and to your own networks. But if you want to compete in the retail marketplace, both the content and the production quality also have to be very good, even superb. You may have heard the old saw, “you can have any two of quality, speed, and price.” In publishing, you can either have quick and cheap or quality.

Doing a book that can compete in the retail environment is far more expensive and slow than most people realize, and involves either acquiring or outsourcing a vast array of skills. You have to buy your ISBN block, get your Library of Congress and Books In Print registrations, get the book written and edited and designed and proofread and (for nonfiction) indexed and printed, develop and carry out a marketing plan, create distribution channels… Whew! Overwhelmed yet? Just wait until you start grappling with foreign and subsidiary rights, the weirdness of the bookstore industry with its bizarre returns policies, and so on.

If this path appeals to you, the best advice is to read the best books on the subject: The Publishing Game: Publish Your Book in 30 Days, by Fern Reiss, and The Self-Publishing Manual (be sure it’s a recent edition), by Dan Poynter, at a minimum. Fern’s information is maybe the best out there, but her 30-day timeframe is totally unrealistic for us mere mortals. It’s a good idea to plan a full year, which gives you the chance to properly ramp up your marketing and to build in the necessary quality review at several stages along the way. Also, for continuous information from people in the trenches, consider signing on the Self-Publishing discussion list: mailto:self-publishing-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (a high-volume list; you may want the Digest version.)

3. Self-Publish With Help
For many authors, this offers all the advantages of self-publishing with a lot fewer headaches. You let an expert guide you over the places you’re not sure of. The expert helps you select quality, affordable vendors, navigate the various minefields, develop a custom marketing plan, and come out of the process with a book that you can be proud of, and that has a chance to succeed in the market. Some will help you with as little as an hour at a time, on up to turnkey operations that act as the publisher and handle all the details for a set fee, using your ISBN. In my own consulting practice, I’ve worked with people who just wanted an hour or two of advice, on up to taking a raw unedited manuscript all the way to finished book (and saving back approximately half my fees in lower vendor costs). My pricing structure is per hour, so you can have as much or as little assistance as you need.

For both self-publishing categories, you can decide, project by project, if you want to use traditional offset and/or print-quantity-needed (sometimes called print-on-demand); if you need an ISBN, barcode, and professional design with your particular marketing plan; and how you will reach your customers. You may also be in a good position to sell your book to a traditional publisher. I can name dozens of major-market books that were originally self published, including Eragon, Mutant Message Down Under, The Christmas Box, and many others that you probably haven’t heard of. (This option works best if you can demonstrate that you’ve sold 10,000 or more copies on your own.)

4. Use a Subsidy Publisher

This is the easiest and often fastest path, but in most cases, not the most effective. In subsidy publishing, you pay modest design and production fees upfront, use the publisher’s ISBN, and print books as you need them. Typically, the cover and interior design will be very generic (often set in a word processor rather than a page layout program), and the book will not be edited by the publisher’s staff.

To give the method its due, it’s a big improvement over the long-established and similar “vanity press” mode of the past, where the author paid a very large upfront fee, the publisher created a quantity of generally unsalable books (binding them as needed), and the world took absolutely no notice-but it still only makes sense in certain situations. Because the industry does not take these books seriously, and because most subsidy publishers have a price and return structure that is completely out of step with the industry norms, most of these tens of thousands of titles per year will die a quiet death; very few sell even 100 copies.

However, if your goal is to completely control your own distribution and not get involved with bookstores at all (for example, selling at your own presentations, through affiliates, and through your own website) and you can price the book high enough to cover the outrageous per-unit printing charges (typically more than double the cost of using your own print-quantity-needed printer), this is an easy and cost-effective way to become a published author. It’s also the best solution in many cases for an author who wants to share a particular story with a very small audience, such as a personal/family history, a book created by school children for a class, an arcane textbook on a very obscure subject.

Notes on this option:

• You will often hear subsidy publishing referred to as “self-publishing.” It is not. The owner of the ISBN is the publisher of record, no matter what people say-and true self-publishing carries a lot more respect in the industry. It’s also sometimes called “print-on-demand publishing” (POD)-not to be confused with POD printing.
• There have been a very few success stories using this model of publishing: at least a few dozen books that were resold to major publishers, made into movies (“Legally Blonde,” for instance), achieved bestseller status, etc. And if you investigate this option, you will definitely hear about those authors. But you won’t hear much about the other 30,000 or so per year who sold too few copies to even recoup their setup costs.
• Many of these companies offer “marketing packages.” Having been hired to rewrite some of the press releases they create, my personal opinion is that you’d be better off seeking outside marketing assistance.
• This industry has its share of scam artists. Get product samples, full pricing information, and references-and check those references! Also check some of the scam-complaint sites on the Internet.

5. Produce an E-Book
E-books offer a number of advantages: they can be created very quickly and with almost no expense; in some market sectors they can actually command a far higher prices than a printed book of comparable size and value; they’re a way to easily test and get feedback on new products before sinking a lot of time and money into them; they require no inventory investment in either printing or storage space; they can easily be ramped up to on-demand printing or a full offset run; they can be delivered at no cost anywhere in the world; they make nice freebies that you can use for various promotions; they require very little attention to design and-if you’re not selling them through book channels-don’t even require an expensive ISBN. And they create a passive income stream that collects money without any work on your part other than driving traffic to the website.

So why wouldn’t every author jump on the bandwagon? First of all, many readers, especially those of us who grew up in bookstores and libraries, want to put our hands on a physical book. Second, it’s fatiguing to read on screen, and expensive for the user to print out the whole thing. And third, it’s easy to fill up a hard drive with dozens of e-books, forget you downloaded them, and never get around to reading them. Finally, they do not create the same kind of “oh, wow, I just met a real author” status in reader’s eyes. But they’re not a bad alternative; I sell e-book versions of my last three books, including one that’s now out of print and not available any other way. And I sell other downloadable products, such as brief special reports, that use the same technology.

Discuss your next book project with publishing and marketing consultant/copywriter Shel Horowitz: shel@principledprofits.com, 413-586-2388. Shel’s seven books include Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World, and he is the creator of the Business Ethics Pledge. Visit him on the web at http://www.frugalmarketing.com (Grassroots) and http://www.principledprofit.com (Principled Profit). The Pledge is located at http://www.business-ethics-pledge.org.