Most education marketers know that the most effective marketing channel to sell books to librarians and teachers is "word of mouth" so marketing programs designed to build excitement and awareness about a particular book or publishing program are essential for generating future sales. We have a variety of traditional marketing channels to do this (print, exhibits, events, etc.) so let's take a look at some Internet-based ideas to add to our normal product introduction strategies.

Peer Reviews
The Internet world gives us a wonderful opportunity to involve the potential buyer by providing samples of our books on our web sites even before they are published -- or even designed, in some cases. Post a query to teacher/librarian list servs and see if you can interest peers in providing a review of the book in exchange for a free copy. The last time I recommended this approach to a client they had surprising results:

• Many teachers/librarians not only agreed to provide a review but they also suggested marketing strategies for getting the book off the ground, such as what publications to advertise in and what magazines and journals to get reviewed in.
  
• They started a "buzz" in the school about what they were doing and this "buzz" became evident when the book was introduced at a conference and teachers/librarians came up to the booth and said, "I heard about that book from Sally (one of the reviewers) ....
  

While none of the reviews obtained this way resulted in an "expert's" review, (those were accomplished through other means) the reviews were extremely helpful because they were teacher/teacher or librarian/librarian reviews -- peers talking to peers -- word of mouth recommendations from a trusted source.

Site Links & Partnerships
Today, many books contain web site suggestions for the reader to get more information. Prior to publication, contact these sites and tell them that their site will be listed in the book. Put the link on your own site and ask for a reciprocal link in exchange. If they have a newsletter, inquire about putting a classified ad offering a special introductory price. Talk to the web master and brainstorm about how you and the site can work together to help each other.

Offer Free Samples
Again, Amazon.com has set the standard of how much information you need to make available to sell a book. Currently, this information includes the front and back covers, table of contents, first chapter, sample actual pages, author information, reviews from publications and reviews from peers. As the publisher (as opposed to the distributor), you have an additional opportunity of offering potential buyers a free PDF sample of as much of the book as you think will be necessary to entice the reader into making a purchase. Delivered from your web site, this sampling mechanism has no additional distribution costs to you so it is a cost-effective way to get your product into the hands of prospective buyers.

Regardless of the "Internet Bubble" we've all been talking about, the Internet is here to stay and its applications are in the gestation state of being discovered, Using this powerful communication tool is a challenge and it takes time and resources to test and create new programs that work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This article was written by Carol Ann Waugh, President of Xcellent Marketing, a marketing and new business development firm specializing in the educational and library market. Xcellent Marketing offers a variety of marketing services to help publishers increase their revenues and profits from identifying new markets, providing critiques of web sites and marketing communications such as direct mail, catalogs, advertisements, etc. as well as developing effective traditional as well as Internet-based marketing plans. Carol can be reached at (303) 388-5215 or at cwaugh@xcellentmarketing.com.