Copyright Vicki Tyley (c)
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Quote of the day:
"Let the sunshine in, face it with a grin;
smilers never lose, frowners never win."
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READER BEHAVIOUR!
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G'day guys,
Today I will bring you some interesting information, courtesy of 'Digital Book World' and 'Bowker Market Research'. In 2011, nearly half of consumers changed their book-buying habits. About two thirds of books are bought in stores or online and the rest in nearly a dozen other places. And people discover new books in up to 44 different ways, all according to data from Bowker vice president of publishing services Kelly Gallagher presented at the Digital Book World Discoverability and Marketing conference in New York yesterday.
When it comes to book discovery, things are going to get more complicated before they get simpler. Reader behavior is in flux and the ways in which people engage with and discover new content has grown exponentially, according to data from Bowker presented by the company’s vice president of publishing services Kelly Gallagher at the Digital Book World Discoverability and Marketing.
Kelly Gallagher is Vice President, Bowker Market Research, a recognized leader in plotting trends that impact organizations serving book consumers. His role includes management of business intelligence services, sales analysis tools and commerce solutions, including the Bowker consumer research panel, reaching more than 100,000 book consumers globally. With the dramatic shifts in publishing today as consumers move to electronic formats, he is leading teams of researchers to monitor and analyze market movement. Mr. Gallagher is also an active writer, speaker, and thought leader on market trends and their impact to the publishing industry.
Here’s some food for thought from Gallagher’s presentation:
– In 2011, nearly half of consumers changed their book-buying behavior (chart below)
– 39% of books are sold online, 26% in stores, and the rest in nearly a dozen other ways (chart below)
– People discover new books in up to 44 different ways
Perhaps most daunting is that e-reader owners, tablet owners, online book shoppers, customers of different retailers, people of all demographics, readers of all genres are all discovering books in different ways.
Imagine the complexity: a 27-year-old female romance reader from suburban Indianapolis who reads on a tablet computer but spends most of her time browsing the Web on her laptop versus a 43-year-old female romance reader living in Los Angeles who reads and buys exclusively on her e-reader. They’re both romance readers and female, but couldn’t be more different otherwise when it comes to how they discover and read books — and reaching them takes different marketing tactics.
Gallagher says that book marketers should begin their strategic thinking by focusing on the reader that they want to reach and knowing where they can find them and what kinds of marketing they respond to best.
For instance, tablet owners discover new books through free excerpts about 15% of the time; but readers of young adult fiction discover new books through the same way about 6% of the time. So marketers of young adult fiction have a lot to think about when they want to reach readers who read on tablets.
Amid all the change in how readers read and discover books, one thing has remained constant: in-person, personal recommendations are the No. 1 way people discover books, no matter who they are or how they read.
No. 1 way women 30-to-44-years-old discover new books: in-person, personal recommendations (~18% of new books discovered this way)
No. 1 way consumers find out about young-adult fiction: in-person, personal recommendations (~18% of new books discovered this way)
No. 1 way online shoppers discover new books: in-person, personal recommendations (~15% of new books discovered this way)
No. 1 way tablet readers discover new books: in-person, personal recommendations (~18% of new books discovered this way)
No. 1 way e-reader readers discover new books: in-person, personal recommendations (~18% of new books discovered this way)
Changes in Book-Buying Habits
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Changes in Where People Buy Books
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Clancy's comment: Mm ... seems as though serious book readers are pretty savvy. Also, interesting that independent book stores are way ahead of the book store chains. Having said that, may I remind everyone that the average author receives 10% of the RRP - Recommended Retail Price. Yep, and he / she wrote the bloody thing! So, if all writers went on strike for, what I consider is a fair shake, I guess the entire book world would be sent into a frenzy. Think about it ...
I'm ...
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