somersault

Alexandria, VA has moved up one level this year to first place in Amazon.com’s (@amazon) annual list of the Most Well-Read Cities in America. The ranking was determined by compiling sales data of all book, magazine and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle (@AmazonKindle) format since June 1, 2011, on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents. The Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities are:

1.   Alexandria, VA               11.  Pittsburgh, PA

2.   Cambridge, MA             12.  Knoxville, TN

3.   Berkeley, CA                  13.  Seattle, WA

4.   Ann Arbor, MI                  14.  Orlando, FL

5.   Boulder, CO                    15.  Columbia, SC

6.   Miami, FL                        16.  Bellevue, WA

7.   Arlington, VA                   17.  Cincinnati, OH

8.   Gainesville, FL                18.  St. Louis, MO

9.   Washington, DC             19.  Atlanta, GA

10. Salt Lake City, UT          20.  Richmond, VA

Read the news release in full.

See last year’s listing.

The above list differs from the one compiled by Central Connecticut State University (@CCSUToday) which names Washington, DC number one. Here’s the top ten list:

1.  Washington, DC               6.   Pittsburgh, PA

2.  Seattle, WA                      7.   Cincinnati, OH

3.  Minneapolis, MN              8.   St. Louis, MO

4.  Atlanta, GA                       9.   San Francisco, CA

5.  Boston, MA                     10. Denver, CO

Read this in full.

See last year's listing.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you reach readers.

And if you love books like we do, be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

The above Infographic is by Weldon Owen (@WeldonOwen).

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you publish a book the right way. J

And be sure to bookmark, use daily, and tell others about the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Consumers who own tablets are adopting new communications habits, but are also making fewer visits to stores, according to multimarket research.

InMobi (@inmobi), the mobile advertising network, and Mobext (@mobext), the agency run by Havas, polled 8,400 people in India, France, South Korea, the UK, and US, finding 69% of tablet owners shopped via the devices in the 30 days before the survey.

·         Over 20% of tablet early adopters claim to have made less trips to brick-and-mortar stores after obtaining the device. A third of people yet to own such an appliance hope to buy one in the next 6 months.

·         61% of the existing tablet community says this channel plays a key role in building brand awareness when used at home, as do 58% for "active evaluation," and 63% for completing transactions.

·         58% of people with an iPad or similar offering access content - and especially rich media - in short bursts throughout the day, as do 56% of their smartphone counterparts.

·         72% watch TV and use their slate simultaneously; 20% spend more time in front of the television having bought a tablet.

·         51% of tablet owners say using it fills "dead time;" 49% share it with family members.

·         44% "would not want to be separated" from their tablet.

·         42% say tablets have "revolutionized" the way they communicate with friends and colleagues.

·         Tablet users shop more on their device than PC and smartphone users.

Read this in full.

Read the news release.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish your content for tablets.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

In Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly), Joe Wikert (@jwikert), general manager, publisher, & chair of Tools of Change for Publishing (@ToC) (#toccon), asks bookstores, “What business are you really in?” Simply selling books, he says, is too narrow. He challenges sellers to focus on their unique benefits, such as personalized service and community-building.

Despite the sluggish economy of the last few years, some bricks-and-mortar retailers have found ways to grow their business. Apple is a terrific example. Regardless of whether you’re an Apple fan, there’s always something new and interesting to discover in an Apple store. I can’t tell you the last time I felt that way about a bookstore. I’m not talking about eye candy or glitzy merchandising; when you enter an Apple store you know you’re in for a treat.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if customers entering your bookstore had that same feeling? I realize Apple can invest a lot in its store experience because it’s selling higher-priced items, but maybe that means you need to look beyond simply selling $20 or $30 books. I’m not talking about adding stationery and toys, like some bookstores have done over the years. It’s time to think much bigger.

Take a page out of Apple’s playbook and create a genius bar service for customers interested in self-publishing. Establish your location as the place to go for help in navigating the self-publishing waters. Remember, too, that most of the income earned in self-publishing is tied to services, e.g., editing, cover design, proofreading, and not necessarily sales of the finished product. Consider partnering with an established expert in these areas or build your own network of providers. The critical point is to evolve your business into something more than just selling books.

Read this in full.

Also see the Forbes (@Forbes) article by Phil Johnson (@philjohnson), "The Man Who Took On Amazon and Saved a Bookstore," about Jeff Mayersohn and Harvard Book Store (@HarvardBooks). And "Inside Amazon's Idea Machine: How Bezos Decodes The Customer" by George Anders (@GeorgeAnders).

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you “think bigger.”

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

PBS MediaShift’s (@PBSMediaShift) Barbara E. Hernandez (@bhern) explains some alternatives to Amazon’s ebook self-publishing service.

In the ebook market, Amazon.com is the biggest name in the game. But, as criticism mounts — especially from people who believe that Amazon, and specifically, it's KDP Select Program, can hurt rather than help writers — alternatives like Smashwords (@Smashwords & @markcoker) are on the rise.

But can an independent author afford to bypass Amazon, especially when it provides so much exposure to self-published ebooks? So far, the answer isn't a clear one.

Most of Amazon's criticism comes because of the KDP Select program. For most authors at the Kindle Store, books are usually split between two prices — 99 cents and $2.99. At $2.99, Amazon's take is only 30% with 70% going to the author. At $2.98 and below, the author's take is only 35%.

But the KDP program offers more visibility on Amazon if authors agree to give their book away for free for five days during a 90-day period. The author must also sell exclusively at the Kindle store for those 90 days. While the subject is a hot topic on the Kindle boards, many authors are already a part of the program in hopes of getting momentum and their title climbing the Kindle charts.

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your content for your brand.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

NPR (@npralltech) journalist Steve Henn (@HennsEggs) reports on the mobile shopping revolution and one way store retailers can compete.

When you shop online, marketers are following your every click. But when you walk into a store they know almost nothing about you. That detailed information about in-store shoppers is exactly what retailers want. A company called Nearbuy Systems (@NearbuySystems) is using mobile technology to try to give it to merchants.

"Our challenge was, take what we already have, and most stores have — Wi-Fi and ... video for security and things — and mix those two signals together to create something that is more accurate," says Bryan Wargo, co-founder of Nearbuy Systems.

Retailers could use this technology to build apps to guide customers through their store aisles to specific products, or even deliver discounts and coupons based on where people are standing in any particular store.

Read this in full.

Bookmark and use daily SomersaultNOW, our (@smrsault) online dashboard designed for publishing and marketing executives.

Digital Book World (@DigiBookWorld) editorial director Jeremy Greenfield (@JDGsaid) postulates on what the Microsoft/B&N deal could mean to book publishing:

Imagine a Windows-powered Nook Tablet (@nookBN) that breaks the iOS and Android stranglehold on the mobile device market.

Imagine turning a PowerPoint slide deck into an enhanced ebook and distributing it to a dozen e-booksellers with the press of a button.

Imagine a book discovery engine built into every version of Internet Explorer and connected to one of the world’s leading e-bookstores.

These are the dreams that book industry players were having last night as the news sunk in of a sweeping new partnership between tech giant Microsoft and the second-leading US e-bookseller, Barnes & Noble.

Read this in full.

In “B&N and Microsoft: Why It's Not About Ebooks,” Joe Wikert (@jwikert), general manager, publisher, and chair of the Tools of Change conference (@toc) says, “Success in this venture will not be measured by sales of ebooks. Microsoft should instead use this as an opportunity to create an end-to-end consumer experience that rivals Apple's and has the advertising income potential to make Google jealous.”

Read this in full.

It makes sense that B&N wants to keep improving its Nook Tablet. According to a new BISG (@BISG) study, dedicated e-readers are losing their hold, paving the way for publishers to introduce richer ebook content on multi-function tablet devices.

In another B&N development, Laura Hazard Owen (@laurahazardowen) reports on GigaOM (@gigaom) that the Nook will soon be used for more than reading ebooks.

On the heels of yesterday’s news that Microsoft is investing $300 million in Barnes & Noble’s Nook and college businesses, B&N CEO William Lynch says that the company plans to embed NFC (near field communication) chips into Nooks. Users could take their Nook into a Barnes & Noble store and wave it near a print book to get info on it or buy it.

That could help someone gain quick information on their Nook about a book, making it easy to go from browsing to buying. Consumers could also choose to just buy a printed book in the store with the additional information gleaned from the Nook. The model would help ensure that showrooming leads to sales through Barnes & Noble, whether users ultimately purchase a print or ebook, instead of sending them online and possibly Amazon.

Read this in full.

In these fast-changing times, contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your content.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Recognizing “the absolute highest quality in Christian books based on excellence in content, literary quality, design, and impact,” the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (@ecpa) has announced the winners for the 2012 Christian Book Awards (@CBAwards & @ChristianBkExpo). Presented annually since 1978, the Christian Book Awards honor titles in 7 categories: Bibles, Bible Reference, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Children, Inspiration, and New Author.

Five finalists are selected in each category following a stringent judging process by judging panels specially selected for each category. The top scoring book in each category is named the Christian Book Award winner. The Christian Book of the Year is chosen among the finalists to represent Christian publishing's highest quality and greatest impact for 2012.

The Christian Book Award winners and Christian Book of the Year were announced at the ECPA Awards Banquet in Chicago, IL, April 30th.

ECPA also announced the winners of the Jordon Lifetime Achievement Award: Gary & Carol Johnson and John R. W. Stott.

The 2012 Christian Book of the Year
Nearing Home by Billy Graham (@BGEA) (Thomas Nelson (@ThomasNelson))

Bibles
ESV Student Study Bible (Crossway (@CrosswayBooks))

Bible Reference
Dictionary of Christian Spirituality by Glen G. Scorgie (Zondervan (@Zondervan))

Children
The Story for Children, A Storybook Bible by Max Lucado (@MaxLucado), Randy Frazee (@RandyFrazee), and Karen Davis Hill (Zonderkidz (@Zonderkidz))

Fiction
The Queen by Steven James (@sjamesauthor) (Revell (@RevellBooks) / Baker Publishing Group (@ReadBakerBooks))

New Author
Love Amid the Ashes by Mesu Andrews (@MesuAndrews) (Revell (@RevellBooks) / Baker Publishing Group (@ReadBakerBooks))

Non-Fiction
Close Enough to Hear God Breathe by Greg Paul (Thomas Nelson (@ThomasNelson))

Inspiration
The Law of Happiness by Dr. Henry Cloud (@DrHenryCloud) (Howard Books (@Howard_Books))

Also see our previous blogposts, “ECPA Announces 2012 Christian Book Award Finalists” and “2012 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award Winners Announced.”

And be sure to bookmark and use daily SomersaultNOW, the online dashboard for publishing and marketing professionals.

According to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey, 43% of American adults have purchased goods through a full week without the use of cash or coins. Only slightly more (47%) have not done so.

BBC Radio’s Business Daily looks at the cashless society. A cashless world may be more efficient, and cheaper for governments but does it make us more vulnerable to electronic fraud?

CBS News reports that Sweden is moving toward a cashless economy.

Bloomberg’s article Visions of a Cashless Society: Echoes puts the issue in historical context.

And in his Washington Post commentary, “Don’t show me the money: Why eliminating cash may be the secret to prosperity,” Dominic Basulto casts a positive opinion:

In countries that have been early to embrace the cashless society, such as the emerging nations of sub-Saharan Africa, the movement has unlocked the extraordinary economic potential of their citizens. This is borne out not just anecdotally, but also through reports from international aid organizations. As the Financial Times points out, innovations such as Kenya’s M-Pesa have actually led to the empowerment of society’s poorest members for one simple reason: In today’s mobile world, it’s much easier to get someone to use a cellphone than it is to get someone to open a bank account. The Financial Times goes on to report that, in Kenya, 15 million people use M-Pesa, resulting in over $8 billion in transactions that never would have occurred otherwise.

Although he does admit, “A cashless society is also a society where there is no longer any anonymity.”

What would this cashless shift mean for booksellers? Write your comments below.

Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Could Disney’s expertise with customer service help bookstores stem their decline? According to this feature in The New York Times (@NYTimesAd), the Disney Institute (@DisneyInstitute) is the “low-profile consulting division of the Walt Disney Company.” Disney is undeniably an expert in customer relationship management.

For instance, the company has spent so much time studying its park customers — more than 120 million of them globally last year — that it places trash cans every 27 paces, the average distance a visitor carries a candy wrapper before discarding it.

When clients send their employees to Disney for training,...some time is spent in seminars on topics like “purpose before task.” They also get tours of the parks, where Disney managers demonstrate their tricks in action, like giving directions by pointing with two fingers instead of one (it’s more polite).

Disney-led workshops emphasize 5 principles: leadership, training, customer experience, brand loyalty, and creativity. Sessions are custom tailored.

Examples of Disney’s attention to detail with its clients:

Maryland teachers were instructed to engage children by crouching and speaking to them at eye level. Chevrolet dealers were taught to think in theater metaphors: onstage, where smiles greet potential buyers, and offstage, where sales representatives can take out-of-sight cigarette breaks.

A Florida children’s hospital was advised to welcome patients in an entertaining way, prompting it to employ a ukulele-playing greeter dressed in safari gear.

Read this in full.

Also see our previous blogpost, “A Growing Trend: Retailers Perfuming Stores.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically communicate your brand and effectively reach consumers.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.