somersault

Google Authorship is a service to help you increase the chances of raising your blog’s or website’s ranking in a Google search. By creating and maintaining a Google+ account, an author’s name is tied to all blog posts, articles, and products published under their name. When an author is “searched,” Google will list all the posts, articles, and titles associated with that author. An author photo will also appear that links back to the Google+ account.

Search Engine Land (@sengineland) says, “If a user returns to the search results (after reading an author-tagged search result) for a certain period of time, Google will add three additional links to similar articles from the same author below the originally clicked link.”

Read this in full.

On SEOmoz (@SEOmoz), Jeff Sauer says, “The sooner that you connect Google+ authorship to a new domain, the sooner you will be indexed.”

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

This article in The New York Times (@nytimesbooks) by Leslie Kaufman (@leslieNYT) describes Goodreads (@goodreads), “a social media site for finding and sharing titles that has 15 million members.” She says it’s “exploding in popularity and rivaling Amazon.com as a platform for promoting new books.”

The site allows passionate readers to share what they are reading, rate books they have already read, and list what they are considering next. They can do this publicly or among only a self-selected network of online friends. The site is also host to roughly 20,000 organically occurring online book clubs for every preference — from people interested in only Proust to those who prefer history and Tudor-period fiction. There are 314 clubs for paranormal romance fans alone.

Goodreads and smaller similar sites are addressing what publishers call the “discoverability” problem: How do you guide consumers to books they might want to read? The digital age has created online retail sites that are overflowing with new books, leaving readers awash in unknown titles.

At the same time the number of bookstores has shrunk considerably, depriving customers of the ability to browse or ask staff members for guidance.

For a long time Amazon, the largest online bookseller, dominated the digital discovery zone through its book reviews, recommendations and displays on its home page. But Amazon has lost some trust among readers recently amid concerns that its reviews and recommendations can contain hidden agendas.

The theory behind Goodreads and its two main — albeit much smaller — competitors, Shelfari and LibraryThing, is that people will put more faith in book recommendations from a social network they build themselves.

Goodreads includes a recommendation engine, author video chats, book giveaways, and a newsletter that fosters a sense of community. The site is the largest source of independent reviews on the Web, with 21 million and counting.

Read this in full.

Also see our previous blogpost, "Findability, Discoverability, & Marketing."

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

Over 3/5 of Generation Z say that when they find a brand they like they stick with it, according to a recent survey. Forrester Research polled more than 3,000 online Gen Z members, aged 18 to 23, for its report How To Build Your Brand With Generation Z and found 62% are prepared to show loyalty to those brands they enjoy.

"The leading edge of Gen Z is at a pivotal point in their product and brand choices, as they finance their own purchase decisions," Tracy Stokes, report lead and principal analyst at Forrester Research, told Luxury Daily.

Gen Z is the first generation born into a digital world. They are true digital natives who have grown up in the age of technology. The only world they know is a digital one — where they can connect anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. As a result, they are highly promiscuous when it comes to media consumption; they will be the first generation to consume more media online than offline.

Gen Z is more likely than other generations to trust messages from brands and marketing communications via digital channels, according to the report.

And the brands they prefer will inspire their confidence and demonstrate honesty in business practice.

Other findings in the report include the increased willingness of Gen Z, compared to other generations, to pay more for products with an image they like and to own the best brand.

"Marketers need to create a brand experience that is relevant to their customers' lives but also authentic to the brand," said Stokes.

Read this in full.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

USA TODAY’s Bob Minzesheimer (@bookbobminz) reports that, for the 3rd year in a row, Washington, DC, is "America's most literate city," according to an annual statistical study ranking 75 cities with populations of 250,000 and above.

The research, conducted by Central Connecticut State University (@CCSUToday) president John Miller, is based on 6 key indicators: number of bookstores, educational attainment, Internet resources, library resources, periodical publishing resources, and newspaper circulation.

Miller says the study is aimed at shifting attention from school test scores on reading "to how much people are reading, and where are they reading the most." He notes a “troubling trend”: Spending on reading materials, both digital and print, has declined 22% since 2000. In the same period, federal statistics show spending on other forms of entertainment is up 25%.

In a digital age, the survey expands the definition of reading by counting online book orders, ebook readers, and page views on local newspaper websites.

The top 10 cities in 2012:

1. Washington, DC (same as in 2011)

2. Seattle, WA (same as in 2011)

3. Minneapolis, MN (same as in 2011)

4. Pittsburgh, PA (up from No. 6)

5. Denver, CO (up from No. 10)

6. St. Paul, MN (up from No. 12)

7. Boston, MA (down from No. 5)

8. Atlanta, GA (down from No. 4)

9. St. Louis, MO (down from No. 8)

10. Portland, OR (down from No. 11)

Read this in full.

See the study website.

See our previous blogpost, “America’s Most Literate Big Cities.”

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

O’Reilly’s Tools of Change 2013 (@toc) (#toccon) kicked off Feb. 12 with the first-ever Author (R)evolution Day, cosponsored by Publishers Weekly, designed to inform authors, content creators, agents, and indie author service providers about the promotion of books in the digital age. Blogger and author Cory Doctorow brought up the concept of the “hybrid author” — the author who publishes traditionally and self-publishes.

One of the most talked about points of the day was discovery. During an afternoon panel, Kobo’s Mark Lefebvre started by saying to authors: “Don’t wonder how you will get discovered — think about what you're going to do to deserve being discovered.”

The panelists agreed that author investment is very often tied to author discovery. In relation to social media, Elizabeth Keenan of Penguin’s publicity department said, “It’s a full-time job to make it work.” (See our SomersaultSocial training program for authors.)

Lefebvre said the most important thing in getting someone to buy a book is still the opinion of someone the reader trusts, and all panelists agreed that — especially in the digital age when curation becomes more and more important — getting reviews for your book is essential.

The “power of free” was discussed; attracting your audience by offering them something, whether it be an excerpt or author expertise on a subject, and giving that audience an answer to the question every reader asks when picking up a book: “What’s in it for me?”

Read this in full.

See TOC articles tagged Author (R)evolution Day.

Read coverage by Good E-Reader (@Goodereader).

Also see our previous blogpost, "Guy Kawasaki's New Self-Publishing Instruction Book."

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly) reports, “Stepping up its support of self-published and independently published books, the Apple iBookstore has launched a new category called Breakout Books.”

While the iBookstore has always accepted self-published works, the new iBookstore category gives publishers and authors a new platform for marketing and promoting their books and highlights both the growing sales of self-published titles and the increasing significance of the category.

Read this in full.

From The New York Times (@mediadecodernyt):

“Apple is helping to shape a brighter, more democratized future for book publishing,” said Mark Coker, the founder of Smashwords, a leading distributor of digital books.

Read this in full.

The bulk of the titles featured in the Breakout Books promotion are distributed by Smashwords. Read all about it on Mark Coker’s (@markcoker) blogpost, “Smashwords Authors Gain Seat at the Merchandising Table with the Apple iBookstore’s Breakout Books Promotion.”

Also see our previous blogposts, “Can Ebooks Succeed Without Amazon?,” “A New Publishing Ecosystem Emerges,” and “Guy Kawasaki's New Self-Publishing Instruction Book.”

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Publishers tab, which includes links to Self-Publisher services.

This New York Times (@NYTimesAd) article by Brooks Barnes (@brooksbarnesNYT) shows how difficult it is for traditional companies to adjust to the digital age; they have to learn a whole new way of thinking and doing business. The article has implications for all book publishers.

Trying to finally master the Internet the way it has theme parks or animated films, the Walt Disney Company has redesigned its website, Disney.com, for the third time in 5 years.

Figuring out the Internet is critical for all media companies, but Disney’s future in particular depends on a winning strategy. The children it hopes to turn into lifelong consumers of its products are increasingly living online. Disney Channel used to be the company’s most important welcome mat. Now executives refer to Disney.com as the “front door.”

Read this in full.

Also see our blogpost, “In Customer Service Consulting, Disney's Small World Is Growing.”

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. Or download our blog as an ebook to your ereader (http://goo.gl/3nTtN). 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

On the APM radio program On Being (@Beingtweets), host  Krista Tippett (@kristatippett) interviewed author, speaker, and marketing leader Seth Godin (@ThisIsSethsBlog). Tippet says Godin is “an original and helpful voice on this landscape of digital connection for which there are no maps. He is a singular thought leader and innovator in what he describes as our post-industrial, post-geography ‘connection economy.’ Rather than merely tolerate change, he says, we are all called now to rise to it. We are invited and stretched in whatever we do to be artists — to create in ways that matter to other people.”

In the interview, Godin says, “Marketing is the life we live. The question is, will we choose ethical marketing: weaving a story, weaving a tribe, and weaving a network that mean something?” ...

Read this in full.

Listen to the interview.

Read Godin’s blogpost about his On Being interview, “Slow media.”

Also see our blogpost, "Seth Godin Ends Domino Project with Lessons Learned."

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

This article in The New York Times (@nytimesbusiness) says, “Reviews on Amazon are becoming attack weapons, intended to sink new books as soon as they are published.”

Books used to die by being ignored, but now they can be killed — and perhaps unjustly killed,” said Trevor Pinch, a Cornell sociologist who has studied Amazon reviews. “In theory, a very good book could be killed by a group of people for malicious reasons.”

...The retailer, like other sites that depend on customer reviews, has been faced with the problem of so-called sock puppets, those people secretly commissioned by an author to produce favorable notices. In recent months, Amazon has made efforts to remove reviews by those it deemed too close to the author, especially relatives. The issue of attack reviews, though, has received little attention....

Attack reviews are hard to police. It is difficult, if not impossible, to detect the difference between an authentic critical review and an author malevolently trying to bring down a colleague, or organized assaults by fans. Amazon’s extensive rules on reviewing offer little guidance on what is permissible in negative reviews and what is not....

Read this in full.

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp), our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.

Christian Retailing (@ChristianRetail) reports David C Cook (@David_C_Cook) has launched a digital-first book line with The Most Important Thing Happening by Mark Steele (@steelehousemark), a writer for VeggieTales and president of Steelehouse Productions (@Steelehouse).

Cook's director of digital content Michael Covington (@m_covington) says,"By offering books initially in digital formats, we can be more creative in terms of how that content is packaged and distributed. Additionally, it's our aim to make many of our digital-first titles available in print via print-on-demand technology, so bookstores and readers wanting a bound copy should be able to place orders via Ingram or their favorite retailers, respectively."

Read this in full.

Cook also has a free ebook website: dccebooks.com.

Another Christian publisher with a digital-first line is Zondervan (@zondervan), with its ZondervanFirst (@ZondervanFirst).

Also see our previous blogposts “Mardel Acquires Espresso Book Machine; Zondervan Creates Direct to Digital Imprint; Alive Launches Bondfire” and “Bookselling Redefined by Kodak and On Demand Books Deal.”

Download our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now,” in which we detail the elements of creating extreme retail in-store experiences.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you strategically publish and market pbooks, ebooks, and audiobooks.

Learn about SomersaultSocial (@SomersaultHelp) our Web-based author online marketing education modules.

Add our Facebook page (http://facebook.com/SomersaultGroup) & Twitter stream (http://twitter.com/smrsault) to your Flipboard account on your iPad, iPhone, or Android. 

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Book Discovery Sites tab.