Embracing Change

An article by Stuart Elliott (@stuartenyt) in The New York Times (@NYTimesAd) explains another facet of the revolutionary change occurring in society because of the Internet:

The language of social media — “fans,” “friend request,” “like,” “social network,” and, yes, “status update” — is increasingly appearing in advertising, whether or not those ads are running in social media like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Such ads are also increasingly being aimed at mainstream consumers, not just the younger consumers who were the early adopters of social media.

The appropriation of the trappings of social media for marketing purposes is an example of a tactic known as borrowed interest, by which brands seek to associate themselves with elements of popular culture that are pervasive enough to be familiar to the proverbial everybody. Social media’s new starring role in product pitches signals that agencies and advertisers believe they are sufficiently prevalent to refer to without producing puzzled reactions.

Read this in full.

Another article says “every business should embrace change.” Kevin Chou, CEO and co-founder of Kabam, writes on his LinkedIn blog about counsel he received from a colleague, who said, “Business change is never popular, and it's a messy affair, but survival depends upon it."

"It's tough to put difficult advice into action, and harder still to have the conviction to see necessary changes through. For one thing, you need a thread-the-needle combination of self-confidence that you've made the right decision, and humility, so that you and your team learn quickly to fix the inevitable mistakes in the messy road ahead. For anyone facing a dreaded but necessary change process, I give the same advice – you likely won’t be popular, and will make inevitable mistakes – but standing still is certainly not an option."

Read this in full.

We at Somersault believe the unprecedented changes occurring in the publishing world aren’t a crisis to avoid; they’re a playground of possibilities. We’re here to help you embrace change and leverage it to fulfill your mission. We like to say we’re flipping the publishing world right-side up!

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.

The 10-Second Rule

The book The 10-Second Rule (@The10secondrule) (#T10SR) by Clare De Graaf (@ClareDeGraaf), has just been released by Simon & Schuster (Howard Books). Somersault helped Clare self-publish the book prior to Simon & Schuster taking it on.

Clare explains the book’s origin this way:

Years ago I noticed that during the course of my day I’d have these impressions to do something I was reasonably certain Jesus wanted me to do. It could be an impression to either do something good for someone or a warning about a sin I was about to commit. It might be to stop for a car broken down on the highway, speak to a co-worker about Jesus, or simply turn off my computer before I ended up at a site where no Christian should go.

Almost simultaneously I would sense another voice whispering to me. “You don’t have time to do that – helping that person could get messy – you can’t afford to help them right now – it’s okay, one more time won’t kill you – send it, you’ve been wronged!”

If I listened to this other voice and thought about it long enough, the moment for obedience would pass, often to my relief. It finally dawned on me that by procrastinating, I was unintentionally teaching myself the habit of disobedience. Why is that?

Read this in full.

Congratulations, Clare!

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.

New Web App Turns Blogs Into Ebooks

On the Brave New World blog, Martyn Daniels (@danielsm1) explains the new service Ebook Glue (@EbookGlue), which easily and quickly transforms any blog into a downloadable ebook (EPUB or MOBI file), able to be read on an ereader or reading application without having to browse online.

As an example, click to see this Somersault blog as an ebook (shortened URL http://goo.gl/3nTtN)

Shantanu Bala a student of Arizona State University created Ebook Glue, which has only been live for a few weeks.

Read this in full.

See TeleRead’s (@teleread) article, “Turning Blogs Into E-Books: Meet the Founder of Ebook Glue

Also become acquainted with Readability (@readability), “a free reading platform that aims to deliver a great reading experience wherever you are, and to provide a system to connect readers to the writers they enjoy.”

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.

Somersault Group Reports on Christian Retail Trends

Members of Somersault were pleased to give the keynote presentation Jan. 9 at the CBA Next 2013 (@ICRShow) event held in cooperation with AmericasMart Atlanta (@AmericasMartATL) in the Atlanta gift mart.

We distributed our white paper, “Tech, Trends, & Retail Success: See the Future and Act Now” and our Christian Bookstore Customer Satisfaction Survey. Both are available online.

We encouraged Christian retailers to brand themselves as more than sellers of product, but as experts in Christian publishing. And to declare their expertise by referring to their bookstore as a “Books Bistro” with “Publishing Einsteins,” so when a customer wants to learn about a Christian topic or write about one, the first expert advisor he or she should think of consulting is their store.

Christian Retailing (@ChristianRetail) covered our presentation:

Seventy percent of Christian store shoppers say they would buy an ebook at a Christian retail store, with many options now available to Christian market retailers, according to publishing strategy and services agency Somersault Group....

Creating an in-store experience that will draw traffic is critical. The panel urged Christian retailers to cultivate an atmosphere that promotes relaxation, provides real-time marketing and offers information openly that reassures customers in their purchase decisions. Stores were also encouraged to assign a staff member to event management and another to digital communication.

“Be the Christian hub of your community,” the panel told NEXT attendees. “Christian booksellers are no longer only in the bookselling business. You are in the community-building, personalized-service, outcome-based-solution-provider, experts-in-all-things-publishing-related and technology business with a spiritual emphasis.”

Read this in full.

Learn more about this retail report in the upcoming March issue of Christian Retailing.

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.

Somersault Open House

We held an open house this week and invited friends to come see our office in downtown Grand Rapids (@ExperienceGR), MI (@PureMichigan). Also going on downtown (until Oct. 7) is Art Prize (@ArtPrize) (#ArtPrize), where 1,517 pieces of art are scattered throughout the city for people to vote on; the top award is $200,000.

We were thrilled so many came to help us celebrate the beginning of fall in the Midwest. Our general manager, John Topliff, and his wife Debby even joined us via Skype from St. Andrews, Scotland, our international office. (Thanks to Bill Oechsler (@billoechsler) for his photos!)

We asked some of our guests if they’d like to answer the question, “What are major challenges facing Christian publishing today?”. Here are their answers:

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you navigate the turbulent waters of today’s publishing world.

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

Major Challenges Facing Christian Publishing

Recently Somersault (@smrsault) had the privilege of helping sponsor the American Christian Fiction Writers (@ACFWTweets) (#ACFW) annual conference (@ACFWConference) held this year in Dallas (see our previous blogpost).

Michael Hyatt (@MichaelHyatt), former CEO and Chairman of Thomas Nelson (@ThomasNelson) and author of Platform (#PlatformBook), spoke in two plenary sessions about the necessity for authors to learn social media marketing and build a targeted fan base (see our previous blogpost, "The Importance of Building Your Platform"). His message exactly supports our new SomersaultSocial program.

During the conference, we asked authors, agents, and publishers to give us their opinions in response to one question: “What major challenges are facing Christian publishing today?”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you embrace and surmount publishing and marketing challenges in this new digital age.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

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

Somersault Is At ACFW

The American Christian Fiction Writers (@ACFWTweets) conference (@ACFWConference) (#ACFW) is being held in Dallas, TX and Somersault (@smrsault) is here telling authors, agents, and publishers about

  • our online dashboard for publishers and marketers, SomersaultNOW
  • this blog as a telescope helping industry professionals “see around the corner” to prepare for the future of publishing
  • and SomersaultSocial, our new program to educate authors and speakers in the strategic and effective use of social media marketing.

Congratulations to Allen Arnold, winner of the ACFW’s 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award “in recognition of his impact on the Christian fiction industry, its authors, and its readers.” He’s the former publisher and senior vice president of Thomas Nelson Fiction, having launched the Fiction group in 2004.

ACFW’s other awards are Julee Schwarzburg - Editor of the Year, Nicole Resciniti - Agent of the Year, Allison Pittman - Mentor of the Year, Genesis winners for the best unpublished Christian fiction projects, and the Carol Awards for the best Christian fiction published in the previous calendar year.

If you’re attending the conference, please come to our exhibit booth and say hi!

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Dispatch from Scotland

Dear Friends:

I write from St Andrews, (@VisitStAndrews), Scotland (@VisitScotland). My wife, Debby, and I relocated from Grand Rapids (@ExperienceGR), Michigan (@PureMichigan) on Monday-Tuesday, August 13-14, so that she can pursue a masters degree at the Institute of Theology, Imagination, and the Arts at St Mary's College / University of St Andrews (@univofstandrews). It's a very innovative program and Debby looks forward to working on integrating the disciplines of theology, imagination, and her passion for using artistic expression of all forms to articulate the biblical narrative and engage the culture.

We’re enjoying the Scottish people, the lush and dramatic landscape, and the historic town and university with its cathedral and castle ruins. It's been an excellent experience and we’re settling in quite well to life in St Andrews. We're walking everywhere and enjoying a slower pace of life.

We worshiped at All Saints Church, a Scottish Episcopal Church, in downtown St Andrews on Sunday amidst incense and what they tell us is high church liturgy. The sermon was stimulating and the congregation friendly. We had an excellent conversation about art and architecture with one of Debby's professors, Dr David Brown, who serves on the clerical staff of the church, as well as being a full professor at St Mary's College.

After church Debby and I walked over to the Old Course (@oldcourseexp) and, because it's closed on Sunday to golfers and turned into a public park, we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the 17th fairway! The course is tucked between the town and an expansive beach on the North Sea. I hope to play one of the St Andrews Links Trust (@TheHomeofGolf) courses in the next week or two! Debby plans to post updates on her blog about our life here in St Andrews. Also visit her website debbytopliff.com.

John

John Topliff
General Manager, Somersault (@smrsault)
Email: jtopliff@somersaultgroup.com
St Andrews Office - Dial from the USA: 011-44-7713-183363
USA Office: 616-551-1539
131 Division Avenue South, Suite 300
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

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Somersault Group Establishes International Office

The publishing strategy and services agency Somersault Group (http://somersaultgroup.com), headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, USA, is now conducting business in the British Isles and Europe with its international office in St. Andrews (@VisitStAndrews), Scotland, (@VisitScotland) established by Somersault’s general manager, John Topliff, DMin (Fuller Theological Seminary).

“The world is flat, as author Thomas Friedman says, and Somersault is eager to serve publishers, authors, non-profit organizations, and other content providers without the constraints of geographical boundaries,” Topliff says. “In today’s fast-changing environment of book publishing, our objective is to strategically connect authors with readers at any stage in the publishing spectrum, from concept to distribution, taking advantage of right-now technology and providing old-fashioned personal care.”

This expanded opportunity for Somersault is the result of Topliff encouraging his wife to interact with scholars working at the creative intersection of the disciplines of theology, imagination, and art. Debby Topliff, a poet, novelist, Bible teacher, and painter, is pursuing the masters in literature studying at St. Mary’s College, the divinity school at the University of St. Andrews (@univofstandrews).

John Topliff’s contact information is jtopliff@somersaultgroup.com and phone number 07713-183363 (from the USA dial 011-44-7713-183363).

With Topliff in Scotland, Somersault (@smrsault) announces the appointment of project management veteran Marianne Filary as office manager. Filary, vice-president of National Printing Services, joins Somersault most recently from Zondervan, where she was director of events – planning and executing such large gatherings as the National Pastors Convention.

In 25 years of national retailer, advertising agency, and publishing experience, Filary has managed countless marketing related projects and events, including executive team activities, celebrity dinners, grand openings, product launches, press conferences, cause-related gatherings, film screenings, author/speaker tours, and sales conferences.

“We’re thrilled to be able to use Internet technology to maximize the time differences and stay in close communication between Michigan and Great Britain to best serve Somersault clients,” Filary says.

Somersault’s USA office contact information is hello@somersaultgroup.com and 1-616-551-1539.

Along with Topliff, Somersault’s managing partners are Dave Lambert, editorial director, Jeannette Taylor, research and product development architect, Jonathan Petersen, social media marketing and PR evangelist, and John Sawyer, brand and marketing strategist.

Somersault Group™ (Somersault™) is a partner-managed LLC with offices in downtown Grand Rapids, MI, USA, and St. Andrews, Scotland. The company’s purpose is to enable publishers, agents, ministries, organizations, and Christian authors to quickly leverage rapid changes in communication technology, emphasize excellence in branding and marketing communication for an author’s business development, and extend the highest editorial standards to achieve the goal of helping people experience God’s kingdom. Somersault’s mission is to change lives by connecting inspirational content creators with readers using exceptional creativity, right-now technology, and old-fashioned personal care. Its online dashboard SomersaultNOW (http://netvibes.com/somersault) is a resource of information for marketing and publishing professionals. For more information about Somersault, visit somersaultgroup.com (@smrsault).