Self-Publishing

I spent much of the Fall and busy holiday season assisting local Philadelphia legend Steve Poses with marketing and selling his self-published cookbook and website, At Home.

Steve had sold more than 100,000 copies of his first publication, The Frog Commissary Cookbook, which has been in print for 25 years, through a local publisher. Steve is also a renowned restaurateur and caterer in the Philadelphia area. So there is already a group of loyal fans ready and waiting to read At Home.

With the help of a local public relations guru, Steve was successful in landing several high-profile publicity opportunities including radio, TV, newspaper and magazine spots. He also did a ton of blogging, built up an e-mail newsletter list of hundreds of subscribers and did e-mail marketing, direct mail and search optimization for his website.

But the sticking-points in making book sales were the low return on e-mail marketing (a 1 percent return is stellar) and the decision to use an online-only distribution channel.  The original At Home marketing plan relied heavily on e-mail marketing, but the channel delivered very little return.  Steve also wanted to sell the books via his online store only, to provide a direct, no-middleman transaction for customers. The problem is, that folks still want to touch and flip-through a book before making a purchase. Especially if it’s a new publication and they’ve never seen a copy before.

In the end we got through the holiday rush by partnering with several independent businesses including food co-ops, markets and an exclusive independent bookstore to provide some brick and mortar retail opportunities. We also used these retail locations as venues for book-signings, which gave customers a chance to meet Steve, get a signed copy of the book and hear about the publication directly from the author.

Marketing a self-published book is an uphill battle. There’s a related article in the Denver Post that really hits on the difficulty that authors face when they decide to self-publish. It sounds like these authors found that face-to-face events like readings and book signings, as well as building an online presence in a blog format, or e-mail newsletter, are two key strategies to self-publishing success.

It will be interesting to see how Steve alters his strategy in 2010 and how all kinds of authors, fiction, non-fiction, self-help, cookbook, etc. tackle self-published projects in the future.

Black, White and Read

New York Theater Workshop sends a bold membership self-mailer

In a down economy, it’s tough to sell memberships and subscriptions via direct mail. Now imagine trying to compete against dozens of other similar companies who offer similar products and even operate within the same small region.

Thankfully, this quandary is unique to only a handful of cities and sectors, one of them being off-Broadway theater companies in New York City. “In New York, there are a lot of off-Broadway theater companies … so I think the biggest challenge is to get across in the direct mail piece what separates you from the others,” comments William Russo, managing director for New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), a theater dedicated to showing new work.

NYTW sent out a 9˝ x 5¾˝ self-mailer in the beginning of August to current members, lapsed members and prospects. The mailing folds out into a 10-page brochure plus a two-page front and back order form. There is no reply device, and Russo says that doesn’t stop theater members from filling out the order form and faxing or mailing it in. Members also can sign up online or over the phone (Archive code #580-707474-0909).

Russo says a high percentage of NYTW’s members, mostly from the New York City and tristate area, are also members of other local theaters. Russo, along with ad agency the Eliran Murphy Group, put together simple but striking copy and images that send a strong message about NYTW and its 2009-2010 offerings.

The front of the outer is a red panel with black accents announcing that the mailing is from NYTW and offers tickets to a four-play package. Then, in the middle of the front panel, in large white, blocked-out text, is a one-word endorsement from the New York Times, “ESSENTIAL.” Russo says he kept hearing people saying that, in this economy, consumers were cutting back down to necessities and essentials. “That word [essential] captured not only who we are, but said it in a way that if you were a theater lover, that this theater is essential to the New York theater scene,” Russo says.

Inside the mailing, on the first spread, there is an expanded version of the New York Times quote that puts the word essential into larger context: “NYTW is an essential part of the New York cultural landscape,” it reads. The front panel goes on to discuss past productions and gives readers a general idea of what they can expect from the theater. The red, black and white theme is carried throughout the front spread and the entire mailing.

Following the opening spread are four more spreads, one for each production. Each spread features a photograph or image that captures the essence of the production. “What our ad agency wanted to do is come up with something that is very simple, iconic and uncluttered to represent each play,” Russo says. For example, on the spread advertising an adaptation of Carson McCuller’s “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” there’s a dark photograph of the back of a man’s head, which contrasts against a white background. Paired with the photography and images are brief descriptions of each offering.

The NYTW mailing offers a four-play membership at $190. Members can receive one ticket to each production or a four-ticket “SmartPass” to be used in any combination. Russo says most members purchase two memberships. There is also an option to give at a higher level, with gifts of $1,500 and above qualifying as “Insider” members. Russo says very few recipients respond to the direct mail at an Insider level, but he likes to include the information on the order form to increase general awareness of that option.

According to Russo, the NYTW usually hopes to get a 1 percent return from the mailing and accompanying telesales, which go out to part of the mailing list. There are no email efforts sent out for the four-play offering because Russo finds it difficult to send an email message for multiplay offerings. “I think there’s too much information to impart, and I don’t think people spend that much time reading an email. I have tried it before, and it was never effective,” he says.

Looking ahead to next year, Russo believes he will send out a similar format and design. “The look might change somewhat … the whole concept of the direct mail piece with this kind of offering is going to stay the same.” As this year’s campaign comes to a close, he plans to do a back-end analysis to see which lists worked the best in an overall goal to mail to more targeted “core” lists next year. IDM

Idea In Action: Wise Photography Choices
In its 2009-10 membership mailing, the New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) sent a self-mailer packed with simple iconic photographs and images. William Russo, managing director for the theater, says that in previous years the creative team would try to use the same images from the direct mail campaign for all of the play’s other promotional materials. “I’ve gone away from that because what can be effective in this brochure … might not be the best thing to sell the show on an individual basis,” Russo says.

Originally published in the December issue of Inside Direct Mail.

At Home By Steve Poses- Affordable, Easy Dinner Party!

This is a Daily News video showing how a regular woman cooks a gourmet meal for her friends using Steve’s book. Here’s a link to the full article: http://tinyurl.com/yhw4ctt

At Home By Steve Poses

I recently began working with Steve Poses, a local celebrity chef and caterer who ran Frog and Commissary- two famous Philadelphia restaurants that launched the foodie revolution in Philly in the 70s and 80s.

Steve authored The Frog Commissary Cookbook- which sold 100,000 copies and has run Frog Commissary Catering – one of the most sought after event caterers in Philadelphia. Recently Frog Commissary took up residence in the Franklin Institute and is providing a unique dining experience there.

Steve also recently self-published a cookbook and companion website: At Home
Check out the book and website here- and also Steve’s blog here- which has great recipes and tips for entertaining at home for Thanksgiving, the holidays and beyond.

More to come on the marketing of this exciting new book and revolutionary publishing model- which offers book owners a companion Website, with live content, recipe updates and many features to come.

Steve signing books, and me and another helper selling books to his left.

Anatomy of a Control: World Wildlife Foundation

In its 4-year-old control, the World Wildlife Fund cleverly blends involvement devices and premiums with the popular calendar freemium to win over donors

Nothing speaks to a prospective donor or customer like an involvement device. Most people seem to find surveys, quizzes and free gift choices advertised both online and in direct mail irresistible.

Involvement devices work because they make consumers and constituents feel important, as if their choices or opinions matter and will make an impact on the company or organization they’re responding to. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) capitalizes on the involvement technique in its long-standing calendar control mailing.

Sent to prospective and previous members, the 9″ x 12″ package gets recipients involved from the beginning, with an offer to vote for next year’s calendar cover on the front of the outer. On the back of the outer, headline copy and photographs advertise the prospect’s choice between three WWF branded premiums—three lunch totes, two water bottles or a golf umbrella. “The more involvement you give your donor, the better your mailing will do,” says Antoinette Dack, director of membership marketing for the Washington, D.C.-based organization.

WWF has been mailing a calendar control package for more than 17 years, but the current incarnation, with multiple premium choices and a vote for the cover, has been mailing for four years and has improved response.

Both the premium and calendar cover choices operate with sticker involvement devices, which donors can peel and place on the reply form to indicate their preferences. Donors can find the premium stickers attached to the top right-hand side of the two-page letter. Stickers for the 2011 calendar cover image are located on one of the package’s buckslips.

An oversized reply form, perforated to the bottom edge of the letter, has enough room for all the donor’s gift information, plus stickers for the premium and calendar cover choices. WWF began testing the larger reply form about four years ago. “We needed more room for the placement of the stickers … and we tend to notice that the more white space there is and the bigger [donors] can write, the better,” Dack details.

Of the two buckslips enclosed in the mailing, one advertises the three premium choices and offers 10 environmental tips on the back, and a second slip features the stickers to vote for the 2011 calendar cover animal and statistics about how WWF allocates its funds on the reverse. Also enclosed are a BRE and the highlight of the package, a colorful 16-month calendar with the theme of wildlife babies. “We’ve tested various themes over the years, such as families, friends, together in nature and portraits, but our most successful one is the wildlife babies,” Dack says (Archive code #610-171878-0907B).

The first drop was sent in July to both acquisition and house names. There was a second drop sent to acquisitions in early September, and a final drop to remaining house names, including lapsed members, in October. Altogether WWF sent out more than 3 million calendar control packages. Dack says the organization chooses to send its calendar mailings beginning in July, to keep up with market trends. “You want to be in people’s mailboxes at the same time as all of the other nonprofit organizations send their calendars,” she explains. The calendar offers 16 months so members have the opportunity to use it as early as September.

During the rollout, there were several test panels at play. WWF tested a full-bleed image of the baby tiger on the front outer instead of an image of the calendar itself. It also tested sending two calendars to previous members and tested its typical plush stuffed animal premium choices against newer, more eco-friendly alternatives, such as the totes, umbrella and water bottles offered in this package.

In response to the flagging economy, WWF performed an interesting ask string test for previous donors. Dack says most nonprofits try to upgrade donors every year, with ask strings of 1, 1.25, 1.5 and 2 times above their previous gifts, but last spring, WWF began testing ask strings of .75, 1, 1.25 and 1.5. By making the first ask amount lower than last year’s gift, Dack says the average gift has lowered slightly, but response has increased and overall revenue has increased. She repeated the test again this year and got the same great results.

A bookend email campaign adds to the success of the mailing. Email messages featuring similar creative, a letter written from Dack, and images of the free calendar and premium choices were sent to about 40 percent of the direct mail recipients both before and after the calendar package hit. Dack says the email messages raised about $12,000 in gifts, but more importantly, direct mail response increased among those segments who received both mail and email messages.

She thinks the email messages give donors pause when they receive the direct mailing. “When [donors] get the mailing in their mailbox, they hold on to it and think, ‘Oh, I saw something about this,’” Dack illustrates. Sending emails in addition to direct mail, she says, also teaches donors to think multichannel and interact with the organization both in the mail and online.

WWF mails to about 1 million prospective, current and lapsed members each month. Those who become members are typically around 60 years old, 72 percent are female and most are highly educated. Mailings sent throughout the year, to both house and acquisition names, can range in format from more traditional #10s, to big packages with up-front premiums such as calendars, cards, gift wrap or notepads. This control mailing happens to be the first of the fiscal year and receives an average gift of $23 for house names and $18 for acquisition. Dack says this campaign is WWF’s strongest, due to its high response rate, and she says she’ll definitely be mailing the calendar package next year.

To keep the control strong, Dack plans to continue testing creative and lists. She is considering bumping the double calendar up from a test to a control feature. One thing is certain, that WWF members will be waiting for next year’s calendar, to see if their votes for the cover image won! “I think we give them a great product, with beautiful photos … I think it’s something people wait for in the mail every year,” Dack concludes.

Originally published in the November 2009 issue of Inside Direct Mail.