Thomas Nelson, Cost-Benefit Analysis, & the Pareto Rule

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, maintains a blog called "From Where I Sit, Musings on My Life, Thomas Nelson, and the World of Publishing." I subscribed to it out of curiosity, and I've found it to be a great way to be ahead of the trends in the Christian publishing market.

In particular, Hyatt's April 15th post describes Thomas Nelson's rationale in dropping out of industry trade shows and establishing their own.

http://www.michaelhyatt.com/fromwhereisit/2008/04/a-change-in-our.html

In developing this new strategy, Nelson management used common business analysis tools that are available to any business, even freelance writers and editors. First, they compared the cost of attending existing trade shows to the perceived benefit the company received from being there. Although the cost-benefit analysis revealed that they got very little return on the investment in trade shows, Hyatt said this was not the primary reason for dropping out and doing their own.

Particularly interesting to me was this paragraph:

"We intend to make Open House an annual event for our key Christian retail accounts. Amazingly, our top 100 Christian retail accounts generate more than 80% of our revenue in this channel. Therefore, we must be intentional and strategic in how we connect with them. Open House provides us with a better way to invest in our future and theirs."

In my e-book on marketing for writers and editors, I discuss the Pareto Rule (80/20 rule), a principle that says 20% of your customers will generate 80% of your business. Applied to accounts payable, most businesses find that 80% of their late-paying accounts come from 20% of their customers. It appears to be a recurring phenomenon in many aspects of business.

Nelson's new strategy precisely targets the customers who generate 80% of their business. The benefits of cultivating these customers will probably far outweigh any approach to cultivate everyone who might eventually become a customer.

How can you as a freelancer apply these principles? Make a list of your current clients for whom you write or do editing work. Are some of them easier to work with than others? Are some of them slow sending out their paychecks once the work is done? Are there any other concerns you have with individual customers? Think it through and identify your top two or three "best" customers. Try targeting the bulk of your marketing efforts to those, only moving to those lower on the list when things get slow.

You may not be the CEO of Thomas Nelson, but your small business can benefit from using the same business tools that large companies use.

Find out more about my e-book on marketing for writers/editors at:

http://www.writingontarget.com/marketing.htm

Word of Mouth Marketing

Have you ever moved to a new town and wondered how to find a good doctor, dentist, car repair shop, or grocery store? I always ask my neighbors and people I work with for recommendations. This is word of mouth marketing, pure and simple. It's also a form of viral marketing, another popular term with professional marketers.

If a customer is happy with your product or service, he/she does not mind recommending you to friends. The trick is to get your customers talking about you and your work. For some writers and freelance editors, word of mouth supplements the networking activities that help them get work.

It's a complicated subject. There are several books about WOM. Check out this Web site for ideas, and try to think of ways to use it for your writing/editing business. I'll review a book I'm reading on the subject on this blog soon.

http://www.womma.org/

Note: I haven't been very active with my blog posts lately, but I'm planning to post at least once a month in the forseeable future. Subscribe if you haven't already.

Sally Stuart Has a New Blog

If you write for the Christian market, you probably know about Sally Stuart and her Christian Writer's Market Guide. Published annually, it is the the source for information on Christian periodical and book publishers. If you need the book, you can buy direct from her Web site, www.stuartmarket.com.

The blog is at www.stuartmarket.blogspot.com. The marketplace changes constantly, so having access to Sally's updates via the blog is a boon to regular purchasers. For writers who aren't familiar with the Christian market, the blog is a great way to learn a little about it before purchasing the book.

Another way to stay up to date on the market guide is to subscribe to Christian Communicator. Sally's marketing column appears in each issue with extensive updates available nowhere else. See http://www2.fwi.com/~watkins/acw1.htm#communicator for more information.

Grammar and Style Resource, A Must-Have for Writers

http://www.saworship.com/article-page.php?ID=3924&Page=index.php

The above link goes to a great article about Kathy Ide's book Polishing the PUGS: Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling. Kathy is a freelance writer/editor with extensive experience in the Christian publishing industry. The whole story is in the article, so be sure to check it out.

Cecil Murphey, prolific Christian writer, says you need two copies of Kathy's book, one for yourself and one to give to a friend. That's high praise for any book.

So, you say, what does grammar, style, etc., have to do with marketing? It's a component of your Product. Your chances of getting your work published is better if what you submit is free of grammatical errors, punctuation goofs, and usage mistakes.

Did I mention spelling? No, I mention spelling separately because the spell checker doesn't catch everything. For example, you might commit a typographical error by typing "their" instead of "there." The spell checker will say you're OK, but a PUGS savvy writer would catch that error by spell checking the spell check.

Check out Kathy Ide's site at www.KathyIde.com.

BAMW Book Review

Cyndy Nelson, a freelance editor/writer and member of The Christian PEN (www.thechristianpen.com), reviewed my e-b00k in the current edition of PEN's electronic newsletter. I quote a portion of her review.

"The information in A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work: for Freelance Writers and Editors (and The Christian PEN's online course on Marketing Your Services) will help launch your career in writing and/or editing. Emily is quick to note that The Four Ps approach can be used in any marketing plan. The main selling point in this booklet is the writing exercises. Not only does the reader get important marketing information that's easy to understand, but the written exercises help readers to remember this unique marketing approach. Emily has included links to many helpful Web site sites with examples of what she has addressed in the book, from promotional materials to networking to budgeting."

The e-book has been tweaked a little she she bought hers, but it is still for sale on my website, www.writingontarget.com. If you buy the book between September 13 and 21, I will give you an evaluation of your written exercises at no charge. Just mention this blog (BAMW) in the Notes section of the Paypal payment page.

Marketing Resources for Writers

Some writers say they spend as much as 80% of their time on marketing activities. The type of marketing activity depends on what the writer is selling. Marketing yourself as a writer or as an authority on a specific subject is different from marketing a finished product like a book.

Follow these links to find a wealth of information on marketing for writers and editors. Bookmark the ones you find helpful.

www.americanchristianfictionwriters.com/

http://www.christianauthormarketing.com/

http://www.christianwritersinfo.net/index.htm

http://www.the-efa.org/

http://www.freelance-editor.com/Writing-Links-Resources/

http://www.bizweb2000.com/articles.htm

http://www.marketingforwriters.com/

http://www.absolutewrite.com/screenwriting/hot_topic.htm

http://www.writersweekly.com/this_weeks_article/003402_04262006.html

http://www.writersmarket.com/content/howmuch1.asp

http://www.pleasantword.com/default.asp?id=7966

Blogger Persists, Gets Book Deal

In the September issue of The Writer magazine, there's a story about Leslie Talbot, whose first book was published earlier this year. The content of her blog helped her get an agent, and, through the agent, she got her book deal.

Many unpublished writers think of blogging as a waste of time. Maybe it is if you aren't organized and purposeful with it. Talbot blogged regularly on the subject of the single life. She went to conferences to network, and, because the content of the blog showcased the quality of her writing, she managed to get her foot in the door.

It's true, she did a lot of blogging without being paid for her time. It has paid off for her in the long run, though. Take a look at her blog/website and you'll get most of her story there.

http://www.singularexistence.com/