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Online Book Promotion Pioneers Give Publishers More "Buzz" for their Buck
FSB Associates Creates Internet "Buzz" Through Knowledge of Online Communities
Internet marketing and publicity is a fast-growing part of the book promotion business today, and FSB Associates is one of its pioneers. Fauzia Burke, formerly marketing director for computer books at Henry Holt, started the company in 1995. Her husband John Burke joined FSB a year later, after resigning as Director of Sales from international scientific publisher Springer Verlag. Today, John manages the website design and services group, while Fauzia leads the Net marketing staff.Having established themselves in the field early, FSB Associates now attracts top publishing clients such as Farrar, Straus and Giroux, W.W. Norton, Grove/Atlantic and Henry Holt. From a one-person shop in a spare bedroom, the business has expanded to six full-time and four part-time people, and is rapidly earning an industry reputation for results.
When Fauzia Burke started FSB Associates there really was no such thing as Internet marketing. Her professional experience put her in a unique position to grow along with emerging technologies, and she quickly realized that the Internet could deliver marketing impact with very low cost compared to traditional advertising, direct mail, or even publicity tours. She explains that the key is creating a "buzz" on the Internet that attracts lots of attention and spreads between users.
"We work with top media sites to create exposure through chats, interviews, book reviews, online seminars and interactive quizzes. A successful buzz is achieved through the support of the many specialized communities online," says Fauzia. "Many of the top media sites boast 5 or 10 million visitors a month, but there are hundreds of millions of people online. Where are the rest of these readers? They are often found frequenting community sites dedicated to their interests. At FSB, we specialize in promoting books to these communities, creating online buzz sometimes months before the pub date. The Internet enables authors to find and interact with these communities like no other media. "
"We have developed the resources and experience to locate these communities, and connect with the people most interested in a certain book. That connection is vital for creating real support and buzz for a book, and often leads to offline media coverage as well." This assumption is supported by data from the recent Middleberg/Ross "Survey of Media in the Wired World" that says journalists use the Internet more than ever before, for article research and for finding story ideas.
"I also learned that community members are extremely dedicated to their areas of interest, and are passionately supportive of books and authors that 'belong' within their community. Knowing how to appeal to different online communities, and actually getting your message to them without offending their sensibilities is the tricky part. Authors can help with the promotion of their books online by becoming involved in online communities. If they are available to answer questions and help people online, they will be accepted and trusted as an authority. Authors should become involved long before their book is published. But I do want to make a note of caution, renting emailing lists from an unknown source and sending out a spam message or participating in a community and blatantly promoting their book can do more harm than good."
FSB scored a considerable success this season, with a website and online promotional campaign for In Harm's Way (Henry Holt and Co. April 2001), Doug Stanton's eyewitness-based account of the 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis. "The Internet campaign was one of the reasons the book began selling right out of the gate," says John Sterling, President and Publisher at Henry Holt. The book spent some twenty weeks on The New York Times best-seller list and there are over 200,000 copies in print.
The Internet campaign for In Harm's Way exemplifies FSB's multi-faceted approach. Months ahead of publication, FSB staffers began spreading news of the book to online communities of World War II veterans, history buffs, and educators through targeted Web sites, newsgroups, email lists and discussion boards. Next, John Burke and his team created a website (www.ussindianapolisinharmsway.com) designed for easy navigation and broad appeal. "We anticipated a varied readership -- veterans in their 70's, the families of the ship's crew, baby-boomers and high school students," says John. "We wanted the site to honor the memory of the sailors and to capture the drama of the story."
The site includes audio interviews with survivors, vintage video clips of the 1945 rescue, excerpts from the book and a timeline. The book tour itinerary is posted as well, boosting attendance at Doug Stanton's in-store appearances. "Well before the book went on sale we were building advance interest," says Fauzia. "The interest continues -- and grows -- through the website's discussion forum."
"For In Harm's Way, we built a site that's accessible to a very broad audience, ranging in age from World War II veterans to high school students," adds John. "The site includes audio interviews with survivors, video clips of the actual rescue from 1945, excerpts from the book, plus personal accounts, a time line and a discussion board. All this has drawn a terrific response. World War II drew Americans together in a very special way, and we think the site reflects that. The publisher was thrilled when Don Imus complimented it on air during an interview with Stanton."
I spoke with Doug Stanton, who agreed wholeheartedly. He explained how the website became the heart of his book tour, which lasted from April to November, and took him to 50 different cities. "It was completely painless. They made the whole thing seem effortless. The chat forum built into the site became invaluable as a way to communicate about events on the tour. We had Indianapolis survivors, relatives, or friends show up in every city but two." Stanton estimates that about half of the Indianapolis survivors and related parties communicate via email.
"Working with FSB taught me that a book website can be as effective as the author wants to make it. This was especially true for this book, which really became a public reunion of memories about a dramatic historical event. I would email updates during the book tour, and they were very responsive, making changes and adding elements to the site." Audio and video clips of his appearances during the tour were added, and visitors can even read some of the government documents related to the disaster that Stanton used to research the book.
For A Density Of Souls, a suspense novel by Christopher Rice (Anne Rice's son) published by Talk/Miramax in the summer of 2000, FSB needed a different kind of strategy. "We had the combination of a media-savvy author and a very young, hip audience, so we chose a 'Blair Witch' approach," says John.
"We made a more cinematic site with animated graphics that emphasizes the eerie feeling of the book. There's a lot of original material that takes off from the setting of the book in a New Orleans high school, with back-story on the characters. There's even a virtual yearbook from the fictional school. We've gone beyond the book to build a gathering place for Chris's cult of readers and fans. We even helped promote Christopher's appearance on MTV's Real World."
This kind of visionary work has helped the Burkes become spokespersons for the future of online promotion for authors and publishers.
John: "We see the Internet of today and tomorrow as an essential component of the publishing business. It evolves constantly, and a lot of our resources are dedicated to tracking new developments in design, in function, and in locating and appealing to the shifting audience. We work this frontier every day -- it's our hometown -- and I'm proud to say we really know our way around."
Fauzia: "The book business was very fearful of the Internet a few years ago, but so far it's been entirely beneficial. In spite of all the gloom in the headlines about dot.com demise, the public does socialize online, learn online, and most definitely buys books online. We feel that no publisher can afford to ignore the Internet, and it's too complex a space to work part time."
"A book signing event or an entire tour can be made more successful by promoting it online. Authors can announce the event on their Web site, send an email to fans, and post messages in newsgroups. Often bookstores have mailing lists and can email their customers to announce the event as well. These are easy, cost-effective ways to make the event or the entire tour more successful."
Fauzia warns that there is a right and a wrong way to do Internet promotion. "I have seen email and Web campaigns that actually damaged the author's reputation. I remind my staff often that we have a tremendous responsibility to protect the reputations of our authors and publishers, because in our business, reputations are very important. That's why you must tailor an Internet campaign to each title -- when the pitch matches the audience, you get an enthusiastic response, referrals and support. The online buzz that means so much to a book's success starts with a customized campaign designed with respect for the community. Internet publicity done the right way is time and labor intensive, but the results are well worth the effort. In six years in business, we have never been flamed, I am very proud to say."