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Special Market Sales According to Brad Gulick

An Inside Look at Reaching the Multi-Level Marketing Trade

Joe Rubino claims providence led him to the Jenkins Group and BookPublishing.com during his search for an effective way to reach more people, quickly, without spending a fortune on advertising. While his books were still in pre-publication, the Jenkins Group Special Sales team made deals with network marketing clients to purchase 5,500 copies of The Magic Lantern and 13,500 copies of The Power To Succeed books.

"Not only has this supported us in getting our message out more efficiently and with little expense," said Rubino, "but it has led to many clients being referred to us by happy readers whose lives have been touched by our books. And the best part of this relationship with Jenkins Group is that all books are sold on a non-returnable basis! The proceeds from these sales also easily paid for our first print run."

We talk about Special Sales a lot in this publication, but here's a quick refresher: Special Sales are those made outside the normal bookstore trade. They are typically large quantity, non-returnable, and freight pre-paid sales, and they often lead to repeat business.

Bookstore sales currently comprise less than one-half of all book sales. Where are the rest of these books sold? They are sold in Special Markets such as:

* Multi-Level Marketing Groups
* Corporate Training & Development
* Premiums & Incentives
* Book Clubs & Book Fairs
* Government Agencies
* Associations & Foundations
* Educational Markets
* Catalogues
* Non-Profit Fundraising
* Specialty & Retail Gift Markets

One of the most lucrative of the special markets is "network marketing" or "multi-level marketing" groups (MLMs), that due to their sales and values-oriented style of operation, buy lots of motivational and personal development titles. A conservative estimate of the number of books sold through these groups is about 100,000 per month worldwide.

Brad Gulick of International Business Services and Shoreline Booksellers has worked with MLMs for years, and Jenkins Group has been a leading provider of the new and interesting titles he provides to clients. Gulick's company delivers sales training and motivational books to MLMs, which in turn make them available to their members on a monthly basis. He offers this advice for authors and publishers about what does and doesn't work in this market:

* Do write a book for all audiences.
* Do keep the length moderate; 125-175 pages.
* Do write about topics in new and unique ways.
* Do provide the reader with a plan to achieve their goal, be it a day-to-day plan or a list of daily virtues.

* Don't write just for the MLM audience; write for anyone who might be interested in your topic.
* Don't overprice your book. Keep it in the $10.95 - $12.95 price range.
* Don't sell products in your book or incorporate them into your theme.
* Don't "shotgun" the book with multiple themes all in one book. Give the reader one good, "meaty" topic.

"With the growth of book superstores and new bookselling outlets like Costco and Walmart, book-of-the-month programs have to find books that are not available through those channels. Working with Jenkins Group provides us with a selection that our readers cannot find at a Barnes & Noble."

"As we begin working with a new generation of readers we see a new set of expectations. New readers want to walk away with a specific benefit, not just a concept. They want new techniques for success. The new generation sees reading as investing their time, and they expect a return on their investment."

Great interest has been developing for 7 Laws of Highest Prosperity as, in recent months, MLMs have ordered over 26,000 copies through Jenkins Group's special market sales division. In fact, author Cecil O. Kemp, Jr. has enjoyed such tremendous success with his charming and inspiring fable format that he has published another title of the same genre, The Secret Meeting Place. "We have seen an increase in requests from groups that would like to see more books in an easy-to-read and digest story format much like 7 Laws of Highest Prosperity, The Green Bench by Matt Rawlins and Your Dreams are too Small by Joe Tye," says Kim Hornyak, Senior Premium Sales Manager at JGI.

Gulick says that operating a book-of-the-month program requires a great selection and variety of books, and he is constantly on the lookout for innovative writing and publishing. "Parable-style books are becoming popular, as an alternative to the straight how-to book. When we submit a new style to clients there is often a great continuing demand. I tend to stagger the books to keep the styles as fresh as I can. We may use three to four storybooks a year, with one saved for the summer months and one for the holiday season. We don't use the same style back-to-back and burn out our readers." What are some emerging topics of interest to MLM's? The fields of finance, motivation, people skills, and mentoring are all selling well, but the key says Gulick, is to present the topic in a new and interesting way. "The industry needs new approaches to a topic like mentoring. Many of our readers are parents and grandparents, and mentoring reaches over all walks of life, rich or poor; astronaut or clerk. Perhaps several real-life stories of people of different ages and lifestyles would be a unique approach." (nod-nod, wink-wink)

"Another emerging topic is financial books that deal with credit and debt. The books attracting the most attention are those that present specific plans and specific ways to deal with credit card companies - plans the reader can put into place and see the results within 30 days."

Does Gulick judge a potential book by its cover? He sure does, and that includes the back cover, and the title. Covers that go unnoticed work best, he says, so keep them simple and pleasant. It's the bad ones that get noticed - and rejected. "Stay away from red covers, red lettering, and hokey pictures."

"Back covers also play an important role," he says. "In my opinion the best format incorporates a synopsis to hook the reader, and then two or three good testimonials. Readers want to know what the book is about and why they should read it."

"Titles are tricky, and the best bet is to use the one you want but keep it open to market conditions. It's best to stay away from titles that connect to one market niche, such as a reference to 'network marketing,' because that term is fading away and 'Independent Business Ownership' is taking its place."

"A title can make or break a book, precisely because people do judge a book by its cover. We recently tested a book that everyone on the review committee thought had an atrocious title. The author challenged us to read the book, and if we still didn't like the title he would change it. Once we read the book, the title worked perfectly, and we sold the book with great success. Sometimes you need to be daring."

Growing the Distance, from bestselling author Jim Clemmer has enjoyed tremendous success in the MLM arena. In just the past year, Jenkins Group has sold nearly 50,000 copies of this highly readable leadership and personal development title. Presented as a non-linear blend of entertaining quips, anecdotes and insightful commentary, Growing the Distance has provided an extremely effective reading format to complement today's busy lifestyles.

Is your book a Special Sales candidate? Ask yourself these questions:

* When you analyze the market that exists for your book, does a special market exist, and if so, how can it be reached?
* Do you have the time and resources to reach that market?
* Can you maintain your marketing and promotion efforts to that market long enough for it to succeed?

Like most marketing efforts, special sales are all about relationships. It takes time and resources to unearth new markets, to discover the opportunities that do exist. This is where Jenkins Group comes in. We have worked for five years to develop resources dedicated to that end-finding the books that meet the needs of our growing buyer base. We work closely with these buyers, developing long-term relationships that keep them looking to JGI as their primary source for independently published books.

A publisher's involvement in the JGI special markets program extends your reach to our buyers. There are no guarantees, and the product development processes that JGI typically works with can take as long as two years. We work with key clients in numerous industries from cruise lines to pharmaceuticals, from catalogs to book clubs. Your book might be the book that can help our clients improve or solidify an image, brand a product, or just say "thank you."

The JGI Special Markets program is not a panacea for an author or publisher's own marketing efforts. It is an addition to your marketing and should be seen as a means of extending your resources by utilizing ours. Here's to your success in achieving Large Quantity Sales!