Connections. December 2020
It’s been a surreal December – at the end of an unprecedented year – with book marketing being forced primarily online, readers immobilised in lockdowns, and Tier restrictions carving up the countryside. Publishers have certainly had to be more imaginative with online marketing campaigns, and social media has never been more important.
Fortunately, as the Publishers Association reported, digital formats went some way to keeping publishing cogs turning this year. We wrote a blog post this month, checking in on eBooks in a year that has seen audiobooks soar to new heights and print finding success.
There’s a palpable buzz of positivity running through the industry – thanks largely to the Bookshop.org launch a few months back – and with it, there’s a clear sense that publishers are ready to embrace alternative channels. On the digital side, we’re pleased to announce that Glassboxx is one of the best ‘alternative channels’ available! eBook and audio formats have proven to be just as crucial as print this year. It’s certainly worth engaging with the platform even more actively over the months ahead, as we enter a new era of publishing.
It’s also the right time to say a great big thank you for all the support you’ve given us over this year. Glassboxx has grown considerably and we’re constantly energised to be working with great publishers. May we also wish you a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
We’ve got exciting things going on, and we’ll have announcements ready for the New Year. We’re particularly keen to stress our current offer on gratis copies. We’re waiving fulfilment cost on all gratis copies. Essentially, you have unlimited gratis copies to offer readers for six months. We suggest making the most of it.
Our #eBookWednesday campaign is going strong in its final weeks. We’ve enjoyed inviting publishers to take part and support a campaign that celebrates their titles. If you missed out on this campaign, fear not – we’ll be coming up with lots more ideas to promote your eBooks and audiobooks in 2021.
Lots of nifty Christmas marketing campaigns have cropped up in this run up to the 25th December. You might be planning much the same. The fact is, readers appreciate reward for their loyalty.
Independent Thinking Press have planned a clever campaign for the 12 days of Christmas. On the 25th, they will offer one book for £1, then two books for £1 each on the 26th and so on until they offer twelve books for £1 each on the 5th Jan. For Vendor sales, this will be easy for you to do within your own site.
We’d love you to make the most of our exciting offer – to market and offer gratis copies to expand your audience. Offer them within your newsletter, or in exchange for readers signing up to your newsletter. As we’ve mentioned, this offer is valid for six months. Perhaps you can integrate this into the aforementioned Christmas marketing campaigns.
We’re always looking for ways to update and improve Glassboxx. Recently, we’ve been working on some additions and updates to our ‘onboarding’ process. We’re streamlining the process with some useful and user-friendly materials to help publishers get started with Glassboxx. This will include a document of infographics with easy-to-navigate instructions on the Vendor Portal, setting up your profile and communicating with us for social media marketing.
We’re so pleased to be working with quality publishers across the board, many of whom specialise in niche disciplines and interesting areas – and we just wanted to highlight a few of the standout titles from this year, selling into well over 60 countries around the world…
Gennaro’s Good Food for Hard Times, Gennaro Contaldo (Pavilion)
Olive, Mabel and Me, Andrew Cotter (Black & White Publishing)
How To Be A Liberal, Ian Dunt (Canbury Press)
Brain Training For Riders – Audiobook, Andrea Monserrat Waldo (Trafalgar Square Books)
The Pastry Chef’s Guide, Ravneet Gill (Pavilion)
Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
The A Level Mindset, Steve Oakes and Martin Griffin (Crown House Publishing Ltd.)
The Infection Game Supplement, Sarah Myhill and Craig Robinson (Hammersmith Books)
It’s been particularly encouraging to see authors joining publishers and getting involved in the marketing of their titles – really boosting reach and engagement through their significant social media footprints. See an example from that Andrew Cotter title, Olive, Mabel and Me, below.
