Communication concepts and applications

New Chapter for E-Books and the Marketing Mix

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It is a world that now seems so far away: a world before computers, faxes, the Internet, e-mail and Web sites. It was a world before Steve Jobs gave us iPhones and iPads, and it was long before people downloaded a book on a computer rather than driving to a library, pulling a book from a shelf, checking it out and then taking it home to read it, page by printed page.

It was 1953, when Neil Borden addressed the American Marketing Association and spoke eloquently of a need for what he called "the marketing mix" to sell goods and services to American consumers. Barely half of all Americans even owned a television set at this time, and so the marketers in the audience expressed confusion about how or even if they should sell the idea to the American public.

Borden clarified the notion: marketers should work behind the scenes to create this mix by selling the right product at the right price and in the right place using the most suitable promotion. Consumers were not to know that they were being "marketed to."

Borden encouraged his audience to develop the marketing mix by remembering what "the four Ps" stand for: product, price, placement and promotion.

With that, a watershed moment in the history of marketing had occurred and remains a cornerstone of business practices, despite the technological advances that were to come in the decades ahead. After all, Borden's theory predated even Steve Jobs's birth by two years.

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Today, marketers are grappling to fuse Borden's principle with "e-marketing," or those tools that exist to "place" a product or service in the hands of consumers who, by some counts, are bombarded by thousands of media messages each and every day not the dozen or so per night that consumers once thought were so bothersome because they interrupted "The Ed Sullivan Show" at regular intervals.

The reality is, this is still such virgin territory that while there is some advice about how best to market an e-book, it is limited in scope and even more restrained by depth and studied experimentation. Nevertheless, the future success of this project and others like it depends on a plan, and as even Borden knew, marketing is a fluid process that demands change and correction.

Project background

The writer of this study has determined that an informative, easy-to-read e-book should be published about the rights of American citizens, specifically with regard to the rights protected under the U.S. Constitution and which the Patriot I and Patriot II Acts violate in their application.

Two social media tools were chosen for the purpose of spreading the e-book information, which is targeted both widely and rapidly for the purpose of informing American citizens in sufficient time for their consideration prior to the next presidential primaries. Those two social media tools are Facebook and Twitter.

Current followers

At last count, only three people are subscribing to the project, most likely because of the initiation factor and novelty of this Web 2.0 technology.

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This limited count can be viewed one of two ways: through the prism of a failed effort or as a foundation from which to build upon. The writer of this study prefers the latter outlook and to pursue other marketing efforts to expand the reach of this e-book.

Put another way: Facebook and Twitter are fine mediums to spread the word about the e-book, but they should be used in tandem with the "four Ps" to reach a greater audience.

Reliability of followers to spread the word

Unfortunately, even these three "subscribers" have turned out to be "dead-end" consumers, or those who have failed to spread the word of the e-book. Creating a "buzz" factor for this e-book remains a key opportunity (borrowing from another marketing tenet: the SWOT analysis, or the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a marketing endeavor).

Before moving forward, capitalizing on the groundwork already plowed and preparing for the opportunities ahead, it pays to revisit a few key considerations.

Cultural factors and cultural realities

Today, the marketer of an e-book must stand out amid a cacophony of Web sites, Web site ads and constant pop-ups -- a literal deluge of information, some of it welcomed, some of it completely obtrusive.

Without a compelling message or call to action, any product or service stands little chance of gaining attention, much less a loyal, enthusiastic following that will serve as public relations ambassadors. After all, even Bill Gates and his loyal Microsoft

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colleagues spent years educating top businessmen about how the personal computer could transform the workplace.

Weaknesses of original plan

Likewise, some thought must be given to the target audience for the e-book. Simply touting the book on Facebook and Twitter is, in retrospect, a little like setting up a lemonade stand deep in the rows of a corn field. The product may be fantastic, but if people don't know it's there -- and the "right" people for the product don't know it's there -- the product will languish.

If, for example, considerable market research reveals that seniors age 60 and older would be the most suitable target audience for the e-book, then strategic efforts should be undertaken to put the book -- or ads for the book -- in front of this group. (If this turns out to be a prime audience, then even the mediums should be reconsidered, since seniors are least inclined to gravitate to social media sites.)

At the same time, a cogent message must be crafted for why people should read the e-book and what benefits they will gain from the experience. A one-sentence summary or even a short tag line would help the effort enormously.

Future marketing efforts

Steve Chazin zeroes in on this necessity in his e-book, "Marketing Apple: 5 Secrets of the World's Best Marketing Match":

"Simply put, you have little chance that something will go viral unless, like a disease, it can be spread easily mouth-to-mouth. For that to happen, your message has to be super tight and easy to transmit in as few words as

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possible.'1,000 songs in your pocket' is the answer to 'What is an iPod?' Before that, the Macintosh was introduced as 'The computer for the rest of us.' If you can boil your message down to just its syrupy goodness, you can achieve lift -- the irresistible force of millions of customers selling your product for you."

A Web site also should be created to create a mix between the Facebook and Twitter efforts -- no matter which target audience is identified.

According to the Web site Next SBD, placing banner ads on other web pages is a common form of e-promotion. Banner ads about the e-book should be placed where potential customers browse.

Web public relations is another approach to promoting online. Newsworthy stories based on the e-book can be placed on the company's Web pages.

"The e-marketing mix must work together and support each other if the company is to have a successful online marketing strategy," the site says.

"Going viral" is obviously vital to creating a successful e-book, and the Web site Skelliwag.org recommends the following steps to achieve this with "How to Create and Publish Your eBook with a $Budget"

Ask them. Encourage readers to share your eBook inside the document.

Edit the file name. Add "ReadandShare" to your document's file name.

Change the context. Emphasize that the e-book is free to download and share in each location that you offer it (static pages, forum posts, e-mails, etc.).

E-mail list. Create an e-mail list for e-book owners. Offer the link to the join page for this list inside your e-book. This creates a feeling of exclusivity and will allow you to leverage your existing audience if you release another e-book in future.

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Leverage traffic. Publicize your e-book on your blog or website. Make it as easy as possible for readers to download it.

Provide ideas. Suggest ways your e-book could be shared. Encourage readers to host it on their own site, e-mail it to friends and link to your download page.