No surprise here: publishers of all shapes and sizes are making e-books. Still, making e-books is one thing; selling them is another. While direct e-book sales may seem like a dream come true for any publisher with their eye on the margins (no discounts, distribution, or inventory), the reality is that partnerships are MUCH more beneficial than going it alone, especially on the expansive interweb. How would anyone know where to buy books online if stand-alone retailers didn’t exist and publishers only sold books from proprietary websites? How can companies with small marketing budgets afford to get the word out about their growing e-book catalogues? Exposure and discoverability is key. By partnering up, companies can pool their resources for the greater good of the collective, get noticed, and hopefully see some returns on their technology investments.
This is exactly what a group of academic, niche, general trade and children’s publishers within the Organization of Book Publishers of Ontario (OBPO) is doing to ensure that Canadian booksellers, libraries and readers discover their vast selection of e-books. The press release states:
With the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation, the OBPO is launching a marketing campaign this summer with a series of national ads highlighting the strength, breadth and quantity of their e-book titles, which will soon number close to 5,000. The marketing campaign will target libraries primarily, with the goal of encouraging academic and public libraries across the country to expand their collections of Canadian-published e-books.
Right on, OBPO! It’s good to see resources pooled in a way that will bring attention to Canadian digital publishing. Small companies can’t always afford to divert marketing budgets away from p-books to e-books, so collaborative, organizational campaigns are a good alternative.
If only someone could convince the Old Spice Guy to promote Canadian e-books too…
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