Publishers have access to a huge amount of data about their titles, but knowing how best to use that data to give your business a competitive edge can be tricky.
Erin Creasey is the sales and marketing director for ECW Press, one of Canada’s largest independents, where she has access to data from sources including SalesData, BookScan, and traditional and ebook retailers. “I’m always looking for the story behind the numbers,” she says.
In her sales analysis workshop at Technology Forum 2013, Erin looks at some case studies from large and small ECW titles, and shows us how she uses columns of data to put together a strong marketing plan, decide when to reprint, think strategically about acquisitions—all with the help of kittens and Ryan Gosling.
Some highlights:
- 4:09 - The importance of knowing where books were sold, not just how many were sold.
- 5:22 - What role data can play in each step of the publishing process, starting with acquisition (6:10), and moving through sales prep (11:19), print runs (17:11), analyzing sales and gap analysis (20:18), and reprints (28:33).
- 32:38 - Why marketing and publicity teams should have access to up-to-date sales numbers.
- 41:08 - Real-time, daily, or weekly data? Why constant reporting isn’t necessarily best.
- 42:15 - A Ryan Gosling slide! And how to talk to authors about sales rankings.
