The book, as we know it today, will eventually die. It won’t happen all at once. And it won’t happen immediately. But, in my opinion, it is inevitable. Why? One word: inefficiency.
Archive for Influence
The Expresso Book Machine
Currently, Amazon.com has a big competitive advantage compared to brick-and-mortar bookstores. In a word, that advantage is selection. But that is about to change.
Feed Your Brain: The Easy Way
The old adage, “so many books, so little time,” is more true now than ever.
Q & A with Christian Retailing About Bestseller Lists
Recently, I wrote a post entitled Why the Bestsellers Lists Are Inaccurate. I followed this up a few days later with another post on the same topic entitled Toward a Better Bestsellers List. Andy Butcher, the editor of Christian Retailing magazine, read the posts. He then sent me an email with several questions. I agreed to answer them, provided I could do so on my blog.
It’s the Product, Stupid
I have argued for years that, “It’s the product, Stupid.” The secret to success in any business is to deliver a great, compelling product. No amount of marketing savvy, salesmanship, or operational excellence can overcome a weak product.
Why the Bestsellers Lists Are Inaccurate
For example, the New York Times bestsellers list claims that it’s “Rankings reflect sales, for the week ending [current week], at almost 4,000 bookstores plus wholesalers serving 6,000 other retailers, statistically weighted to represent all such outlets.”… All the mass market outlets like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Costco, and Sam’s and Christian bookstores (some 2,300 stores or so).