Skip to main content

Books, Trend-spotting & the Gubernatorial Race

Ok I admit it. I'm a ... We live in shorts, we dine at juice bars and our politics are nothing short of, well, a ... movie. If you've been shaking your head ... how someone with a

Ok I admit it. I'm a Californian. We live in shorts, we dine at juice bars and our politics are nothing short of, well, a Hollywood movie. If you've been shaking your head wondering how someone with a narrow political background could be elected to a state boasting on of the 10th largest economy in the world, join the club. That, my fellow savvy book promoters, is a campaign we could all learn from.

Schwarzenegger is a guy who, while being well-known in the movie world, is far less well-known in politics. During campaigning, he carefully avoided addressing issues Californians wanted to hear about. Nor did he ever stand on any one particular political platform. So, how did he win? He found a need and filled it. With recent indicators showing Californians leaving the Golden State at alarming numbers, we desperately needed a boost.

Schwarzenegger's media team saw a need and filled it with an action hero who vowed to "terminate" traditional politics. Whether you believe Arnold will be a good governor or not, you have to admit he ran one heck of an amazing campaign.

While most of us can't afford the pro team Arnold could, we can still effect changes in our book promotion campaigns that will turn the tide in our favor. It's called trend-spotting. Many people make their living trend-spotting, and you can do the same thing with a few clicks on the web. Take a look at http://buzz.yahoo.com/ or http://50.lycos.com/. You want to anticipate a need and fill it.

To stay ahead of the trends, our team at Authors Services spends considerable time brainstorming recent issues and how they'll affect various areas of our everyday life. These emerging trends are what we focus on as we prepare or launch a campaign.

If you're planning to write a book or preparing to work on your book promotion, take some time to study trends in your area of expertise. How will these trends look twelve or twenty-four months from now? How will that affect book sales down the road? For example:

Escapism: the new vacation. Many of us no longer have time for two week vacations. Instead, we're opting for one day outings and novels to give us that quick "out" when we need it. Does your book provide a mini-vacation for readers?

What do a down-sized engineer named Dilbert and a slightly built Keebler-elf sort of character by the name of Clay Aiken have in common? They're both chart-toppers. Many have called this the revenge of the nerds. How will this affect your next book?

Trend spotter Faith Popcorn recently said that time is becoming more valuable than money. People would rather spend money to have more time. The effect? More home delivered goods, and more consumer conveniences. How can your book address this trend?

And finally... We're hearing more about "Politainers" these days: entertainers turned politicians. Are they serious politicians or figureheads? How will this affect the future of politics? Planning a political novel? George Clooney for President!

If your topic doesn't have a trendy angle, create one. Figure out which part of the trend you can grab onto and do that. Again, find a need and fill it. Keep your subject matter, book or PR campaign topical, trendy, and hip. That's what we did with this story. After all, who would have thought book promotion and a governor's race would have had anything in common?

Happy trend-spotting!

Penny C. Sansevieri
The Cliffhanger was published in June of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign it quickly climbed
the ranks at Amazon.com to the #1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent book: No More Rejections. Get Published Today! was released in July of 2002 to rave reviews. Penny is a book marketing and media relations specialist. She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing plans and instructs a variety of coursing on publishing and promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at www.booksbypen.com. To subscribe to her free ezine, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@booksbypen.com
Copyright  2004 Penny C. Sansevieri

Article Tags: Book Promotion

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of Appreciation

Is there anything more mysterious in theworld than the formula to having a successful romantic relationship? Asa divorced woman, I now marvel at those who are able to createpassionate, loving, long-term relationships. From my studies with booksand the school of hard knocks, I believe that one of the most importantingredients in relationships, of all kinds, is appreciation. What is Appreciation? Appreciation is likea much-needed rainfall to a farmer's crops that have been withering ina drought. Just as the crops start to shrivel and die without water,human relationships also start to feel brittle without a steadyapplication of the nourishing, even life-giving, impacts ofappreciation. The dictionary defines appreciation as "a favorablecritical estimate," "sensitive awareness" and "an expression ofadmiration, approval or gratitude." When you appreciate someone, youare tuned into a positive quality of another human being and expressyour gratitude for it. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Corporate ERP on Dynamics AX Deployment with Hub and Spokes Architecture

In certain business development scenarios you, as IT director of mid-market company have to respect existing structure and plan the evolution. This is especially true when your company expands in the way of acquisitions. Additional complication might be attributed to international business model, where you are acquiring established enterprise in the foreign country. In this small paper we would like to come through some popular theories and recommendations, where we suppose that you have Dynamics AX or formerly known as Axapta in your headquarters. If you are in Corporate ERP selection mode, we recommend you to consider AX in the case, when your policy is leaning toward Microsoft Dynamics products and technologies: 1.Why AX? First of all this ERP and MRP platform is recommended by Microsoft for the implementations in such industries as meat, fish and sea products, poultry, mining and oil drilling, distribution and logistics and with new version 2012 in public sector (GL fund managemen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Attic Fans

Attic and roof ventilation allows excess heat and moisture to escape at home to reduce summer cooling costs, pre-mature deterioration of roofing materials and condensation can lead to costly repairs. Effective attic ventilation relies on natural convection to pull air from the top to the bottom position, often in the open in Sofia, and the exhaust hot air from the ceiling vent in a higher position, such as through a gable, or open. Many new and existing homes are not ceilings, and its architecture can not afford soffits perforations for ventilation. While most households are conscious on the convenience brought by nicely ventilated homes, many tend to overlook the attic as one of the areas to be considered. No one finds it comfortable staying for long hours in the closed attic because of the overwhelming heat that builds up in it. For this reason, it is necessary for everyone to consider installing attic ventilation fans in order to cool down the attic's heat. This can have amazin...
Post a Comment
Read more