Throw The E-Book At 'Em
...Thursday is my day off and as I am prone to do, I will spend my afternoon eating lunch somewhere out in the world while reading Huffington Post on my phone to get brought up to speed a bit. Most times, I find myself rifling through the same stories of "Republicans-this, Democrats-that, Kardashians-zzz" with little actual interest. Like any tabloid, they lure you with the shocking revelation of Mitch McConnell said "click here to find out", only to unearth that he said "I think pita bread is weird." and it caused firestorm amongst foodies nationwide as they took to the internet to demand he apologize. Most often when there is a story worth reading on Huffington Post, it ends up being a link to a story from Slate, Mother Jones, AlterNet or another site that concentrates more on actual reporting. But every one in awhile, there is something original that is worth discussing.
Rumor has it that Barnes & Noble is not doing particularly well. According to the article, in a possible last ditch effort to turn their fortunes around, they plan to expand into the college bookstore realm more aggressively. Much like the Barnes & Noble in downtown Chicago, they want to have more of a presence in the college bookstore-first marketplace. Somehow, they feel that this is going to be the answer to their current woes.
Personally, I feel the larger problem is two-fold. First, less and less people are reading these days. This is something plenty of people have made light of and is of no secret to almost anyone. While inside of a bookstore may seem like one is surrounded by bibliophiles, step outside and ask around. My guess is that the numbers aren't quite as bleak as one might think, but the majority of those who never read is pretty bleak still. How to correct this is complex, complicated and maybe a trend too far gone to reverse.
The second problem I see is how books are marketed. Sometimes a work of fiction happens to catch fire and get wide distribution. However, from my perspective, most of these books are mass market titles for young adults and housewives. The rest of the books that get a national platform with which to promote are non-fiction tomes about why this political party is trying to ruin everything, why this former President should be reexamined and suddenly exalted as heroic or why playing for the 1986 Mets was greater than winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Most often, it seems like those who have the opportunity to help sell books are only interested in aiding nostalgia, fear and political slap fighting. There are important books that can come from these places, but anyone can pick one that they feel the same reverence for that I might for downright horrifying.
Beyond this, so much of what is out there for readers is subject to trial-and-error. While there are some genre authors that get some or even wide recognition, no one is lining up to gave air time to the publisher of the great Hard Case Crime books, no serious journalist would let an Ed Greenwood anywhere near their set and very few journalists are dedicating a segment to the anniversary of WE3 or Watchmen. But what does any of this have to do with Barnes & Noble. Both nothing and everything.
In a sense, Barnes & Noble can do little beyond stocking titles and waiting for them to move. One cannot expect all of the sudden for non-readers to suddenly get the itch to flip through At The Mountains Of Madness out of nowhere. Still, I think that Barnes & Noble has a few options available that have not yet been mentioned.
1. More coupons for paid members
I have a Barnes & Noble membership and all told, it is worth the money is one reads or shops there at least once a month. That said, before Borders disappeared, they gave out good coupon offers to their free members twice a week, usually on Mondays and Thursdays. Anywhere from 25-40% off on one title and sometimes an entire purchase. Barnes & Noble will maybe distribute two 15% off coupons per month and rarely anything more noteworthy. If titles aren't moving at the desired pace, offering up two 15% off deals each week will hardly hurt their bottom line. In fact, it might entice some to stop in more often.
2. Lower prices on DVD's, CD's etc.
Buying music (for me) is not nearly as exciting as it was once upon a time. Best Buy barely has a music section to speak of that differs from KMart and even Barnes & Noble has little actual variety to get enthused about. They do have a very hearty selection of Criterion films, but the sticker price of $40 for one BluRay or DVD is sky high and laughable in this economy. Walk over to the regular BluRays and they seem not shy about asking $40 for a new release BluRay, attempting to soften the blow by giving members 10% off the top which essentially eliminates the sales tax. Who is going to buy American Hustle on Super Tuesday when Target has it for $20? From what I've been reading, people are rejecting BluRay across the board because of the price tag being so high. At least Barnes & Noble could stay with the competition instead of charging $40 for Thor.
3. Follow the Comixology model
Twice weekly, Comixology offers up either digital trades or single issue series for prices that are obscenely low. For someone who wanted to read the entire Ed Brubaker run of Daredevil, you might find the entire set for 99 cents an issue instead of $3.99. Or skip that and buy the digital trade of X-Men: Days Of Future Past for $9.99 instead of $39.99. The Nook is apparently not owning the e-book market by way of Amazon taking over. Perhaps having regular sales on Nook e-books that are screamed from every hilltop might generate some interest.
Those are simply a few ideas off the top of my own head. Clearly, I am no marketing genius, but I am a regular consumer of books and regular customer of Barnes & Noble. Stacked up against the Half Price Books store a few blocks away and both Amazing-Fantasy stores in the area, Barnes & Noble comes in at a distant third for me. Yet, I still enjoy going in there and would hate to see it disappear. Being in the south suburbs, there is not a plethora of anything that offers the least bit of cultural significance. Books are kind of a big deal in my local area.
They have some ideas right. Barnes & Noble seems to be getting more aggressive in their variety of designer board games and unique brain games and puzzles. It's not nearly as impressive as Amazing-Fantasy's selection, but it crushes anything Target, Wal-Mart or other are offering. I would like to see them do more with this as well. Beyond that, it is hard to say. People aren't reading like they once did and it's hard to move a large number of Bill O'Reilly books when they're cheaper at Wal-Mart.
Read: Deadpool Max: Nutjob by David Lapham
Listen: Gun & A Tear by Kirk & The Jerks
Watch: Ali G Resurrection
Rumor has it that Barnes & Noble is not doing particularly well. According to the article, in a possible last ditch effort to turn their fortunes around, they plan to expand into the college bookstore realm more aggressively. Much like the Barnes & Noble in downtown Chicago, they want to have more of a presence in the college bookstore-first marketplace. Somehow, they feel that this is going to be the answer to their current woes.
Personally, I feel the larger problem is two-fold. First, less and less people are reading these days. This is something plenty of people have made light of and is of no secret to almost anyone. While inside of a bookstore may seem like one is surrounded by bibliophiles, step outside and ask around. My guess is that the numbers aren't quite as bleak as one might think, but the majority of those who never read is pretty bleak still. How to correct this is complex, complicated and maybe a trend too far gone to reverse.
The second problem I see is how books are marketed. Sometimes a work of fiction happens to catch fire and get wide distribution. However, from my perspective, most of these books are mass market titles for young adults and housewives. The rest of the books that get a national platform with which to promote are non-fiction tomes about why this political party is trying to ruin everything, why this former President should be reexamined and suddenly exalted as heroic or why playing for the 1986 Mets was greater than winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Most often, it seems like those who have the opportunity to help sell books are only interested in aiding nostalgia, fear and political slap fighting. There are important books that can come from these places, but anyone can pick one that they feel the same reverence for that I might for downright horrifying.
Beyond this, so much of what is out there for readers is subject to trial-and-error. While there are some genre authors that get some or even wide recognition, no one is lining up to gave air time to the publisher of the great Hard Case Crime books, no serious journalist would let an Ed Greenwood anywhere near their set and very few journalists are dedicating a segment to the anniversary of WE3 or Watchmen. But what does any of this have to do with Barnes & Noble. Both nothing and everything.
In a sense, Barnes & Noble can do little beyond stocking titles and waiting for them to move. One cannot expect all of the sudden for non-readers to suddenly get the itch to flip through At The Mountains Of Madness out of nowhere. Still, I think that Barnes & Noble has a few options available that have not yet been mentioned.
1. More coupons for paid members
I have a Barnes & Noble membership and all told, it is worth the money is one reads or shops there at least once a month. That said, before Borders disappeared, they gave out good coupon offers to their free members twice a week, usually on Mondays and Thursdays. Anywhere from 25-40% off on one title and sometimes an entire purchase. Barnes & Noble will maybe distribute two 15% off coupons per month and rarely anything more noteworthy. If titles aren't moving at the desired pace, offering up two 15% off deals each week will hardly hurt their bottom line. In fact, it might entice some to stop in more often.
2. Lower prices on DVD's, CD's etc.
Buying music (for me) is not nearly as exciting as it was once upon a time. Best Buy barely has a music section to speak of that differs from KMart and even Barnes & Noble has little actual variety to get enthused about. They do have a very hearty selection of Criterion films, but the sticker price of $40 for one BluRay or DVD is sky high and laughable in this economy. Walk over to the regular BluRays and they seem not shy about asking $40 for a new release BluRay, attempting to soften the blow by giving members 10% off the top which essentially eliminates the sales tax. Who is going to buy American Hustle on Super Tuesday when Target has it for $20? From what I've been reading, people are rejecting BluRay across the board because of the price tag being so high. At least Barnes & Noble could stay with the competition instead of charging $40 for Thor.
3. Follow the Comixology model
Twice weekly, Comixology offers up either digital trades or single issue series for prices that are obscenely low. For someone who wanted to read the entire Ed Brubaker run of Daredevil, you might find the entire set for 99 cents an issue instead of $3.99. Or skip that and buy the digital trade of X-Men: Days Of Future Past for $9.99 instead of $39.99. The Nook is apparently not owning the e-book market by way of Amazon taking over. Perhaps having regular sales on Nook e-books that are screamed from every hilltop might generate some interest.
Those are simply a few ideas off the top of my own head. Clearly, I am no marketing genius, but I am a regular consumer of books and regular customer of Barnes & Noble. Stacked up against the Half Price Books store a few blocks away and both Amazing-Fantasy stores in the area, Barnes & Noble comes in at a distant third for me. Yet, I still enjoy going in there and would hate to see it disappear. Being in the south suburbs, there is not a plethora of anything that offers the least bit of cultural significance. Books are kind of a big deal in my local area.
They have some ideas right. Barnes & Noble seems to be getting more aggressive in their variety of designer board games and unique brain games and puzzles. It's not nearly as impressive as Amazing-Fantasy's selection, but it crushes anything Target, Wal-Mart or other are offering. I would like to see them do more with this as well. Beyond that, it is hard to say. People aren't reading like they once did and it's hard to move a large number of Bill O'Reilly books when they're cheaper at Wal-Mart.
Read: Deadpool Max: Nutjob by David Lapham
Listen: Gun & A Tear by Kirk & The Jerks
Watch: Ali G Resurrection
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