Rework sales: Paper ain't dead yet

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2981-rework-sales-paper-aint-dead-yet?56#comments

by rockarage • 15 years ago

8 6 15 years ago

I suspect that "Rework" suffers from the same fate that many hot business books suffer from: a lot of people buy it more to display it on their shelves than to actually read it. They imagine they gain some degree of intellectual credibility every time someone walks into their offices and sees it on the desk, or above the computer in a stack of brightly colored and catchily titled books by Kawasaki, Godin, Gladwell, et al.

I've actually read "Rework," and I quite enjoyed it. So I am not speaking ill of its content or its value whatsoever. But we should be honest -- and, sadly, uncharitable -- about what percentage of books sold we believe are actually being read. Especially in this genre. Remember: an eBook can't sit on a shelf in an office somewhere, impressing someone's boss.

On the flip-side, there are some actionable and interesting marketing implications presented by this case and others like it. That is to say: your eBook buyers are (probably) more likely to be your actual readers. Perhaps it's time publishers started segmenting their audiences accordingly, and focusing efforts accordingly.

rockarage• 15 years ago

or Remember: it's easier to share a Hardcover book when an ebook has restriction.

zlopid• 15 years ago

This. Business books like Rework are about sharing ideas from the authors. People who read it want to share it with other people they know, too, which is why a paper version is great - it's continuously share-able.

rickmb• 15 years ago

Buying and owning a physical book or kind-of-renting a DRM-laden, platform-bound ebook that can disappear from my possession of become unusable at any moment and I can't lend, give away or resell after I've read it.

Paper ain't dead because there's no serious alternative.

Pent• 15 years ago

Its high paper sales are probably due to the fact the paper version of the book is so well put together. Quality

Rework sales: Paper ain't dead yet

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