VOL.69/2024.04

 

Reader-friendly Publication Marketing

 

2023.05.02

 

 

 

Readers living in 2023 no longer get the latest news through book reviews in newspapers or advertisements. Instead, most of them purchase books through influencers on Instagram, YouTube channels, and book clubs and newsletters managed by publishing houses. As a result, more readers are meeting books through faster, friendlier, and more familiar channels.
As an editor making book-review magazines in online bookstores, there’s one question that I always ask readers that buy 2 to 3 books every month - “Where do you get the news about the latest books? Are there times when you buy books recommended by other readers?” As a result, heavy readers were subscribing to newsletters of at least five publishing houses and were following dozens of authors they like on Social Media. Publishing companies, of course, have already analyzed the purchase patterns of heavy readers. A sudden surge in sales of books that were just distributed was often driven by popular authors’ recommendations on Social Media.
Publishing houses no longer just wait for books to be introduced in newspapers, magazines, and TV shows, but instead, create their own content. They make short interactives and interview videos of authors and upload them on their Social Media channels. In addition, editors and marketers make a newsletter for publishing firms to communicate with subscribers.

 

Publishing companies manage their own newsletters, book clubs, and subscription services

 

Munhakdongne has been publishing the newsletter “Chaeg Check Letter (chaeg means book in Korean)” twice a month. Its initial purpose was to share various news, such as editor’s letters and events, not just providing information about books, with the members of “Book Club Munhakdongne,” a paid membership service in 2021. It went through a renewal, and it has been divided into “Chaeg Check Letter Premium” and “Chaeg Check Letter,” an official newsletter published by the Munhakdongne Publishing Group. Major subscribers are women in their 20s to 40s, but they are diverse in occupation – there are students, office workers, teachers, librarians, and leaders of reading clubs. Subscribers are highly satisfied with “Chaeg Check Letter,” which has more than 15k subscribers, as it is the fastest channel that delivers news about Munhakdongne’s new books. Moreover, it could generate a good synergy effect with Book Club Munhakdongne, as the book club was managed stably.

 

 

Meanwhile, “Young.Letter,” a newsletter issued by Gimm-Young Publishers, was designed to introduce less-known foreign essays to Korean readers. It has been expanding the scope of topics to humanities and social science as well as foreign fiction. The newsletter’s initial goal was to sell books, but as interaction with readers increased with time, it has been experiencing quite good branding effects.
The one with the most active membership service is the “Minum Book Club,” run by Minumsa. You can join the club by paying a yearly membership fee. Once a member, you can not only get books as gifts but also be invited to various book-reading meetings, not to mention on- and offline “family day” and community activities.

 

 

Meanwhile, the “Maumsanchaek Book Club” launched by Maumsanchaek in 2018 has been running private book clubs, only accepting a limited number of members each year. Once you become a member, you get a welcome package consisting of an eco-bag with a writer’s caricature drawn on it and a name card for members only. And you can be the first one to receive 5 new titles published every year. The members are highly satisfied as they can participate in offline book talks joined by writers held on a regular basis.
UU Press, a publishing house specializing in humanities books, launched “UUdang,” a subscription service, in August 2022. Pay 20,000 won per month, and you can receive new books up for publication every month before their official publication. Subscribing readers are provided with an “E-book of the month” subscription service, along with monthly new books, a reading guide, and an editor’s letter. It’s like killing two birds with one stone – readers can have a first hand on the publisher’s new books they like, and the publisher can secure certain amounts of sales each month and check readers’ reactions before the official publication, which helps its further promotional efforts. In addition, UU Press has been making “Boreum UU,” an official newsletter issued on the 15th of every month since 2021. It regularly publishes interview content with publishers that shares useful stories with readers, rather than mere introductions to its new books. The newsletter is in line with the motto of the publisher, which is “Make liberal arts books that help readers learn.”

 

 

Social Media influencer marketing and YouTube channel

 

It is not easy for small- and medium-sized publishing houses to make video content independently. It takes a lot of expense to air an author’s lecture live on YouTube. Even large conglomerates cannot guarantee the success of their YouTube channel, backed by tens of millions of won. However, there’s one publisher that has exceptionally achieved success in launching its YouTube channel in Korea - “Minumsa TV” by Minumsa.
“Minumsa TV” has 130k subscribers as of April 2023, and it is the most famous channel among readers in their 20s and 30s. It is so popular that even young, light readers know about the channel. Under the aim of “Make interesting content, not advertising content,” the channel has made various series such as “World Literature Collection World Cup,” joined by editors of world literature collections, “Unboxing Items Bought With Minumsa’s Cultural Expense Support!”, and “Living the Life to the Fullest by a Marketer in the 12th Year of Publishing.” While the channel sometimes introduces Minumsa’s new books, it also accepts advertisements from other publishing companies. As the channel targets more things than just sales, the content materials are diverse and barely limited. The popularity of “Minumsa TV” is so high that there is an increasing number of readers that say that they have begun to read books after knowing about the publisher as they watched the channel and that the publisher’s booth is always crowded at the Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF) held in Seoul every year. As such, “Minumsa TV” is the one and only YouTube channel run by a publishing house that has succeeded in both branding and sales.

 

* K-Book Trends Vol. 58 – Go to the article about the 2023 Seoul International Book Fair (SIBF)

 

 

Meanwhile, some publishing firms make promotional videos for their books by collaborating with book-tubers. The book-tuber that’s the hardest to collaborate with is writer Winter Gyeoul Kim, the owner of the channel “Winter Bookstore,” which has 260k subscribers. It is not easy to cast her for an advertisement as she makes both self-produced contents and paid advertising videos at the same time. However, the book Why Fish Don’t Exist, which was almost like the book-of-the-year bestseller in 2022, went viral after writer Kim recommended the book on her YouTube channel.
Publishers that lack the capacity to run a YouTube channel usually focus on their Instagram channel. The channel that generates more sales than Twitter or Facebook is definitely Instagram. Recently, small- and medium-sized publishers recruit readers in advance to post reviews of books that are set for publication. The selected readers are provided with the new book free of charge, and they give the publisher a photograph and a short review in return. Celebrities in the literary world are sometimes involved, including Instagrammers with more than 10k subscribers, and Instagram ads are run to boost sales when there are positive reviews.

 

Secure a certain amount of copies for the first edition through crowd-funding

 

More publishers are now focusing on promotion rather than advertisement. Instead of spending on media advertisements, they use Tumblbug, online bookstores, and subscription service applications for crowd-funding to secure certain amounts of copies for the first edition. Online bookstores offer promotions free of charge in the case of independently-funded books. Using crowd-funding is also good in that the publisher can secure production costs for the first edition in advance.
Yes 24 has been running “Grae Bindery” to present content that could not be published as a book due to financial issues and books that unfortunately went out of print to more readers. For example, paper book funding for the 1st and 2nd volumes of the Japanese comics Skip and Loafer opened last November, raised 40 million won in 2 weeks thanks to the enthusiastic response from readers - 2,500 copies were sold, and the achievement rate was 2,001%. Aladdin also introduces books in various fields through the “Book Fund” service, and 100 to 500 readers receive books the fastest through the funding. Millie, an e-book subscription service, allows subscribers to be the first to read major new titles by publishers through its exclusive pre-serialization service. New books introduced under the title of “exclusive release” are opening readers’ hearts more widely than news of new books exposed through advertisements.

 

 

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Written by Eom Ji-Hye (Editor-in-chef of monthly Channel Yes)