Every so often I land on Amazon.com and notice the homepage has changed. Instead of seeing my usual browsing history, the latest Kindle, or some other carefully tailored offers, I find a letter from Jeff Bezos. A couple of months ago, Jeff wrote to me on a scroll and announced, “Dear Muggles,” in which he explained that the Harry Potter series would now be available to me for free in the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library. On today’s visit, Jeff’s telling me that Amazon Prime is celebrating its 7th anniversary and what a success the program has been. And he’s right. It’s possibly the best $79 per year I’ve ever spent. Free two-day Shipping on nearly everything I buy, instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows, and the ability to borrow books on my Kindle. But why is Jeff always talking to me? What’s with all these personal appeals from the creator of the world’s largest online retailer? Here’s why: In my work with online community owners, I often talk about the three Cs of customer retention: content, community, and character. It's the third that often confuses people. What does character have to do with customer retention or building brand loyalty? Character is really about positioning. In their classic book, Positioning, Al Reis and Jack Trout demonstrated that most people will only remember a few things about you or your company. The takeaway is that you can either decide what those few key things will be, or let the market decide. In other words, you... Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2012-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PW talks food and technique with a Michelin-starred chef whose new cookbook reflects his philosophy that fine dining has “little to do with the way people actually want to eat.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The new show, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, will launch with a two-day show in Columbus, Ohio in 2015 and transition to an annual four-day comics festival in Fall 2016. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the Sharjah International Book Fair, currently happening in the United Arab Emirates, a panel about translated books saw execs from various countries talking about the difficulties of getting titles that do not originate in English into the Western markets. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In House of Robots, the first book of James Patterson’s new middle-grade series, Sammy, a fifth grader, is humiliated when his genius inventor mother insists that he bring her latest creation, a robot named E, to school. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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But he doesn't provide any figures to back up his positive claims about subscriber totalsThe Times "is delivering both volume and higher revenue per subscriber", says the News Corp chief executive and former Times editor Robert Thomson.He added: "Digital, which already accounts for nearly... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Philip Yancey’s books have sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and include the 1997 bestseller as 'What’s So Amazing About Grace?' His new book continues Yancey's study of that favorite topic. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sandro Ferri and Sandra Ozzola Ferri, the husband-and-wife team behind Edizioni E/O, a leading publisher of Italian fiction since 1979, are also the founders of Europa Editions. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Garten, the popular food personality and prolific cookbook author (her ninth, 'Make it Ahead,' just published), talks about the ultimate make-ahead Thanksgiving menu, her culinary influences, and what book is on her bedside table. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can the “family dinner” be revived? In a new cookbook, Corky, Lori, Dana, and Tracy Pollan (mother and sisters to Michael Pollan) set out to find an answer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing powerhouse Joyce Meyer has written some 100 books and in the past 12 years alone racked up more than 30 million in sales, since FaithWords acquired her backlist in 2002 for more than $10 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The James Beard Award-winning author chats with PW about why the French don’t bake for fun, how women in France never say “non” to dessert, and one French take on a very American treat. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mojang COO Vu Bui: Licensing is a small portion of our business and we want to keep it that wayWhat is Minecraft? Its a game, obviously: one that its developer Mojang has sold nearly 54m copies of across computers, consoles and mobile devices so far.Its a series of books published by Egmont that... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Novelist Lauraine Snelling has authored 80 books since she began her writing career in 1982, has more than two million books in print, and has just published the first in her fifth historical series set among Norwegian immigrants to North Dakota, where her mother was born and raised: “Strong... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bestselling cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi talked to PW about his new cookbook, moving beyond the expected, working with "exotic" ingredients, and the one question he can't be pinned down on. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The 33 ⅓ book series features short volumes about music that allow writers to go long on a wide variety of albums. As the series celebrates its 10th year and 100th volume, Slate caught up with energetic and enigmatic musician Andrew W.K. and Phillip Crandall—the author who profiled him and his... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Father and son John and Sam Eldredge talked about everything in weekly conversations after Sam graduated from college. These talks with his father eased Sam's transition to manhood, and now they are captured in a book for the benefit of other young men. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Time Inc.'s transformation from Time Warner division to stand-alone publicly traded company has taken a new turn with a breakdown in talks between the publisher and the Newspaper Guild, which... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2014-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newspaper Guild negotiators on Friday rejected the latest offer from Time Inc., prompting the nation’s No. 1 magazine publisher to declare an impasse in its labor negotiations. The biggest stumbling block appears to be the publisher&r ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In her new cookbook, 'Bitter,' Jennifer McLagan looks at the complexity and balance that bitter flavors can bring to a dish, as well as our how experience of bitterness changes as we age. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In ‘The Bible’s Cutting Room Floor,’ Joel Hoffman makes accessible the books left out of the Bible as we know it today, showing how they can enlighten reading of the Bible and be the source of surprising insight into modern lives. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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