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Entire Contents © Copyright 2001 by David Vallieres. All rights reserved. |
Analyzing Your Competition
Knowing who your competition is, is a good thing. Knowing their marketing strategy and methods is better.
When I visit a competitor’s web site I want to know:
· Who they are
· What they’re basic marketing/positioning strategy is
· What they sell
· What format they sell in
· What their EC capabilities are
This isn’t a comprehensive list and isn’t meant to be. It will help you develop a simple competitive intelligence (CI) system you can use to help your business improve and learn where the trends are and what electronic publishing is likely to evolve into next.
I’m not suggesting stealing anyone’s ideas. No! What I suggest is you keep track of trends, methods and strategies your competitors are using that you can improve on. Never simply steal someone else’s idea- it’s not only potentially illegal, if you ask me, it’s lazy and stupid- it just isn’t necessary. There is always something you can do to improve on someone else’s ideas, mine included.
Since it was impossible to include every type of content seller, this list is simply a snapshot of emerging business models in this exploding online market.
Browse this list to get an idea of how today's electronic publishers sell online. By spending just a few minutes on the Internet yourself, you will find new competitors popping up everyday. And that’s a good thing because it shows there’s a growing market for digital content.
Let’s get started:
WHO: http://www.agoodbook.com
POSITIONING: $4.95 download – variety shop
WHAT THEY SELL: e-books downloadable; the site has an association with www.amazon.com
FORMAT(S): PDF, HTML.
WHO: www.amazon.com,
POSITIONING: Earth's biggest selection of everything. They’re big and they know it.
WHAT THEY SELL: printed books, CDs, gifts, DVD and video, electronics, software, toys, video games, tools and home improvement equipment.
FORMAT(S): Physically delivered books and now e-books in MS Reader format.
WHO: www.americanmpc.com (MPC Research)
POSITIONING: Hundreds of products, one transaction
WHAT THEY SELL: e-books only (average price $9.95). Subjects include space and ocean exploration, science and technology, U.S. and Russian military, U.S. national parks and monuments
WHAT: e-books on CD-ROM only.
WHO: www.bb.com (BiblioBytes)
POSITIONING: “books on your computer”, FREE e-books you read online. As you click from page to page, adverts are displayed at the top of the page.
WHAT THEY SELL: e-books in many categories, but a pre-dominance of gambling titles.
FORMAT(S): HTML
WHO: www.bn.com (Barnes and Noble)
POSITIONING: Like Amazon they’re big and they know it, but unlike Amazon they have their roots offline.
WHAT THEY SELL: printed books (including out-of-print titles) from various publishers, electronic books, CDs, prints, posters, software, magazines, gifts, calendars, Rocket e-book reading device ($199)
FORMAT(S): Physically delivered books and e-books downloadable that can be read on a Rocket e-book reading device, MS Reader and Adobe Acrobat e-book Reader.
WHO: www.books24x7.com (Books 24x7.com)
POSITIONING: “Where IT pros go for answers” – look at “FORMATS” below. Their business model is very interesting.
WHAT THEY SELL: Technical reference e-books and printed books (through partnership with barnesandnoble.com) for IT professionals. For e-books, publishing partners include Artech House, Macmillan Computer Publishing (Que and Sams), O'Reilly & Associates, Osborne/McGraw-Hill and Sybex
FORMAT(S): A browser can view the entire content of an e-book before purchasing (registration is required- free trail period). While every page of every title will be available after registration, the complete content of the page is not displayed. Instead, some of the content will is hidden by x's. When you are ready to buy, their secure e-commerce facility allows you to become a paid member with full access to all content on the site. On subscription basis: multi-seat subscriptions are $149 per seat annually, two to 10 seats (visit their Web site for price quotes for more than 10 seats); single-seat subscriptions are $24.95 per single month or $17.95 per month (minimum of two months), and $199.00 annually.
WHO: www.booklocker.com (BookLocker)
POSITIONING: “Your bookstore for unique, eclectic and different”
WHAT THEY SELL: E-books only on a variety subjects (price range--$8.95 to $99.95). The site also features free excerpts and free subscriptions to the E-book Excerpt via e-mail
FORMAT(S): Adobe PDF.
WHO: www.booksamillion.com (Books-A-Million)
POSITIONING: “We wrote the book on low prices”
WHAT THEY SELL: Printed books, magazines (over 2,000 titles), calendars and e-books.
FORMAT(S): The site features discounts, bargains, reviews and the "millionaire's club," which, for an annual fee of $5, offers 10 percent off everything.
WHO: www.cyberclassics.com (Cyber Classics)
POSITIONING: Cyber Classics provide the most comprehensive guide to required reading by putting the latest technology in your hands. Each package contains a special summary, the original text of the book, and in addition, the whole book on disk.
WHAT THEY SELL: Over 200 classic e-book titles. Average price is $14.95. Large print available and summaries available.
FORMAT (S): HTML
WHO: www.diskuspublishing.com (Disk-Us-Publishing)
POSITIONING: “Quality fiction and non-fiction - $4.50 download and $7.50 diskette”
WHAT THEY SELL: Fiction and non-fiction e-books.
FORMAT (S): AVAILABLE IN PDF, HTML, PRC (PALM PILOT FORMAT,) ROCKET and MICROSOFT READER. Available by download or on disk.
WHO: www.fatbrain.com (FatBrain)
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Barnes & Noble.com
POSITIONING: Corporate market featuring two services:
FinditNow™ : A custom online bookstore for corporations and other large organizations that want to offer employees a quick and easy way to order professional and technical books, training and other publicly available materials.
‘Information Exchange’: A comprehensive web-based method that corporations and large organizations can use to streamline the management and distribution of their own published documents and materials, such as sales/marketing collateral, manuals, product documentation and training materials.
WHAT THEY SELL: printed books, training materials and print-on-demand documentation for business, finance, science and technology. Promises to match the price for any same title offered by barnesandnoble.com and www. amazon.com, plus offers additional 5 percent discount for that title.
FORMAT(S): Hard cover books and e-documents.
WHO: www.1stbooks.com (1st Books Library)
POSITIONING: the world's leading publisher of full-length original print-on-demand books and e-books,
WHAT THEY SELL: Over 3,000 e-books by contemporary authors; print-on-demand paperbacks; free classics; selected titles as RocketEditions (sold through Barnes and Noble and Powell's); 1stbooks library memberships.
FORMAT(S): E-books by contemporary authors: PDF; free classics: TXT. The site also implements the new Adobe Web Buy and PDF Merchant. Coming soon: a line of RocketEditions in OEB format.
WHO: http://www.alexlit.com/shopping/ebookstore.taf?hallpass=8e4OS4gc&33849 (AlexLit)
POSITIONING: 700 titles in contemporary fiction and publishing services.
WHAT THEY SELL: E-books in various formats. Has number of spin-off sites including http://tale.com/. An interesting business model. Worth investigating.
FORMAT (S): HTML, ASCII, OEB, AportisDoc.
WHO: www.logos.com
POSITIONING: Our three primary goals are: To provide the best possible Christian software. To leverage our electronic publishing technology to enter selected new markets. To provide excellent value and service to our customers.
WHAT THEY SELL: E-books for a Christian market
FORMAT(S): Proprietary format using Logos Software
WHO: www.mightywords.com (MightyWords)
POSITIONING: “Where tech and business professionals enjoy instant online delivery of need-to-know information (eMatter) from experts, leading publishers and authors.”
WHAT THEY SELL: Thousands of reports, briefings and white papers that you can buy, download and print in seconds. Delivered as a PDF file.
FORMAT(S): Delivered as a PDF file.
COMMENTS: Watch this company carefully, they are on the leading edge of ePublishing, content development and document delivery.
WHO: www.netLibrary.com (netlibrary)
WHAT THEY SELL: netLibrary provides access to more than 9,700 trade, scholarly, academic and reference e-books. The company has agreements with more than 100 publishers, including Harvard Business Press, ABC-CLIO, Cambridge University Press, Columbia University Press, Marcel Dekker, Houghton Mifflin, The McGraw-Hill Companies, The MIT Press, O'Reilly and Associates, and Oxford University Press. netLibrary sells digital versions of hardcovers from various publishers to academic, public, private and special libraries, and library consortia throughout the world. By checking out an e-book, members have exclusive access to that title during the check-out period. E-books are automatically checked back into the collection when the check-out period expires. Also, only one person can use one e-book copy at a time.
FORMAT(S): Stores content in rich text format similar to XML (Extensible Markup Language) and serves e-books over the Internet one page at a time in HTML. netLibrary's reading system and e-book content are OEB-compliant.
WHO: www.nitelinks.com (Nitelinks)
POSITIONING: A cozy shop for end users. The ‘bookstore around the corner’.
WHAT THEY SELL: An eclectic group of e-books, including children's books, cooking, essays, murder/mystery, romance and science fiction.
FORMAT(S): eBooks using Nitelinks Story Reader (NRS) software required (downloadable for free from the site).
WHO: tumblebooks.com (TumbleBooks)
POSITIONING: A well thought-out e-book site for children and parents.
WHAT THEY SELL: Children’s interactive/animated e-books. (most are free).
FORMAT(S): TumbleBooks format using Flash 4 plug-in.
RESOURCES
Web Sites You Should Know About: Providers of Software, Services, Marketing and Industry Information for Writers, Developers and ePublishers
Please note that due to the rapid changes that take place on the Internet some of the following sites may not longer be available. For a current list go to our web site: http://epublishingetc.com/ep-2001/
eBook Ezines & Newsletters: http://epublishingconnections.com/ezines_&_newsletters.htm
eBookNet
Self-publishing your book with1stBooks: http://www.1stbooks.com/newbooks.htm
Free-eBooks.net for Free Marketing, e-Publishing e-books, and Business eBooks: http://www.free-ebooks.net/
eBooks N' Bytes - A Directory for ebooks, e-text, readers, and compilers (a wonderful resource by my good friend, Eva Alemeida) : http://www.ebooksnbytes.com/
WritersWeekly.com Paying Markets for Freelance Writers and Photographers: http://www.writersmarkets.com/
Marketing SECRETS Revealed (good tips for e-book merchants): http://www.copycoach.com/archivea.htm
R.R. Bowker (get ISBN numbers here): http://www.bowker.com/
United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page: http://www.uspto.gov/
Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) Home Page: http://www.uspto.gov/teas/eTEASforms.htm
The Directory of Ezines - Accepts Classified Advertising To Promote Your Book: http://www.lifestylespub.com/
eBook Marketing Explained (Chayden Bates e-book site): http://www.ebookmarketing.com/
Lightning Source - (a subsidiary of Ingram Industries Inc., offers a package of digital fulfillment and printing services to the book industry): http://www.lightningsource.com/
B a c k i n p r i n t . c o m - (Through Backinprint.com – a service of The Authors Guild - readers can easily find and order out-of-print titles online, by mail, or by a toll-free phone number. Shakespeare & Co., a New York City bookseller, will promptly fulfill orders for these books.) http://www.backinprint.com/
KnowBetter.com - Electronic Books Information on ebooks and ebook readers like the Rocket eBook, Softbook, Glassbook, etc:
ReBA-Con Conference Home Page:
The On-Line Books Page (13,000 English works in various e-book formats, most in the public domain): http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/
Open Directory - Electronic Book Publishers Directory: http://dmoz.org/Business/Industries/Publishing/Publishers/Electronic/E-Books/
Publishing eBooks /Publishers of Electronic E-Books http://www.ebookdirectory.com/
Download 12000+ FREE eBooks at the eBook Directory http://www.ebookdirectory.com/addebook.html
PeanutPress (a div of netlibrary) - Electronic Books for Handheld Computers - Palm OS & Pocket PC PDAs: http://www.peanutpress.com/
EDItEUR: Co-ordinates the development, promotion and implementation of Electronic Commerce in the book and serials sectors: http://www.editeur.org/
Free ISBN bar code symbols while you wait: http://www.cgpp.com/bookland/isbn.html
XrML Web Board:
E-Booklets – an interesting concept applied to online publishing
http://www.tipsbooklets.com/afaq.html
HP Instant Delivery - Publish Your Stuff. Another interesting business model. Publications you choose are delivered to your printer when they are ‘published’. You can also submit your content for publication.
http://instant-delivery.com/publish/
ReaderWorks.com – Home:
Planet PDF - A World of PDF Resources http://www.purepdf.com/
Welcome to PurePDF- Seybold Seminars News & Views http://www.seyboldseminars.com/News/Front/PDFday.html
Acrobat and PDF Info at PDFzone.com http://www.pdfzone.com/index.asp
The biggest PDF software specialty store. Buy and download the latest PDF plug-ins, applications, and tools http://www.pdfstore.com/
Welcome to FileOpen Systems (a security plug-in for PDF files):
Publishing Resources, Information, Tools Online - Essential Links from BookZonePro.com http://www.bookzonepro.com/resources/
Digital Worm - Home of the eBook web community http://www.digitalworm.com/
iPublisher – A POD provider
Professional Copyright Registration. Protect Your Intellectual Properties:
http://www.clickandcopyright.com/
MasterFreelancer - Web Store for Writers and Creative Professionals
http://www.masterfreelancer.com/
The Writer’s Place: AWOC-
http://www.awoc.com/AWOC-Home.cfm
Free Lance Writer’s Database and Free News Release Service:
http://www.freelancewriting.com/newssyndicator.html
ICCC-IFIP Conferences on Electronic Publishing: http://www5.hk-r.se/elpub99.nsf
European Commission - Electronic Publishing Collaboration Services
Information Technology Advisory Council- Proposed Policy Recommendations for Electronic Publishing at Duke
http://www.oit.duke.edu/itac/pub-prop.html
Electronic Publishing, R&D News and Resources:
eBook Ads – Free and for sale ebooks.
ebrary is trying to revolutionize the way people conduct research and acquire information on the web by combining a powerful discovery engine, full-text viewing, and state-of-the-art reference tools with an extensive collection of books, periodicals, maps, and archival works.
eLance- Buy writing, ghostwriting, editing and other services.
The Write News -- Writing, Publishing and Internet News:
Book Publishing, Worldwide book publishing, distribution and promotion at a small fraction of the cost of conventional methods (one of Dan Poytner’s Site)
http://www.unlimitedpublishing.com/
Bookface: Read Online Books and eBooks http://www.bookface.com/
TextCafe.com - PDF-to-XML Conversion Service http://www.textcafe.com/
Library of Congress – Information for Publishers
http://lcweb.loc.gov/loc/infopub/
ContentBiz practical news and Case Studies for publishers and aggregators selling and syndicating text-content online http://www.contentbiz.com/index.cfm
byte level research (an interesting electronic publisher and researcher)
Book Industry Study Group, Inc. Produced jointly with the Association of American Publishers, Book Industry Communication and the Book Industry Study Group. ONIX International is the international standard for representing and communicating book industry product information in electronic form, incorporating the core content which has been specified in national initiatives such as BIC Basic and AAP’s ONIX Version.
Publishers Marketing Association (PMA)- Home Page
AZZ Cardfile Download (a handy software program for writers) http://www2.omnitel.net/zdramys/azzcardfile/download.htm
R.R. Bowker - About Books Out-of-Print http://www.bowker.com/bop/
FREE PRESS RELEASES send your information to news and media contacts using their distribution system: http://www.comitatusgroup.com/pr/index.htm
Mibrary's mission is to make digital content as easy to use as physical content- Mibrary accomplishes this mission through its unique software, which businesses use to create a better customer experience with digital content
Van Volumes (low cost, high quality book printer)
The Ebook Auction – not much on the site, but an interesting concept
http://www.mbn-businesscomplex.net/cgi-bin/auction.cgi
eBooksforYou.com - the premier source for electronic books http://www.ebooksforyou.com/
E-AuthorsOutlet, The Electronic Self-Publishers' Marketplace http://www.e-authorsoutlet.com/
eBooks Portal!
A Search Engine For EBooks
MJ Rose- The “First Lady” of digital books.
EBookFriends.com
http://www.ebookfriends.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?bypass=true
eBook Broadcast.com for eBook, ePublishing and Handheld eBook Press Releases
http://www.ebookbroadcast.com/
ePublishing Connections
http://www.epublishingconnections.com/
ePublishing Industry News and information including online and downloadable ebooks web publishing
http://www.epublishingnews.com/index.pl
Featurewell.com
Order Fulfillment for E-Books and Real Goods http://www.orderdept.com/
Welcome to ibizBooks
Welcome to AllNetResearch (an electronic publisher)
http://allnetresearch.internet.com/
Xlibris – “Gives you everything you need to become your own publisher. We work with you to create your book, then print copies on-demand for your readers. You keep all rights to your work. We also offer services that give you all the control you need over your book.”- from their home page
Content-Exchange.com (a great resource for digital publishers, writers and content developers)
http://www.content-exchange.com/
Electronic Book Directory http://www.electronicbookdirectory.com/index.shtml
Welcome to Zden.com - Your MarketPlace for Files (watch this compoany and others who create ‘marketplaces’ and P2P exchanges)
WebWord.com Usability and Human Factors for the Internet
BooksForABuck.com--A Source for free and shareware books
EPPIES RULES & ENTRY FORM (ebook awards program)
http://www.geocities.com/conference4epic/epic4.htm
The Frankfurt eBook Awards Program
ContentGuard - Digital Rights Management http://www.contentguard.com/
NetActive - We Create Digital Audiences http://www.netactive.com/Home/default.asp
Effective Content for Web Sites
http://www.effectivecontent.com/
TerraShare.com
Book Marketing Update -- book marketing and book promotion advice from John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books
EBX Working Group
OverDrive.com - Home
BitBooks - Digital Fiction Guide
The Electronic Book Newsstand Association http://www.ebna.org/
Inlibris - The Literary Directory at Badosa.com http://www.inlibris.com/
Lifekits Online Bookstore and Ebook Publisher http://www.lifekits.co.za/LifekitsPub.dll/Welcome
Book On Demand InstaBook Maker I The World's First System that Makes Perfect-Bound Books In One Simple Step
http://instabook-corporation.com/
Affiliates and Merchants United Welcome to Affiliate Union http://www.affiliateunion.com/
OmniUpdate - Web-based Page Updater! http://www.omniupdate.com/
eBook Express -Welcome to your fast, easy and FREE e-publishing resource. This form will allow you to create an eBook in Microsoft® Reader format from your manuscript or other document.
Rightscenter.com is a worldwide marketplace that allows agents, sub-agents, scouts, and publishers to conduct business online.
Entire Contents © Copyright 2001 by David Vallieres. All rights reserved.