Joe Wikert's Digital Content Strategies

Best of TOC

It's challenging keeping up with publishing industry news and analysis. I have way too many content feeds to monitor and I'm sure you do too. We do our best to highlight the most important developments on the TOC website but you're forgiven if you fall behind or miss an article every so often.

Most of analysis on the TOC site is somewhat timeless but the blog format might not make it feel that way. That's why we gathered the best of the best articles and assembled them for you in a handy, to-go version. It's called Best of TOC: Analysis and Ideas about the Future of Publishing. More than 60 of the most thought-provoking articles from the TOC team and community are featured and it's available in EPUB, mobi and PDF formats. Best of all, it's completely free.

If you need to catch up on your TOC reading you no longer have an excuse. Download your copy today and tell us what you think.

Content ownership and resale

Over the past few weeks we've seen some landmark decisions on whether you really own that content you bought and if you can resell it. First, in the Kirtsaeng vs. Wiley case we learned that it's OK to buy low-priced print books from overseas, ship them to the U.S. and resell them for a profit. That's a victory for the middleman entrepreneur and everyone frustrated with high-priced textbooks. Well, it's a victory till publishers raise their overseas prices to be more in line with U.S. prices, at which point students in those foreign countries lose.

Next, we have the federal ruling against ReDigi on the digital content resale front. I'm hoping ReDigi appeals but for now this means you can't sell your iTunes library, for example. That ruling is considered a victory for labels (and publishers as ReDigi is looking to move into used ebook sales) and a loss for consumers.

The simple rule appears to be you can buy your physical product from anywhere and resell it to anyone but your digital products are really only licensed to you and you can't even resell that license. Now let's add Amazon's AutoRip service to the discussion to see how it further complicates things and the dangerous precedent it sets.

If you're not familiar with AutoRip, it's a nifty way for consumers to get the digital version of CDs or albums they've bought from Amazon. It addresses the issue everyone has experienced at least once in their life: you bought the album so why can't you have the CD, cassette or MP3 version free? Not all tracks are AutoRip-eligible on Amazon; presumably Amazon got permission from the labels for AutoRip-eligible songs.

So what happens if I buy a CD from Amazon, get all the tracks into AutoRip and then sell the CD to someone else? Maybe I'll sell it via Amazon's own Marketplace service. I get to keep all the songs I originally bought, still in AutoRip, and I've paid far less for them than I probably could have in any physical or digital format. Victory for the consumer! Maybe the labels participating in AutoRip still haven't figured out most people are ripping CDs on their own and then reselling them. By participating in AutoRip they've helped the consumer avoid the ripping step and are further encouraging resale of that physical CD. A resale, I might add, that the label gets zero revenue from. At least with ReDigi the labels were able to participate in the resale revenue stream.

Now let's consider the dangerous precedent this sets. What exactly is the value of the digital content from the consumer's point of view? In the scenario above it's the price the consumer paid after netting their original CD purchase with whatever they earn on the resale of the CD. IOW, the perceived value of the content is pretty low.

What happens when AutoRip is extended into books? Buy a print book today and get the Kindle edition free. In fact, Amazon could easily give you a free Kindle edition of every print book you've ever bought from them, including ones you sold to your local used bookstore years ago. Again, a victory for the consumer. But doesn't that further erode the value the consumer places on the digital content? The ebook basically becomes a free item tossed into the deal long after you made the purchase decision. It's like floor mats for the new car.

What worries me most about this model though is how it once again keeps publishers away from establishing a direct relationship with their customers. If you really want to give the consumer a free ebook version of the print book they bought, why not bring them to your own site and get to know them? The answer to that question, of course, is publishers would have to give up DRM to provide the free ebook. So once again, we have DRM being a tool used against publishers and their ability to create a direct channel with their customers. What a shame.

P.S. -- Here's a related article on Dear Author on how DRM also prevents independent bookstores from competing in the ebook space.

Current state of formats and platforms

Remember the old days when PDF was pretty much the only way to distribute content and those PDFs were read on computer screens? PDF still lives, of course, but now we're also faced with offering content in mobi and EPUB formats for consumption on a variety of platforms and devices.

SPi Global released a free whitepaper this week that covers the current state of formats and platforms. It's called Demystifying the King: Making Content Available to All and you can download it here.

I like the quote on page 2 from Sara Domville about how we live in a "content explosion model" where "content has broken free of constraints and can be used in multiple ways." Many publishers are still struggling with converting print to digital and probably haven't fully thought through the opportunities in repurposing their content as Sara suggests. They're also asking themselves the important question posed on page 3 of the whitepaper: What is the most efficient way to bring content to market?

The legacy of PDF is evident later in the document where we read that 73% of publishers responding to an SPi Global survey say they're distributing in Adobe's format while only 60-64% are distributing in mobi or EPUB formats. So there are still a number of publishers who are in the ebook marketplace with PDFs only, obviously missing out on the largest retail opportunities at Amazon, Google, B&N, Kobo, etc.

On page 8 we read, "publishers want more readers supporting EPUB 3 functionalities so more adoption and budget can be put into developing EPUB 3 files." And I'll bet if reader app vendors were polled they'd say they're waiting for publishers to produce more content that takes full advantage of EPUB 3 features before investing their development resources to support it. The classic chicken-and-egg scenario.

If you're looking for a quick overview on what's going on in the world of formats and platforms you should download this whitepaper. It also has several other interesting stats on where the market is today as well as where we might be heading.

Goodreads + Amazon: Winners and losers

I decided to wait a few days before writing about Amazon's acquisition of Goodreads. I wanted to let the dust settle before weighing in with my own opinion. Now that I've had some time to mull it over, here's what I think: This has the potential to be a game-changer that could be the next, and possibly final, nail in the coffins of other ebook retailers...but only if Amazon actually does something with the Goodreads platform.

I first have to say that I'm very disappointed that such a great service will no longer be independent. The acquisition makes a ton of sense for Amazon, of course. In the sporting spirit of the best defense being a great offense, Amazon gobbled it up before someone else did. Shame on those other ebook platforms for not jumping in first though. The combination of, say, Google and Goodreads might have finally put Google on the ebook map. That assumes Google even cares about ebooks though, which is a debatable.

What about B&N? While they're focusing on possibly splitting the company and the future of Nook device production they just saw a terrific acquisition candidate disappear.

Another interesting scenario that will now never be is the Goodreads and Readmill combination. See Craig Mod's thinking on that here.

Let's get past all that though and consider what might happen next now that Goodreads is an Amazon property.

I got to spend some time with Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler at TOC NY in February. We talked about how I use Goodreads to record purchases and rate books I've read, but that I never use it for book discovery. Based on his reaction I got the impression I'm not alone. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that many (most?) Goodreads members track their purchases and ratings there but don't use it as a discovery tool.

So how will this change under Amazon?

Let's remember that this isn't Amazon's first investment in this space. They already own Shelfari and they've got an investment stake in LibraryThing. I haven't seen technology from either of those companies integrated into the Amazon catalog though, have you? Maybe Amazon was just waiting to acquire the biggest player, Goodreads, before adding this type of functionality to their website. After all, whoever wins the discovery war ultimately sells more products and is crowned the winner.

For a glimpse of what the future might hold, take a look at slides 27 and 28 from the presentation Otis made at TOC NY. Those statistics on slide 27 show that when most readers finish a book they want to learn more about similar books and what else that author has written. IOW, they're open to being pitched on what to buy next. They also want to discuss the book with their friends and read other people's reviews. Meanwhile, as Otis showed on slide 28, what readers get at the end of the book serves none of those interests.

Now imagine that same, static back-of-book ad on slide 28 becomes the Goodreads platform, right inside your ebook. That's a nice enhancement for the consumer and it will drive a lot more ebook purchases for Amazon. It also opens up a huge can of worms.

Does Amazon, or any ebook retailer, have the right to insert something like this in the ebooks they sell? Would they have to get the publisher's permission before doing so? After all, those other titles recommended at the end of the book (or maybe throughout while it's being read) via this new integrated service will likely come from a variety of publishers. Does publisher X really want to see publisher Y's ebooks promoted in their products?

As I mentioned at the start, this is all predicated on Amazon actually doing something with Goodreads, not just hoarding the platform. Remember the original Kindle from 2007? Compare the reading experience of that to what you have on today's Kindles and Kindle apps and I think you'll agree there's been very little innovation in the past 5+ years. Yes, there are new devices, but the reading app itself hasn't changed much.

By integrating Goodreads into Kindle devices and apps Amazon has a tremendous opportunity to enhance their platform in a way the competition simply won't be able to touch. No, it doesn't change how an ebook is read, but we're talking about a significant impact it could have on further reinforcing Amazon's leadership position and driving more ebook revenue.

Years ago I exported my ratings and reviews from LibraryThing and imported them into Goodreads. At the time Goodreads was a terrific independent platform with lots of momentum. It's still a great service today and I'm sure it will continue to be solid within Amazon, but where can I go now for a service that's still platform-independent? And since there's no guarantee that today's independent provider won't be tomorrow's Amazon acquisition, maybe it's time to accept the fact that platform independence is nothing more than a myth.

Reverse showrooming

This past weekend a friend asked me to pick up a couple of books for them. Print books, btw, and they needed them later that day. That meant it was time to head to a local bookstore, something I'm doing less and less of these days.

B&N was the closest and when I walked in I immediately realized why online shopping sometimes offers such a better experience than in-person. My local B&N moved all their categories around from the last time I was there and I must have circled the entire store three or four times just to find the two books I needed.

Then there's the reviews and top-seller lists I'm so used to seeing online. They don't exist in the brick-and-mortar world, so I decided it was time to do some reverse showrooming.

I chose the Amazon app on my Android phone, mostly because I know Amazon tends to have far more customer reviews than B&N. So I found myself flipping through the Amazon app while standing in the middle of a B&N store. I kept waiting for a store employee to walk past and make me feel guilty, thinking I was just buying the books from Amazon instead, but that never happened.

The whole experience made me realize, once again, that a chain like B&N needs to build a mobile app to make the in-store experience more pleasant and, dare I say it, rewarding.

The only mobile app B&N has is for the Nook. They offer nothing to help you navigate your local superstore. How about simple store maps so I can find the sections I'm looking for without walking all over the place? Yes, I know this has to be done store-by-store and updated regularly. And yes, I'm sure they like it that we're all walking through the store since maybe that means we'll stumble across something we weren't even looking for. I wasn't interested in serendipity on this visit though. I was on a mission and pressed for time.

Once they create this in-store app, how about adding some other features like deals-of-the-day? Base them on my purchasing habits. Make me a deal I can't resist and customize it for me. Feel free to mix the offers between print deals and ebook deals. Let me know about upcoming events and anything else I might be interested in, especially if it ties in with my buying habits.

All I'm asking is that they give me a reason to come back. Without any of this it will probably be a few months before I return. And when I do, the experience is likely to be as frustrating as this last visit. If Mr. Riggio is serious about buying the brick-and-mortar part of the business you'd think he'd want to implement something like this to improve the shopping experience.

Join the ebook subscription model movement

The ebook revenue stream has much more potential beyond simply selling standalone titles, one by one, to customers. If you're not already offering your content in an ebook subscription program you need to. I'm not talking about a broad program like Amazon's Kindle Owner Lending Library model; publishers and authors should focus instead on genre-specific vertical subscriptions that pay content creators based on the title's performance, not some portion of a flat licensing fee assigned for an entire collection of titles.

Safari Books Online is one of the oldest and most successful genre-specific models to learn from. Next month I have the honor of moderating a free TOC webcast with Safari CEO, Andrew Savikas. During this webcast Andrew will cover the following:

• The original thinking behind the subscription model for technology books
• The user data Safari provides publishers and what they can learn from it
• Why the pay-for-performance model is crucial for publishers and authors
• The opportunity in creating new genre-specific verticals to include your content

The webcast takes place at 1PM ET on April 26th. If you'd like to join us be sure to register here, but sign up now as this one will fill up quickly.

Used ebooks: Why your assumptions are wrong and the opportunity is huge

Amazon has a patent and now Apple does too. I'm talking about the techniques both companies might use to let you resell your digital content. They join ReDigi, who already offers a platform to resell your digital music.

Ebooks are next, of course, and the concern I hear isn't so much about the legal aspect but rather the risk of cannibalization. Most publishers seem hung up on the notion that a used ebook sale will mean one less original sale for them. And even if they participate in the used ebook revenue stream, they're concerned that the selling price will be lower, so they'll make less when cannibalization happens. I think that's a very shortsighted view of the opportunity.

This isn't just about lower-priced versions of the original work. It's time to think about the added-value aspects of a used digital content platform.

I've written before about how consumer might be able to resell their highlights and notes. Let's take that a step further. What if someone reads a 300-page business ebook and condenses the key lessons into 10-20 pages? Think of it as the Cliffs Notes, summarized version. Let's further assume that reader bundles their summary with the original ebook they bought and sells it via a used ebook marketplace. Could they charge more for their version? Absolutely.

You're concerned about this being more attractive than the ebook by itself? You should be. But what if the publisher owns this platform? What if all these sales were done directly by them, so they're capturing 100% of the revenue stream and sharing the appropriate cut with the author? Now let's take it another step further... What if that reader isn't just able to sell the one copy they bought, but an unlimited number of copies that come bundled with their summary? The consumer price of this version would be higher than the version with the ebook by itself and the reader who created the summary would receive a portion of the difference between those prices, essentially making them a royalty-based author on the bundle.

Btw, there's no reason the original author couldn't create this summary instead of or in addition to whatever is created in the reader community. In fact, why not open this up to all readers to create their summary of the ebook and let consumers decide which version they want? Use a voting system so that the best summary writers build a reputation and generate the most income.

These summaries aren't limited to written material either. There's no reason video couldn't play a role here. There's also plenty of room for an idea I suggested a couple of years ago: The "VIP Notes Edition." The key is to create a model where author, publisher and summary writer all share in the revenue stream.

So let's stop thinking of the used ebook market as yet another step towards the race to zero content valuation. This is different from the used print book market and it represents some very interesting opportunities for publishers who are willing to embrace a new model.

Why B&N should abandon hardware

The ebook retailing business consists of three elements: hardware, content, and selling model. Dedicated e-readers (think eInk devices) are losing momentum to tablets. Content is mostly quick-and-dirty print-to-e conversions, or "paper under glass", if you will. The typical selling model is to buy one ebook at a time. Pretty simple. And not a whole lot of innovation happening in any of the three areas by the major players.

Recently there's been speculation that B&N is about to ditch the hardware part of their Nook business and focus instead on content and licensing. If true, that's probably the wisest thing I've heard from Riggio & Co. in a long time. Hardware has been, and will increasingly become more of, a fool's game for B&N.

They can't possibly steal Apple's mojo, so why try? I'll bet more people are reading B&N ebooks on an iPad or iPhone than they are on the Nook tablets.

On the Amazon side, B&N simply doesn't have deep enough pockets to lose money on both hardware and ebooks as long as Bezos can, so it's time to cut bait. Plus, Amazon's goal is to turn the Kindle Fire into a gateway for purchasing much, much more than ebooks. Amazon has a significantly larger product catalog outside of books, so Amazon can afford to lose money on the device if they make it up on the sale of electronics and other goods B&N doesn't sell.

So if B&N completely gets out of the hardware business what can they do to compete in the ebook world? Think app functionality, reader experience, and content sales model.

Today's e-reader apps have pretty much the same functionality as yesterday's. There's basically no innovation happening with the user experience in any of these apps, whether they come from Amazon, B&N, Kobo, etc.

Now is the time for B&N to shift all those resources they have in hardware onto the team that develops their Nook apps. What features are customers asking for? More importantly, what features have readers never even envisioned but would love to have? Channel Steve Jobs. We were all pretty content with our MP3 players back in 2000 and then in 2001 the iPod hit the scene. What a game-changer. What will be the "iPod moment" for e-reading apps?

And while they're working on that, be bold and work with publishers to develop some genre-specific, all-you-can-eat, ebook subscription programs. Romance is a good place to start but look at other verticals as well. What kind of package would compel customers to pay a subscription rate of $5 or $10 per month? They'll need to find the publishers who are willing to experiment here but that's why you focus on just one genre to start and build a success story to create others down the road.

At the end of the day B&N should continue to let Apple, Google, et al, distribute their Nook apps. They don't need to lose any more money selling devices that are viewed as commodities. They should instead focus on dramatically changing the reading experience and content acquisition model. After all, once hardware is eliminated, those are the only two other elements of ebook retailing that matter.

The slippery slope of bogus reviews

By now you undoubtedly read about Amazon’s decision to remove a large number of questionable book reviews. This is a problem that’s existed since the first day Amazon reviews. Most are probably from legitimate customers but quite a few are undoubtedly from friends, family, and others who never even opened the book.

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It’s the brand, stupid!

None of the Big Six are all that interested in creating their own direct channel. They usually say “we already have retail partners…we don’t know how to sell direct and we don’t care to learn.” That’s all true but the real reason they won’t do it, and wouldn’t be successful if they did right now, is because none of them are household brand names.

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