Hello from the LAUREL EVERYWHERE team. As you might have noticed, the world looks a little different right now. Like countless other companies and families, the students running Ooligan Press are trying to balance living in quarantine with the laundry list of life’s demands. For me, this means homeschooling a fourth- and sixth-grader while finishing up my graduation requirements, sending out blurb requests, creating a social media plan, and training the next project manager for the team.
Marketing
Publishers Are Making Room for Smart Speakers
By Alix Martinez
Smart speakers are becoming a staple in the average household and changing the way we interact with technology. Publishing companies are taking note and looking at their use of the digital space in order to attract a more tech-savvy crowd. The industry is no stranger to surviving a digital upset, but the question is how they will respond to it. Looking closer, we can already see what challenges publishers face and the innovative ideas they have brought to the table in response.
How To Create a Persona and Identify Your Target Audience
By Sydnee Chesley
The purpose of creating a persona is to take the abstract concept of an audience and create something concrete and relatable from it. Your audience is reachable, you just have to figure out who they are. The following three questions are designed to help you do that.
Knowing Your Audience: A Quick Guide to Improving Your Query
By Kimberly Scofield @kmscofie
Oftentimes, developing target audiences can reveal interesting information about how to get the book into the hands of the reader. For example, if members of a target audience are likely to listen to podcasts, then the marketing plan for the book should include some reviews by podcasts they probably listen to.
Indie Portland Bookstores During COVID-19
By Callie Brown
From posting funny quips to sharing ideas for family-friendly reading activities, these stores have been going above and beyond to reach their communities, all while fielding business in a challenging new way.
A New Department at Ooligan
By Tiffany Watson
At nearly every press, there is a room that is stacked high with cardboard boxes. For people in publishing, a certain feeling may be invoked by this image. I feel it myself. A book unread is a sadder sight than one unloved.