• Beyond email metrics, what customers do that doesn’t show up
• Four places available on tomorrow’s Copywriting Workshop
• More proof that positive author relations are vital
• On The Marketability Grapevine on Facebook
• Tip of the week: When authors want a ‘quirky’ title, share this example

Beyond email metrics, what customers do that doesn’t show up

Looking at your metrics will tell you a lot about how (if) recipients are responding to your email content, but it’s only part of the story. Your emails will also be prompting subscribers to engage through other channels, and that requires a bit of detective work and lateral thinking. It’s worth it, though, as you should find yourself uncovering further evidence of the impact of your hard work. And what it reveals about the different pathways taken by readers on receipt of an email will be fascinating.

This upbeat article from Pure360 gathers examples of what else recipients do and tips for how to start appreciating the wider picture.

This is a topic we always cover on our Email Marketing Workshop, which really works as an in-company course. Not only can we cover best practice in general, but we can also drill right down to your current campaigns. Start your detective work here! Email me on rachel@marketability.info if you’d like to find out more.

Four places available on tomorrow’s Copywriting Workshop

Our three hour online Copywriting Workshop runs on Zoom tomorrow, 9 June (2pm-5pm UK time). Would you like one or more of the 4 remaining places?

Covers: best practice in writing copy in publishing, a critique of your own copy, applying the principles to different channels, and lots of examples and discussion.
For: anyone who writes copy within publishing, principally in marketing or editorial roles.
What’s it like? Genuinely interactive, relaxed and relevant to everyday practice.

Places cost £175 + VAT. Email me if you’d like one and I can forward confirmation and joining details this afternoon, together with an invoice payable within 30 days. rachel@marketability.info

More proof that positive author relations are vital

‘Novelist Winterson burns her own books in anger at cosy domestic blurbs’ shouted the headline in The Guardian at the weekend.

There are (at least) two sides to every story, and I feel for the poor soul at Penguin responsible for that back cover copy. Although it seems unlikely that Jeanette Winterson wouldn’t have been consulted before going to press, these were reissues of backlist titles, which makes it plausible that she may not have been.

This isn’t the place to speculate on the rights and wrongs, but it is a reminder of why we need authors on-side at all times. Their books are their children, and of course they have strong opinions about what’s best for them. Those opinions can be deeply flawed when it comes to the ‘right’ decisions on packaging and positioning for fickle markets. It’s likely that Penguin’s strategy was to pitch the books in a very approachable way to attract new readers who may not identify that ‘literary fiction’ (whatever that is) would appeal to them.

Either way, this does remind us of the need to cultivate positive and respectful relationships with our authors. Definitely easier said than done in some cases, but nonetheless, authors are with us on this journey as publishers and there will be times when we need to tackle difficult clashes of opinion. It’s best done head-on and is bound to require compromise.

Read the original article in The Guardian. (The debate on Twitter is worth following too.)

Our Impressive Marketing Plans workshop always advocates working closely and transparently with authors, and capitalising on the opportunities they bring. Runs on Zoom in 2 x 3hour afternoon sessions on Tuesday 15 June and Thursday 17 June.

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Tip of the week: When authors want a ‘quirky’ title, share this example

What was I saying earlier about positive author relations?

Many of us will have had difficult conversations with authors who want their specialist book to have a ‘quirky’ title which gives no clue as to the subject. You will gently advocate something more explicit for the benefit of people finding it when they search for it.

This real example is a specialist book on the European economy by a Greek author who was insistent that it be called Flight of Icarus. I urge you to key that into Google now and see what comes up. (Clue: it’s not the European economy.)