Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 19: First, a line with another penguin
“Stephen King?”

Gu Bei walked to the sofa and picked up a copy of the New York Times.

It contains the latest New York Times bestseller list.

The top of the list is Stephen King's latest work, "Lisey's Story."

The price is $28, and there is no need to even offer $27.99 to influence the book buyer's decision. This is the confidence of the top horror master!

"You've already started scouting the enemy!"

Joel showed a happy look, “But you don’t need to worry, Stephen King is indeed a master, but this is Christmas, not Halloween.

The reason why the annual North American Christmas book war is so important is that during the two weeks of Christmas, ten times more books can be sold than on other days!

After a pause, Joel sat down in his chair and continued excitedly: "If you release a book in February, you may only need to sell a thousand copies to enter the New York Times bestseller list.

But in December, even if sales reach 12 copies, there is no guarantee of making the list!

So even if Stephen King has a lot of fans, they can’t drive sales; ultimately, it all comes down to the story of the book itself!"

Gu Bei nodded.

He actually understood this concept even more deeply than Joel.

Fans are only the basic base after all. If you really want to break the circle and achieve explosive sales, you still have to rely on word of mouth from passers-by.

He pulled a bottle of beer from the refrigerator and tossed it to Joel. "Then our theme is perfect for Christmas. Survival and death, love, family, each of these propositions is one of the most essential propositions of human beings."

"Yes, that's why I convinced Mr. Marcus."

Joel opened his beer and took a sip to quench his thirst. "I've already thought of a slogan for you: [The best gift for children at Christmas]."

"Then I think this book should be a cause for alarm."

Gu Bei clicked on the second place on the list, Mitch Albom's "Reborn in a Day".

After a pause, Gu Bei explained, “An athlete who committed suicide due to alcoholism spent a day with the ghost of his dead mother. He successfully resolved the pain brought on by his original family, and eventually quit drinking and reconciled with his family.

The themes of life, death, and family ties have a lot in common with The Fault in Our Stars.”

"I also think it's the biggest rival. Before this week, it had already topped the New York Times bestseller list for four consecutive years!"

Joel agreed, and gave a mysterious smile. "Guess which publisher published it?"

"Which one?"

“Penguin, our biggest competitor at Random House, did very well with ‘Born in a Day’.

Everyone originally thought that the Christmas bonus would be gone, but fortunately with the appearance of your book, at least there is still a glimmer of hope!"

Joel smiled cheerfully and was not at all bothered about his colleague's bonus.

Gu Bei heard this.

It feels a bit funny.

I didn’t expect that before I even played against my old team, I would have to play against another penguin.

After a pause, Joel continued, “There’s another person you need to be wary of, Nicholas Sparks’ new book, Dear John, which tells the story of a couple who fell in love in the summer but were separated by military service.

You should know that Nicholas Sparks's works are always tear-jerkers, and he is not an opponent to be underestimated! "

"Nicholas? The Nicholas who wrote 'The Notebook'?" Gu Bei looked at the newspaper in his hand, but did not find the familiar name.

"No need to look at it, it's not out until next week, and next week is Black Friday, which is also a great time to sell books!"

Joel stopped Gu Bei from searching, this information also came from his own insider information. "'Reborn in a Day' focuses on life and death and family, and 'Dear John' focuses on love and family. These two people are completely sandwiched between me!"

Gu Bei said this, but there was no trace of nervousness in his tone.

"Bruce, don't you feel the pressure?"

Joel was a little surprised.

These writers are all long-established best-selling authors, and their works are no less impressive.

It is no exaggeration to say that the 2006 North American Book Christmas War was a battle between gods!
"Shouldn't you be the one feeling the pressure? You're gambled your career on it, but you can trust me, I won't let you lose your job!" Gu Bei said confidently.

"Now I'm starting to feel the pressure!"

Joel gave a wry smile.

……

The first book signing event was still held in New York.

The first print run of The Fault in Our Stars was only 10,000 copies, 3,000 of which were distributed in New York alone.

After the heavy snow in New York, these 3,000 copies were sold out immediately due to word of mouth, which attracted the attention of Random House headquarters.

In order to give back to his fans in New York, Gu Bei naturally decided to hold the autograph session here.

This time, the book signing event was held at a Barnes & Noble flagship store in Manhattan.

As the largest chain bookstore in North America, even though it has been severely impacted by Amazon, Barnes & Noble is still the largest offline channel. If it wants to impact the New York Times bestseller list, it needs to cooperate with it.

"Whose idea was that?"

Gu Bei looked at a tour bus opposite the bookstore.

It was painted the same blue as The Fault in Our Stars and covered with promotional materials for the book, making it a sign that would turn heads 100% of the time.

“My creativity, how do you feel?
The tour bus will be traveling across North America for a month, visiting smaller cities that you can’t get to, and signing books in each city.”

Joel said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Gu Bei had to admit that Joel was quite talented in marketing.

Although this design is quite rustic, it attracts a lot of attention. Eyeballs are the key!
Coupled with the hunger marketing of releasing a portion of signed books in each city, a wave of queuing will be formed, which will be another wave of eye-catching economy!
"If I were you, I would choose to release the signed books at noon, and draw lots on the spot, giving out as many signed books as the number of people who got drawn."

Gu Bei thought of Lei Jun’s Mi-style marketing.

Xiaomi’s success can be said to be a major factor in its success by using the hunger marketing tactic to great effect.

"Oh my God! Bruce, you are definitely a demon, a demon who came to save me!"

Joel's eyes lit up, and he understood the subtlety of Gu Bei's strategy almost instantly.

This strategy has two parts.

The first part is to put the books on display at a fixed time, at 12 noon. Signed books can be bought at the same price. There will definitely be people queuing up, and queuing up can attract a large wave of attention.

The second part is randomness.

If a bookstore has 20 books, then there will be only 20-25 people queuing at most.

But if the number is randomly drawn between 10-50, then the number of people queuing up will be far more than 25, and may even exceed 50!
Gambling is a bad habit that is engraved in human DNA!
"I think six o'clock in the afternoon would be better, what do you think?"

(End of this chapter)