Introduce Barbara Hodgson's book Trading in Memories to the online marketplace

www.tradinginmemories.com

Summary

Barbara Hodgson is a well-respected book designer, artist and author. Her fan base actively seeks out her titles, but she had a relatively limited online presence. Boxcar Marketing worked with her book publisher, Greystone Books (Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group), to produce a web site that would promote Barbara Hodgson and her recent travel memoir, Trading in Memories.

Client Quote

Emiko Morita from D&M Publishers said ...

“Monique Trottier’s deep knowledge of the web, combined with her book-industry experience—and, of course, her charm, wit and professionalism—has been a tremendous asset to D&M’s online activities. From demystifying search engine optimization to executing book-specific marketing campaigns, she and her team have been a creative and effective resource.”

Patricia Storms, cartoonist, illustrator, bibliomaniac, blogger BookLust, when asked to comment on Barbara Hodgson for the Trading in Memories website, said ...

“I believe that all writers are magicians. Perhaps one of the most enchanting magicians I know of is Barbara Hodgson. She travels the world in search of exotic art and experiences, which once delicately collected, become inspiration for her wondrous books. Combining exquisite words with sumptuous images, Ms. Hodgson bewitches her readers with tales of love, mystery and travels to dark and distant lands. She has cast a spell on me that shall never be broken.”

Challenge

Book publisher Greystone Books (Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group) needed a microsite that would promote author Barbara Hodgson and a media strategy that did not involve active participation from the author. This website needed to be a place where fans and online media could be directed to find out more about Barbara’s activities, the release of her recent book Trading in Memories and her available backlist titles.

Approach

Douglas & McIntyre was in the process of updating their main publisher site, which meant that in order to promote the book in a timely manner, we needed to create a stand-alone promotional site for Barbara Hodgson and Trading in Memories.

The goals were as follows:

1. Introduce Barbara Hodgson’s book Trading in Memories to the online marketplace.
2. Ensure fans of Barbara Hodgon’s previous works are aware that the new book is available.
3. Provide online media and bloggers with enough information to review the book or request a review copy.
4. Provide general readers with enough information to make a buying decision.

To meet these goals we developed a 2-week, online buzz marketing campaign, which included:

• A website promoting Barbara Hodgson, Trading in Memories, and Barbara Hodgson’s previous books.
• Electronic press releases.
• Outreach to online media and literary and travel bloggers.
• Review copy mailings to interested fans, bloggers and media.

Our Team: Paschal Ssemaganda (Drupal Design and Development).

 

Results

Boxcar Marketing developed an online marketing strategy and online PR including press releases and blogger outreach. Part of the strategy included developing a micosite in Drupal that involved information architecture, wireframes, design, and content creation. Our role also included media tracking.

Boxcar Marketing’s publicity efforts resulted in an 80% increase in online mentions of Barbara Hodgson, and during the 2-week promotional period generated more than 30 review copy requests, 60 sample chapter downloads and high profile reviews in sites such as Gadling, a travel blog that is part of AOL’s network and is among the top 2K blogs according to Technorati and Bookslut, a popular blog for book lovers.

Lessons: The greater the integration between all marketing activities, the stronger the promotional value of the online activities.

See the Trading in Memories website.

Completed on December 2007
Internet Marketing Strategy | Web Site Design | Publishing & Media