And, if you decide upon a competitive pricing strategy you might differentiate your titles by offering coupons or refunds. Publicity includes low-cost ways of getting attention such as press releases, reviews and media performances. Examples of sales-promotion items are sales literature, pens, pads and calendars. Advertising typically has a long-term impact on revenue, depending on how you write and place your ads. Direct mail is usually included in this category.
Instinct plays an important part in marketing planning.
Your publishing experience has probably given you an intuitive sense for the tactics that are most successful for your titles in each target market. Given your product mix, an advertisement or a review in Library Journal might generate more sales than direct mail to bookstores. Furthermore, you might use different tactics for different markets for the same title. This would be the case if you promoted one title to bookstores with an exhibit at BEA, to libraries via direct mail and to corporate buyers through personal sales calls. Your promotional plan could also be different for each author.