Internet Marketing and the Book Business

Books have always been a tactile product. Bookshops often have certain inviting qualities that speak to book lovers: the smell of the paper, the aroma of coffee and fresh baked scones wafting from the bookstore's cafe and a warm cozy chair to sit down and start reading that book (that you judged by it's cover) to see if you'd be interested in buying it.

This was always the advantage of the brick and mortar store vs. an online site. When you have a book literally in your hands, you want to thumb through it, check out the table of contents, and maybe start reading in the middle to see if anything interesting is going on and if the writing is any good. Online marketers have found a way to allow Internet shoppers to start reading that book they might be interested in buying.

At Barnes & Noble's online site, a feature for registered account holders (that's anyone who's signed up or shopped online with them before) can virtually thumb through books to check them out before they buy them. Certain books are selected and marked with an open book style icon at the bottom of the book's cover art that says"See Inside." For non-account holders, only the first few pages are accessible. Account holders get to see more. This technology is powered by Zinio.com which digitizes thousands of magazines and books and can be purchased online through their site as well. Barnes & Noble uses their technology to sell books to consumers, and Zinio's logo appears on B&N's site. Amazon also has a "Look Inside" feature on several new titles on their site.

So what does the consumer get out of this? A chance to compete with the real thing: That tactile pleasure of thumbing through a book is now possible online. The comfy chair and the coffee is in their own living room, their laptop is on the coffee table, and they are browsing a bookstore, chapter by chapter at home.