The Promise and the Pitfalls of Selling Direct Gareth Cuddy, Founder and CEO of Vearsa The IPG’s Digital and Marketing Quarterly September 17, 2015

Vearsa helps Publishers sell more eBooks using smart technology

Publishing is extremely complex in

The industry is focused on destination sites where you can buy almost every book If you can find it….

Why Go Direct? I want to know my readers I need to be able to market to my readers I want to make more margin I want more money

PAGE 6 Costs – Set-up and ongoing Integration/Set-up DRM Control Formats TAXES Flexibility Target Market Choosing Your D2C Solution What You Should Look For

Adobe Content Server Pros The most proven solution Widely adopted Lots of support Plenty of reader apps Strongest DRM protection Most robust for full eCommerce Cons Very expensive Ongoing expenses Difficult to implement Poor reader experience

Sell your books on the social web, mobile first Pros Preview and sell inside Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn in each network's native post format. Embeddable on your website (Aer.io) Collects purchasers’ addresses Mobile responsive Cons No functionality for collecting sales tax Higher transactional fees Aerbook is more for discovery than serious ecommerce

Sell eBooks to anyone using just a link Pros Marketing features (coupon codes and affiliate opportunities/easy sharing) Collects purchasers’ addresses Reports and pays EU VAT Google Analytics integration Cons Primarily marketing platform

Simple eBook selling Pros Embeddable on your website, social media, newsletters Simple checkout process D2C communication + detailed analytics (view conversion rates of sources) Can be used for physical items as well as digital. Includes subscription content Cons Doesn’t offer key features required for selling books at scale (shopping cart, storefront, etc.) Directs away from your site No functionality for collecting sales tax

PAGE 11 COMPARING YOUR OPTIONS NameEase of Install /10 Set-up cost Annual Cost Transaction Cost DRM?Sales TaxePub?PDF? Adobe4$15,000+$1,500$.15 + cc fees AnyNoYes Gumroad9$0 $ %WatermarkNoYes Aerbook8$0$0-$9915%LightYes Payhip9$0 5% + PayPal fee WatermarkYes

PAGE 12 If I want more control – ability to upsell, then yes If I want reading data, then yes But what would you do with that data? Readers prefer reading in their favourite App Make it easy! Outsource, Outsource, Outsource Will integrate with DRM solutions DO I NEED A READER?

PAGE 13 Strategic Considerations Desire Required Challenges Know my readers / market Contact info, preferences, CRM. Marketing Permissions, Value More sales / revenue Invest in marketing, brand, conversion rates Expertise & skills– ecommerce and tech

Summary Decide on desired outcomes and work backwards Outsource or use established method where possible Challenges with tax and interoperability critical

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