Poles are reading books - and it's possible to make money from it

Books, CDs and movies in ranked second among the best-selling products in 2017 according to the E-commerce in Poland report. This is a great result especially bearing in mind the National Library's annual report on the state of reading, according to which 63 percent of Poles have not read a single book in the past year.

Book sales on the Internet are growing - and this is not just due to e-books. Increasingly, we can purchase unique paperback items exclusively online. Many authors are abandoning the distribution of their works in stationary stores. The best example is the success of the book Financial Ninja by Michal Szafranski. Similarly with the publishing house Altenberg by Radek Kotarski with books by popular youtubers or OSMPOWER.pl by Marcin Osman specializing in business books - their products can be purchased exclusively on the publisher's website.

Narrow specialization

Some bookstores base their sales on virtual stocks of books available from wholesalers. Since they then have the same offer, they compete mainly on the price of goods. - E-bookstores are increasingly focusing on narrow specialization, offering unique products to their customers. They are creating a new market where they are becoming a leader," notes Jacek Zientkiewicz, Brand Manager of the Shoper platform.

We have opted for books that are not available elsewhere. We distribute them in pre-sales, the success of which is due to a good relationship with the community gathered around the blog and vlog. As a result, when we enter a new topic - a channel, a project, a book - we have instant feedback. If there is not much interest - we keep looking. We test our ideas in order to bring the first stage of distribution to a higher level - to fund the project and have money from customers at the beginning, rather than only looking for it after the book is published," says Marcin Osman, founder of OSMPOWER.pl publishing house.

Perseverance in business

It is not enough just to publish books. What happens "around them" is also important. In the OSMPOWER.pl publishing house, thanks to the persistence of the owner, it manages to bring videos with world-famous business book authors. The content created featured guests such as Fredrik Eklund top real estate agent from New York, or Gary Vaynerchuk, internet marketing guru and investor (his investments include Facebook, Snapchat, Uber). And even though it was about promoting their books it was not at all easy.

Contact with well-known authors requires perseverance. Poland is not a priority market for them. We had to convince them that it was worth it. How? We decided by the results we generated, which satisfied them. - Osman adds.

The economics of gratitude

OSMPOWER.co.uk publisher acquires customers through many channels. As part of the promotion of the book, it makes available for free large amounts of knowledge, content on Facebook and youtube channel. - In the book "The Economics of Gratitude" by Gary Vaynerchuk, we read that it is worth giving something from yourself to be able to ask for something later. That's why we create regular recordings and posts that give knowledge about marketing and sales. Customers remember our channels as a source of information and come back when they need more. They find a deeper understanding of the topic in the books we publish. - Osman comments.

Building a community around a publisher or e-bookstore is a very good endeavor. Poles usually reach for books recommended to them by their friends. That's why good customer relations guarantee increased sales," says Jacek Zientkiewicz, Brand Manager of the Shoper platform. - Niche is now a real opportunity for the publishing market. The example of small publishing houses clearly shows that you can do business where you see opportunities. Combined with a good model, you can count on profit.

R

he online bookstore market is growing. According to a PwC report, books for professionals will sell well online in the coming years. Such items in 2020 will provide sellers with tens of percent more profit than now. According to the Shoper platform's report "E-commerce invests in itself," the Polish market is facing an increasing professionalization of operations. Choosing narrow specialization now seems to be the best solution for new companies in the fight against the giants offering everything. Is narrow specialization also the future of e-bookstores?