The Internet has changed the face of a lot of industries that aren't primarily digital ones.  In fact, nearly every industry imaginable has been altered, enhanced, or in some cases damaged by the Internet.  The writing industry is no different.  Book publishers and authors have had to start competing with any number of online publications that are more readily available to wider audiences, more interactive, and less expensive.   To that affect, MarketingSherpa has an interesting case study about one author's choice to use Internet technologies to his advantage for the purpose of selling his print book.

Using a combination of email, online video, and affiliate programs, Dan Seidman, author of Sales Autopsy: 50 Post-mortems Reveal What Killed the Sale, tackled the challenge of selling books from a digital perspective.  And since all of this extra promotion was coming out of his pocket, and not the book publisher's, Seidman didn't want to spend a lot of money.  So for less than $3000, this is what Seidman did:

• Wrote an email press release
• He produced an online video to supplement the email press release
• He and an assistant scoured industry resources for experts who might want to partner with him on the book
• He pitched a "scratch my back & I'll scratch your back" approach to partnership
• Seidman hired a design specialist to create an email campaign and website
• Through their efforts, Seidman and his assistant created an email list of 12,000
• The email offered recipients a 20% discount on the book and the opportunity to download a free PDF or audio file from the experts Seidman had partnered with

So how did it work out for him?  Sales Autopsy quickly rose to the #4 spot at Barnesandnoble.com and spent 3 days there.  In the business category at the site, Sales Autopsy was the #1 seller during those same three days.  In fact, his publishing company sold out of their initial printings in less than a month.  Seidman also told MarketingSherpa that he thinks he's tripled or quadrupled the advance he'll get on his next book and he's been able to raise his speaking engagement fees by 67%.

I'd say that's a worthwhile ROI of $3000.  Wouldn't you?