From Blog to Book - And Back Again

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In an age where hardcover books are feeling threatened by the web, publishing houses are learning new tricks. Increasingly, Random House and other large publishers have given book deals to web memes from ‘LOLcats’ to ‘Shit My Dad Says’, and have turned back to the web in order to market them.

Random House, in particular, expertly leveraged the power of YouTube with their blog-turned-book, Awkward Family Photos. During pre-sale weeks, authors Mike Bender and Doug Chernack posted videos of Mike’s grandparents reviewing the book on YouTube and used an InVideo campaign to help them go viral.


Soon after, their blog spawned a community of people commiserating and celebrating their awkward family moments. Best of all, the videos landed the book on the NY Times’ bestseller list, right behind ‘The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’.

Co-author Doug Chernack says, “We were screenwriters at the time, and we’d never done a book before. There was no easier way to get something going than YouTube. Since we posted, thousands of people reached out, saying how much they loved the videos and wanting to know when the next would be posted.”

From a marketing perspective, using YouTube’s InVideo Ads was the right choice for Random House in generating buzz for this new book. Their Marketing Manager, Jay Sones, said, “We thought the YouTube ads were a great way to connect the video audience to a print product that they would really enjoy and, based on our ad metrics and book sales, we were right.” Overall, the clickthrough rate on the videos was 0.51%, up 10x that of other creatives. The average cost-per-click was $1.70, and the views and customer engagement were sky high (128,000 views at the time of this posting). Because of its cost-effectiveness, Random House will explore video and other online marketing tactics for their emerging eBook and digital business.

Sones also identified a critical part of the success of this book, “The authors are incredibly talented internet marketers. They’ve got a pitch perfect ear for what’s going to go big on the net. They’ve also got a sharp awareness of their brand and their viewers.” Ask co-author Mike Bender whether it was his talent for web marketing, and he’ll deny it. But he will talk about the authenticity his grandparents brought to their role as spokespeople. “They are who they are, it’s very real, and that’s why people have responded.”

There’s a lesson here for companies looking to launch a new product. Mike Bender said it best; “You have the opportunity to do something really creative to get the word out. Folks can smell when someone’s just trying to sell them something. Make them laugh and you’re 95% there.”
Kate Rose, YouTube Communications recently watched AFP Grandparents: Behind The Awkwardness