• by Ken Liebeskind , April 30, 2001

E-books may never be as popular as hard covers or paperbacks, but they might make a good marketing tool.

That's the idea of Stealth Press, a book publisher that will send out an e-book in a .pdf file to promote the sale of a new book. The campaign begins in a few days.

The Lancaster, PA company, which sells its books online (stealthpress.com) instead of in book stores, will release Darkness Divided, a short story collection by John Shirley, by sending one of the stories as a .pdf file to about 500 Web sites. Visitors to the sites can open the file to read the story, then click on over 20 links to order the book, visit the company's home page, read an author bio and more.

Visitors are encouraged to email the file to friends, the viral element being one of the most important parts of the promotion. It's "peer to peer marketing," according to Roy Smith, Stealth's vice president of marketing, who notes book buying enthusiasts often send material they read online to friends. "Readers and visitors advocating it, that's the way it gets around," he says.

Visitors sharing the file makes it a "grass roots campaign," Smith says. It also makes it a voluntary form of advertising. "Most Web advertising is like a direct assault, but here we've gained their permission to market. They've invited us in with the e-book."

The company will send the .pdf file to a database of sites it developed itself. It's a database of horror, suspense and reader communities that mirror the subjects of Stealth Press books.

The company, which is less than two years old, has tried other forms of online advertising, from banners to opt in email to sponsorships. Smith bemoans all of them, saying they drew some response but "haven't worked well enough to continue." He claims the peer to peer approach is the best form of online book marketing. "When readers advocate the books they enjoy, that's the best way the Net works."

One of the best elements of the e-book promotion is cost, since there is none. "Making the file was very inexpensive and there's no other cost," Smith says.

The company has coded the links to the .pdf file so it can determine which ones work best. It will avoid using the ones that don't work in future efforts. Speaking of future efforts, the company plans to promote future new books the same way, with e-book promotions. "We'll do it on all our books going forward, it's a major effort for us," Smith says. "It's an aspect of promoting the company and getting the name out."

- Ken Liebeskind may be reached at kenrunz@aol.com