Literary Marketing in Transition: How Books Gain Visibility Today

How can literature be successfully marketed today? Author and marketing expert Tommy B. Brandl, a former Interbrand marketer and author, discusses contemporary literary marketing, opportunities for local bookstores, cultural responsibility, and the use of digital tools in an interview with Prof. Dr. Bert Neumeister from the Digital Marketing master’s program at the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol. He explains why clear brands, distinctive profiles, and bold strategies are crucial for the future of the book industry - and how new formats like self-publisher speed dating foster dialogue between retailers, authors, and readers.

The interview serves as a basis for discussion in the Marketing Strategy & Planning course and highlights how important individuality and bold marketing are for the industry.

YOU ARE A BOOK AUTHOR YOURSELF AND PREVIOUSLY WORKED IN MARKETING AT INTERBRAND. HOW HAS THIS DUAL PERSPECTIVE - AS A MARKETER AND A CREATIVE - SHAPED YOUR VIEW OF LITERARY MARKETING AND BRAND MANAGEMENT IN THE BOOK INDUSTRY?

Tommy B. Brandl: It has made it very clear to me that we live in a world of multiple realities that are drifting further apart every day. Just by looking at the top 100 brands in the Interbrand ranking, you can already see how enormous the differences are in the understanding of marketing and brand management. Local bookstores, meanwhile, operate in a completely different time frame. It’s like comparing an atomic clock to a sundial. In my opinion, these differences contribute massively to the already highly heterogeneous distribution of profits in the book industry. While large online retailers invest millions in marketing, local retailers sometimes struggle to even cover the cost of a Canva license for modern social media content. I find this development tragic, because it’s a vicious cycle that keeps spiraling out of control. A lack of expertise and resources leads to less time and budget, which in turn limits resources. Local retailers, and bookstores in particular, could really use a new generation of marketers who are eager to make an immediate, tangible difference here with creative ideas - while selling books at the same time. And speaking from firsthand experience: It’s a lot of fun.

YOU HAVE LAUNCHED AN UNUSUAL FORMAT INVOLVING SPEED DATING BETWEEN BOOKSTORES AND SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHORS. WHAT DOES THIS PROJECT SAY ABOUT NEW APPROACHES TO MARKETING LITERATURE - AND WHAT CAN TRADITIONAL MARKETING DISCIPLINES LEARN FROM IT?

Brandl: To me, local bookstores are so much more than just places to buy books. Bookstores are cultural hubs, third places, or good places, as sociologist Harald Welzer would say - spaces that facilitate dialogue and exchange while supporting and protecting our democracy. They are the gathering places we so often miss in our online lives and simply overlook amid the hustle and bustle of daily life, precisely because they aren’t omnipresent through advertising. The Self-Publisher Speed Dating event is my attempt to consistently follow through on this vision. If the greatest USP of local retail is cultural and artistic diversity, then it only makes sense to partner with authors who embody precisely that diversity. Self-publishing is not subject to market-driven pressures. Most independently published books can undoubtedly hold their own against traditionally published books; they are often just as well-edited or have been written over years of dedicated work, but they are simply freer, bolder, and more creative. Building a much-needed bridge here and bringing together the worlds of independent retail and independent authors was, for me, a crystal-clear win-win situation and an example of how cultural identity is linked not only to product selection but also to brand positioning. Or, in marketing terms: purpose-driven brand leadership with a focus on clearly defined target groups, compatible value systems, and a product portfolio tailored to them. And what others can learn from this: Contemporary marketing is always a political statement, especially in an industry that stands so directly for democracy and freedom of expression.

BOOKSTORES TODAY FACE STIFF COMPETITION FROM ONLINE RETAILERS. FROM A COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE, WHERE DO YOU SEE THE KEY ADDED VALUE OF BRICK-AND-MORTAR BOOKSTORES - AND HOW WELL ARE YOU ABLE TO CONVEY THIS?

Brandl: I believe the true strength of local bookstores lies in their ability to enrich the cultural diversity of local communities. Sure, ordering from local stores is also much more environmentally friendly because it cuts down on shipping and transportation while still getting your order the next day, but the real added value is the cultural benefit. Many bookstores are fully aware of this and do a great deal - from readings, events, concerts, book clubs, collaborations with schools and libraries, and so on. However, the marketing of these activities often gets bogged down in the stressful, analog daily routine of the retail business and thus fails to achieve the digital reach that today’s world demands. As the saying goes: If something can’t be found on Google (or ChatGPT), it didn’t happen. However, I see an even bigger problem for local retail in the dwindling number of local public platforms - such as the local press, radio, community newsletters, etc. Once the most important platforms for local culture, they have now been replaced in many places by Facebook groups. Many people, myself included, are thus withdrawing from these platforms, creating a disconnect from local culture that is almost impossible to compensate for.

MANY BOOKSTORES DELIBERATELY INCLUDE TITLES IN THEIR INVENTORY THAT DO NOT ALIGN WITH CURRENT PUBLISHING TRENDS. WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DOES THIS PRESENT FOR DIFFERENTIATION AND BRAND BUILDING - ESPECIALLY IN COMPARISON TO ALGORITHM-DRIVEN ONLINE PLATFORMS?

Brandl: The more unique a small bookstore’s selection is, the more personalized the advice, and the more carefully curated the display, the better it can distinguish itself from online retailers. Of course, this means that the selection can’t consist solely of bestsellers. You can get those online at the same price without having to leave your home. That’s a convenience advantage that can’t be matched when the selection is the same and prices are fixed due to book price fixing. This brings me back to cultural identity: If my brand purpose is to foster cultural diversity, acceptance, and human connection through literature, my selection cannot and must not consist of interchangeable products. It must embody individuality, also and above all because you can’t get these books everywhere. Every single book contributes to the store’s identity and atmosphere. After all, that’s what many people expect from bookstores: to take on the role of a treasure hunt and, through recommendations, point out the most beautiful clearings in the forest of available titles.

NEWCOMERS ARE OFTEN FORCED TO HANDLE THEIR OWN MARKETING. WHAT SKILLS IN COMMUNICATION AND BRAND BUILDING DO YOU CONSIDER ESSENTIAL FOR AUTHORS TODAY?

Brandl: No matter how you publish - whether through a traditional publisher, self-publishing, under your real name, or using multiple pen names - and however you define success for yourself: if you want to stand out in the crowded book market, you need to master personal branding and social media. When I’m standing in front of the display at a bookstore, the first books I reach for are those by authors I know. Either because I’ve already read something by them, but increasingly also because I might follow them on Instagram or TikTok and like what they’re doing and saying there. Conversely, this means that as an author, you don’t just have to be active on social media - you also have to offer something that no one else is doing. You have to be recognizable, authentic, and present. Regardless of whether you’re published by a traditional publisher or self-published - though the latter, of course, relies on this even more. That alone won’t make you a bestselling author, but it’s an important building block on the long, long road toward that goal.

IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AHEAD TO THE FUTURE: HOW WILL LITERARY MARKETING CHANGE OVER THE NEXT FIVE TO TEN YEARS - AND WHAT ROLE WILL BOOKSTORES, AUTHORS, AND PLATFORMS EACH PLAY IN THIS PROCESS?

Brandl: The most pressing issue is undoubtedly AI. What lies ahead for creatives across all industries will be a massive challenge. While the benefits - especially for small businesses with limited marketing resources - are obvious, the danger to literature, and every other form of art, should not be underestimated. More than ever, we must decide what literature should be: a product aimed at the mass market? Then, let’s go - AI bestsellers every three months, as long as they’re plentiful and reliable, but without any cultural or social value. Or should literature - and I explicitly include entertainment literature here - be more than just a pretty decorative item on a shelf? That is precisely what is at stake here. I am firmly convinced that we will win this battle for one of the most important cultural achievements in human history - free, human literature - only with even more courage and even more creativity. Stories written using tropes and structural formulas replicated a thousand times over will be churned out by AI in just a few minutes within five years, and AI will be able to market them as bestsellers itself. Our goal as human authors must therefore be to consciously break these rules more often or reinterpret them. Less replicability and more individuality. More courage, more discomfort, more raw art. And then to market it with the necessary discomfort. Only then will the book market offer a product in the long term that is still worth the production cost of a human with flaws. It remains to be seen which path the major gatekeepers of the market, both online and offline, will take, and how long readers will follow them in the direction of AI-canned literature.