You may decide bookstores are the best place to connect with readers. In this case, contact Ingram, the primary wholesaler in the United States to the bookstore market servicing the big chains as well as the independents.
Even if your book is intended for a general audience, don't forget distribution in online channels like amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca and barnesandnoble.com. Book buyers increasingly order books online. Your company website can be a powerful arm of distribution if you build targeted traffic to your site.
Most book publishers focus their marketing efforts on chain bookstores. This would be ideal except that the publishing industry has a policy different from any other retail industry: the returns system. During the Great Depression bookstores were failing, and publishers promised if they would stock their books the stores could return any unsold books to the publisher for credit. This system is still in place today.
Many publishers only market to the bookstores and not the end readers. The result is that books sold aren't final sales and the current publishing industry is in financial trouble. Learn from this mistake and market to your end reader. Whether or not you choose to distribute your books in bookstores, the end reader is the one who ultimately buys the book. Advertise in publications that reach your target reader.
Publishing books on your company's area of expertise gives you greater visibility and credibility by helping potential customers to think of your company first. If your company is just starting out, a published book can help instill confidence in prospective clients and can be given during initial consultations.
If you've created a separate publishing imprint to go on the spine of the book that is distinct from your company name, this raises credibility further in the eyes of the customer. A book can also get your company free press, which will make your branding more powerful.
Though visibility is a main objective for book publishing, profit shouldn't be overlooked. Nonfiction books can become a strong profit stream for your business, especially if you use books to sell services and services to sell books.
If your product or service isn't within the price range of most clients, you can create and publish an information product to help the client solve the problem on her own. This is especially profitable when sold as an ebook from your website.
Many customers will buy an information product to help them take care of a problem your company services, only to find they need additional help. Consulting services may be a middle ground between your full service or product and the information product you're publishing.