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01.24.2006
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Volume Four
Issue One
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Welcome to our January Monthly Update.
This edition features an interview with the National Book Foundation's
Senior Program Officer, Technology, who shares how e-mail and the
Web are re-shaping the Foundation's outreach potential, and how they've come to achieve some stunning open rates. Read on...
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Client Feature: The National Book Foundation
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Meredith Andres, Senior Program Officer, Technology for the National Book Foundation
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PMail Client Since: September 2004
Starting e-list size: 1,600
Current e-list size: 3,400
In the
spring of 1989, with The National Book Awards extant for nearly 40
years, the Awards' Board of Directors determined that the moment had come to
broaden the scope of the organization beyond the single focus of
literary recognition. Acknowledging the importance of reading and
writing to citizens of all ages and backgrounds - and the profound gap
between the literary community and readers living in underserved
communities - the Awards' trustees established The
National Book Foundation to raise the cultural appreciation of great
writing in America.
Since then, the Foundation has continued to fulfill this mission through
The National Book Awards (the nation's preeminent literary prize recognizing exceptional books written
by Americans) as well as through its unique outreach programs featuring
National Book Award authors - who work with different communities to enhance the
writing life of the nation by reading and writing together.
In the Q & A that follows, Meredith Andrews, the Foundation's
Senior Program Officer, Technology explains how e-mail is helping the
Foundation to further its mission.
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Q & A with Meredith Andrews, Senior Program Officer, Technology for The National Book Foundation
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NBA winner for Fiction (with NBA sticker) and Norman Mailer speaking from the podium at this year's National Book Awards.
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To begin, Meredith, tell us about your role at The National Book Foundation.
My
title is Senior Program Officer, Technology. I started working for the
National Book Foundation when I was in college as an intern in 1995 and
began full time after I graduated in 1997. Currently I am in charge of
all things technical, both hardware and software. I launched the
Foundation's website in 1998 and orchestrated its recent redesign. I am
also responsible for the design and distribution of the Foundation's
monthly eNewsletter.
I also serve as the Foundation's licensing rights director. For a
fee, the National Book Awards provides publishers with the finalist
(silver) and winner (gold) stickers seen on the book jackets. I
work with the publishers and retailers to provide either the stickers
or licenses for the use of the National Book Award image since
publishers often prefer to print the image directly onto the dusk
jacket or cover to save the cost and labor of stickering the books.
I also work with television or movie studios who require use of the image (they've been used as a prop in Law & Order and the movie One True Thing).
The use of the stickers is considered earned income for the Foundation
and proceeds go to support our educational outreach programs and
general operating costs.
The Foundation offers several different programs and initiatives. Can you tell us about them?
Beyond our Book Awards, we also present a wide range of programs for many different segments of the population.
Our Settlement House and Family Literacy program works with
New York City schools and community centers by bringing award winning
authors in to meet with these groups. Students (many of whom have never
owned a book) are provided the author's books prior to the visit, so
they are prepared to discuss the author's work. Each residency is
tailored to the author's strengths and the participants' needs, and
often includes writing workshops, question and answer sessions with the
author about their work, and readings.
The Foundation also provides public programming to libraries and
cultural institutions across the country where authors read from their
works and discuss the writing life. Each program offers the audience
the opportunity to speak with the author through a question and answer
segment. Upcoming events feature National Book Award winners and
finalists at
the Brooklyn Public Library, Princeton Public Library and Concordia
College in Moorhead, Minnesota.
Now in its second year, the Foundation and Brooklyn Academy of Music will present nine acclaimed authors for Eat, Drink & Be Literary: Dinner and a Reading in BAMcafé, a literary program featuring an author reading, participant and audience discussion and a gourmet meal.
You
have recently launched an interesting partnership with Powell's
Bookstore - that deals with more than just books! Can you explain
what's involved here?
The Foundation is constantly
looking at new technology and trying to see how we can utilize it to
benefit our mission and further our outreach. The Foundation has formed
a new partnership with Powells.com that allows us to podcast portions of our author events through The Bookcast at Powells.com - the bookstore's monthly podcast available for free through both Powells.com and iTunes.
This months Bookcast highlights Toni Morrison's presentation of the Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to Norman Mailer at the 2005 National Book Awards.
The Foundation also highlights featured authors on www.nationalbook.org and provides additional audio, transcripts and photos.
E-mail
has become a central part of the Foundation's outreach efforts. It
allows our organization to have a national presence and to disburse
information instantaneously.
A prime example is the National Book Awards. Just a few years ago the
Foundation would spread the news about the winners and finalists
through fax and phone calls. We relied heavily on the press and wire
services for publicity.
With e-mail, we can let our e-list subscribers know who the winners are the same evening they are
announced! The names are posted on our Web site as they are read on stage at
the Awards ceremony and an e-mail is sent naming the winners to
everyone on our mailing list (about 3,000), so subscribers are able to find out who
the winners are before it even hits the papers! This year we had an open rate of 43.2%.
E-mail is a vital tool in the marketing of the Foundation's
programs. We use e-mail to make all of our major announcements like:
- Our Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Recipient (Norman Mailer) and the creation of a new award, The Literarian. This got a 42.2% open rate and a click thru rate of 1.2%.
- The 20 Finalists for the 2005 National Book Awards. This had a 47.9% open rate and a click thru rate of 3.8%!
We also send out a monthly newsletter highlighting upcoming author events and
programs and providing details about the Awards program and new
partnerships and projects. We've had great responses to our campaigns, which has allowed us to all but retire our fax machine!
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Click here to visit the National Book Foundation's Web site
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Please watch for our next Monthly Update, coming February 28, 2006.
Our mailing address is: 850 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019
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