Would you read them on the ferry? Would you read them on a Blackberry? As silly as it sounds, these are the types of questions that the folks behind DailyLit, Bit o’ Lit and Random House Audio’s “Make Your Commute More…” campaign have started taking very seriously. Each contender has respectively come up with some clever ways to help publishers squeeze books back into the quotidian grind. Below we save you (even more!) time by giving you the lowdown on each of their strategies…
The Practical Approach:
The Gimmick: Daily bite-sized installments of books served up straight to your virtual inbox via e-mail or RSS feed.
The Selection: Over 1000 classic and contemporary books (Titles in the public domain,plus various publishers including Berlitz, Harlequin and Chronicle Books)
Who Pays What: Public domain books are free. Copyrighted books require a small fee(on average around $5). CEO Susan Danziger told Publishing Trends that they
were exploring sponsorship as a way to defray that fee.
Extras: Reader rating system; public reading groups on Twitter; Wikipedia tours
The HyperLocal Approach:
The Gimmick: Washington, DC-based campaign to promote new books by handing out booklets of excerpts to commuters each week
The Selection: Primarily local authors, authors on tour (book events are advertised) and titles tailored to the D.C. market
Who Pays What: Free for commuters. Publishers pay advertising costs. Print and online advertising also available.
Extras: Excerpts also available online; events, feature articles and word searches featured in the back
The Marketing 101 Approach: 
The Gimmick: Summertime campaign to promote audiobook listening by highlighting new titles and bestsellers that fall under one of a series of adjectives (ie thrilling,profitable, magical, entertaining, etc.). Bookstores, libraries and warehouse stores will feature posters, displays and branded (apparently pungent) air fresheners
The Selection: 64 designated Random House Audio titles (i.e. Stephanie Meyer’s Breaking Dawn as “entertaining”; Sebastian Faulks’ Devil May Care as “adventurous”)
Who Pays What: RH will focus on print media, radio sponsorship and online presence. Available at all the usual retailers
Extras: Free audio samples on www.MakeYourCommuteMore.com; the aforementioned air fresheners
UPDATE: DailyLit announced today that it launched its corporate sponsorship program by collaborating with GalleryCollection.com to make College Knowledge: 101 Tips, a college guide book, available for free.
