It’s every author’s dream to see their book reach as many readers as possible. But selling a book directly to readers is always a daunting challenge. One publishing company, Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream, is changing the landscape with a new approach to publishing used a direct-to-consumer model that’s quickly changing the way publishers and authors promote their books.
Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream, also known as PDIC Books, is a San Diego-based children’s book publisher. What sets it apart is its newfangled approach to the publishing model, which has benefitted both the company and its authors alike. To date, the company has distributed millions of children’s books through a marketing tactic called direct-to-consumer. Instead of only relying on traditional sales channels like bookstores and big box retailers, the company mainly depends on selling direct to their readers. Currently, over 75% of its book sales come from its in-house website and digital marketing strategies.
At the doorstep of the digital age, innovative companies have looked to e-commerce as an entryway to more growth. Puppy Dogs & Ice Cream happens to be one of them. But they aren’t new players in the digital market as PDIC Books has been around since November 2017. In their first month, they sold 5,000 copies of a single children’s book. Company revenue hit $1.45 million by the time 2018 rolled in. Today, PDIC continues to grow as it has passed 2m books sold in the last 12 months.
All this began through the vision of one man, Jason Kutasi, who conceptualized an approach that takes out the middleman and puts more premium on directly reaching the customers through social media and other digital platforms.
“I don’t really think of ourselves as disruptors, but just a publisher who doesn’t conform to the old rules of the industry,” company CEO Jason Kutasi shares. “We didn’t do it intentionally. We also didn’t invent e-commerce, but simply bolted e-commerce onto a vertical, children’s books, that doesn’t have the same margins as most e-commerce businesses. So I guess we just managed to figure some things out in order to sell kid’s books directly to readers.”
Another direct to consumer approach for authors and publishers is to print and market their books through Amazon. Still, most might find that standing out in the large marketplace can be tricky, and given the tight margins, advertising can quickly drain one’s budget. While two out of every ten books sold by PDIC happens through Amazon, without and ad spend on Amazon, they aren’t wholly dependent on it and can still drive significant sales on their own. “We get way more reach and scale with Facebook, Google, YouTube, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok than we can get on Amazon,” adds Kutasi.
Children’s book authors who work with Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream have also been benefactors to a model that puts the author first. PDIC Books handles 100% of all marketing and publishing costs, taking all the risks out of an author’s pocket. Once an author publishes a sequel with PDIC, the publishing and book marketing company can promote that sequel to the people who bought the writer’s previous titles, increasing customer lifetime value and building stronger relationships with its readers.
PDIC likes to focus on “books with a purpose” and works with authors that create stories with a meaningful and educational value. By doing so, Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream hopes to work with authors to help children grow to be the best versions of themselves.
Learn more about publishing with Puppy Dogs and Ice Cream by visiting its website puppydogsandicecream.com.
