Electronic Business book best-selling list illusion: Buying list culture has a long history

Recently, Chen Xiaohui, general manager of Beijing Zhan-LU Culture Communication Co., said on Weibo that the "King of Capital", a book published by its company, was the de facto first in the Amazon Economic management book rankings, implying that "spiritual capital" in front of the book was the top of the list. Industry insiders said that the list is already the unspoken rules of the publishing industry, most publishers in order to pull sales, the use of internal staff to buy back the site books, resulting in book best-selling illusion. The list of books on the website is heavily flooded, many readers in the deception, the big call "no list credible."

Public Secrets

The trend of buying a list is long-standing

"Buying a table is a public secret in the industry," he said. "Xiao Li, who has been an editor for three years in a large publishing house, has a deep understanding of" buying a list ".

After graduating from college in 2008, Xiao Li went to a publishing house. However, in the deep, he found that the publishing industry there are a lot of tricks.

Xiao Li's publishing house is mainly to do the urban emotional category of books, and most of the network novels, "I was almost every day in the busy buying list of things." Xiao Li told reporters, "the company's technology department at least to help us apply for thousands of when, Amazon and Jingdong account, our new books are assigned to editors, responsible for daily purchase."

Xiao Li said that at first he was surprised to buy the table, but later he learned that the original buy more than their own publishing house. "In particular, those who have a better market-oriented large publishing house and the strength of the book company, the list has become commonplace, becoming a common means of operation." Xiao Li said.

Chen Xiaohui told reporters that Amazon ranked in the "King of capital" in front of "the Soul of the", it is through the purchase of gift activities to the front, the publisher through a very low discount to sell the book when, and then when the "full 99 yuan bestseller" Activities of the "soul of this" sent out, by sending out the number of books hit the list first. "It's a kind of buying list, not a natural sale," he said. "Chen Xiaohui said.

Beijing Grinding Iron Book Co., Ltd. a product manager sharply said, when and Jingdong and other list is not a publisher artificially concocted.

Buy List process

Publishers buy books from their own pockets

How do publishers and book companies buy the list? Why do our ordinary readers not notice?

Xiao Li said that after three years of work, to buy the list he has been very adept, "Dangdang to buy a table, for example, generally have the following process: First, the publishers will go to the website to understand the key books of the same book, see how much to buy to ensure that the book in a week into the list of bestsellers. After understanding the situation, the Publisher will register a certain number of numbers (or use existing accounts), assigned to different employees to order the book. After the order was submitted successfully, the comment was followed by a five-star ".

"The cycle is generally 1-2 weeks, not too long, mainly in order to quickly let the new book sales burst, manufacturing best-selling trend, after the list led to later sales." "Xiao Li said that the book sales are directly linked to the performance of book editors, they have to do."

The number of purchases is also related to the degree of focus of the book, the publisher's sales forecasts for new books, and publicity efforts. "As an example, if you want to rush into the top 10 of the total list, the number of buyers needs to reach more than 10,000, buy hundreds of copies a day, if the category list, one day to buy two hundred or three hundred." "Chen Xiaohui said.

"In the process of buying the list, we will also meet with the soldiers of the same." "Xiao Li told reporters, to the top 30 new books, sometimes not by a buy list on the line," they buy more than us, or more praise than we, our book rankings are naturally pressed down. In this case, we have to register more accounts, to increase the amount of the list, while desperately write praise, Chong five-star, resulting in a book is due to the expansion of influence and gradually reach the illusion of selling. Ms. Li said that experienced publishers will be able to operate the entire process is very exciting, and some publishers even to buy the list are written to the company's internal marketing program.

"If it is to Chong" Life five-star list, it is bound to be in a certain period of time to send a large number of five-star comments, the commentary is also to occupy 1-2 pages of the first long commentary, and later in the form of a commentary sucks operation. "Xiao Li talked about the first five-star process to write comments to express a headache," think of all kinds of words, but the theme is to say how good our books, a bad comment, we have to at least 10 of the difference in order to sink it.

False prosperity

Publishers pay to buy a yell

Publishing companies are so keen to buy the list, what is the benefit account?

Take Dangdang as an example, in short, buy the list cost = Book cost-delivery cost, that is, discount of the difference. However, it is not necessarily profitable to buy the list.

Chen Xiaohui told reporters, publishers from the site to buy back books, is actually "loss of business", "for example, the publisher to 50 percent of the price of the book sold to the When, and then 65 percent of the price to buy back, then 15% is to buy the list of publishers to bear." "Most of the time, the publishers buy the list, just make money to buy a yell." "This is just one of the publishers ' marketing costs," says Chen Xiaohui. He believes that book marketing is the need for comprehensive means, buy the list is actually the simplest means, is to fight the human, financial and energy process.

"The books we buy back from the Internet are a lot of repo, and some are sent to other channels." "Xiao Li told reporters, publishers buy and sell, resulting in a lot of waste," some can not live to toss, but also buy a week or so, and then will soon be sunk down.

Although many publishers have been involved in the "buy list", they do not agree on the effect. "Overall, the effect of buying a table is not very good, sometimes we just figure in the heart of peace of mind." "said a publishing manager at a publisher.

The issue manager reluctantly said that, as publishers, they know whether a book can be long sold or rely on the quality of content to support, otherwise it can only be short-term trends and illusion.

Xiao Li said that now more astute readers are through the evaluation to decide whether to buy books, the reader's purchase behavior is increasingly rational, "compared to the evaluation (one or two-star review) more meaningful." A book sold for 1-2 years, it is easy to judge the quality and mishap of the whole book by the difference evaluation.

"In this case, the list is increasingly a thankless thing, a good book, or to rely on content to speak, rely on readers to judge, publishers can not really reverse the market." "said Xiao Li.

The secrets of the industry

90% five-star rate books to buy top

There are readers to reflect, they refer to the book on the Web site to buy books, the hand is a shoddy book, so big call to be fooled.

"For the average reader, it takes some skill to judge whether a book is a really popular book or a publisher's best-selling bestseller." "Xiao Li applies" good mother and good teacher, "the author Yin Jianli A Passage:" If a book can be on the Dangdang to get five-star in 65%-75%, four stars in 15%-20%, add up the rate of praise in 85%-95%, is a good book, if only five star rate of one in more than 90%, Most likely the result of an artificial operation. ”

"More publishers and book companies have had the experience of buying a table, but it is only the difference between the number of buyers and the amount of the list and the duration." Xiao Li told the reporter, buy the book category covers more, from childhood to family. is usually the book company or publishing house in a certain period of time want to focus on the books, the general book is natural sales.

Another publishing House senior editor told reporters that he once analyzed when, Amazon book list Top 30, he Zebian book in the Amazon ranked 11th, but the front only 3 books are natural sales, the rate of 70%.

The general manager of a book company said that in addition to the annual sales list provided by the book, the list of other books is not credible. He refers to the "open book" is the Beijing Open Book Information Technology Co., Ltd. to provide the list, "Open Book list" 1999, is considered to be China's most authoritative bestseller list, covering the vast majority of large and Medium-sized bookstore sales ranking.

"The number of books is certainly credible, but also do not exclude publishers or booksellers to send people to the major bookstores to buy back the book, resulting in the book is very" popular "appearance. "The editor of a publishing house said that there was an obscure book, which shows that when the volume of sales is more than five hundred or six hundred a day, there are only three or four, but it is not normal."

"The bookstore will have to buy the list, mainly with the stacking hook, if the sales reach a certain degree, the book can not be in the best position, so the publishing house will regularly buy in large and medium-sized bookstore." Xiao Li said.

Driving factors

It's all about the advertising effect.

Many publishers pay special attention to the rankings, especially for publishers who make "best sellers", and even become a means to do so.

"The list is naturally good for the list, pulling sales." Chen Xiaohui told reporters, buy the list of shop and ground shop two kinds. Shop to buy the list mainly based on three major considerations: Shop some page set to rely on sales to run out, publishers in order to increase the exposure rate of books to buy a list, such as Dangdang books on the right-hand side of the best-selling list, and then is to hit the list, such as the Amazon's new best-selling list, Dangdang's "near 7th best-selling list", "nearly 30th bestseller For Chinese readers, the list is still a big guide, and the third goal is to "read trends" to guide readers to buy, by making comments and commenting on the five-star list. "For small ground stores, dealers are also based on the list of major websites to purchase." "Chen Xiaohui said.

In order to pull sales, publishers are a painstaking effort. And for the list, a lot of publishing people are also deeply helpless, a publishing house senior editor Jia said, recently, he planned a book because the site rankings have been on the front, and the ground entity sales are not significant, by the industry questioned as "buy table." In this respect, he strongly declared that the book did not "buy the table", and even the other "buy" book "Shake" Out.

But for the peer phenomenon, Jia does not contradict, "if in one months, my book was bought in the top 10 books, I would probably buy." Jia said.

New Classic Cultural original literature editor Jinmalo also said that he had also publicly scolded the purchase, but this does not mean that he has not bought the list or will not buy the list, "This is one of the survival, when needed to use it to occupy position, to earn eyeballs."