Sit, read, people watch

As I wrote about earlier, the Subscription Economy has been taking over many business models. Here is an example of one that could save a company.

I could see Barnes & Noble implementing a subscription fee that covers reading any book you want in store with additional fees to “check out” a book and take it home with you. Basically, a paid library with much wider and newer selection. Subscribers would be part of the “cool kids club,” have access to great books and have the option of a borrowing fee or a purchasing option as well. The subscription model could include incentives and rewards such as points earned for monthly fees, borrow fees and purchases that could earn free books etc.

Taking a hint from Audiobooks.com, B&N would naturally offer audio books using the same model.

In addition, the exclusivity could be bolstered with events such as book signings, author meetups, game night etc. to make the entire thing be more social.

How is this different than a library? Well, the main thing is that they would focus on the popularity of a book – new releases, highly publicized one etc. Also, they could be given an incentive by publishers and authors to promote their books.  Yes, capitalism would save B&N.

Why not just do it all online like Amazon? Well, there is the sit and people watch portions that Amazon doesn’t offer. Yes, I would spend most of the B&N dollars accessing content online, but there are times when waiting for a client meeting or even a place to meet that client when this would fit the bill perfectly.

by Chris Doelle