Marketing James PattersonJames Patterson is a famous mystery author with a unique business strategy: he produces approximately 3 times more books per year than comparable authors and employs unconventional advertising tactics. Patterson's unique writing style and use of co-authors to write multiple books proved effective, generating annual book sales of $120 million. Using his advertising background, Patterson turned his name as an author into a well-known brand. Patterson built his empire by finding a successful method and using it consistently. Each of his books is written in his signature style – short chapters, minimally descriptive text, and suspenseful endings – and Patterson relies on designated readers to critique his works-in-progress to ensure that optimal books are produced. As a result, readers trust that Patterson's books will meet their expectations. There are many channels through which books are distributed. For best-selling fiction, the top three channels are mass merchandisers and price clubs, chain bookstores, and book clubs, which sell 34%, 25%, and 20% of units sold, respectively. The growing popularity of book clubs caught the interest of Patterson and his publisher. Authors receive lower royalty payments through book club purchases than through other channels. However, book clubs also expose new readers to an author in a way that other outlets don't. Patterson realizes that the best way to publicize a book and generate interest from new readers is to create buzz marketing: if the information starts in several groups, it will spread farther through word of mouth than if the information starts in a single group . Patterson would like to create this kind of buzz... middle of paper....... Therefore, Patterson could target his marketing strategy towards science fiction readers and consider an alternative way to reach romance readers. Patterson could also use this information to determine which specific genre of fiction is most popular and consider writing a cross-genre novel within that particular genre. With his advertising background, James Patterson has focused on and used more successful marketing strategies than most authors. Taking into consideration his crime fiction-focused fan base and their purchasing habits, as well as the growth of book sales through book clubs, Patterson's next step should be to combine his proven writing style with new Creative marketing strategies, such as reaching new readers through book club partnerships, to create marketing buzz and expand the group of consumers who choose to purchase his books.