Page 77 -

THE LONG TAIL

71

PATTERNS

A New Model

Lulu.com turned the traditional bestseller-centric publishing model on
its head by enabling anyone to publish. Lulu.com’s business model is platform communities
of interest
development
based on helping niche and amateur authors bring their work to market. online
logistics profi le niche
It eliminates traditional entry barriers by providing authors the tools to self-publish- authors
ing services
craft, print, and distribute their work through an online marketplace. This - marketplace
niche
contrasts strongly with the traditional model of selecting “market-worthy” platform for niche audiences
content
work. In fact, the more authors Lulu.com attracts, the more it succeeds, print-on- lulu.com
demand
because authors become customers. In a nutshell, Lulu.com is a multi- infrastruc-
ture
sided platform (see p. 76) that serves and connects authors and readers
with a Long Tail of user-generated niche content. Thousands of authors
platform management sales commissions (low)
use Lulu.com’s self-service tools to publish and sell their books. This & development publishing service fees
works because books are printed only in response to actual orders. The
failure of a particular title to sell is irrelevant to Lulu.com, because such
a failure incurs no costs.

!"#$%&'(%)*+(%,,---91 /012013---2452-67