Ezra
Ernst, the CEO of Swets North
America, was interviewed this week as part of the SIIA Content Forum.  

He
talked about how The Long Tail applies
to publishing and, specifically, to Swets.

Many
publishers have historically relied on a small percentage of their products to
subsidize the rest. Being unable to
determine in advance which products will be the blockbusters, they produce their
best bets.  

For
a variety of reasons, this results in an inventory of content that can
stagnate.

Ezra
believes that continued sales of less popular or older content can account for
more revenue in publishing than it does now if the content is discoverable and
trusted. 

As
users read and explore links that are presented to them, they find associations
that drive their concept in new directions. They find new ways to explore and new ways to purchase content.

Metadata
(information about the content being viewed) must be incorporated in the
editorial process (during content creation) to insure content assets are
discoverable by potential buyers. 

In
Ezra’s business, usage statistics drive revenue. The more an institution sees its
subscriptions are being used by its members, the more likely they will continue
to subscribe.

The
problem is that institutional members are often unaware of the information
available to them. To increase awareness,
Swets promotes its content directly to end users.  

Stimulating
usage helps librarians defend their budgets and maintain or expand their
subscriptions.

Trust
is critical. Consumers must not only
have content available to them, and be able to find that content easily, but
they also need to know that the content is worth buying.  

For
Swets, in addition to publisher reputation, librarian endorsement is a key
credential.

Supporting
librarians is good business for Swets and, by extension, good business for
their publishing clients!