Sunday, 7 August 2005
Nat, Nat the Nantucket Cat
« The WOM Marketing Paradox | Main | Branding for Analytics: Another Reason Vista is a Stupid Name »I'm on Nantucket Island for the weekend. I have business in Hartford on Monday and my inlaws happen to already be here so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. It's an amazing, beautiful, and interesting place. It's peaceful. You can't help but become re-energized when you're here. It's wonderful.
Earlier today I was in Nantucket town (the main town on the island) and there was a small street sale of season's end clothing and such. Near the street was a table set up with two neat stacks of children's books. One stack was “Nat, Nat, the Nantucket Cat” and the other was the sequel to the first “Nat, Nat the Nantucket Cat Goes to the Beach”. One of the authors, Peter Barnes was there signing books. (His wife Cheryl Barnes is the other author.)
I talked with Peter for a few minutes. I really liked him. He and his wife started their publishing company VSP Books! in 1992. They specialize in books for young children that teach about special and/or historic places. They have many books focused on places in and around Washington, D.C. Peter's parents moved to Nantucket about 30 years ago and he and his wife have recently moved to the Island themselves and are now full-time writers/publishers.
During our conversation Peter mentioned Seth Godin and cited his book Permission Marketing as his marketing strategy. Although he had never heard the phrase The Long Tail, Peter and his wife understand it intuitively. “I'm not interested in having our books in Barnes & Nobel with 5,000 other children's books.” he said “We want to sell them directly. It's Permission Marketing 101.”
I bought one of their books (Nat, Nat the Nantucket Cat Goes to the Beach) and he signed it with a wonderful inscription – something he and his wife will do for any book ordered from their web site. The book is wonderful and I highly recommend it. I have since been to their website and browsed their entire library. It looks like some great kids books – books with stories and pictures that are just as fun as more whimsical books, but these books teach children a sense of civic responsibility and historical perspective at the same time.
I encourage you to go to the VSP Books! website if you have or know young children that might enjoy a new book.
