Learn about long tail marketing and developing your niche.

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Product Description

"The Long Tail" is a powerful new force in our economy: the rise of the niche. As the cost of reaching consumers drops dramatically, our markets are shifting from a one-size-fits-all model of mass appeal to one of unlimited variety for unique tastes. From supermarket shelves to advertising agencies, the ability to offer vast choice is changing everything, and causing us to rethink where our markets lie and how to get to them. Unlimited selection is revealing truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it, from DVDs at Netflix to songs on iTunes to advertising on Google. However, this is not just a virtue of online marketplaces; it is an example of an entirely new economic model for business, one that is just beginning to show its power. After a century of obsessing over the few products at the head of the demand curve, the new economics of distribution allow us to turn our focus to the many more products in the tail, which collectively can create a new market as big as the one we already know. The Long Tail is really about the economics of abundance. New efficiencies in distribution, manufacturing, and marketing are essentially resetting the definition of whats commercially viable across the board. If the 20th century was about hits, the 21st will be equally about niches.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4598 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-11
• Released on: 2006-07-11
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Wired editor Anderson declares the death of "common culture"—and insists that it's for the best. Why don't we all watch the same TV shows, like we used to? Because not long ago, "we had fewer alternatives to compete for our screen attention," he writes. Smash hits have existed largely because of scarcity: with a finite number of bookstore shelves and theaters and Wal-Mart CD racks, "it's only sensible to fill them with the titles that will sell best." Today, Web sites and online retailers offer seemingly infinite inventory, and the result is the "shattering of the mainstream into a zillion different cultural shards." These "countless niches" are market opportunities for those who cast a wide net and de-emphasize the search for blockbusters. It's a provocative analysis and almost certainly on target—though Anderson's assurances that these principles are equally applicable outside the media and entertainment industries are not entirely convincing. The book overuses its examples from Google, Rhapsody, iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and eBay, and it doesn't help that most of the charts of "Long Tail" curves look the same. But Anderson manages to explain a murky trend in clear language, giving entrepreneurs and the rest of us plenty to think about. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine
In The Long Tail, Chris Anderson offers a visionary look at the future of business and common culture. The long-tail phenomenon, he argues, will "re-shape our understanding of what people actually want to watch" (or read, etc.). While Anderson presents a fascinating idea backed by thoughtful (if repetitive) analysis, many critics questioned just how greatly the niche market will rework our common popular culture. Anderson convinced most reviewers in his discussion of Internet media sales, but his KitchenAid and Lego examples fell flat. A few pointed out that online markets constitute just 10 percent of U.S. retail, and brick-and-mortar stores will never disappear. Anderson's thesis came under a separate attack by Lee Gomes in his Wall Street Journal column. Anderson had defined the "98 Percent Rule" in his book to mean that no matter how much inventory is made available online, 98 percent of the items will sell at least once. Yet Gomes cited statistics that could indicate that, as the Web and Web services become more mainstream, the 98 Percent Rule may no longer apply: "Ecast [a music-streaming company] told me that now, with a much bigger inventory than when Mr. Anderson spoke to them two years ago, the quarterly no-play rate has risen from 2% to 12%. March data for the 1.1 million songs of Rhapsody, another streamer, shows a 22% no-play rate; another 19% got just one or two plays." If Anderson overreaches in his thesis, he has nonetheless written "one of those business books that, ironically, deserves more than a niche readership" (Houston Chronicle).

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc.

From AudioFile
Anderson's premise that Internet-based retailing and personal expression enable much wider variety and more profitable niche markets and, thus, are killing a formerly "hit-driven" culture and retail world is somewhat controversial. (Just Google THE LONG TAIL.) But this audiobook presents the argument well, with much detail and many current (late 2005) examples. Christopher Nissley's reading style fits the content; he's clipped and staccato, like Anderson's writing. His narration is helpful to the listener who prefers not to get bogged down in the theoretical and technical parts of the book. Anderson himself reads the introduction, and there's a brief author interview at the end of Disc 7, plus downloadable copies of the book's graphics. T.F. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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Customer Reviews

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
This is a very informative book and helps one to understand the logic behind online retailers. I learned about the "long tail" topic during my graduate studies and had the opportunity to read Chris Anderson's book on the entire topic. I decided to take this opportunity to explore the topic in greater detail and found the book to be very insightful and intuitive. The book explains all the things scholars are inclined to believe and helps us to put everything else into perspective. Mr. Anderson gives insight into industry terminology (i.e. "watercooler effect") to help communicate certain phenomena and to give the concept definition. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to explore and learn from such a magnificent author and educator. With all that I have learned from the text, I plan to utilize its contents in the "real world" to help others understand its implications for the future in retail.

The Long Book from a Short Article
PROS: Well written, fluid prose, clear headers guide the reader, useful observations on how the Internet has changed many industries, excellent for the business reader and entrepreneur.

CONS: Although the author generally writes in a concise writing style (which is nice), the book could be even shorter. Indeed, it grew out of a Wired article.

CONCLUSION: The reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that I wasn't left amazed and blown away. It's a nice book. Well written and researched. Get it if you're an entrepreneur or you love to read how the Net disrupts industries. If you're only moderately interested in these subjects, then just read the Wired article and/or the user comments on this book.

In Theory, Communism Works...
Where do I start?

I was really looking forward to reading "The Long Tail". I believe if I read "The World Is Flat" after I read this book, I would enjoy it more. After reading the Friedman book, and seeing the mostly recycled studies and facts Anderson uses here to justify his argument, I feel like I was reading the same book all over again. Ditto on Wikinomics, but I digress.

Here's the real problem with this book: There is a major assumption on Anderson's part that regular people like you and I can create content and sell it. Even if its bad, someone will buy it. Maybe, but no where does Anderson or any of these web futurists ever touch on how to fund such productions (and the fact that most of us will never be able to afford participating in the new web economy.) All this book really does is fuel an Internet gold rush, all the while making authors like Anderson rich for selling us a bill of goods and Silicon dreams.