Book Marketing Makeover: How Will the Economy Affect Book Sales in 2012?

Blog post via The Economic Collapse

According to The Economic Collapse, here are some economic numbers from 2011 that will not only shock you but could really impact your book sales in 2012.

Note: Sources of these statistics are included in the original post on The Economic Collapse Blog: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/50-economic-numbers-from-2011-that-are-almost-too-crazy-to-believe.

1. 48% of Americans are considered low income or are living in poverty.
2. 57% of all U.S. children are living in homes considered low income or impoverished.
3. If the number of Americans that wanted jobs were the same today as in 2007, the official unemployment rate would be 11%.
4. The average American worker now stays unemployed for over 40 weeks.
5. 77% of small businesses do not plan to hire new workers.
6. There are fewer payroll jobs in the U.S. today than back in 2000 (even though we've added 30 million more people).
7. Accounting for inflation, median household income has dropped by 6.8% since 2007.
8. In December 2006, 16.6 million Americans were self-employed; in December 2011 that number had shrunk to 14.5 million (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
9. Almost 20% of U.S. adults who are currently employed consider themselves underemployed (Gallup Poll).
10. 20% of American adults are currently working jobs that pay poverty-level wages (Paul Osterman).
11. More than 40% of all jobs in the U.S. are low income jobs (no definition of low income).
12. In July 2011, 81.2% of working age men (ages 25 to 54) had a job.
13. One out of 3 Americans would not be able to make their mortgage or rent payment if they lost their current job (a recent survey).
14. The total net worth of U.S. households dropped by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter of 2011 (Federal Reserve).
15. The ratio of household debt to personal income is now 154% (BlackRock Investment Institute).
16. 51% of Americans over the age of 18 are married. In 1960, that percentage was 72% (Pew Research Center).
17. The post office has lost more than $5 billion over the past year. How will you ship your books if they go out of business?
18. New home construction in the U.S. will set an all-time record low in 2011.
19. 19% of men between the ages of 25 and 34 now live with their parents.
20. Electricity bills in the U.S. have risen faster than inflation for five years in a row.
21. Health care costs now account for 16.3% of personal consumption (Bureau of Economic Analysis).
22. 41% of working age Americans are currently paying off medical debt (or are having medical bill problems).
23. The U.S. trade deficit is projected to be $558.2 billion in 2011.
24. 46% of American workers have less than $10,000 saved for retirement (Employee Benefit Research Institute).
25. 16% of elderly Americans live below the federal poverty line.
26. 37% of U.S. households led by someone under the age of 35 have a net worth of zero or less than zero.
27. One out of seven Americans are on food stamps (and one out of four children).
28. 48.5% of Americans live in a household that receives some form of government assistance.
29. Federal spending accounts for 24% of GDP.
30. For three years, the Federal government has had a budget deficit of more than a trillion dollars.
31. The national debt has increased by more than $4.4 trillion in the past three years. The federal debt now stands as more than $15 trillion.
32. If the federal government began right now to repay the national debt at a rate of five dollars per second, it would take over 440,000 years to pay off the national debt.
33. During the Obama administration, the federal government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time George Washington took office to the time Bill Clinton took office. That means approximately 1/3 of our national debt accumulated during the first 200 years. During the next 16 years, that national debt doubled. And, during the last three years, the federal government has accumulated another 1/3 of the total debt. That is an incredible acceleration of debt.

These numbers mean that at least 50% of all Americans probably can't afford your book. And probably won't be able to afford any books for at least another two to five years.

Americans will still be holding back on spending probably for most of 2012 and possibly beyond. That means you really need to understand WHY people might want to buy your book and sell them on the need for your book (either as information, inspiration, education, or entertainment).

About the Source

The Economic Collapse Blog chronicles the changes that have been occurring in the American economy over the past four years as well as the on-going threat to American budgets.

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