The Publishing Performance Show Matt Briel of Lulu.com – How to Create and Sell Spiral Bound Books with Print on Demand
Matt Briel is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Lulu.com, a self-publishing platform that has been a leader in print-on-demand technology since 2002. Founded by tech entrepreneur Bob Young, Lulu specializes in direct sales solutions and offers unique publishing options that major distributors don't provide—most notably spiral bound (coil bound) books. With global print networks across the US, UK, France, Australia, and other markets, Lulu enables authors to sell books directly through Shopify integrations while maintaining the flexibility to offer multiple formats and trim sizes. Matt brings extensive knowledge of alternative publishing formats and direct-to-consumer strategies for self-published authors.
In this episode:
- What Lulu is and how it differs from KDP and other print-on-demand platforms
- Why Amazon and Ingram don't distribute spiral bound books
- The production process: why coil bound books print faster than perfect bound
- Best book categories for spiral binding: cookbooks, workbooks, planners, journals
- Pricing breakdown: coil bound costs between paperback and hardcover
- Case study: Author selling 300 spiral bound planners per month
- Case study: Cricut pattern guide selling 900 units monthly (21,000 total in 2 years)
- Why niche audiences respond well to utilitarian coil bound content
- How to sell spiral bound books on Amazon (merchant seller fulfillment)
- Offering multiple formats: hardcover, paperback, and spiral bound variations
- Low content and no content books: free downloadable planner interiors
- Global printing networks that reduce shipping costs and customs issues
- Lulu's 250,000 spiral bound books printed this year (growing annually)
- Free resources and interior file templates on Lulu
Resources Mentioned:
- Lulu.com print-on-demand platform
- Lulu Shopify plugin for direct sales
- Global print network facilities (US, UK, France, Australia)
- Free downloadable interior files and templates
- Lulu cover creator tool
- WooCommerce and Wix integrations
Book recommendations:
- "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King
- "Write, Publish, Repeat" by Lynette Greenfield
Connect with Lulu:
- Website: https://www.lulu.com/
- Lulu.com Customer Service: https://help.lulu.com/en/support/tickets/new
- Direct Sales Plugins Available Through Lulu
- Shopify plugins: https://www.lulu.com/sell/sell-on-your-site/shopify
- Wix integration: https://www.lulu.com/sell/sell-on-your-site/wix
- WooCommerce integration: https://www.lulu.com/sell/sell-on-your-site/woocommerce
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- @teddyagsmith
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