If you are a Christian author, you need to know about Anchor Distributors. This company is one of the absolute best for distributing your faith-based book to your target readers.
But how does Anchor Distributors work? Is it worth signing up for?
Let’s take a look at the details of this company in this full review of Anchor Distributors.
What is Anchor Distributors?
Anchor Distributors is a company primarily involved in the distribution of Christian products, including books, Bibles, gifts, music, and other related materials. It serves a wide range of customers such as bookstores, churches, and individual consumers.
Founded in the 1970s, Anchor Distributors has established itself as a key player in the wholesale distribution of Christian resources. The company works with publishers, authors, and product creators to supply Christian-themed content to a variety of retail outlets.
In addition to physical products, Anchor Distributors also offers digital content and other resources tailored to Christian ministries and organizations.
Anchor Distributors services
Anchor Distributors offers a variety of services focused on distributing Christian products to both retail outlets and individual consumers. Some of their key services include:
Wholesale distribution
Anchor Distributors serves as a wholesaler of Christian books, Bibles, music, gifts, and other faith-based products. They supply these products to Christian bookstores, church gift shops, ministries, and other retail outlets.
Product catalog
The company offers an extensive catalog of Christian resources, which includes books (from authors, devotionals, and study guides), Bibles, music, gifts, educational tools, and church supplies. These catalogs are available both in print and online.
Custom orders and special requests
Anchor works with churches, ministries, and organizations to fulfill bulk orders, special product requests, and custom merchandise for events or promotional purposes.
Digital products and eBooks
In addition to physical products, Anchor Distributors offers digital resources like eBooks, downloadable sermons, audio content, and other online faith-based materials.
Shipping and fulfillment
Anchor provides efficient order fulfillment and shipping services to its retail partners, ensuring timely delivery of bulk orders.
Customer support
They offer customer support for both retailers and individual consumers. This includes assistance with ordering, product information, and tracking orders.
Ministry resources
Anchor Distributors provides a range of resources for churches and ministries, including study materials, sermon resources, and faith-based educational content.
Promotional materials
For retailers, they offer promotional materials and tools to help market Christian products effectively in stores or through online platforms.
Partnerships with authors
They collaborate with Christian publishers, authors, and ministries to bring a wide array of
Christian literature and resources to a broad audience.
Anchor Distributors costs
The cost to work with Anchor Distributors as an author primarily depends on the specific arrangement and type of partnership you’re seeking.
Anchor Distributors is a wholesaler and distributor, so they generally operate under a business-to-business model, which means they would be handling the distribution of your books or other products, rather than publishing them directly. As such, authors typically don’t pay to work with Anchor Distributors, but here are some key considerations:
Distribution fees
Authors generally don’t need to pay upfront fees to have their books distributed by Anchor Distributors. Instead, the company typically works on a commission or percentage basis. This means that when books are sold through Anchor, they take a percentage of the revenue (often referred to as a “wholesale discount”).
The specific terms of this arrangement, including the percentage they take, would be negotiated between the author (or the author’s publisher) and Anchor.
If you are a self-published author, you may need to manage the publishing and production costs of your book before distribution. However, once your book is printed and ready for distribution, working with Anchor would typically involve no direct fees. Instead, the distributor would sell your book at a discounted rate to bookstores or retailers, and you would earn royalties based on sales.
Inventory & shipping costs
If Anchor Distributors is handling physical products (books, gifts, etc.), you, as the author or publisher, would need to provide inventory. The costs of printing, storing, and shipping inventory to Anchor Distributors may be your responsibility.
If you’re working with a traditional publisher, they will usually manage these logistical costs.
Payment terms
You will likely receive payments based on book sales, minus any commission or fees taken by Anchor. The specific payment terms, including how often payments are made (e.g., monthly, quarterly) and the commission percentage, would be outlined in your contract with Anchor Distributors.
How to get started with Anchor Distributors
It’s easy to create an account on Anchor Distributors’ website. You can also reach out directly to Anchor Distributors via their contact information. You can inquire about their distribution process and terms for authors or publishers interested in working with them. This can typically be done through email or a contact form on their website.
Once you have an account or have made contact with the company, you need to provide details about your book. This includes:
- Book title
- Book description
- Genre
- Author bio
- ISBN or other identifying numbers
- A digital or physical copy of the work
- Any additional marketing materials you may have
Once you’ve made initial contact, Anchor will discuss the terms of distribution, including pricing, royalties, wholesale discounts, and shipping arrangements. You may need to sign a contract detailing these terms.
After the agreement is in place, you may need to ship copies of your book or product to Anchor Distributors for them to distribute to retail partners.
Pros of working with Anchor Distributors
Here are some of the pros of working with Anchor:
Access to a broad network: Anchor Distributors has a wide reach within the Christian market, distributing products to bookstores, churches, ministries, and online retailers. As an author, this gives you access to a large audience who are already engaged with Christian resources.
Wholesale distribution: Your book can be sold in bulk to Christian retailers, which could significantly increase sales volume. Retailers often prefer working with established distributors like Anchor because of their streamlined logistics and relationships with publishers.
Established reputation: Anchor Distributors has been around for decades, and it has built trust within the Christian community. This established reputation could lend credibility to your book and give it a sense of legitimacy when placed in stores or featured through other distribution channels.
No upfront fees: Generally, working with Anchor Distributors as an author does not involve paying upfront fees (beyond printing, shipping, or setup costs). This makes it a low-risk opportunity compared to other forms of distribution or self-publishing platforms that charge significant fees or upfront costs.
Cons of working with Anchor Distributors
Here are some of the drawbacks to working with Anchor:
Lower profit margins: As a wholesaler, Anchor Distributors typically buys books at a discount, meaning your profit margin per book will be lower than if you were selling directly to consumers. You will also likely need to offer a significant discount to retailers (usually around 40%-60%) to make your book appealing to them.
Lack of control over pricing: Because Anchor is a distributor, they control much of the pricing and how your book is marketed to retailers. This can be frustrating if you have specific ideas about how you want your book to be priced or marketed.
Limited marketing and promotion: While Anchor Distributors can help with exposure by placing your book in stores and providing basic distribution, they may not offer extensive promotional support. As an author, you will still likely need to do your own marketing efforts.
Competition with other authors: Anchor distributes many Christian books, which means your book will be competing with numerous other titles for the attention of bookstores and consumers. This could make it harder for your book to stand out unless it has strong, niche appeal or significant marketing behind it.
Dependence on retailer sales: Your book’s success may largely depend on the decisions of retailers and their willingness to stock and promote your book. If a retailer decides not to carry your book or doesn’t push it actively, sales could be lower than expected.
Initial inventory investment: As an author, you may need to provide an initial inventory of your books for distribution. This means you’ll have to manage printing and shipping costs upfront, which can require a significant financial investment before seeing any return.
Publish your Christian book today!
If you’re looking for a way to publish your faith-based book, Anchor Distributors isn’t your only option. There are plenty of Christian publishers out there. You can also work with selfpublishing.com! We’ve helped tons of Christian authors make the bestseller list, and you could be next.
With our team, you have full control over the price of your book, full marketing support, and don’t need to worry about printing or shipping costs, because we’ll help you create an eBook! You can save your money and we’ll never take a cut of your sales.
Ready to get started? Reach out to our team today and start the journey toward publishing your dream book.