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Update from the ABA

5/27/2020

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Short and sweet today. Let’s talk about sales:
  • Like many other stores, Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire, is offering shopping by appointment to adhere to social distancing. Unlike other retailers, though, Gibson’s customers purchase a $25 gift card to make their reservation, guaranteeing the bookstore a minimum sale.
  • Story & Song Bookstore Bistro in Fernandina Beach, Florida, bought big on puzzles and blew out of them all after placing an ad in the local newspaper. Local print advertising is back as your customers return to local newspapers to take a break from screens and to feel connected to their communities.
  • Stores that are promoting greeting cards are seeing significant sales as customers buy for both occasions they’re missing and to stay in touch with those they’re distanced from. Sell cards pre-stamped and promote them alongside a list of occasions to send them for (Father’s Day, thinking of you, thank you)  and people to send them to (your postal worker, your child’s teacher, a friend). Village Books in Bellingham, Washington, set up an easy form for customers to use for this purpose. 
  • As IRL events are cancelled due to social distancing restrictions, look for ways your store can help fill the social void. When their community’s beloved annual shrimp festival was cancelled, Story & Song Bookstore Bistro stepped in to offer a special story time, a lecture on seafood “farming,” and carryout lunches featuring local fresh shrimp. Pasadena, California, has an annual chalk festival in June that draws crowds of people. If social distancing requires the event to be cancelled this year, Vroman’s Bookstore might consider promoting a community chalk event. The store could sell chalk and design books and encourage customers to participate in a DIY chalk festival in their neighborhoods that same weekend. Sales, publicity, and community connection.
  • My friends’ donut store in Northern California launched Project Comfort, which asks customers to make donations to support the store delivering coffee and donuts to community hospital personnel. What can bookstores do? Maybe it’s a national indie bookstore campaign to thank teachers…hmmm….
  • Now’s a great time to produce a short, funny video promoting services your customers may never have used before — curbside pickup, Hummingbird e-books, Libro.fm audiobooks, your store’s ecommerce wishlist feature, your website, and more.
  • Speaking of wishlists and registries, promote your ecommerce wishlist! IndieCommerce stores have a tremendous opportunity right now to promote their site’s wishlist/registry feature and help customers with their shopping and their book daydreaming.
  • Some stores are thinking about big events with big-name authors. But think differently, too. Does your community have a beloved local author who would be willing to do a private Zoom event for your store? Or a beloved local hero who would do a private talk or book group for your store? Or maybe one of your booksellers is friends with an author or a musician. Sometimes the right small event can sell more books than a big one. Customers who purchase the book and/or event ticket receive the link to the event. Partner with a local restaurant or wine store and now it’s a party.
  • Now’s also a great time to try some new events. Hannah Oliver Depp, owner of Loyalty Bookstores in D.C. and Silver Spring, Maryland, launched two new series recently: the Anti-Racist Book Club reading program and Date Night with Alyssa Cole. The first event is in response to customer requests and both events promise to serve the store’s current customers while also attracting new ones.
  • There’s an opportunity right now to stand out with special promotions, content, and celebrations. Here’s a list of holidays, most of which you’ve probably never heard of, to design marketing and promotional campaigns that aren’t business as usual.
  • And lastly, one more from Story & Song that owner Donna Paz Kaufman wrote about their newsletter: “(We) add our personal photos of each person on our crew and beautiful poems and calming, inspiring quotes that show there is a greater good opportunity in our lives, always, and especially right now.”
Seems like the perfect note to end on.
ABA is here for all of you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. We are an incredibly creative, resilient, supportive industry. We’ll get through this, together.
Best,
Allison
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  • About
    • Join GLIBA
    • Bookstore Members
    • Board of Directors >
      • Past Board Members
    • Our By-Laws
    • Publisher Members
  • Catalogs
    • Holiday Catalog >
      • Holiday Catalog for Publishers
    • Summer Catalog >
      • Summer Catalog for Publishers
  • Events
    • Spring Forum 2023
    • Rep Night 2023
    • Past Events >
      • George Saunders
      • Spring Forum >
        • Spring Forum 2022
        • Spring Forum 2021
        • Spring Forum 2020
        • Spring Forum 2019
        • Spring Forum 2018
      • The Lit Show >
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 3
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 2
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 1
      • Heartland
      • Group Bookstore Events
      • Rep Night >
        • Rep Night 2019
        • Rep Night 2018
      • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl >
        • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl 2022
        • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl 2018
  • Bestsellers
  • Heartland
  • Awards
    • Heartland Booksellers Award
    • Voice of the Heartland >
      • Past Winners
  • News
  • Publisher Promotions
  • Publishers, Authors and Industry Affiliates Info
    • Advertise with GLIBA
    • MIPA
    • Bookseller ARC Requests and Preferred Reading Genres
    • For Authors
  • YouTube Channel
  • Past Holiday Catalogs
    • Holiday Catalog 2021
    • Holiday Catalog 2020
    • Holiday Catalog 2019
  • Bookseller Resources
    • Publisher Imprint Graphics
    • Rep List
    • Publisher Social Media
    • Reporting Your Sales
    • New York Trip
    • CHILOVEBOOKS
    • Tools of the Trade
    • Anti-Racism Resources
    • Covid-19 Resources
    • The Independent Bookseller
    • On-Line Links
    • Advocacy
  • Board Information