This just in from guest blogger Deborah Sloan.
BE AN ANGEL. (Don’t we all need one of those?!)
The best ideas come from indie booksellers. Well, you know that already. But it’s true. One brain-storming session with a clever indie bookstore owner has led to a fabulous holiday book angel program tie-in that’s too good not to share.
The story: Francine Lucidon of The Voracious Reader bookstore in Larchmont, NY tweeted “Evidence of Angels from @SuzaScalora and Francesca Lia Block takes your breath away with its beauty and inspiration. Angels=Next Big Thing” — and I followed up and arranged for Suza to do an event at her store. (ah, the power of Twitter).
But what to do at the event itself? When kicking around event ideas, we thought EVIDENCE OF ANGELS would be an ideal tie-in to a Holiday Book Angel Program and so Francine’s inviting customers to come meet the author, hear about the book, and then purchase books for their holiday book drive to help local children and families in need.
To promote the Holiday Book Angel Program, we designed a poster featuring glorious artwork from the book and copy that reads: “Each time we give to others we are closer to what is truly divine.”
Angels are everywhere. Be a Book Angel. Purchase a book for a local child or family in need.
Easy. Francine has a ready-to-go graphic to promote her holiday book program:
poster in her window (we’ll supply the printed piece) or at cashwrap
on her website
in her e-newsletter
via social media networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Why?
It’s the holiday time and the season of giving. By running such a program, you’re showing your support (and that of your customers) for your community.
Many children have never owned their own book and this program gives them that chance.
Not to mention, additional book sales.
Never run a Holiday Book Angel Program before? There are lots of ways to do it, but here are some suggestions:
Select a local organization to work with (shelter, food bank, after school program, etc.) and donate books to.
Some stores work closely with the local group to get information about children/families in need and share that info so customers can purchase for a particular child.
Some stores feature angel cut-outs (either in the window, near the cashwrap, or on a tree) with the name, age, gender of the children so customers know who they’re buying for and can select an age-appropriate book.
Others simply provide a box where customers can place the books they’ve purchase for donation.
Depending upon the group’s wishes, you can wrap the books with store giftwrap (a little extra promo, right?) or just deliver them to the organization unwrapped.
Use the graphics in window and in-store displays (at cashwrap), on your website, in e-newsletters, Facebook pages, etc.
Tap into the SIBA network and ask a fellow SIBA bookseller who’s run this for advice.
So the question is now: we’ve designed the poster, it’s ready-to-go, why not share it with other indies?
Interested booksellers should contact me at sloan@deborahsloanandcompany.com (or via Twitter @dsloanandco or by phone 978.684.5005) and I’ll send one their way.
We already know that you booksellers are angels. But I have a feeling your customers are too.
