Posts Tagged bookseller
#SIBA12: A Neophyte’s Analysis
Posted by Wanda in Authors as Guest Bloggers, SIBA Trade Shows on September 13, 2012
SIBA 2012: A Neophyte’s Analysis
It’s a wrap. SIBA is done for 2012 and with it’s passing it leaves me a trade show veteran. No longer will I just get into a line of authors and follow them around because I’m not really sure where they’re going or if I am supposed to go there too. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the posted schedule, I knew what the schedule said, I just wasn’t exactly sure what it meant, and I sure as heck didn’t want to miss something that could have gotten me a little more time with the booksellers in attendance.
Let’s be real, I had a great time, I had fun with a bunch of wonderful people, and I met a lot of new friends among the other authors that I expect to last for years to come, but I didn’t leave my cancer patients, delay my schedule, and run down to Naples without my family for any of those reasons. I came down to try and convince the members of SIBA that they would make a return on their initial investment of time and effort to try and hand-sell my book and that I would do my part to be a partner with them in doing so.
I’ve pitched screenplays to Hollywood producers, handled investors, and go face to face to explain, as honestly as possible, the extent of their disease to my patients every day. Talking isn’t something that frightens me. But SIBA is a bit different than anything I’ve ever done before; it’s more like a Kung Fu movie with multiple attackers. You never know when the booksellers are going to pop up or where they’re going to come from. I know that there is some importance to badge color and everyone had a badge with their name on it, but I was never quite sure who was who, and it felt awkward to put on my reading glasses to try and figure it out. So I talked to everyone. I had done a three-minute pitch and given a t-shirt to a security guard before I realized he wasn’t a bookseller with a uniform fetish. I don’t regret it, I turned him into a walking billboard in Naples for The Uncommon Thread and maybe even gained another reader, but I don’t think he’s going to go home and order a carton of my books from Ingram whether they’re returnable or not, although I assured him repeatedly and fervently that they were.
Next time SIBA is in my back yard, New Orleans, so my only comment about that is, “Whodat….Whodat…Whodat say dey gonna sell dem books?”
See ya next year (if you invite me or not). New Orleans is just too much fun to miss, I don’t care if I’m only there as a tour guide. Maybe we can get all the booksellers Tabasco Mardi Gras beads or something so I can tell who they are a little better, but, laissez les bon temps rouler.
So, read Occupy Bourbon Street, in my little book, make yourself a list of restaurants you can’t miss, put a smile on your face, and come on down here for a good time in 2013.
Glad to have been a part of SIBA 2012,
Scott Anderson
#SIBA11 Bookseller School – “How To” Backwards & Forwards
Posted by Wanda in SIBA Trade Shows on August 26, 2011
Friday, September 16, Embassy Suites Airport, Charleston, SC
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Bookseller School – “How To” Backwards & Forwards – Room 6
(Cost: $75 per store, includes breakfast and lunch)
9:00 – 12 Noon – How to Use Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr and Become the Center of Your Customers’ Online Community
Discover new ways to connect with your customers online and convert your online fans into customers by building a community of readers with your store at its center.Identify creative and effective ways to utilize your store’s social media platform(s)
- ·
- Learn about hashtags and community-building memes like #fridayreads and #bookstorebingo
- Use your online connections to promote store events, increase attendance, and help your customers connect with authors and other readers online, in-store, and at special events like Club Read.
Join social media mavens Bethanne Patrick and Rebecca Joines Schinsky for a workshop that will renew your excitement for online engagement.
Noon – 1:00 PM – Enjoy lunch with your fellow booksellers and presenters.
1:00 – 4:00 – How to Save Thousands in Taxes and Become Invincible to Lawsuits
Discover the tools independent booksellers can use to become invisible to lawsuits, save thousands in taxes, and achieve financial peace of mind. By the end of the presentation independent booksellers will know how to:
- Protect 100% of independent booksellers assets from lawsuits. Independent booksellers will learn how to make themselves so unattractive to a plaintiff attorney that they will never pursue a lawsuit against independent booksellers.
- Save thousands of dollars each year in taxes. Independent booksellers will learn five tax reduction strategies most people fail to utilize which could save independent booksellers more than $10,000 each year in taxes.
Avoid probate and eliminate all estate taxes. Independent booksellers will be taken plan. Independent booksellers will learn what independent booksellers should be doing now to prepare for successful business and estate secession. Presenter: G. Kent Mangelson, American Society for Asset Protection
It takes a lifetime to accumulate assets. Take an afternoon to protect them.
SIGN UP FOR #SIBA11 TODAY BEFORE IT”S TOO LATE! – http://www.tradeshow.sibaweb.com/
Knit Your Own Dog?!
Black Dog & Leventhal (dist. by Workman) is holding a really unique bookseller contest. It centers around an incredibly charming spring title, KNIT YOUR OWN DOG by Joanna Osborne and Sally Muir. People and Entertainment Weekly both featured this book, and sales have been outstanding.
So, the contest: the bookseller will get one knit dog modeled after a photograph of their dog, custom knit by the authors. (They charge around $350 to do this normally.) Last day for entries is May 15, 2011. Winner will be contacted via email. To enter, booksellers should email info@blackdogandleventhal.com with their contact info and photograph(s) of their dog.
RoundTable Results #SBS11
Dozens of booksellers gathered at Spring Book Show to discuss a variety of topics including store traffic, the economy, and maximizing sales.
Ideas for Attracting Store Traffic
Use Twitter to make friends, not for the hard sell. High Give:Ask ratio.
Use Get Caught Reading!
Keep sign-up sheet for Emails at Point of Purchase area.
Use Facebook!
Exploit B2B! Reach out to schools, non-profits, gift shops, museums, realtors, libraries, etc.
Making the Most of Each Customer; Maximizing Sales, Creating Repeat Customers
Advanced Hand Selling – Place the book in the customer’s hand and take the book out of the customer’s hands, both create ownership and sell books.
Offer a ‘money back guarantee” book; get the staff to agree on pushing selected staff picks.
Sell to any & all that enter the store to sell you.
Getting the Customer to Return, And Bring a New Customer
Give automatic local discount based on zip code.
Daily Word Challenge – game where a purchase must be made to play; win something from the “fabulous prize box”, in this instance filled with mini candy bars.
In the case of used books, have receipt show how much has been saved.
Host an in-store Ereader Class inviting customers to bring in their e-readers and demonstrate how to buy books from your website.
Print off bibliographies for your customers of their favorite writers or genres.
Other Ideas
Post on Facebook when you get in a large quantity of books.
In Search of a Great Idea!
Post pictures of books on quirky subjects.
Get on email list of other bookstores.
Make your emails relevant.
Gifts Galore for Bookstores
Do “If you like this, then you’ll like this…” signs.
Design bookmarks with other local business logos & coupon to place in other businesses.
Create Gift Registry for new baby, bride, housewarming, etc.
Offer services such as SAT Tutoring
What Booksellers Want!
Booksellers Benefits Package from SIBA.
SIBA Membership Dues Form
From a Savvy Bookseller
By Heather Hebert, Children’s Book World
We are about to head into the time of year when fall galleys start flooding into our stores. It always starts out nice and organized and then inevitably the galleys completely overtake your office, your back room, your storage area. Your instinct is to get rid of them, but wait, DO NOT GET RID OF YOUR FALL GALLEYS until you read this first. We have been running a program for the last twelve years that brings customers in repeatedly, builds a sense of community, generates tons of goodwill and it costs nothing, and takes next to no time set up and run. It is our read and review summer program for children, tweens and Young Adults.
Every summer we take most of the fall galleys we receive put them in crates according to age group (3rd- 5th grade, 6th -8th and YA). We then send out an email inviting our customers to read and review these ARCS for us. Each child is allowed to take out one book at a time and keep it for up to two weeks. A one page review sheet is given with each book. We do not want this to feel like homework so we keep the questions light and simple. They can either be answered with pretty much one sentence (or even one word) such as , “would you recommend this book to your friend?” and some of the questions are even in scale form, such as “rate this book on a scale of 1 to 10 – one being awful and 10 being totally awesome!” Everytime a book and review are turned in, a dollar store credit is given. At the end of the summer, these credits can be redeemed.
In Search of a Great Idea?
Posted by Wanda in Good Gifts & Ideas on March 1, 2011
Great Ideas
Every great idea is worth copying. Here are some great store programs that bring in customers and fulfill the need to be a community center. When starting one of these programs, feel free to call the store and get details. Remember, they all started out small and built themselves into what you see here.
Some links to great store programs:
- Kid Camps
- Writing Workshops
- Literary Events
- Adult Classes
- Book Classes
- Combined book sales
- Signed First Editions Club
- Summer Camps
- Author Lunches
- Parties
- Baby Gift Registry
- Cooks with Books
- Pitchapalooza
- Signed Broadsides
- Workshops
Some pdf’s with program information:
- ARC Recycling
- Are You Locally Aligned?
- Author Confirmation Form
- Author/Editor Series
- Author Events: Turning Point or Tipping Point?
- Blockbuster Events
- Blurbs – a nice flyer from Simon & Schuster about how to do them
- Book & Movie Events
- Bookstore Tourism Event
- Coffee With a Bookseller (Warwick’s)
- Cool Ideas Reported by Shelf Awareness
- Consignment Form
- “Daunting Tasks” Store Display
- Embedded in Your Community – by Carla Cohen
- Labor Day Store Display
- Movable Feast Event
- Nonauthor events
- “Outside the Box” Events
- “Pick of the List” Event
- Quiz Bowl for Book Lovers
- Penguin’s Community Connections: Ideas to promote your bookstore
- The Bookworm in Edwards, Colorado has created a great piece promoting their store to publishers
- Traveling Book Club Trips
Bennie and the Gets! (Win stuff for reading SIBA eInk)
Posted by Wanda in Bennie and the Gets! on January 12, 2011
A play on Elton John’s Bennie and the Jets here. Here I will write a monthlyish column on SIBA benefits that core members get. Survey results indicate that booksellers are very aware of some membership benefits and less aware of others. It may be that booksellers do not find some benefits valuable but before making that decision, I want to make certain that booksellers know of the benefit, try it, and then accept or reject its value to them. So here and in the monthly SIBA eInk, I will be highlighting underused benefits to make certain that core members are aware of them.
First, let’s look at the latest survey results. Core members indicate the most valuable benefits of SIBA Membership are: SIBA Book Awards, Southern Indie Bestseller List, the Holiday Catalog, Indie Bookseller Revivals, and Find a Bookstore
And rated less valuable? SIBA eInk, Southern Indie Lit Crossword Puzzle book, Wanda’s Wonderful Book Blog, Free Book Stimulus Plan, and The Document Library.
So this first post will deal with SIBA eInk, SIBA’s monthly newsletter directed at SIBA’s core indie bookstore members and distributed to the industry. This email newsletter takes the place of SIBA’s bi-monthly print publication of previous years and is the best, direct way to communicate with you about valuable upcoming opportunities. In addition to the SIBA listserv, this is the must current up-to-date material to assist you in maximizing your membership.
To pump up interest in this monthly electronic publication, SIBA will be offering a Twitter Contest each month where core members will be entered to win a FREE All Pass to #SIBA11. This will require setting up a FREE Twitter Account and following @SIndies. If you need help with that, please give me a call, and I will walk you thru it. Very easy, very economical, very efficient! The SIBA phone number is: 803.994.9530
What Booksellers are Saying about SIBA…
In response to an anonymous survey, core members finished the sentence prompt below.
I am a member of SIBA because…
I feel it’s important to support all activities highlighting independent businesses. There are useful communications that help me run my business.
Resources, encouragement, great responsiveness from Wanda to our questions, cutting edge info that is invaluable.
It’s important to support an organization that binds indies together.
I love the resources, the members, the helpful familial atmosphere- and of course, the authors and the books.
I enjoy the trade show and use the holiday catalog each year.
SIBA is a forum of knowledge contact with publishers and authors. We look for SIBA to be the eyes and ears of independent booksellers in a rapidly changing industry. Only as a group will we have a voice.
Community is important.
It is important to continue to support the local organization related to the profession; and to meet and learn from others in the profession
My bookstore has been open for 16 years and I have been a SIBA member for 8. The membership is the single most valuable expenditure (other than merchandise) that I make each year.
As booksellers in the Southeast, we should be.
I bought the store with the membership and decided to keep it.
The invaluable information we receive about authors, new titles, popular titles, the publishing industry, the trade show, networking and feedback from other southern booksellers. Our store would not be viable without all the info and services SIBA provides.
Bookseller Support Professional Association
So far it has been a good resource of ideas and references but I have not been a member too long so it is hard to comment.
of the holiday catalog, the free website, the e-mail community.
of the wealth of information I gain by reading emails, blogs and networking with other members at trade show.
SIBA is wonderful resource for the southern indie bookstores!!
I am a believer that we can help each other remain strong and INDEPENDENT
It is a great support system for my store.
Southern books are our core business
SIBA is invaluable for an independent shop, even when all of its programs are not taken advantage of.
It is a great network
I think it is important to be part of an organization related to my business.
I just opened a used bookstore and can use all the help I can get. I find valuable information on the website.
together we are stronger
tremendous amount of info – you all do a lot of the leg work for booksellers as a whole
of the irreplaceable contacts with publisher reps, authors, and fellow booksellers with whom I mingle at the trade show.
Happy Holidays! Here’s $150 from SIBA!
The Circle of Sites Banners-for-Dues program returns with more options (only available to indie bookstores that meet SIBA’s criteria as a Core Member)
2010 is winding down and the holiday season is upon us, that means it’s time to renew your membership dues for next year. Once again, SIBA is offering bookstores free membership if they will participate in the Circle of Sites program and run a banner on their store website for SIBA.
In otherwords, SIBA wants to give you $150.00.
Download our Welcome Kit to see other member benefits
Join online (choose “bill me” and put “Circle of Sites” in the comments)
Download a SIBA Dues Form (check the Circle of Sites option on the left)
If you allow SIBA to run a banner on your website, we will waive your membership dues for 2011. Banners change weekly, with no other work or requirement from you.
The deadline to participate is April 1st
Click here to see last year’s list of books promoted on Circle of Sites
What’s new for Circle of Sites in 2011?
- We now offer the option of a horizontal or vertical banner. We heard from many stores that the horizontal banners didn’t always fit into their website design gracefully. For those of you with narrow two- or three-column sites, we now have a vertical option we can provide.
- In order to be eligible for free membership dues, the banner must appear “above the fold” –that is, visible to viewers without scrolling when they first visit store site.
Stores interested in participating in the 2011 Circle of Sites program should contact Nicki at nicki@sibaweb.com with any questions.
#SIBA10 Delivered at Every Level
Posted by Wanda in SIBA Trade Shows on October 29, 2010
It has been a month since SIBA and we have been very busy. First of all let me say I have been attending SIBA over 20 years. As owner & bookseller at B&L Books over 23 years, I also attend SIBA as an exhibitor of our inventory control software program, The UBIC System. SIBA 2010 was one of the best for both. As a bookseller, I learned a lot about social networking, blogging, and e-commerce. I also got some insight into hosting events in the store and how to tie all this together. The trade show offered some great opportunities for us to learn more about children's and young adult books and incentive discounts especially from Penguin. Their rep was on top of everything. At HarperCollins we grabbed onto the idea to have a story time ticket event for Scaredy-cat Splat, which we incorporated into our Customer Appreciation Day last Saturday. We provided cat-ear headbands and face painting along with a goody bag, activities, and story reading all for the price of the book. The kids loved it and we had a good time doing it. Later that same afternoon we had Roxanne St. Claire in for an author signing. As an exhibitor at SIBA 2010, we were very pleased with the traffic and the opportunity to spend time with interested parties. I am glad to see ABA offering a new membership for bookstores whose inventory is 75% used. There are many independents who sell both new and used books and we are hoping to see some seminars for independents like us in the near future. Thank you Wanda and Nicki and Matt for all you do to make SIBA so great. Jan Packwood B&L Books 990 N. State Road 434 #1140 Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 407 682-0090 jan@ubicsystem.com
Terrified to go to #SIBA10?
Posted by Wanda in Uncategorized on October 27, 2010
Submitted by
Michelle Cavalier, Owner, Cavalier House Books
michelle@cavalierhousebooks.com
http://www.cavalierhousebooks.com
I was terrified to go to the SIBA trade show! I opened my store in September of ’09, and it still doesn’t feel real, so I knew people were going to call me out on it. I thought that people would tell me I wasn’t a real bookseller and that I didn’t belong. Basically, that they would find me out and know my secret. I’m not a bookseller! I’m just a book lover. I don’t know anything about running a business.
And then I got there and I saw it. You are all just like me. Everyone in this business is in it because they love books. Yeah, they may be older and wiser than me and they may have some clue as to what it means to own or run a small business, but really I had nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
The day of education served to solidify this new belief. SIBA is, as the acronym allows, an alliance. The trade show was about being a book lover and learning to be a better bookseller. There were people here to help me learn the business and promotional stuff! I wanted to divide myself into several ‘mini-me’s in order to attend all of the available classes and panels, but alas there is only one of me. However, those I was able to attend were great.
First was “Get in Bed with a Book Blogger” with the bloggers from Beatrice.com (Ron Hogan) and The Book Lady’s Blog (Rebecca Joines Schinsky) as well as Kelly Justice, owner of Fountain Bookstore and SIBA president. I was so looking forward to this because I am ready to jump in bed with a blogger of my own. What should I expect of her? She of me? They answered it all and I am ready to implement their suggestions in my store and online. Then there was what I called the Malaprops’ Twitter Class. I asked several questions, but they were patient with me. I had no idea how Twitter worked really or the etiquette of it. Thanks to the Malaprops’ ladies I have been significantly more active on Twitter, but I still have a lot to learn (and a lot of first day of school awkwardness to get over).
I also attended two author panels (“True Southern: Books Steeped in the South” and “Cooking Up a Storm: Sharing recipes with readers”) as well as all of the author meals (wherein we did not eat authors, but listened to them speak). From the very first breakfast my TBR pile started growing and by Sunday evening it was taller than I am. How could I ever have been intimidated by these authors? They were all so eager to talk about their work and mine. Everyone was so approachable, and I realized – these are my people! Then the exhibits opened and I saw so many people geeking out over new books. It was so exciting and refreshing to see so many people as excited as I was about exactly the same things. Our collected passion: books!
The final coup came on Sunday morning at the “Good Ideas Breakfast.” I shared my idea of partnering with a local travel agent for literary tours, and they liked it. Everyone was so supportive. They liked my idea and counted me as one of their own. As it turns out, all of my insecurities were unfounded. I am not only a booklover, but a bookseller and business owner. So, thanks to you, my fellow SIBA members, for reminding me why I’m doing this in the first place. See you again next year.
Lady Banks Bookshelf
