SIBA has been working hard to collect book blogger contact info over the last year in hopes of having book bloggers galore at the SIBA Trade Show along with the hundreds of authors we already host.  Via SIBA’s STARS program and our outreach efforts to book bloggers, SIBA has been building a case with folks who sell a limited number of books via their blogs or website to affiliate directly with an indie bookstore.

When I use the word “affiliate“, I am speaking of a program whereby sales that come to a bookstore via a blog or website allows for a percentage of that sale to go back to the blogger or author.  Most online stores offer affiliate programs.  This is basically a free sales force that is reaching out to customers on your behalf.

Imagine my surprise, after checking every single core member website, to find that only 3 indie stores offer an affiliate program on their website.

I know that every ABA ecommerce site has affiliate capabilities, and I imagine most ecommerce platforms include an affiliate option.

Certainly, one can become an affiliate of indiebound.org but this causes consumers to have to go thru several additional clicks and is certainly a better option than none.  But when a store has the capacity to offer a direct click to book sales from its own website, that seems like a superior choice for everyone.

Please look into any affiliate options you may have to offer and let SIBA know when yours is up and running as I am trying to hook you up with book bloggers, authors, libraries, etc.  that will chose you over another outlet.