Marketing

Last month’s BookExpo America included a reception and signing in the ABA Lounge that put a spotlight on the summer and fall 2014 Indies Introduce titles. After the booksellers on the Indies Introduce Committee presented each title, the authors that were honored at the reception took time to express their appreciation to booksellers and sign copies of their books.

As national media outlets continue to address the Hachette-Amazon controversy, ABA has developed a resource list of news reports, bookseller responses, author comments, and more to help inform the independent bookselling community and its supporters.

Signup is now open for the Summer/Fall 2014 Indies Introduce promotion, featuring the best debut talent of the coming season as chosen by independent booksellers across the country.

Booksellers have selected 10 adult Debut Author and 10 children’s New Voices titles by the brightest new talents for the Summer/Fall 2014 Indies Introduce promotion. The sign-up page features bookseller reviews for each title and all promotion details.

With nearly 300 followers each and a recent write-up in the Christian Science Monitor, two Pinterest boards created by Gary Robson of Red Lodge Books & Tea are an ideal place to share bookstore display ideas. Just this week, a third board was added for displays on banned books and censorship.

Booksellers are encouraged to check out two new Pinterest boards, Creative Bookstore Windows and Effective Bookstore Displays, now available as a community resource for sharing and discovering bookstore display ideas. 

At Winter Institute 2014, Brains on Fire’s Geno Church presented a variety of case studies on word-of-mouth marketing to help booksellers inspire indie bookstore passion among their customers.

The official 2014 Children’s Book Week poster commemorating the 95th year of the reading and literacy celebration, running this year from May 12 to 18, was designed by Robin Preiss Glasser, the award-winning illustrator of the Fancy Nancy series.

Bookseller Gary Robson of Red Lodge Books & Tea, working in collaboration with ABA, has created two boards on Pinterest where booksellers can share ideas about displays and discover innovative ways to showcase books and sidelines in their stores.

Joann and Arielle Eckstut, authors of The Secret Language of Color, provided booksellers at Winter Institute 9 with a wealth of ideas and examples of the best ways to use color to perk up their stores and create eye-catching displays.

Winter Institute’s session “ABC Group Presents: A Year of In-Store Promotions” welcomed three panelists who offered an array of children’s book-inspired ideas and events for drawing customers to their stores throughout the calendar year.

Herald the arrival of spring on March 20, less than 35 days from now, with new customizable spring poster and web banner designs, as well as some past favorites, from BookWeb’s Designs and Downloads.

ABA member stores can sign up until March 15 for the 2014 Find Waldo Local campaign, co-sponsored by ABA and Candlewick Press. Participation is capped at 250 stores.

The Winter Institute education session “Making Social Media Work for Your Store” reviewed the social media tools available to indie businesses and gave attendees insight into techniques that have been successful at bookstores.

On Wednesday, January 22, preregistration opened for the third annual celebration of Find Waldo Local, co-sponsored by the American Booksellers Association and Candlewick Press.