Marketing

Booksellers around the country have started teaming up with local bloggers to promote events, increase sales, and expand their reach in both the online and physical communities.

As bookstores look to turn their status as a community hub into a financially rewarding asset, many are exploring customer membership programs. Two stores that offer paid memberships share their thoughts.

"What we are after is working with vendors that want to be real partners in selling quality products to our customers," said Northshire Bookstore owner Chris Morrow. That's why Northshire has just entered into its second consignment partnership, this one with publisher Chelsea Green.

The Skylight Books façade, a wall of windows that stretches the length of the storefront, faces a busy street in Los Angeles' Los Feliz neighborhood. To maximize this high-visibility window-space, Kerry Slattery, the store's co-owner and general manager, partners with other local businesses to create attention-grabbing displays. The variety in displays "makes for a more interesting window," she said.

Google announced last week that it has expanded the features available to small businesses through its Google Places service. The changes give business owners the opportunity to provide more information to consumers through Google's Local Search results.

Cross-promotions are great vehicles for reaching new customers and spreading the Buy Local message and goodwill, both with fellow merchants and customers. And costs are usually shared, if not minimal or nonexistent. BTW spoke with Susan Weis of breathe books; Cindy Dach of Changing Hands Bookstore; Heather Duncan of Tattered Cover Book Store; and Kerry Slattery of Skylight Books about one of the most cost-effective ways to promote their indie businesses.

Why and how

This Saturday, April 17, is the first annual celebration of e-Free Day. IndieBound created e-Free Day as a way for booksellers to encourage customers to put down their electronic gadgets and pick up a book instead!

The ready-made marketing campaign features downloadable e-Free posters,bag stuffers, and a list of activity ideas that stores can use to create in-store events in IndieBound's Bookseller DIY section.

"Word-for-word a well-crafted shelf talker can be the most effective means of recommending a book to an avid reader," said Joe Drabyak of Chester County Book & Music Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Toadstool Bookshops owner Willard Williams recently found out what more than 400 of his customers think about e-books and e-readers.

Williams received more than 400 responses to an online survey sent to customers of his three New Hampshire bookstores. Among the key findings: Ten percent of the survey respondents own e-readers. In addition to asking customers whether they own e-readers, the survey also asked questions about e-books, the store's e-commerce site, and the physical bookstores.

Some bookstores are learning that it takes a village -- or at least an online community -- to make advertising effective.

Common Good Books and Green Apple Books have tried online group coupon services in recent weeks, and both consider the experiments a success. "I think we will try it again," said Common Good Books manager Sue Zumberge. "It worked out really well."

Who doesn't like free? IndieBound is launching the first annual celebration of e-Free Day on Saturday, April 17. A unique promotional idea for bookstores, e-Free Day encourages customers to take a vacation from e-mails, status updates, tweets, chirps, and pings. The new marketing campaign casts indie bookstores as the ideal antidote to consumers' digital overload.

Praveen Madan of San Francisco's The Booksmith often brainstorms and writes about how indie bookstores can find new ways to "bring people together to talk about books and ideas." One idea that has caught on is Bookswap, an event that's gotten notice everywhere from the New York Times to book blogs.

"If there's one thing local bookstores have," said Bookshop Santa Cruz owner Casey Coonerty Protti, it's a knowledge of experts within their communities. Coonerty Protti has put this expertise to work through Bookshop Santa Cruz's Trusted Source Program.

At ABA's Day of Education, to be held at BookExpo America on Thursday, May 28, at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, ABA members will find roundtable discussions available for all store sizes. In addition, on Saturday, May 30, ABA members are invited to attend informal roundtable discussions covering an array of topics.

This week, Carole Horne of Harvard Book Store, Casey Coonerty Protti of Bookshop Santa Cruz, and John Hugo of Andover Bookstore share their tips for marketing when money is tight and the holiday season is fast-approaching. Key among their recommendations is getting the message out that books are a great gift value.