We hope to see some of you in person (or curbside) tomorrow in our home towns and we hope to see all of you online! Some tips for tomorrow: Share photos of your bookstore Wear store T-shirts in your pics to promote store T-shirt sales Use #bookstoreday2020 and #indiebookstoreday on your social media Tag authors and other indies and wish them a Happy Independent Bookstore Day! Double-check that your IBD merchandise is set up correctly to sell on your IndieCommerce site. Or set it up now using these instructions. If possible, pull your store outside with book tables, tents, balloons and signage. Even if you’re not fully open the visibility and potential publicity will be beneficial to driving sales online or curbside.
Events Buying Monthly - Tuesday 9/1 at 3 PM ET
This reprogrammed Coffee Break will feature guest speakers discussing the process of buying monthly vs. seasonally and will answer questions from attendees. More information can be found here, and booksellers who want to attend should email [email protected] if they don't already have the Coffee Break meeting credentials. Holiday Season Marketing - Thursday 9/3 at 1 PM ET
This marketing meetup will have bookseller guest speakers sharing their best suggestions and ideas for holiday marketing. More information can be found here, and booksellers who want to attend should register here. BIPOC Coffee Break on Thursday 9/3 at 6 PM ET
The next Coffee Break meeting space for BIPOC — Black, Indigenous, or People of Color — booksellers and bookstore owners to gather for connection, support, community, resources, and networking. In response to a participant survey this session will be facilitated by Linda Dunbar, the chief executive and founder of Diversity Decoder. Identifying as a Black-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Jamaican-American woman and with a background in publishing, Linda has an understanding of some of the topics that participants may want to discuss, but she will facilitate and inform the discussion in whatever way serves participants. More information can be found here, and booksellers who want to attend should email [email protected] for the meeting specific credentials. The meeting id and password has changed since the last BIPOC meet up. (BIPOC allies and booksellers who do not identify as BIPOC should not plan to attend.) IndieCommerce Upcoming Change To Credit Card Processing
If you still have questions regarding the upcoming change to credit card processing on IndieCommerce websites, check out these frequently asked questions. We’ve also got a recording of a great webinar presentation by IndieCommerce Senior Manager Geetha Nathan on this change to credit card processing, and you can view it online here. If your IndieCommerce site is still on the shared ABA credit card account and you have not already started the move to your own credit card merchant account, you really want to get this transition completed by early October, before the holiday shopping rush begins. Get Ready Next week is September, otherwise known as the runway to 4th quarter or Q4. These final months of the year are always a critical period for indie bookstores, but given the past six months the stakes are higher this year. ABA has been working behind the scenes on supply chain improvements -- talking with publishers, wholesalers, and shippers; advocacy -- lobbying for additional small business relief and support for USPS; planning marketing initiatives -- an announcement is forthcoming; planning final education sessions to help stores prepare -- beginning with the monthly buying session next week; improving IndieCommerce -- watch the IndieCommunication alerts for updates; talking to press about the need for both support of indie bookstores and early holiday shipping this year; and looking for other ways to help ensure a successful holiday season. Check out next week’s BTW for all the details, and get ready. ABA is here for all of you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. Members can contact me directly or email the Membership, Advocacy, or IndieCommerce teams. Best,
Allison |
