Lady Banks Directs Booklovers to Booksellers

Readers 'round the South recently received the first edition of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance's (SIBA) new consumer e-newsletter, Lady Banks' Commonplace Book. Its purpose, as described to BTW by "Her Ladyship, the Editor" (aka Nicki Leone, former bookseller and current SIBA marketing consultant), is "to drive readers to SIBA member stores."

Designed for people interested in Southern literature, the publication offers "news and reviews from your neighborhood bookshop" and an overview of literary news, gossip, and miscellanea, as well a comprehensive list of literary events and readings compiled from Authors 'Round the South (ARTS).

The initial recipients of Lady Banks' Commonplace Book were respondents to surveys in SIBA's holiday catalog over the past several years. "These are booklovers who gave SIBA their names and e-mail addresses and [who have] great potential for direct-to-consumer marketing," Leone explained.

"[Lady Banks Commonplace Book] was sent to about 2,000 people, and we've gotten a very good response," she continued. "It is sent through Constant Contact, so we can track an amazing number of things -- click-through, open rates. There are links to every bookstore mentioned that has a website. Each store included received about two-dozen clicks. All stores received 20 to 25 discrete visits -- that means the content inspired that many people to go to the store's website. It promotes visibility and drives traffic to the stores -- that's a major part of SIBA's mission."

Leone emphasized that all content included is intended to bring member booksellers to the attention of readers. The result is a breezy compilation of reviews, event listings, literary news, and odds and ends. Reviews include select contributions to Book Sense Picks lists by booksellers at SIBA member stores.

The newsletter's name has a literary history, according to Leone: The Lady Banks is a climbing rose, which "is ubiquitous throughout the South." And, the newsletter explains, "Commonplace books first appeared during the Renaissance, where they were used as a way to deal with the information overload of that era. They helped students select and organize tidbits of interest -- medical recipes, quotes, letters, poems, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas." --Nomi Schwartz