Registration Underway for May 2016 IndieCommerce Institute

Registration is open for the 2016 IndieCommerce Institute (ICI), to be held on Tuesday, May 10, at Chicago’s Drake Hotel (Hotel ABA), just prior to BookExpo America.

The institute’s interactive program offers two tracks: a Main Session for intermediate users and an Advanced Seminar for more experienced users. Registration for the institute is limited to three booksellers per member company and only one of those booksellers can apply for the Advanced Seminar.

The ICI program will run from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All participants will be together for opening and closing remarks and for a working lunch, featuring a guest speaker to be announced. However, from 11:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., booksellers will attend their separate workshops.

The classroom-style Main Session will go beyond basic training to provide actionable information for new and experienced IndieCommerce users. Participants should have at least one year’s experience working on their store website and be familiar with taxonomy and content types with custom fields. New IndieCommerce users who are comfortable working on the store website are also welcome.

Main Session topics will include:

• Website Best Practices: E-commerce best practices, responsive themes, and more

• Social Media Integration: Integrating your IndieCommerce website with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. (Having access to your store’s social media accounts will enable you get the most out this session.)

• Views: Overview of view’s user interface; basics of views; creating simple yet popular views

• Reports: Custom reports (order, sales, customers) using views

• Custom Products: Product classes with attributes and options; “variable price” and “stock” for custom products; custom products in views

• Webforms: Collect data from users (surveys, feedback, RSVPs for events); export and analyze those responses

• Order Processing: Best practices for processing orders and managing fulfillment

Enrollment in the Main Session is capped at 60 booksellers; the cost is $99 per bookseller.

Participants in the Advanced Seminar will spend most of the day in an informal setting, learning directly from their fellow booksellers, who will provide critiques of each other’s sites. Before ICI, seminar registrants will be required to spend time reviewing their peers’ websites and writing critiques.

To qualify for the Advanced Seminar, booksellers must have a track record of proficient and creative use of the IndieCommerce platform and devote a substantial amount of time each week to working on their store sites. Enrollment in the Advanced Seminar is limited to one applicant per IndieCommerce store and capped at 12 booksellers overall. The cost is $125.

All ICI participants are expected to bring a laptop; free WiFi will be available in the session rooms.

Register for the Main Session here; register for the Advanced Seminar here.

One-on-one sessions at BookExpo America

The IndieCommerce team will also be scheduling one-on-one appointments to take place in the ABA Member Lounge at McCormick Place during BookExpo America. Sign-up for the one-on-one sessions will open in April, after registration for the institute closes.

Appointments to meet with a member of the IndieCommerce staff will be available for Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, May 11 – May 13. Booksellers will have the opportunity to ask questions and receive guided instruction on specific topics. ICI participants will also be able to follow up on topics and questions raised during the institute.

To help ABA arrange appropriate staffing for the one-on-one meetings, booksellers will be asked to submit their questions in advance, if possible.

One-on-one sessions are limited and may fill up. IndieCommerce users do not have to attend ICI to sign up for an in-person meeting; however, priority will be given to ICI attendees.