Best Practices

With less than two weeks left to promote the April 29 celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, these social media and marketing tips will help booksellers make the most of the time remaining.

The Winter Institute education session “Take Your Show on the Road: Managing Large-Scale Events” offered booksellers a range of strategies for managing large off-site events.

Here’s a look at some of the successful social media strategies used by booksellers to drive traffic to store websites, grow e-mail lists, and increase sales, as shared at Wi12. 

Kelly Justice, owner of Richmond, Virginia’s Fountain Bookstore, has created a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for booksellers on how to conduct successful social media campaigns.

At Winter Institute 12, a panel of experienced booksellers and publisher sales staff provided tips for establishing and growing mutually beneficial relationships.

Four booksellers shared best practices for buying and selling used books during a Winter Institute panel on January 28. Here’s a look at some of the session takeaways.

Three Winter Institute bookseller panelists shared insights on how using the information from ABA’s ABACUS survey has improved management of their bookstore finances.

A Novel Experience invited customers to take part in a post-election conversation using guidelines from Living Room Conversations, a website that offers resources for hosting civil discussions on difficult topics.

Lani Basa of Business Women’s Circle and Cindy Dach of Changing Hands Bookstore address the challenges booksellers can face when entering managerial roles.

Booksellers are celebrating Black History Month with a range of interesting and educational book displays, events, and activities that celebrate African Americans’ contributions to society.

The Winter Institute session “Creating and Managing Your Store Brand” showed booksellers how committing to their store’s brand can help them attract and retain customers.

Edelweiss/Treeline Education Coordinator Joe Foster provides some dates for the transition from Edelweiss Classic to Edelweiss+ as well as a quick tour of what already exists in Edelweiss+.

In a Winter Institute featured talk, Foyles Bookshop CEO Paul Currie showed booksellers some of the recent innovations and changes at the 114-year-old U.K. book retailer.

At the final breakfast plenary of Winter Institute, author and former CEO coach Kim Scott discussed how the principles of radical candor can help booksellers improve relationships among their staff.

At the Digital Book World panel “Will Bars Save Bookstores?” representatives of the bookselling and publishing industries discussed strategies that are helping bookstores not only survive but also thrive.