Marketing

Four new promotions created just for independent bookstores will launch this spring under the banner “Celebrate (With) Indies.” Titles for the promotions celebrating debut authors, moms, dads, and grads were selected by booksellers, and many are Indie Next List Picks and Indie Bestsellers.

At “Marketing That Moves the Needle,” a well-attended Wi8 session, ABA’s Meg Smith and Greg Galloway revealed the results of a marketing experiment, while panelists Julie Wernersbach of BookPeople and Jill Miner of Saturn Booksellers discussed the strategies that work best in their stores.

Starting on Thursday, February 21, independent booksellers across the country can pre-register to participate in Find Waldo Local 2013, a month-long community-wide scavenger hunt in July 2013 that celebrates the uniqueness, fun, and strength of local businesses.

Kobo is launching a national promotional event on Kobo Mini eReaders and Snapbacks leading up to Valentine’s Day. Beginning January 25 and ending February 14, the promotion consists of a Kobo Mini for $59.99 and a free Snapback.

From now through Wednesday, January 23, Kobo will be offering readers the opportunity to win prizes in a “Guess the Character Trivia Contest.”

On Tuesday morning, January 15, Kobo announced that the Kobo Interactive Trivia Contest, which was set to start at  at 10:00 a.m. EST, had been indefinitely postponed. Kobo apologized for the inconvenience and said it would let booksellers know when it will be ready to proceed with the contest.

Booksellers looking for help promoting this year’s bestselling titles and indie favorites have readymade tools: The 2012 Indie Bestsellers and the Indie Next Highlights lists.

Five new designs for posters and web banners that promote book buying during the holiday season and beyond are now available to ABA members in the Booksellers DIY.

Between Small Business Saturday and the Thanks for Shopping Indie and Kobo Mini promotions, many ABA members were reporting increases in holiday weekend sales and a renewed sense of appreciation for locally owned businesses among their customers.

As ABA members began receiving their shipments of Kobo eReaders earlier this month, a number of stores launched creative and personalized promotions to spread the word to customers.

In its third year, American Express’ Small Business Saturday has established itself as the preeminent national holiday promotion for Main Street businesses, and it is generating substantial national and local advertising that encourages consumers to support their locally owned businesses.

ABA is warning stores participating in the Kobo partnership that there could be unintended negative consequences to using a third-party e-mail service when distributing promotional links to customers.

Thanks to Algonquin Books, customers who purchase a Kobo Glo or Mini from an ABA member store from November 19 – 26 will receive a promotional code for a free download of “The Art Forger,” by B.A. Shapiro, the #1 Indie Next List Great Read for November.

The array of materials available to booksellers to promote sales of Kobo eBooks and eReaders grew this week with the addition to the Bookseller DIY of three tent card designs, new web banners, bookmarks, and a letter-sized poster for a special launch promotion.

The Small Business Saturday Toolkit includes turn-key messages, logos, and banners to help spread the word, engage small businesses, and drive consumers to indies on November 24, one of the biggest shopping days of the year.