Hark -- Bookselling Tips to Bring Increased Joy
Holidays 2003 -- Will your sales records be filled with comfort and joy or will your store suffer too many silent nights? After a rocky year, booksellers around the country are looking for innovative ways to bring people into their stores or onto their Web sites to maximize sales. Stores may be using holiday promotional techniques that, although they worked in the past, are now failing to bring in customers. People are jamming stores later and later in the season, waiting for big discounts or simply leaving gift shopping to the last minute.
Tuesday, September 30, is the last day for stores participating in the Bacardi Mixers/Book Sense Book Club Sweepstakes to accept entries deposited in their store displays. At the end of the business day, stores must take down the ballot box.
Book Sense booksellers should check the September White Box for the Entrepreneur Press "There's No Business Like Sports Business" Sweepstakes materials, publicizing 
This summer, Book Sense and The History Channel joined to launch Hardcover History, a monthly in-store promotion that pairs special History Channel shows with suggested reading. With publisher support, each month Book Sense creates a unique bookmark to be placed in the Hardcover History easelback. Hardcover History entices customers to return to bookstores each month for reading recommendations that compliment meaningful History Channel programs.
August may hold the slow-moving, humidity-filled "dog days" of summer, but the August white box offers fast-paced reading along with some great point-of-purchase sales aids guaranteed to step-up the pace in preparation for all of those new fall titles.
Displays and party kits for the BACARDI Mixers & Book Sense Book Club Sweepstakes, which runs from July 14 - September 30, are still available. Participating Book Sense bookstores that would like to receive additional kits and stores wishing to join the promotion should send requests to Jill Perlstein, ABA director of marketing, at