Booksellers Enthusiastic About Thanks for Shopping Indie

At the regional trade shows and via BookWeb.org, booksellers have been enthusiastically signing up for Thanks for Shopping Indie, the first-ever multi-publisher promotion exclusively for ABA member stores.  The promotion, which starts on November 24, Small Business Saturday, provides booksellers with the opportunity to give back to their customers on a broad range of 2012 Indie Next List titles. To participate in Thanks for Shopping Indie, stores must sign up by October 22.

Several booksellers who have already signed up are excited to take part in the indie-centric promotion, and to spread the word to customers.

“It really is all about awareness,” said Karin Wilson, owner of Page & Palette in Fairhope, Alabama. “When customers understand the benefits of shopping local, it changes their shopping habits. ABA makes it easy for busy booksellers. This campaign would not be possible without their support. The more bookstores that participate the better impact it will make.  It really does take all of us working together with this message to make it successful.”

“We loved the national appeal of Small Business Saturday last year, and are looking forward to being a more central part of the excitement in 2012,” said Nicole Magistro, owner of The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colorado. “The [Thanks for Shopping Indie] book list is perfect for our store — a mix of titles that we can customize to coincide with our favorites for the year. I'm glad there is so much bookseller DIY because the overall marketing effort will be easier and more effective.”

“We are really looking forward to offering our customers so many great titles right before the holiday season, and this is exactly the promotion we need and appreciate from our publisher partners, said Carla Jimenez, co-owner of  Inkwood Books in Tampa, Florida.  “The marketing materials will make it easy to spread the word across several platforms and the message itself — Thanks for Shopping Indie — is so important. It's a natural extension of Small Business Saturday and the local spending message we've all worked so hard on for so long.”

Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, senior program officer, BSI, Inc., is urging booksellers to review the promotion details and sign up to take part. “Displaying and promoting the strong list of titles, chosen by indie booksellers and supported by the publishers, provides bookstores a unique opportunity to thank their customers for shopping indie,” Dallanegra-Sanger said. “American Express’s Small Business Saturday has become one of the biggest shopping days in the year, and publishers were excited to include their books in this unique first ever multi-publisher indie promotion. And this year American Express will promote Thanks for Shopping Indie in their social media campaign.”

During the promotion, from November 24 through at least December 1, 2012, stores will mount a “Thanks for Shopping Indie” front-of-store display featuring promo titles and a specially designed downloadable POP. Booksellers must also agree to promote Thanks for Shopping Indie in their store’s communications and through social media and staff picks.

Downloadable logos, table display cards, web banners, and posters are available in the Bookseller DIY. Booksellers with further promotional suggestions are encouraged to contact ABA Marketing Manager and Designer Greg Galloway.

Visit BookWeb.org for more Thanks for Shopping Indie details, including a sign-up form, the list of eligible titles, and terms. Booksellers can also learn more by stopping by the ABA booth at each of the regional trade shows.