Join ABA’s Marketing Meetups to Talk Strategy With Fellow Booksellers

On Thursday, November 8, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST, the American Booksellers Association will present a video roundtable discussion on cooperative advertising; on November 29, the topic will be audiobook marketing.

The popularity of the American Booksellers Association’s online marketing roundtables has grown considerably. Now called “Marketing Meetups,” the bookseller-led discussions take place at 11:00 a.m. EST on two Thursdays a month, and all booksellers are invited to participate.

The live video meetings are conducted through Zoom.us; booksellers who would like to participate should e-mail [email protected] for an invitation and instructions (and watch BTW in the coming weeks for a new signup system).

The November 8 roundtable will look at cooperative advertising (or “co-op”), publisher-defined programs in which the publisher and the bookseller “cooperatively” promote a book or books according to mutual priorities. Co-op promotions can focus on direct purchases, indirect purchases, newsletters, events, and displays.

In this roundtable, booksellers will learn how publisher-supplied co-op funds can be used toward marketing books. Booksellers will hear about how stores track and claim funds as well as the opportunities gained from using a third-party service to track co-op.

The roundtable will feature the following presenters:

• Kelly Justice of Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
• Suzanna Hermans of Oblong Books & Music, with locations in Rhinebeck and Millerton, New York
• Gwyn Ridenhour of Matchbook Marketing, which provides services for independent bookstores

The November 29 roundtable will focus on marketing audiobooks. With Forbes calling audiobooks one of the publishing industry’s 2018 trends earlier this year and a recent Publishers Weekly article highlighting the surging digital audio market in the U.S. as discussed during the Frankfurt Book Fair, there’s no better time to cover best practices from fellow booksellers.

Guest panelists include:

• Suzanne Droppert, Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo and Bremerton, Washington
• Matt Norcross, Mclean & Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Michigan
• Mark Pearson, Libro.fm, a digital audiobook provider for independent bookstores

Booksellers can e-mail [email protected] to participate in any of the upcoming Marketing Meetups.