New BookWeb Provides Easy Access to a Wealth of Professional Resources

Ensuring that indie booksellers have the skills to operate their businesses in a professional and profitable manner is central to the American Booksellers Association’s mission. To that end, ABA offers members an array of resources, including educational programming and supporting handouts, financial benchmarking tools, unique marketing materials, and more. Now, the newly redesigned BookWeb’s Professional Bookselling section puts all these tools at ABA members’ fingertips.

Everything ranging from developing a business plan and finding financing to succession planning is covered, with a special emphasis on helping stores achieve profitability while developing their own unique programs and initiatives to stand out from the competition.

Professional Bookselling materials are organized under several major headings:

• ABA Education Curriculum offers links and downloads to articles, worksheets, educational handouts, and more on topics ranging from author events to media training to buying for the Common Core Curriculum.
   
• ABA Events gathers in one place details about the association’s upcoming educational programming, including the next Winter Institute, one-day specialty institutes, Booksellers Forums, BookExpo America, and the regional trade shows.
   
• Bookseller DIY is the Designs & Downloads materials resource center. Here, in one place, booksellers will find all files, designs, handouts, and images offered to members for store marketing; education handouts and summaries; IndieCommerce promotions, web copy, and contracts; Kobo marketing, promotion, and contracts; and Membership applications.
   
• IndieBound brings together all things related to the marketing movement created by ABA to celebrate independent bookstores and localism. Featured are the Indie Next Lists, Indie Bestseller Lists, the Bookseller DIY, IndieBound.org, and the IndieBound Referral Fee Program.
   
• Marketing focuses on general tools that members can take advantage of to set their businesses apart, including Advance Access to galleys, reading copies, and finished books for review; the annual Indies Choice Book Awards and E.B. White Read Aloud Awards;  Mary Engelbreit paper gift certificates ; and the Red and White Box Mailings.

Explore Professional Bookselling now, and find a wealth of information for improving your business.

Booksellers who need log-in information to explore the members-only sections of the site should contact ABA Member Relationship Manager Nathan Halter.

Booksellers with questions or comments about the new BookWeb.org are encouraged to contact ABA Membership and Marketing Officer Meg Smith.