The American Booksellers Association’s first online Marketing Meetup of 2019, on Thursday, January 3, will feature an open conversation for booksellers to discuss the marketing ideas that worked for them in 2018, and to brainstorm new topics for Marketing Meetups to cover in 2019.

These bookseller-led educational conversations are conducted through Zoom.us and held at 11:00 a.m. EST on two Thursdays a month. Marketing Meetups are open to all ABA member booksellers, so anyone who would like to participate should e-mail IndieCommerce Director Phil Davies [6] for an invitation and instructions.

On Thursday, January 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST, booksellers will discuss their marketing ideas in preparation for the year to come in an open conversation. While there will be no guest speakers this time, the discussion will be guided by booksellers and geared toward answering the following questions:

• What marketing ideas and strategies worked for your store last year? What didn’t?
• What are your store’s marketing plans for this upcoming year?  
• What Marketing Meetup topics did your store benefit from over this past year?
• What topics would you like to see covered at Marketing Meetups in the coming year?

In addition, on Thursday, December 6, booksellers are invited to ABA’s final Marketing Meetup of the year, a conversation about marketing for children’s bookstores. Specifically, the Meetup will cover how children’s marketing may differ from that of general bookstores and what initiatives some stores are taking, both digitally and locally.

Guest panelists on December 6 include:

• Drew Sieplinga, Wild Rumpus [7] in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Cecilia Cackley, East City Bookshop [8] in Washington, D.C.
• Hilary Barrineau, Hooray for Books [9] in Alexandria, Virginia

Regular twice-monthly Marketing Meetups will resume in January. E-mail [email protected] [10] to sign up for any of the upcoming meetups.