On Thursday, January 7, the January Indie Next List e-newsletter, powered by Shelf Awareness, was delivered to 668,824 customers at 183 ABA member stores.

Booksellers are invited to sign up now [6] to send the free monthly adult or quarterly Kids’ Indie Next List e-newsletters to their customers.

The store-branded e-newsletter for adults, delivered on the first Thursday of each month, features:

• The month’s Indie Next List titles, with bookseller quotes
• “Buy Now” buttons that lead to the purchase page for the title on the sending store’s website
• An interview with the author of the month’s #1 title

An example of January’s Indie Next List e-newsletter can be seen here. [7]

The quarterly Kids’ Indie Next List is divided into two e-newsletters that are sent about six weeks apart. Each newsletter includes:

• Half of the titles featured on the Kids’ Indie Next list (based on publication dates)
• Five of the top 10 titles
• An author Q&A with the #1 pick for that list

The first volume of the Winter 2020-2021 Kids’ Indie Next List e-newsletter was sent on Thursday, December 17, to 613,150 customers at 175 ABA member stores; see an example of the most recent Kids’ Indie Next List newsletter here [8]. The second volume of the Winter 2020-2021 Kids’ Indie Next List e-newsletter will be delivered to stores on Thursday, January 21.

The American Booksellers Association and Shelf Awareness teamed up in 2016 to launch this free e-newsletter program for independent bookstores. To sign up, stores should complete this form [6] on BookWeb.org. A username and password are required to access the form; booksellers who need login information can email [email protected] [9].

During the sign-up process, booksellers will be required to upload their store logo and a CSV file of their email list (instructions are on the form). Stores will retain ownership of their mailing lists, and customers will not be added to any other lists. New sign-ups will get to see a sample of their e-newsletter about a week before it is sent to customers.

Questions about the Indie Next List e-newsletter program should be sent to ABA Chief Operating Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger. [10]