Videos
Jesse Mecham, author of You Need a Budget: The Proven System for Breaking the Paycheck to Paycheck Cycle, Getting Out of Debt, and Living the Life You Want, teaches booksellers “Four Rules” for controlling money. Mecham walks booksellers through common money mistakes and encourages them to shift their perspective to create healthy financial patterns.
Learn how to:
- Decide what you want your money to do
- Break up expenses into manageable “monthly bills”
- Rely on your budget but change it as needed
- Let your money age before you spend it
Kelly Estep, Carmichael's Bookstore (Louisville, KY); Christie Olsen Day, Gallery Bookshop and Bookwinkle's Children's Books (Mendocino, CA); Moderated by Robyn DesHotel, ABA (White Plains, NY)
View Video [1]
ABA Chief Financial Officer Robyn DesHotel moderates a panel with Kelly Estep, manager of Carmichael’s Bookstores (Louisville, KY) and Christie Olsen Day, owner/manager of Gallery Bookshop and Bookwinkle's Children's Books (Mendocino, CA) as they and the audience discuss tactics to create a better system to approach and manage store finances with confidence.
- Hear other booksellers' stories firsthand on how they gained financial peace
- Learn that each person/ store can have their own journey
- Get tips/tricks/ideas from other booksellers about how they approach/manage their business
Kelly Estep, Carmichael's Bookstore (Louisville, KY); Christie Olsen Day, Gallery Bookshop and Bookwinkle's Children's Books (Mendocino, CA); Moderated by Robyn DesHotel, ABA (White Plains, NY)
View Video [2]
Author and behavioral science expert Daniel H. Pink presents findings and lessons on the science of timing and how understanding the research can help us work, manage, and schedule more effectively. Daniel H. Pink is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers Drive, To Sell is Human, and A Whole New Mind. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into 35 languages. He lives with his family in Washington, DC.
View Video [3]
Social media expert Sarah Benoit, lead instructor at JB Media Institute (Asheville, NC) presents a comprehensive overview and best practices for successful social media.
Learn about:
- Why social media marketing requires more than just posting and sharing content
- How understanding the power of engagement and customer relationships can generate name recognition, sales, on-site visitors, and more
- How targeting the right audiences can help grow your bottom line
Sarah Benoit, JB Media Institute, LLC (Asheville, NC)
View Video [4]
Quantitative futurist and author Amy Webb presents her research on artificial intelligence, automation, and digital trends to show booksellers that thinking like a futurist can help their business succeed.
Learn about:
- Why despite a great few years for indie bookstores, they need to consider how developing technologies may affect their business in the decades to come
- How bookstores should prepare for the next 10 years or for the next 20 years, including thinking carefully about an automated future as well as future customers
- The three future scenarios for bookselling and Webb's digital folder [6] of detailed solutions for each
Amy Webb is the author of The Signals Are Talking: Why Today’s Fringe Is Tomorrow’s Mainstream (Public Affairs), and is a professor of strategic foresight at the NYU Stern School of Business and the founder of the Future Today Institute. [7]
View Video [5]
Recorded Webinars
David Walter, executive director of NPD Book at the NPD Group, reviews NPD methodology for compiling designated market area reports and industry bestseller lists. ABA’s Peter Reynolds discusses ABA Indie Bestseller lists, and Margot Sage-El, owner of Watching Booksellers in Montclair, NJ, shares how she uses bestseller data to increase sales and better curate inventory.
Learn about:
- NPD methodology
- Differences between BookScan and ABA Indie Bestseller Lists
- Suggestions for using targeted DMA report for daily use
View Webinar [8]
For booksellers who want more tips on how to become more comfortable as a sales person and for owners and managers who want to provide sales training for staff.
Learn about:
- Tools to turn book people into sales people
- Resources for selling more books
- Practical staff training to increase sales
Panelists: Gillian Kohli (Wellesley Books, Wellesley, MA), Daniel Goldin (Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee) Linda-Marie Barrett (Assistant Executive Director of SIBA, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance and formerly Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Asheville, NC)
View Webinar [9]
For booksellers who manage events, publisher relationships, and publicity.
Learn about:
- Which elements are most important in a press kit.
- How to identify and leverage your store’s unique selling position.
- How to effectively present a press kit to publicity contacts.
- How to repurpose testimonials, store data, and event images.
- What not to include in a press kit.
- How to design your own press kit with easy-to- use templates and checklists.
- What to expect during your next Publicists Speed Dating session.
Presenter: Maribeth Pelly (Founder, Easy Marketing Strategies and Event planner, BookTowne Manasquan, NJ)
View Webinar [10]
For booksellers who have never created a large-scale off-site event as well as those who are looking for some creative tips for more successful events.
Learn about:
- Marketing at low or no cost
- Tips for publisher proposals
- Ticketing and bundling
- Managing crowds and logistics
- Book sale expectations
Panelists: Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo (Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, NY), Lynn Pellerito Riehl (Nicola’s Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan), Robert McDonald (The Book Stall, Winnetka, IL.)
View Webinar [11]
IndieCommerce Webinar Center [12]
IndieCommerce Training Videos [13]
IndieLite Webinar Center [14]
Podcasts
Author Jason Reynolds tells the story of being a reluctant reader as a child, to being a bookseller at Karibu Bookstore, and how all of it helped shape him as a writer. Introduction: Sara Hines, Eight Cousins, (Falmouth, MA)
Keynote address: Jason Reynolds, author of Patina (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books), Long Way Down (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books)
Hear Podcast [15]
For children’s backlist book buyers as well as booksellers who want to learn more about the importance of a strong backlist collection.
Learn about:
- The importance of backlist
- How to purchase and display books
- Which titles continue to sell well
- Which children’s categories to continue to invest in to maintain a robust backlist collection
Panelists: Karin Schott, Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers (Farmington, ME), Molly Olivo, Barstons Child's Play (Washington, DC), Erin Barker, Hooray for Books! (Alexandria, VA), and Meghan Goel, BookPeople (Austin, TX)
Hear Podcast [16]
Marley Dias discusses her journey from New Jersey tween to viral activist sensation—and now to author. Marley’s effort to diversify the characters on her bookshelf by collecting #1000BlackGirlBooks was celebrated by thousands of readers, and by booksellers across the country who supported her campaign in their stores and on social media.
Presenters: Marley Dias, author of Marley Dias Gets it Done: And So Can You (Scholastic Inc.) and Suzanna Hermans, Oblong Books (Rhinebeck, NY)
Hear Podcast [17]