Video

BookTok is here to stay. In this session, booksellers will learn how bookstores, authors, and publishers use BookTok to assess sales, trends, and engage with a virtual community of readers.

In this session, bookstores with experience with the media will share how to to make your store media ready, including creating an About Us section that will attract press, how to build a media kit, which components are key, and how to select the assets to share to highlight your bookstore’s individuality in the press.

Indies Introduce is all about what independent booksellers do best: Discovering exciting debut authors and sharing the best with readers across the country. You will hear about the title selection process from the bookseller panelists who curated the list and many of the debut authors will be present to read a short passage and answer a question posed by one of the panelists. Afterwards, authors will move to the signing area where booksellers can meet the authors and get galleys signed.

Learn the ins and outs of TikTok in a workshop environment. Participants will gain a better understanding of TikTok lingo, how to record and produce video, as well as basic to intermediate editing tools that will help bookstores attract customers a drive sales.

Join activist and author Karen Walrond (The Lightmaker's Manifesto) for a keynote conversation on how booksellers can maintain their spark while continuing to work for change in their communities and the world at large. By identifying tools and practices that can help booksellers define and refine their missions without succumbing to burnout, Walrond's opening keynote is sure to kindle conversations that will resonate through the entirety of Ci10.

Understanding financial benchmarks within your children’s bookstore or children’s departments can help you maximize space, optimize non-book gifts and sidelines, improve profitability, and more. This session is for children’s-only bookstores or general bookstores with a children’s department. Attendees will also learn more about ABACUS — how to participate, how to use this important tool for your business, and why it’s so important for children’s bookstores to be counted in this data.

In this session, IndieCommerce team members will discuss upcoming features and updates for websites on the current IndieCommerce 1.0 and IndieLite platforms to prepare for the 2022 Holiday shopping season. The team will also review the transition to the new IndieCommerce 2.0 platform, the timeline, and how stores can best prepare for the transition. An additional session that will discuss just IndieCommerce 2.0 is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22.

Over the last two years, the IndieCommerce team has observed and analyzed consumer e-commerce buying habits as all consumers were forced to adapt to online shopping throughout the public health crisis. In this feature talk, Phillip Davies, ABA’s Director of E-Commerce, will give attendees an e-commerce market overview and share assessments on consumer buying habits. Afterward, booksellers will meet in Buzz Groups to discuss how they can optimize what they’ve learned to continue to drive online sales.

Celebrate Juneteenth with music and a not to be missed conversation between Dr. Ibram X. Kendi (Goodnight Racism, Penguin Young Readers) and Frederick Joseph (Better Than We Found It: Conversations to Help Save the World, Candlewick Press).

Community partnerships are an untapped source of income for many stores. They can have a profound impact on a store’s bottom line as well as the soul of the store and its community. A panel of booksellers who work closely with community partners will share how to make initial contact, what format a partnership can take, and how to manage expectations without taking on too much. Attendees will have an opportunity for open discussion and to ask each other questions on community partnerships.

Non-book gifts and sidelines support a store’s book inventory, increase dollars per transaction, add value for customers, and enhance a store’s personality. This session will offer merchandising tips to optimize your space, improve profitability, and serve your customers in a way that both increases sales and lets your store’s identity shine.

Pre-registration required; $59 fee per person; space is limited; attendance at Winter Institute is not required. Registration is closed. The IndieCommerce Institute is an interactive, classroom-style workshop for users of ABA’s e-commerce platforms. IndieCommerce Institute 2020 will feature two seminars: an IndieCommerce seminar for members using our IndieCommerce platform and an IndieLite seminar for members using our IndieLite platform. Each seminar will include step-by-step instructions for the topics covered. Each participant will be assigned their own test site to use and follow along with during the seminars. See the complete IndieCommerce Seminar schedule here. Panelists: Chanthee Keokhaw, ABA (White Plains, NY), Scott Nafz, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Geetha Nathan, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Ryan Quinn, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Matt Supko, Augment Digital (Huntsville, AL)

New Features
Don’t have the time to keep up with all the new features the IndieCommerce team is rolling out? Don’t worry, we got you covered. This session will include a live demonstration of all the recently added features and how your site can benefit from them.

Pre-registration required; $59 fee per person; space is limited; attendance at Winter Institute is not required. Registration is closed. The IndieCommerce Institute is an interactive, classroom-style workshop for users of ABA’s e-commerce platforms. IndieCommerce Institute 2020 will feature two seminars: an IndieCommerce seminar for members using our IndieCommerce platform and an IndieLite seminar for members using our IndieLite platform. Each seminar will include step-by-step instructions for the topics covered. Each participant will be assigned their own test site to use and follow along with during the seminars. See the complete IndieCommerce Seminar schedule here. Panelists: Chanthee Keokhaw, ABA (White Plains, NY), Scott Nafz, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Geetha Nathan, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Ryan Quinn, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Matt Supko, Augment Digital (Huntsville, AL)

Promoting and Selling Pre-Orders
Did you know your IndieCommerce website has great tools for handling pre-orders? In this session, we will cover everything from creating custom products for pre-order titles all the way to processing these pre-orders and generating custom reports. We will share best practices and marketing tips from other IndieCommerce stores.

Pre-registration required; $59 fee per person; space is limited; attendance at Winter Institute is not required. Registration is closed. The IndieCommerce Institute is an interactive, classroom-style workshop for users of ABA’s e-commerce platforms. IndieCommerce Institute 2020 will feature two seminars: an IndieCommerce seminar for members using our IndieCommerce platform and an IndieLite seminar for members using our IndieLite platform. Each seminar will include step-by-step instructions for the topics covered. Each participant will be assigned their own test site to use and follow along with during the seminars. See the complete IndieCommerce Seminar schedule here. Panelists: Chanthee Keokhaw, ABA (White Plains, NY), Scott Nafz, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Geetha Nathan, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Ryan Quinn, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Matt Supko, Augment Digital (Huntsville, AL)

Store Books, Signed Copies, Pre-Order Titles
Selling books unique to your store

Pre-registration required; $59 fee per person; space is limited; attendance at Winter Institute is not required. Registration is closed. The IndieCommerce Institute is an interactive, classroom-style workshop for users of ABA’s e-commerce platforms. IndieCommerce Institute 2020 will feature two seminars: an IndieCommerce seminar for members using our IndieCommerce platform and an IndieLite seminar for members using our IndieLite platform. Each seminar will include step-by-step instructions for the topics covered. Each participant will be assigned their own test site to use and follow along with during the seminars. See the complete IndieCommerce Seminar schedule here. Panelists: Chanthee Keokhaw, ABA (White Plains, NY), Scott Nafz, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Geetha Nathan, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Ryan Quinn, ABA (White Plains, NY) , Matt Supko, Augment Digital (Huntsville, AL)

Site Building — Understanding the Basic Building Blocks of an IndieCommerce Site
Do you find terms like “page,” “block,” “menu,” “content,” “views,” etc., confusing and making it hard for you to build your IndieCommerce site to your liking? You are not alone. In this session, we will explore the terms and technology behind your website, what these items are for, how they depend on each other, and how they all fit together to create an amazing and rich website.