Booksellers Blog

We’ve talked a lot here about promoting the store and your community through social networking and blogging. But we haven’t talked much about promoting specific books.

Do you remember “Reservation Boards”?

Here’s where I admit that I am as old as dirt. When I first started working as a sales rep, Reservation Boards were a big deal. They were publisher-created easel-backed signs advertising a soon-to-be published book, and they contained a tear-off pad where customers could sign up to reserve a copy. Naturally, these were offered on the big books by name-brand authors: Danielle Steel, Anne Rice, Jean Auel. Bookstores could then gauge if they needed to order more copies, and even if people didn’t reserve the books, it created an awareness that a new book was coming.

Do you actively pursue pre-orders?

Now, Amazon seems to have taken on much of that role. I know that many independent bookstores accept preorders, but how many of you actively pursue them? And yet, so many independent booksellers have email newsletters and blogs. These are the perfect vehicle for driving preorders because you can include enough additional content to truly get your customers excited. And you know your customers better than anyone — tell them about new books that are coming, and take orders. Some books are tailor made for this treatment.

An example. A self-serving example, but worthy of consideration:

Here’s a perfect example. A LION CALLED CHRISTIAN, by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall. Full disclosure: the book is published by Broadway Books, and is a book that I am responsible for selling to my customers. The book goes on sale on March 10th, 2009.

This book already has a ton of interest surrounding it:

• The YouTube video has been viewed (in its various versions) at least 20 million times (my notes say 48 million, but I can’t find the original source — so let’s just go with 20 million. Thanks, @bookgirl96!).  Whatever the actual number, chances are, some of your customers have seen it.
• The previous edition of the book, originally published in 1971, was the #6 most-sought after out of print book in 2008, according to Bookfinder.com. Maybe some of your customers were looking for it.
• There will be major, major publicity for this book, which will introduce the story to millions of additional viewers. Many of your customers will see or hear about it.

You know what is likely to happen: people will see the story and want the book. You will likely run out very quickly.

Instead, you can begin promoting the book now, and drive pre-orders. Put the video on your blog, with a bit of the story.  Include a link (or better yet, a screenshot of the video with a link to the YouTube site) in your email newsletter.  Ask for the order – include a link to your ecommerce site if you have it, or put the telephone number in big, bold type so people can call.

Since email newsletters can be forwarded, and people will link to blogs with interesting content, you may also be spreading your message (and the request for the order) beyond your existing customer base.

Ongoing benefits when the book is published:

If you include compelling information about a potentially big book on your blog, you stand to benefit when the book is published. When the major publicity does hit, and customers go in search of more information, you will be there, listed on Google and other search engines, as a source for the book. And you will be perceived by your customers as having been “in the know.” You are, after all, the experts in what to read, and what your customers will want to read.

Here’s the video. Warning: bad music will begin playing, so turn down your speakers if necessary:

It may be too late for you to do much with A LION CALLED CHRISTIAN, but do keep these kinds of opportunities in mind going forward. Can you think of other examples of books that you can begin promoting to your customers now, before they are published?