Booksellers Blog

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I get this question a lot. And so I think it should be one of the first questions that I answer. In all honesty, while I understand the question, I think it stems from a bigger question: “what is a blog?”.  So let’s answer that:

What is a blog?

A blog is not just someone prattling on about the inconsequential details of their life. It can be that, of course. But that’s not the definition of a blog.

A blog is a website that is coded so that someone can subscribe to it. It is easy to update, and updates generally appear in reverse chronological order, with the newest entries at the top. We’ll talk about the mechanism to subscribe (RSS feeds) later. For now, let’s just say that subscribing to a blog is like recording a TV show on your DVR, or subscribing to a magazine by mail. When there is new content (a new show, or a new issue of the magazine), it appears on your DVR or in your mailbox. You don’t have to remember to go out and get it — it’s just there.

And that’s what makes blogs so powerful. You can control the flow of information.

So, who has the time?

My short answer to the question, “Who has time to read blogs?” is, “you do.” If you read newspapers or magazines for information, or if you receive newsletters in your email inbox, you are likely consuming the same type of information that is available on blogs. It’s just delivered differently.

In my next post, I’ll tell you why blogs are such a powerful tool to have in your arsenal. And why “time” doesn’t matter.

People are talking about you. Do you know what they are saying? They are talking about your store, leaving reviews, perhaps blogging about a customer service experience they’ve had.

You must do this:

Even if you never write a single blog post, if you never join a social networking site, there is a key element to online marketing that is mandatory: listening. Listen to what people are writing about you online. Most of it will likely be positive. Some may not. And some may be erroneous information.

Have you lost business due to wrong information?

I once searched for a bookstore on Google Maps. On the side of map was a link to store information, and it showed that the store had 3 reviews. I clicked to see what the reviews said. The first 2 were positive. The 3rd? It said that the store was no longer at that location. Now, I had an appointment there the next day, so I knew that the store was in the same place it had been for years. But I wonder how many people were looking for a bookstore in this tourist town, in the height of the summer, and read that the store was no longer there. How many sales had the store lost because they weren’t checking to see what was being said online?

Your homework

When Michael and I held our session on blogging at NEIBA, we gave all attendees a homework assignment. I am repeating it here, for you. Go do these 5 things. Do them now. They won’t take long, but you might be surprised what you find.

And if you don’t find anything … well, that’s another problem. We’ll talk about that another time.

1. Google Local Business Center
   Check your listing, add your store and relevant details.
2. Set up Google Alerts
   Set up alerts for your store name, any variations, names of key staff, “bookstore + your town”, and any other key phrases that are important to your business. These will send you an email whenever anyone mentions the key words you’ve selected. If a customer blogs about your store, you’ll know about it. Also set up an alert for your URL (www.yourstore.com) — if someone links to you, you’ll get an email so that you can check it out and comment if appropriate.
3. Are you reviewed on Yelp.com or Insider Pages?
   If you are not listed, add your store. Encourage your customers to leave (honest) reviews. False “reviews” by employees will be figured out and can do more damage.
4. Google Blog Search
   Did anyone mention your store in their blog? Be sure you check variations, and “bookstore + your town”
5. Google your store and yourself, and “bookstore your town“
   Are you there? Is what shows up a valid reflection of your store? Are people talking about you? Will the search results entice new customers to come in to your store? In many cases, this search page is the first impression that anyone will have of your business. Make sure it reflects who you are and what your store is about. If you are dissatisfied with the results, this is the perfect opportunity to set up your blogging strategy and change the Google results.

I’d love it if you comment and tell us what you found. You may have been pleasantly surprised, and we’d love to hear it. If you did find something wonky, it will help convince others to go through the same exercise. Please tell us about your experience in the comments.

I promise that I will soon write a post that outlines the many reasons that I think that some kind of online outreach to customers is important for independent bookstores. There are many reasons, but today, I just want to talk briefly about one: word of mouth.

A few years ago, I was doing a presentation to reading groups at an independent bookstore. I have a very good friend from college who lives in the next town over, less than 10 miles from the store. She is a school teacher in the town where the store is located. She is a reader. When I mentioned that I was doing this presentation, and that maybe we could meet up before or after, she told me that she didn’t even know that the store existed.

Ivan Misner has a very interesting post titled “Watch Your Word of Mouth” over at Beneath the Cover. This particular paragraph struck me:

“Good customer service is important because it reduces negative word-of-mouth. But by itself, good customer service won’t generate enough positive word-of-mouth to build your business. So it’s up to you as the business owner to ensure the positive counters the negative.”

I believe that online outreach can help build the positive word of mouth. Ivan has some other ideas on how to build that word of mouth offline, with your friends and family. It’s a quick and helpful read.

In his post Where Rabbit Holes Lead, Chris Brogan (you’ll see him referenced a lot on this blog, so you might as well go subscribe to his blog yourself) talks about how searching for information on one book resulted in him learning about several more that caught his interest.

I’ve got more to say about customer reviews in future posts, but the idea of those reviews encouraging multiple title purchases had not occurred to me. By reading reviews that reference other books, the reader is drawn into exploring those titles as well. It’s what you do in the bookstore, certainly. How can that be incorporated into your websites?

I will write more in coming days about the various blog platforms, and how to choose which platform to use. But before I do that, I want to encourage you to start a “practice” blog. You may still be deciding if you want to set up a blog for your store. That’s OK. I think the best way to learn about blogging is to blog.

Blogger, a blogging platform owned by Google, is, in my opinion, the easiest to use. That is where we host Books on the Nightstand, and there are several other good bookstore blogs out there on the Blogger platform.

To set up a practice blog, you just need a free Google or Gmail account. Here’s a video that shows you how quick and easy it is to get started.

Not sure what to blog about? My suggestion would be to blog about anything about which you are passionate: a hobby, a vacation, your family, your garden, your photos, your dog. Remember, it’s just for practice. You can even mark your blog private if you like, so that only people you allow to read it can see it.  The idea is to see how easy it is to get started, and to get in the habit of using the platform and seeing how it works.  No pressure, really.

Go ahead. Give it a try. If you want to share your practice blog with us here, please leave us a link in the comments.

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Online marketing is great for internet businesses and ecommerce, where your efforts can give a customer enough information that they hit the “buy now” button. But what about businesses that are primarily brick and mortar, that don’t do businesses on the internet?

Salon Today, a trade magazine for beauty salon owners, recently ran an article entitled “Bank on Beauty Blogging“. Though the focus is on the beauty industry, there are some great stories and a solid list of dos and don’ts that make it worthwhile reading for any locally-based business.

When you are thinking about marketing, don’t confine your research to the independent bookselling industry. Take a look at some of your town’s other local businesses. Are they using technology to drive customers into their stores? What ideas can you incorporate into your marketing mix?

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This is a place for independent booksellers to explore the world of blogging, social media, online marketing, and anything else that comes up in conversation. I believe that there is a major shift in the way that people find information, and that booksellers can use that shift to connect with their customers in new ways. Blogs, websites, and social networks provide a way to reach people that does not rely on huge advertising budgets. I am learning about these tools, and want to share what I learn with you. I also hope that you will share as well. Please feel free to comment on any post, to email me with questions, and to join in the conversation. If you are an independent bookseller and would like to be a co-author of this blog, please contact me.

This is not a how-to site. There is so much information out there that it can be overwhelming. To make it easier, I will post links and tidbits of information that I have found useful, from reading books and other blogs devoted to social media, and from the many people I’ve met this past year who make a living working in online marketing, PR, and social media. I am especially interested in case studies of other independent retailers and how they use blogs and social media. Many of the posts will contain links for you to follow at your leisure, as they interest you. I want to keep posts short and digestible — you should be able to read them in less than a minute, but hopefully think about them throughout the day.

About me:
I have been a sales rep for Random House for more than 20 years, and I work with independent bookstores every day. For the past year, much of my spare time has been devoted to Books on the Nightstand, a blog and podcast about books and reading that I create with my colleague Michael Kindness. Our experiences with Books on the Nightstand, and the things we’ve learned along the way, have shown me what can be possible with some time and understanding of the online tools available to all.

At the 2008 New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) trade show, Michael Kindness and I presented a workshop entitled “Do I Really Need a Blog: Social Media 101 for the Independent Bookseller”. The workshop was very well received, but I feel that there needs to be a continuing conversation, and it should reach beyond NEIBA members. This blog is an attempt to achieve that.

I hope you stick around.

disclaimer: this blog is not affiliated in any way with Random House, and all opinions posted here are my own, not those of my employers.