Bookstore Marketing 101: 7 Smart Ways To Promote Your Bookstore
In the 1998 rom-com, You’ve Got Mail, Tom Hanks’ character’s mega bookstore chain stomps out Meg Ryan’s indie book shop. If only the downslide of the local bookstore industry was that heart-warming.
In reality, the millennium summoned the rise of the mighty retailers and the mom and pop bookstore’s decline. The nail in the coffin? Amazon and ebooks. Fortunately, all it takes to start a fire is a small ember, and local brick-and-mortar booksellers are still aglow.
Thanks to smart marketing strategies and diehard loyalists, local bookstores have reinvented themselves despite drastic tech advances.
While there are many reasons for this pendulum shift, it’s hard to ignore the one advantage the indie bookstore David has over the mega-chain Goliath: heart.
Even giants lose their footing in this new, tech-driven landscape, as proven by the shaky ground upon which Barnes & Noble found itself in 2019.
But the tides are turning again, only this time, it’s in favor of the little guys who’ve proved that grit and perseverance pay off.
The battle between big chains and indie booksellers came to a climax in 2009 when there were a mere 1,651 indie bookstores in the U.S. Ten years later? The number has steadily climbed up to 2,524.
Try as they might, mega-chains simply don’t have the infatuating je ne sais quoi of indie bookstores.
Still, you need customers to walk through your doors, purchase goods, crack open a book, and stay awhile.
te a head-turning rebrand. Instead, start with the vital details like logo design, business cards, and price tags.
