ABA to Offer Education at Regional Shows

This fall, the American Booksellers Association will be presenting education sessions at each of the nine regional booksellers association gatherings. At the top of the list at every show is IndieBound, the new ABA initiative that celebrates independents and supports localism. Other ABA sessions vary from show to show, but here's a first look at what's on the agenda at each. Updates and complete details, including times and presenters, will be provided in the coming weeks in BTW's fall regional trade show previews.

Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Trade Show
Monday, September 15 - Wednesday, September 17, at the Airport Holiday Inn, Portland, Oregon

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.
  
  
• Creating Killer Events -- With books sold in more and more outlets each year, independent booksellers are finding new and innovative ways to distinguish themselves from the competition. One of the most effective tools to set yourself apart is a schedule of compelling events. In this session, you'll review an event prep checklist and hear experienced booksellers describe what makes a killer event. This session focuses on events for small- and medium-sized stores.
  
  
• Green Retailing -- Booksellers have known about the importance of being environmentally conscious since at least 1962, when Rachel Carson published Silent Spring. But we also operate in an industry that uses metric ton upon metric ton of paper, and barrel after barrel of gasoline to transport goods from the warehouse to the store -- not to mention air conditioning, lighting, and all of the other modern conveniences we take for granted. This session will look at how we all can be smarter, cleaner, more efficient retailers, and how we can save money by going green!

Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show
Wednesday, September 17 - Saturday, September 20, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.
  
  
• Build an ABA E-commerce Site, part of MPIBA's "Bring Your Laptop" session.

New England Independent Booksellers Association Trade Show
Thursday, September 18 - Saturday, 20, at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.
  
  
• Consumer Behavior Revealed -- Getting close to your customers is a lot like dating them: the better you know one another, the more successful your relationship will be. Studies show that the same consumer behaves differently at different times. Sometimes customers are price conscious, sometimes brand conscious, sometimes seeking a unique experience. This informative, entertaining session will show you how to better identify and understand who your customers really are.
  
  
• Surviving Tough Times -- Independent bookstores are facing a multitude of challenges this coming season, and they'll most likely continue in the year ahead. This workshop will focus on specific areas that will help store owners and managers survive these tough times. This content-rich session will include discussions about cash management, inventory control, reducing costs, and the importance of leadership and being proactive rather than reactive.

New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Conference
Sunday, September 21 - Monday, September 22, at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza in Cherry Hill, New Jersey

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.
  
  
• Bookstore Self Audit: A Critical Look at Your Own Operations -- Learn how to evaluate your store from the perspective of your customers. The focus will be on your business' ambiance, convenience, financial health, inventory selection, marketing, and customer services and how to use the audit to identify where to focus your resources to make your bookstore more customer-friendly.

Midwest Booksellers Association Trade Show
Thursday, September 25 - Saturday, September 27, at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium at RiverCentre, plus nearby venues in Downtown St. Paul, Minnesota

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.
  
  
• Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store -- The concepts of localism, independence, and sustainability are gaining traction with consumers. In this session you'll hear how the retail market has evolved to allow these phenomena to take root and grow, and you'll learn how to leverage and exploit these powerful tools to more effectively market and promote your store.
  
  
• Local First Initiatives: Booksellers who have been actively involved in a local business alliance in their communities will report on current trends in the Shop Local movement. Hear how you can grow your store's visibility and sales by leveraging your most precious commodity: Your independence!

Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance
Friday, September 26 - Sunday, September 28, at the Marriott Renaissance in Mobile, Alabama

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.
  
  
• Budgeting & Monitoring Workshop -- This program examines how bookstores, like other businesses, are best operated within a system of financial controls that allow the owner/manager to predict performance and then measure outcomes against those predictions. Special attention will be paid to the control of cash flow and the information needed to obtain an operating line of credit. Through the use of a series of Excel worksheets, booksellers will be shown how to integrate a budgeting and monitoring system into their store operations. Special attention will be paid to issues relating to small- and medium-sized stores.

Great Lakes Booksellers Association Trade Show and Conference
Friday, October 3 - Sunday, October 5, at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, Michigan (metropolitan Detroit area)

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.
  
  
• Consumer Behavior Revealed -- Getting close to your customers is a lot like dating them: the better you know one another, the more successful your relationship will be. Studies show that the same consumer behaves differently at different times. Sometimes customers are price conscious, sometimes brand conscious, sometimes seeking a unique experience. This informative, entertaining session will show you how to better identify and understand who your customers really are.
  
  
• Bookstore Self Audit: A Critical Look at Your Own Operations -- -- Learn how to evaluate your store from the perspective of your customers. The focus will be on your business' ambiance, convenience, financial health, inventory selection, marketing, and customer services and how to use the audit to identify where to focus your resources to make your bookstore more customer-friendly.

Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
Friday, October 3 - Sunday, October 5, at the Oakland Convention Center, Oakland Marriott City Center in Oakland, California

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.
  
  
• Print-on-Demand: An Opportunity -- To survive the never-ending assault of competition, technology, and shifting demographics, independent booksellers need to be on the lookout for new business models. Print-on-demand (POD) is a great place to start. In addition to changing the nature of book distribution, POD allows booksellers to become publishers with very little financial risk. Learn about ABA's new partnership with Applewood Books that enables you to publish any title that is in the public domain or any book, such as a local interest title, whose rights have reverted to the author and to sell it at margins from 50 to 75 percent.

Southern California Independent Booksellers Association Authors Feast & Trade Show
Saturday, October 18, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound -- There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.