Storytellers Rule the World

An Indie Bookstore's Subscription Model


Listen Later

Annie Jones, owner of the Bookshelf in Thomasville, GA, and host of From the Front Porch, joins us to chat about how she has built multiple streams of revenue for her bookstore powered by subscriptions. She runs a physical book subscription and a digital book club for the superfans of her podcast. So many insights in here for us authors!

Annie’s Links:

https://www.bookshelfthomasville.com/

https://www.fromthefrontporchpodcast.com/patrons-only

EPISODE OUTLINE:

0:00 - 2:24 Introduction and Context

2:24 - 4:56 The Overview of the Bookshelf’s Subscription Model

4:56 - 7:08 Why Annie Started Subscriptions as an Indie Bookstore

7:08 - 8:39 Tweaking Reader Subscriptions to Drive Hundreds of Sign-ups

8:39 - 12:25 Subscription for Annie’s Bookish Podcast

12:25 - 16:02 Virtual Events for Authors

16:02 - 20:10 How Annie Markets Her Subscriptions + The Start of From the Front Porch Podcast

20:10 - 21:50 Making The Bookshelf Community with Subscriptions

21:50 - 24:19 How Annie Manages the Bookstore, Podcast, and Subscriptions

24:19 - 28:08 The Growth in Annie's Team and Online Direct Sales

28:08 - 32:46 How Annie Hired a Community Manager

32:46 - 34:56 How Annie Cultivates Direct Relationships With Her Readers (And Sells Directs Online Too)

34:56 - 37:58 The Power In Book Curation and Community Curation

37:58 - 41:00 Has Annie Tried Selling eBooks Direct?

41:00 - 43:26 Gen Z Reading on Mobile Phones + Future of eBook Direct Sales

43:26 - 45:25 Creators as the New Booksellers

45:25 - 48:30 Boundless Futures for Books and the Adapting Tastes of Readers

48:30 - 50:05 Life Update + Conclusion

Join our community of subscription authors: https://www.facebook.com/groups/subscriptionsforauthors

Free storytelling insights delivered to your inbox each week: https://storytellersruletheworld.com/

And join Ream, the all-in-one publishing platform by fiction authors for fiction authors: https://www.reamstories.com

Review/rate Storytellers Rule the World on your favorite podcast app. You can also find the episode transcripts here: https://storytellersruletheworld.com/podcasthome

Thank you so much for tuning into the show! Always feel free to reach out to the team at [email protected]

ABOUT REAM

Ream is an all-in-one publishing platform for fiction authors.

Ream combines the best features of a mailing list, community platform, and a world-class reading and listening experience into one easy-to-use platform. All for $0 a month. We only make money when you do — and authors keep 90% of what they earn.

You can join Ream here: https://reamstories.com

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Storytellers Rule the WorldBy Emilia Rose and Michael Evans

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

12 ratings