Your voice matters, but talking in front of your state legislature can be daunting. As more anti-book legislation is passed, booksellers are in a unique position to advocate for the importance of access to diverse books and stories. This hands-on workshop will help you begin the process of crafting a compelling testimony that can influence state legislative decisions. We'll discuss the essentials of effective testimony writing and how you can testify in front of your state legislature. You will leave with a starting point for your own testimony to be ready for anti-book legislation in your state.

Recorded Februrary 26, 2025 at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

The newest and hottest book is all over BookTok, but how can your bookstore profit off of an in-demand pre-order? This session will explore how you can take full advantage of pre-order opportunities so you can avoid lost sales, PR, and market share. You'll leave this session ready to successfully promote, report, and sell pre-orders.

Recorded Februrary 24, 2025 at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

Everyone loves opening up a big box of books, but let's talk about being on the other side of that process: packaging and shipping! This session will explore how you can drive down shipping costs while still making your customer's ordering and unboxing experience seamless, personal, and exciting, all while reminding them why they shop indie. We'll discuss shipping options, sustainable packaging, and packaging branding. So whether you're a pro or just getting started with e-commerce orders, you'll gain helpful tips that will save you time and money.

Recorded Februrary 25, 2025 at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

The CEO and founder of Bookshop.org Andy Hunter will give bookstores all the details on how to successfully sell e-books. Andy will walk stores through the simple steps to add an additional revenue stream to their ledger, how bookstores can sell e-books on their own site, how referrals to Bookshop.org work, how much margin you'll receive, and more!

Recorded Februrary 26, 2025 at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

Running a bookstore should be fun, but one of the less fun aspects is managing the overwhelming number of invoices you receive from publishers. To solve this problem, many bookstores have turned to Batch for Books, a free online hub that streamlines how stores organize and manage invoices and make payments to publishers. In this session, you'll learn about Batch and how it works. Then, you'll hear from booksellers who will share how they've integrated Batch into their workflows throughout their stores and how that has saved them time and money.

The session will include information on how Batch automatically stores and organizes invoices to reduce paperwork and free up time, provides easy access to invoices when and where it's most convenient for you, streamlines store processes for making payments, submitting claims for damages/shortages, and reconciling and verifying invoices, and Links with QuickBooks to automate the entry of invoices and credits and eliminate manual data entry. The Booksellers Association developed Batch for Books specifically for use by indie bookstores, and it is free to use.

Recorded Februrary 26, 2025 at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

Join Ingram for an informative workshop with ipage tips that can help you manage your account and bookstore more efficiently. Whether you're new to ipage or an experienced user, gain a clearer understanding of our platform's full capabilities allowing you to spend less time navigating and more time selling. Learn about our streamlined stock box and cart, Direct-to-Home improvements, IPS publisher direct discount cart, and so much more! This session will also focus on how you can use ipage to find Spanish-language books and books published by small presses.

Recorded Februrary 26, 2025 at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

ABA's Indies Introduce interview series spotlights debut authors handpicked by booksellers from around the country. In each episode, a bookseller from the Indies Introduce panel interviews an author featured in the program to celebrate the release of their book.

In this episode, Kristine Jelstrom-Hamill from Buttonwood Books and Toys in Cohassett, MA interviews Kyle Casey Chu, author of The Queen Bees of Tybee County, available April 15, 2025, at your local independent bookstore.

Theme by Constant Companion

ABA's Indies Introduce interview series spotlights debut authors handpicked by booksellers from around the country. In each episode, a bookseller from the Indies Introduce panel interviews an author featured in the program to celebrate the release of their book.

In this episode, Kalli King from Rediscovered Books in Boise, ID interviews DeAndra Davis, author of All the Noise at Once, available April 15, 2025, at your local independent bookstore.

Theme by Constant Companion

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is one of the key metrics for ABA's ABACUS survey and your store's profitability. This session will focus on how you can manage COGS through ordering, negotiating, and diversifying your inventory. We'll discuss high-margin books like remainders and used books, pricing and management of non-book items, and how and when to buy strategically. You'll gain insight to prioritize improving your COGS while enhancing your store's financial health and overall success.

Recorded Februrary 24, 2025 at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion

The top stores using Bookshop.org don't treat it as a passive income stream — they actively look for ways to incorporate Bookshop into their business. In this session, we'll dive into the innovative strategies and practices that have propelled these top-performing stores, leaving you with actionable insights on how to elevate your store's performance and increase this critical revenue stream.

Recorded Februrary 24, 2025 at Winter Institute 2025 in Denver, CO

Additional bookstore education resources can be found at www.bookweb.org.

Theme song by Constant Companion