Greetings,

Fall is officially upon us! We hope the summer was kind to you all. 

This month, we’re pleased to mark the change of season with association updates, helpful new resources, upcoming events, our fall book picks, and more.

We hope you enjoy.
 

We’ve been hard at work to serve our members! Here are some important updates from your association.

2022-23 Annual Report & AGM Results

Last Tuesday we hosted our third AGM with Bookseller Members. In the days following, we released our 2022-23 Annual Report for all industry professionals to read. You can access the report here.

The AGM included a number of important votes including the affirmation of our 2023-24 Board of Directors. Two directors were re-elected to the board for a two-year term along with two new directors: Erin Dalton from Huckleberry Books in Cranbrook, BC, and Chandler Jolliffe from Cedar Canoe Books in Huntsville, ON. Welcome to Erin and Chandler!

Thanks to all those members who joined us at this year’s AGM. Member engagement with the AGM is vital so we can make decisions and determine priorities for the organization.

Holiday Season, Here We Come!

Once again this year, the CIBA team will execute a holiday marketing initiative on behalf of indies that is designed to complement existing bookseller marketing plans. It will run for 10 weeks and include three distinct phases: 

  • Shop Early (“Avoid holiday stress this year.”)
  • Indie Bestsellers ("Check out what your fellow readers are buying.")
  • Gift Cards (“Gift the indie bookstore experience.”)

We will focus on promoting broad-appeal messaging on CIBA's reader-facing social media channels and provide graphic assets for those members who want to spread the word. Stay tuned for more information in October!
 

Lunch & Learn: Get a Handle on Digital Advertising
Thursday, September 21
10am PT, 11am MT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET, 2pm AT, 2:30pm Newfoundland

Are you busy refreshing your marketing strategy to ensure that your bookstore is a gift-buying destination this holiday season? Join our informal ask-and-answer session where you can ask your burning questions about digital advertising, such as: 

  • How much should you invest in social media ads?
  • What are the elements of an effective online ad?
  • How can you solve issues like being restricted from boosting posts?

Facilitator: Ariel Hudnall, Managing Director, ZG Stories

Ring in the Holiday Sales with the Four Rs: Re-Up, Revisit, Resurrect, and Refine
Tuesday, September 26
12pm PT, 1pm MT, 2pm CT, 3pm ET, 4pm AT, 4:30pm Newfoundland

Join BookNet Canada’s SalesData experts (and expat retailers) as they share tips and tutorials on using sales data and reports to prepare yourselves—and your shelves—for the holiday season. Some of the questions we will answer:

  • Which sections and categories in your store lie dormant most of the year only to explode in those final weeks when it’s too late to re-stock?
  • Which backlist titles do you need to have in stock for the holidays and how far back do you have to go?
  • How do you keep your displays full and books flying out the door when you’re running low (or, gasp, out of stock!) on some of your top-sellers?

Presenters: Lily Dwyer, Product Manager, BookNet Canada and Kalpna Patel, Product Coordinator, BookNet Canada

CIBA Brainstorm: Investing Your Support for Booksellers Funding
Tuesday, October 3
10am PT, 11am MT, 12pm CT, 1pm ET, 2pm AT, 2:30pm Newfoundland

The Department of Canadian Heritage has officially begun to roll out funding to more than 170 independent and small chain Canadian bookstores through the Support for Booksellers program component of the Canada Book Fund.

Did you apply for SFB funding for 2023-2024? If so, join us for this brainstorming session with your bookselling peers on how to best invest your funding, increase your online presence, and grow your book sales.

CIBA's Publisher Picks series recently concluded its fall 2023 edition! 

Fall Picks from Multinational Publishers 
Fall Picks from Canadian Independent Publishers 

We brought booksellers to the heart of publisher marketing discussions to discover the season's best bets—the books you might not know you need to stock but will be glad you have on hand. Event recordings are now available in the Member Portal. Bookseller Members can also download order spreadsheets and catalogues to round out fall stock and holiday ordering.

Not a CIBA member? Join now to access a range of benefits, including access to live events, recordings, and other business resources. 

A loyalty program is a great way to forge a deeper connection with your customers and encourage additional sales at your store. We asked three indie booksellers about the ins and outs of their loyalty programs including how they work, what benefits they offer, and more. 

“We see the loyalty program as an incentive to sell more but primarily as a way to say thank you to our customers for shopping with us when they have cheaper options through online sales. Some of our customers never 'cash in' their points, or they donate them to other customers.”

– Jo Treggiari, Block Shop Books (Lunenburg, NS)

Visit the Member Blog for more from Jo as well as Shelley Macbeth (Blue Heron Books, ON) and Jessica Walker (Munro’s Books, BC).

Accessible social content is more important than ever before.

To support members who want to create meaningful content, the CIBA team created a primer on best practices for accessibility in social media. This guide includes tips and resources for copywriting, design, hashtag use, captions, alt text, and image descriptions. 

Members can access the guide here. 

Not a CIBA member? Join now to access our business resources.

Fall is in the air and between new releases, literary awards, and launch events there is no better time to be a book lover! We’ve put together a list of new and upcoming titles that readers can seek out at their indies this autumn.

Check out our list for adults.

Peruse our picks for young adults.

Take a peek at our list for kids.

Visit us on Facebook and Instagram to share our lists with your community. Our list for young adults will go live tomorrow and we’ll post about our picks for kids next Thursday!

Tattletales Books & Toys in Dartmouth, NS is an independent, family-owned children’s bookstore that has been serving the Maritimes since 1995. We spoke with owner Anne Whebby about the store’s history, how she decides which books to stock, and what she loves about being an indie bookseller.

“When children read, they can go anywhere and learn anything. Reading broadens their world.”

Read the article here.

This year, we brought our members a new marketing resource in the Notable Public Dates Calendar. This living document features key dates like public holidays, themed occasions, awards announcements, and more.

The full resource is accessible as a list-by-date and traditional calendar. Our printable overview for the last three months of the year is now available.

Members can access the calendar here.

Have a key date that may be of interest to all members? Email Kayla Calder.

Our colleagues at BookNet Canada continue to provide unique content and helpful resources related to the Canadian book industry.

Right now, you can:
 
 
 

This message was sent to you by the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe at any time

P.O. Box 36099, Halifax NS B3J 3S9

{Organization_URL}