Joining the IndieBound Community
First, click the Join the Community link on the blue navigation bar at the top of the front page, or enter http://www.indiebound.org/join into your web browser.

Choose a username for yourself. This will be the name you use to log in to the community, and to represent yourself to other users.

Enter a valid email address—it's our only way to get in touch with you.

Enter your location--city and state--and choose a password that you'll remember.

Next you'll be asked to retype two words. We're not just playing a game with you—this is to make sure you're a human, not a spambot. Then click Create New Account to finish.

From now on when you log in to the IndieBound Community, you'll use the username you chose in the beginning, and the password you just created.

Finding and editing your store profile
The main goal of the IndieBound Community is for users to share and find great independent businesses. By default, all ABA member stores are already listed on the site, with store names and addresses. You can add more elements to your store profile to jazz it up, and represent what your store is really like.

First, look up your store in the Indie Store Finder.

This searches all stores listed in the community. You can search by address, zip code, city, or state. Your search results are organized according to their distance from the geographical center of the zip code, city, or state you entered to search by. Since most users will be searching for stores in a specific location, rather than a general area such as a whole state, zip code and city searches tend to give the user the most accurate results.

Enter your store's city or zip code and hit search. Your search generates a map, with markers for each store location, and a list of stores to the right of the map. I've found my store:

Mouse over your store's listing and click on the gray shaded area. Your store's marker will pop up into a larger balloon, with options for zooming in, getting directions, or retrieving more info. Click More Info, or click your store's name in the listing.

This takes you to your store's profile. It's pretty empty! You can add store information, a description, detailed store hours and photos to your profile by clicking Update Store Info.

This page gives you tons of options for listing your store specialties; giving your phone, email address and website for contact info; detailing your store hours; providing an extended description; and uploading store photos.

Fleshing out your profile with as much information as possible makes it a lot more memorable to users to search for or stumble across it.

Now I've updated my store's profile. I'll also become a fan of my own store, just to show you how--but there's nothing wrong with being a fan of your own store! On any store's profile, just click the Become a Fan button, directly beneath Update Store Info.

You can view my store's full profile here: http://www.indiebound.org/stores/paiges-indie-bookstore-pickle-emporium