Indies First Publicity Templates, Map Now Available

With the November 30 celebration of Indies First and Small Business Saturday just weeks away, it’s time for bookstores to ramp up their publicity efforts. Opportunities abound for booksellers and authors to draw media and customer attention to both their own events and the events of area booksellers as a whole through outreach to local news outlets, as well as via store websites, newsletters, blogs, and social media postings.

To help in these efforts, the American Booksellers Association has created two press release templates and sample social media posts and tweets that stores can use to begin creating their own publicity outreach. The first press release template is for stores that are hosting authors, and the second for stores not hosting authors but participating in Small Business Saturday. Both press releases encourage authors — or anybody who wants to sell a book through a website — to make the indie “Buy” button the first among all e-retailer choices on their websites.

Sample social media posts and tweets touting Small Business Saturday and Indies First (see below) have been created for bookstores and for authors. They’re easy to adapt, and they include links to the IndieBound Indies First store finder and Indies First on Twitter.

Launching today on IndieBound.org is an interactive map of participating Indies First stores and their visiting authors. The map will be updated with more and more information in the coming days. Booksellers are asked to check the map’s details relating to their stores and to let ABA know if any information needs to be corrected or updated. (Send an e-mail with the information to ABA’s Industry Relations Assistant Anne Caldwell.)

The Indies First logo, for use in promotional materials, can be found in the Bookseller DIY’s Designs & Downloads. And till November 15 stores and authors can join the movement at bookweb.org/indies-first.

SAMPLE POSTS & TWEETS

For Stores:

Be a “gorgeous book nerd” at your local bookstore November 30, Small Business Saturday! Find a store here. [link to www.IndieBound.org/indies-first]

All tired out from Black Friday? Why not take a book break at [name of store], your local indie bookstore, on Small Business Saturday, November 30!

Where will [name of store’s author] be on November 30? Just selling books at [name of store], your local indie bookstore, as part of Indies First. #indiesfirst

[name of author] is Indies First Bookseller-for-a-Day 11/30 12-2pm at [name of store]  #indiesfirst

@Sherman_Alexie you had us at “you gorgeous book nerds!” Awesome idea — #indiesfirst Let’s get this movement started! [link to www.IndieBound.org/indies-first]

Don’t forget to — Eat Local, Sleep Local, Read Local — on November 30! #SmallBizSaturday #indiesfirst

For Authors:

Me?! I’ll be at [name of bookstore] slinging books for #indiesfirst on Nov. 30, with my own recommendations (and [name of author’s book], of course!).