SIBA booksellers who attended Maribeth Pelly’s webinar “How to Prepare a Press Kit for your Store” are now working on creating or retooling their store press kits in advance of trips to Book Expo. Pelly, the event planner for Booktowne (NJ) and a professional marketing consultant,  live-critiqued eight press kits from small and large stores with different approaches to their events programming. Pelly noted SIBA-member stores tend to focus on their story and place in their community, which is very positive. However, she emphasized the importance of including an up-to-date grid, something lacking in most press kits critiqued, showing numbers for attendees, venue seating, and books sold at successful author events. Pelly’s Easy Press Kit Checklist and Press Kit Template are now available in SIBA’s Peer Brain Trust under “Working with Publishers.” Pelly’s next webinar with SIBA is How to Pitch Your Store to Publicists on Thursday, May 24 at 2PM. Attendees will learn how to have productive conversations with publishers at Book Expo’s Speed Dating, and to stay on publishers’ radar all year long. Please sign up to join us!

A recording of Pelly’s Press Kit webinar will be available soon. Booksellers who attended shared the following:

“It helped me de-clutter and focus on what is essential...It was very helpful to take notes and listen to her responses and critiques; her criticisms of all of the different press kits were the best part as she allowed her honest reactions and thought processes to come through rather than just leaving us to rely on her tip sheet...We're putting direct input from the webinar onto the page!” --John Cavalier, Owner of Cavalier House Books

“Having our newly minted press release critiqued by Maribeth was affirming. She thoroughly explained the rationale behind the advice she gave us for changes and helped me see how well we were and weren't communicating our strengths. Maribeth offers fresh eyes combined with real focus on the appropriate goals for each element of a press kit.” --Adah Fitzgerald, Owner of Main Street Books

“I enjoyed seeing what everyone else does and seeing the examples...I am planning on attending the next one and think it will be a great build on the previous material. I did make a quick reference numbers sheet which was something we were lacking. I have since shared with publicists and reps so hopefully will see some traction from that!”

--Jamie Rogers Southern, Operations Director of Bookmarks

“Avid definitely benefited from having our press kit reviewed by Maribeth. It was great to hear what we were doing right, and things we could improve upon. It was definitely worth my time to attend the webinar.” --Rachel Watkins, Communications Director of Avid Bookshop 

"The press kit webinar was so helpful. We learned so much and hope to implement what we learned very soon. The most helpful part was just being able to wrap our minds around what a press kit actually is, and what that consists of. The examples were phenomenal. Walking through what publishers look for and other things that give you a leg up when talking with publishers was an eye opener in the best way. We're still babies at this, so we really appreciate the time and effort y'all put in to this presentation." --Lauren Brown, Assistant Manager of The Story Shop

"I got a whole lot out of it.  I will be designing the [press kit] solely off what I have learned and it helped us out a whole lot.  I am so glad I got to be a part of it."--Jamille Christman, Marketing Director of of Eagle Eye Book Shop

 Get Your Store on the Tour! 

SIBA offers you two webinars with Maribeth Pelly, event planner at BookTowne and independent marketing consultant, to make it so!

Want to be a star at Publicists Speed Dating at Book Expo? Want publishers to choose you when they plan author tours? Stand out among your colleagues by signing up for both of these upcoming webinars.

Thursday, April 12 at 2PM: How to Prepare a Press Kit for Your Store.  In this webinar you'll learn:

• How to put together a press kit.
• How to improve an existing press kit.
• How to highlight and format your store’s most compelling selling points (and which information to leave out).

For those with existing press kits, Maribeth will offer comprehensive reviews. Fourteen stores will receive a LIVE review of their press kits. The webinar will be recorded so you can share with your staff.

Thursday, May 24 at 2PM: How to Pitch Your Store to Publishers. After you’ve prepared your press kit, learn how to have a productive conversation with publishers, emphasizing how you can support their author tours. In this webinar you'll learn:

• What publishers want to know (and what they don't).
• How to build a successful author event program, even if you haven't had an author yet.
• That store size doesn’t matter!
• Tips for staying on publishers' radar all year long.

Attendees of these webinars are invited to a meet & greet pep talk with Maribeth at Book Expo before Publicists Speed Dating begins.

RSVP: lindamarie@sibaweb.com, and include a copy of your current press kit. Deadline to register for April 12 webinar is Friday, April 6.

GREAT NEWS! SIBA is very pleased to announce a new self-guided course for booksellers on the art of using social media and content marketing:

Social Media and Content Marketing Basics for Booksellers: The Art of Increasing Reach and Engagement 
with Sarah Benoit and the JB Media Institute.

April 16 - July 16

Sarah was one of the most popular presenters at both Winter Institute in Memphis and EUREKAsiba in Atlanta earlier this year. Not only did she receive enthusiastically positive feedback from attendees, she was pretty consistently mobbed by people with questions throughout the entire day in Atlanta and never once lost her smile or her enthusiasm. You'll note that there are two options for this course -- a "DIY" version for those of you who are comfortable taking online courses on your own, and the "Expert Support" version, which comes with live Q&As and access to "office hours" where you can talk to the instructors in person.

I do encourage you to sign up for the latter, if you can swing it. I am -- I am usually the kind of person that would work her way through an online course on her own. I think I've gone through half of lynda.com that way! But I signed up for the Expert Support option because I want to pick Sarah Benoit's brain. I always have questions! As we all know, nothing beats being able to talk to a real person in real time about your real questions!

Those of you who attended EUREKAsiba already know how helpful and enthusiastic Sarah can be. But if you didn't have a chance to attend, take a few minutes to watch the video of her EUREKAsiba talk.

Social media and content marketing can be stressful and confusing. Many booksellers need to know how to be more efficient and effective so the time and energy they spend marketing online has greater impact and creates results.

Join Sarah Benoit and the JB Media Institute to learn the basic best practices and strategies the professionals use to share stories, build community, and grow your business.

Topics covered include:

• content branding
• keyword research
• content calendars
• Instagram and Facebook tracking
• social media tracking on Google Analytics
• Facebook and Instagram advertising
• event marketing
• and more

Register now

2 PACKAGE CHOICES AVAILABLE

1. DIY Online Learning Membership Price $149.00 
use the code BooksellersDIY

2. Expert Support Online Learning Membership Price $299.00
no code necessary