Heartland Education 2021
Education Committee Assignments
Betsy Von Kerens
The Future of Bookstore Events Joanna Parzakonis The Future of Sectioning, Marketing Johanna Hynes iPage Master Class |
Kathy Burnette
How to Be Seen: The Importance of Reporting Kristin Sandstrom Don’t be Intimidated by Shelf Talkers Melisa Wolf Social Media |
Melissa Weisberg
How to Work with Your Rep in this New Age Riley Jay Davis Social Media Tim Smith Marketing Lessons Gained from the Pandemic |
Important Heartland Dates
August
Tuesday, August 10 5:00PM CDT / 6:00PM EDT Charlie Berens and The Midwest Survival Guide: How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink, and Eat . . . Everything with Ranch Wednesday, August 18 Deadline to send Larry your Education Session Date Thursday, August 19 7:00PM CDT / 8:00PM EDT 2021 Heartland Booksellers Award Finalist Celebration |
September
Tuesday, September 7 1:00PM CDT / 2:00PM EDT Education: IPage Master Class Panel Lead: Johanna Hynes (Ingram) Friday, September 10 1:00PM CDT / 2:00PM EDT The Future of Sectioning Panel Lead: Joanna Parzakonis (BookBug & this is a bookstore) Tuesday, September 14th 1:00PM CDT / 2:00PM EDT Marketing Lessons Gained from the Pandemic Panel Lead: Tim Smith (Schuler Books) Panelists: Tim Smith (Schuler's Books) Alana Haley (Nicola's Books) Thursday, September 23rd 12:00PM CDT / 1:00PM EDT Social Media Panel Leads: Melia Wolf, Riley Jay Davis Panelists: Gary Lovely (Prologue Bookshop) Bryan Loar (Cover to Cover) |
October
Tuesday, October 5 5:00PM CDT / 6:00PM EDT Don’t be Intimidated by Shelf Talkers Panel Lead: Kristen Sandstrom (Apostle Island Books) Tuesday, October 12 How to work with your Rep in this New Age Panel Lead: Melissa Weissberg (Macmillan) Thursday, October 14 7:00PM CDT / 8:00PM EDT Heartland Booksellers Award Celebration |
Education Sessions
Don’t be Intimidated by Shelf Talkers
Panel Lead: Kristen Sandstrom
• Bookseller and author lead panel on writing blurbs / shelf talkers
• How to get the most out of them after you write them
• Platforms to post them to
• Creative ways to display them
Potential Panelists:
• Someone from Literati, they're brilliant at shelf talkers
• I would definitely suggest Shane Mullin for the Shelf Talkers session as he is so good at the elevator pitch and likely would be a talent here as well.
• Alana Haley (Nicola's Books)
• Joanna Parzakonis (this is a bookstore / BookBug)
• Johanna Hynes (Ingram)
• Melia Wolf (Cover to Cover)
• Melissa Weisberg (Macmillan)
• Tim Smith (Schuler's Books)
The Future of Bookstore Events
Panel Lead: Betsy Von Kerens
• Hybrid Event Models / Getting Back to In-Person Events
• Has anyone had success with hybrid events?
• Has anyone returned to normal in-person events?
• With COVID rates rising how are you shaping your fall and winter?
• Ability to stream a live event? What are the tech requirements?
Potential Panelists
• Alyson Turner (Source Booksellers)
• Shane Mullen (Left Bank Books)
• Javier Ramirez (Exile in Bookville)
• Lauren Suidgeest
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Kristen Sandstrom (Apostile Island)
• Melia Wolf (Cover to Cover)
• Riley Jay Davis (Next Chapter)
The Future of Sectioning
Panel Lead: Joanna Parzakonis
Section Coding Beyond Social Science and the philosophy of categories.
With the need to evolve and maintain Social Justice Sections, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc how are sections being determined now? Are they year round? Where do they reside?
• Include creative sectioning ideas
• What new types of sections have arisen in the past year?
• Are there any new sections that have a permanent place in your store?
Potential Panelists
• Women & Children First
• A Room of One's Own
• Johanna Hynes (Ingram)
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Kristen Sandstrom (Apostle Island Books)
• Tim Smith (Schuler Books)
How to Be Seen: The Importance of Reporting
Panel Lead: Kathy Burnette
Understanding the importance making your store seen through varied types of reporting.
• Step-by-step NYT Reporting
Publisher perspective on the need for NYT reporting related to author event participation
• Submitting to the IndieNext List
• Abacus(?)
• Utilizing social media to reach publishers, authors, reps
• The Importance of Above the Treeline
Highlighting the publisher perspective on the importance of Above the Treeline
(Secure someone from HarperCollins)
How do publishers use this reporting to extrapolate information in our region
How does this relationship help your store's relationship with publishers
Free reporting vs income-based reporting
Not a “how-to” session on ABT
Potential Panelists
• Mary Beth Thomas (HarperCollins) - We should definitely reach out to Harper. They were vital in the early discussions of this session. Larry is happy to reach out to them.
• Jessilynn Norcross from McLean & Eakin
• Betsy Von Kerens (The Bookworm)
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Kristen Sandstrom (Apostle Island)
• Melia Wolf (Cover to Cover)
How to Work with Your Rep in this New Age
Panel Lead: Melissa Weisberg
In the age of in person and virtual meetings what are the best tips and practices for having the most successful relationship with your Rep.
• What are evergreen tips for a successful relationship?
• What have been the most effective techniques developed during the pandemic?
Potential Panelists: John Mesjak, Emily Oran Johnson, Sandra Law, Johanna Hynes
Ipage Master Class
Panel Lead: Johanna Hynes
Whether you are a super-user or a newbie, there’s always something to learn about making ipage work better for you. Join Ingram reps from wholesale and IPS to learn quick tips and tricks.
This session will cover everything from order status to confirmations, canceling backorders, reporting, retrieving invoices and packing slips, to more general inventory queries.
Come with questions and walk away with answers that will save you time and empower you to navigate ipage with ease.
Marketing Lessons Gained from the Pandemic
Panel Lead: Tim Smith
Proposed by Seminary Coop
The pandemic has driven booksellers to develop new and innovative forms of marketing and customer engagement in the absence of in-person browsing. We would like to propose a panel that addresses these new approaches and their future uses. The critical questions would be: What kinds of new forms have you developed for marketing and/or events during the pandemic? What kinds of lessons for marketing have you learned from this? How are you carrying these into the future, as the pandemic recedes and in-person browsing returns?
Potential Panelists
• Staff at Seminary Coop have volunteered to help with the session
• A representative from Bookshop.org
• Meagen Kucaj
• Johanna Hynes (Ingram)
• Tim Smith (Schuler Books)
• Kristen Sandstrom (Apostle Island)
• Melia Wolf (Cover to Cover)
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Betsy Von Kerens (The Bookworm)
Social Media (could be several different session ideas)
Panel Lead: Riley Jay Davis and Melia Wolf
• A a pre-registered event where membership provides topics
• Creating a seasonal strategy for social media. Balancing a long-term strategy with spontaneous posts.
• Social media tracks based on store demographic, large, small, urban rural, several employees, owner run, etc
• Utilizing social media to reach publishers, authors, reps (same as above)
• Social Media Tips as a Bookseller and Influencer (instead of a bookstore)
Potential Panelists
• Nicole Lintemuth (Bettie's Pages)
• Bryan Loar (Cover to Cover)
• Gary Lovely (Paragraphs)
• Dany Caine (The Raven Bookstore)
• Pamela Klinger-Horn and Mary O’Malley have had an active social media presence for a long time and would make great panelists.
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Betsy Von Kerens (The Novel Neighbor)
Panel Lead: Kristen Sandstrom
• Bookseller and author lead panel on writing blurbs / shelf talkers
• How to get the most out of them after you write them
• Platforms to post them to
• Creative ways to display them
Potential Panelists:
• Someone from Literati, they're brilliant at shelf talkers
• I would definitely suggest Shane Mullin for the Shelf Talkers session as he is so good at the elevator pitch and likely would be a talent here as well.
• Alana Haley (Nicola's Books)
• Joanna Parzakonis (this is a bookstore / BookBug)
• Johanna Hynes (Ingram)
• Melia Wolf (Cover to Cover)
• Melissa Weisberg (Macmillan)
• Tim Smith (Schuler's Books)
The Future of Bookstore Events
Panel Lead: Betsy Von Kerens
• Hybrid Event Models / Getting Back to In-Person Events
• Has anyone had success with hybrid events?
• Has anyone returned to normal in-person events?
• With COVID rates rising how are you shaping your fall and winter?
• Ability to stream a live event? What are the tech requirements?
Potential Panelists
• Alyson Turner (Source Booksellers)
• Shane Mullen (Left Bank Books)
• Javier Ramirez (Exile in Bookville)
• Lauren Suidgeest
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Kristen Sandstrom (Apostile Island)
• Melia Wolf (Cover to Cover)
• Riley Jay Davis (Next Chapter)
The Future of Sectioning
Panel Lead: Joanna Parzakonis
Section Coding Beyond Social Science and the philosophy of categories.
With the need to evolve and maintain Social Justice Sections, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, etc how are sections being determined now? Are they year round? Where do they reside?
• Include creative sectioning ideas
• What new types of sections have arisen in the past year?
• Are there any new sections that have a permanent place in your store?
Potential Panelists
• Women & Children First
• A Room of One's Own
• Johanna Hynes (Ingram)
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Kristen Sandstrom (Apostle Island Books)
• Tim Smith (Schuler Books)
How to Be Seen: The Importance of Reporting
Panel Lead: Kathy Burnette
Understanding the importance making your store seen through varied types of reporting.
• Step-by-step NYT Reporting
Publisher perspective on the need for NYT reporting related to author event participation
• Submitting to the IndieNext List
• Abacus(?)
• Utilizing social media to reach publishers, authors, reps
• The Importance of Above the Treeline
Highlighting the publisher perspective on the importance of Above the Treeline
(Secure someone from HarperCollins)
How do publishers use this reporting to extrapolate information in our region
How does this relationship help your store's relationship with publishers
Free reporting vs income-based reporting
Not a “how-to” session on ABT
Potential Panelists
• Mary Beth Thomas (HarperCollins) - We should definitely reach out to Harper. They were vital in the early discussions of this session. Larry is happy to reach out to them.
• Jessilynn Norcross from McLean & Eakin
• Betsy Von Kerens (The Bookworm)
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Kristen Sandstrom (Apostle Island)
• Melia Wolf (Cover to Cover)
How to Work with Your Rep in this New Age
Panel Lead: Melissa Weisberg
In the age of in person and virtual meetings what are the best tips and practices for having the most successful relationship with your Rep.
• What are evergreen tips for a successful relationship?
• What have been the most effective techniques developed during the pandemic?
Potential Panelists: John Mesjak, Emily Oran Johnson, Sandra Law, Johanna Hynes
Ipage Master Class
Panel Lead: Johanna Hynes
Whether you are a super-user or a newbie, there’s always something to learn about making ipage work better for you. Join Ingram reps from wholesale and IPS to learn quick tips and tricks.
This session will cover everything from order status to confirmations, canceling backorders, reporting, retrieving invoices and packing slips, to more general inventory queries.
Come with questions and walk away with answers that will save you time and empower you to navigate ipage with ease.
Marketing Lessons Gained from the Pandemic
Panel Lead: Tim Smith
Proposed by Seminary Coop
The pandemic has driven booksellers to develop new and innovative forms of marketing and customer engagement in the absence of in-person browsing. We would like to propose a panel that addresses these new approaches and their future uses. The critical questions would be: What kinds of new forms have you developed for marketing and/or events during the pandemic? What kinds of lessons for marketing have you learned from this? How are you carrying these into the future, as the pandemic recedes and in-person browsing returns?
Potential Panelists
• Staff at Seminary Coop have volunteered to help with the session
• A representative from Bookshop.org
• Meagen Kucaj
• Johanna Hynes (Ingram)
• Tim Smith (Schuler Books)
• Kristen Sandstrom (Apostle Island)
• Melia Wolf (Cover to Cover)
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Betsy Von Kerens (The Bookworm)
Social Media (could be several different session ideas)
Panel Lead: Riley Jay Davis and Melia Wolf
• A a pre-registered event where membership provides topics
• Creating a seasonal strategy for social media. Balancing a long-term strategy with spontaneous posts.
• Social media tracks based on store demographic, large, small, urban rural, several employees, owner run, etc
• Utilizing social media to reach publishers, authors, reps (same as above)
• Social Media Tips as a Bookseller and Influencer (instead of a bookstore)
Potential Panelists
• Nicole Lintemuth (Bettie's Pages)
• Bryan Loar (Cover to Cover)
• Gary Lovely (Paragraphs)
• Dany Caine (The Raven Bookstore)
• Pamela Klinger-Horn and Mary O’Malley have had an active social media presence for a long time and would make great panelists.
• Kathy Burnette (Brain Lair)
• Betsy Von Kerens (The Novel Neighbor)