Email Marketing Sells Books

Matching up against the big box bookstores is typically a challenge for any local new or used bookstore, but with email marketing, it's a cinch. Email marketing has the unique capability to classify your patrons in terms of your marketing campaigns. During exams, school projects, or the holiday season, email marketing can help you divide your audiences according to their needs. Now you will provide your customers with the scholastic, academic or gift opportunities they are looking for.

Because yours is a local bookstore, you are actually a step ahead of the "big box" stores. You have the ability to directly connect with your customers in a way that the big guys can only dream of replicating. By providing focused groups with special promotions geared to their interests, you will increase the traffic to your bookstore location, because you have gotten to know their needs and interests. Establishing this relationship, your customers will appreciate your store by shopping there. All you have to do is start signing your patrons up for your Email Marketing notifications during check-out and on your website.

In order to sign your customers up for your email marketing promotions, you first have to tap into their interests. It is important to get to know high school, university, and elementary school schedules: When do classes begin? When are exams? This way, you are not only segmenting your audience for holiday seasons (like the big boxes are going to do), you are going to offer your customers a discount when they really need it. Personalizing your service to your customers is going to go a long way in making sure they return to your store and are loyal to you instead of the other guys.

It starts with a few simple questions when customers are walking in and out of your store. For example: Do you want to receive an email offering you discounts on the books or authors you're interested in?

You will need to have a sign up list at your checkout counter. On this list, you ask them to include the information that is relevant about why they are shopping for books, what kind of updates they would be interested in, which authors they like, etc.

Don't forget that email marketing programs have a built-in "forward-to-friends" option that will expand your current customer base. The better email marketing packages have tracking capabilities that allow you to see which of your customers are viewing your emails, who is clicking to see your promotions, and which readers are forwarding your emails to friends and family. This offers you a renewed focus for future marketing campaigns.

Through email marketing, your local bookstore can increase its amount of traffic by leaps and bounds. Offering your customers promotions based on their needs gives you an extra edge that larger stores are unable to achieve. The big stores make offers to the general public based on general interest. Your new or used local bookstore can speak directly, specifically, to your customers as people, and not commodities. With efficient email marketing, your message will get out to your important customers. And to you, EVERY customer is important. Having focused groups based on customer interests creates a far greater likelihood that customers will come in more often. They will feel they are being appreciated for their needs. Email marketing is the tool of smart businesses who know the importance of connecting with people.