LeeAnna Callon and Jodi Laidlaw, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana
Bradley Frizzell, Little City Books in Hoboken, New Jersey
Hannah Fenster, The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore, Maryland
What does a successful event look like? Booksellers on the "Successful Spins on Authorless Events" Panel all agreed there are many ways to measure the success of an event beyond book sales, and still operate in a sustainable way. Several admitted that keeping their businesses viable during the pandemic taught them to be more flexible and more confident in experimenting. "We found once you open yourself to new ideas, you might be surprised by how quickly you are inundated by them," said one.
There are as many different kinds of possible authorless events as there are probably books in the shop. But one thing they all have in common is that — unlike an author reading where people sit and listen to a speaker — at an authorless event, it is the participation of people who come that makes it a great event.
Judging the success of an event depends on your goal. Is it raising the visibility of the store? Increasing repeat customers? Promoting a local cause? Maybe it is simply that everyone has a good time and leaves with a smile. Even so, authorless events are a valuable, often untapped revenue source. Booksellers from Blue Cypress books noted that their store events on average were 55% traditional author events, and 45% "pivoted," or non-author events. But of the profits made from events, 24% came from traditional events, and 76% from the authorless event programs.
Takeaways:
- Build on what is unique to your store, your staff, and your community. It is important that both staff and community are invested. Fenster noted that some Ivy programs were "staff-initiated" such as "Children’s Craft Saturdays" and their dog-friendly "Yappy Hour" socials. Others were "community initiated, like pop up art galleries, or the "Living Room" they set up at a partner coffee shop.
- Know your goal for the event, and have a system to keep you on track and the goal in sight. This can be a spreadsheet to manage staff hours, marketing strategies, or ensure every event receives the promotion it needs. Whatever tools you use, preserve your records because they are a good resource when planning future events.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment with what is working. Brainstorming sessions with staff can help to refresh old ideas or get people excited about new ones. And staff input can also help to tweak a successful event to become even more so. One store noticed that so many people wanted to leave tips for performers at a local music night, they started ticketing those events, raising more money for the musicians or local causes.
- Seek out community partners and sponsors. The great thing about almost any social group or interest is that "there is a book for that." Bookstores are used to working with schools and libraries, but why not the local theater group? The town Blues Society? The Riverwatch group or Audubon chapter?