courtesy of: Jefferson County College

Bookstores aren’t just places to find information and entertainment; they’re places to find customers! They’re so segmented and niched down that it’s extremely easy to identify your target market. For instance, if you specialize in helping people get out of debt, you know to go directly to the personal finance section, bypassing Travel, History, and Mysteries. The problem isn’t identifying your potential customers — it’s finding a way to approach them that won’t be seen as offensive or wacky. Here are some of my favorite ways to connect with customers at bookstores (online and off):

1. Slip business cards into applicable books. Are you a professional organizer with an online community and information products? Then your business card belongs in Julie Morgenstern’s “Organizing from the Inside Out.” Just tuck it in the middle of the book where it will fall out when someone picks it up to leaf through, or takes it home to read in bed at night.
2. Go to readings. And if Ms. Morgenstern just happens to be coming to a store near you to perform a book signing or reading, you should be there in the audience – not to meet her, but to meet as many attendees as possible. After all, everyone’s clutter isn’t going to go away just because they heard Julie read a chapter from her book. And she’ll be leaving on the next plane while you’ll still be in town!
3. Write – and read – reviews. Go to Amazon.com or any online bookstore and see how many people take the time to write reviews on the books they’ve read. Pick a few “bibles” in your niche to see what people have to say – and write your own review. You typically have to create an online profile before you can post, which gives you the means to contact others (and for them to contact you) if they seem like a good match for your business.
4. Go to book clubs. Book clubs aren’t just for the hot novel of the month.  Our local Borders has book clubs for finance, kids’ books, cookbooks, and more. If there isn’t one for your industry or niche, create one!
5. Don’t forget about book-centric social media sites. Shelfari.com, Goodreads.com, and WeRead.com are all social media sites where you can see what your “friends” are reading. You can also leave comments, share your suggestions, and otherwise connect with fellow readers. You can even search to see who’s reading titles associated with your niche and strike up a conversation.

Books provide easy ways to connect with those who share a common interest. The first step to creating a customer is to establish a common bond, and books makes that simple. You know you have something in common, and that’s half the battle!