While I was in northern Michigan last week I visted the most fantastic bookstore in Gaylord: Saturn Booksellers. The staff eagerly chatted books with anyone who wanted to and left others alone to browse in silence. I watched as several customers who didn’t know each other picked up a lively conversation over a “staff recommendation” display. I sat in a comfy chair and browsed. I visited the coffee shop. I laughed over hilarious t-shirts and bumper stickers. I loved the stellar selection of books and marveled at the impressive programs of visiting authors. In fact, the author signing that night was Wade Rouse,whose memoir At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream chronicles his move with his partner from the city to the “wilds” near Saugatuck, Michigan.
So hear I am in Gaylord, a small town up north known for hunting and fishing and snow machines and the featured visiting author is and openly gay memoirist. And they were expecting a big crowd! Wow! I fell in love with this town, with this bookstore.
I couldn’t find WHACKED on the shelves, not even in the Michigan author section, which was sort of a bummer. But when I asked, it turned out they did have it, only mis-shelved. I signed it, promoted TOASTED and then had a good time spending some money. It’s the kind of place you want to buy stuff just to support them.
And then I noticed what I think is the best marketing approach I’ve ever seen for a bookstore: “Helping to keep Gaylord interesting . . . “. Not only do they claim their own value to the local community, but they also remind their customers of their own personal value to the community. It made me think, “Yeah! I as a smart, independent reader, am a natural resource for my hometown!”
Cool huh?
We discerning readers, who read beyond the stuff selected by the big chains’ corporate buyers, bring extra value to our worlds by keeping things interesting with our alive minds, the different things we know and have encountered, the unusual connections we can weave between ideas. We are percolators. In addition, we keep independent businesses alive– both local independent bookstores and specialty presses like Bella Books. These are business, voices, and perspectives that could disappear if we weren’t spending our time and money enjoying what they have to offer. Their presence keeps diverse possibilities open for ourselves and for those who come after us.
It’s a smart marketing campaign because it enlists buyers to be part of an effort to do well for their hometown by purchasing books, but it’s also smart because it’s true.
