#USPS
The current threat to USPS is a threat to all of us: Millions of jobs, the upcoming election, and small businesses are all in jeopardy. Please lobby in support of the post office, and rally your customers to do the same via letters and social media. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling the House of Representatives back into session this week to combat operational and service changes to the USPS that are slowing mail delivery, so time is of the essence. 

• Contact your Representatives and Senators today and tell them:

• As the [owner/manager/bookseller] of [store name], an independent bookstore in [City, State], I urge you to fund the USPS. Failure is NOT an option. Not only do residents rely on the USPS, but my business, and countless other businesses, depend on the USPS to deliver packages to customers at a competitive small business rate. At a time when online sales are becoming one of the main revenue streams for small businesses, as stores across the country may be physically closed or operating at a reduced capacity, effective delivery via the USPS is more important than ever. The USPS is at dire risk of running out of money, and package deliveries have slowed significantly, leaving customers understandably frustrated at something my business cannot control. Without immediate adequate funding of the USPS, I risk becoming unable to fulfill my orders and losing customers to dominant firms like Amazon. The threat to USPS is a threat to small business. I urge you to immediately provide relief to the USPS, a vital government service.
• Sign a letter or petition:
  • Color of Change

  • Action Network

  • Common Cause

• Booksellers interested in placing an op-ed in a local or regional newspaper about the importance of the USPS can contact ABA’s Advocacy team at [email protected].

Natural Disaster Support
As a reminder to booksellers recently impacted by the fires in the west, the derecho and the tornadoes in the midwest, and the hurricane in the east: The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) helps booksellers with unforeseen financial emergencies caused by natural disasters (as well as medical emergencies, domestic violence situations, and more). Submit a brief inquiry form or call 866-733-9064 for more information. 

This Week’s Events
Coffee Break: Tuesday, August 18, at 3:00 p.m. ET
Join us for an opportunity to share support, ask questions, and trade best practices. All booksellers are welcome. Email [email protected] for Zoom details. 

Independent Bookstore Day IndieCommerce Webinar: Wednesday, August 19, at 1:00 p.m. ET
Join us for a live, online, instructional webinar about Independent Bookstore Day 2020 for IndieCommerce and IndieLite websites. We’ll cover how to add IBD products to sell on your site, how to create book lists and other content for the event, how to manage IBD orders through IndieCommerce/IndieLite sites, and other resources. Questions raised during the session will also be addressed. Booksellers can sign up now for the webinar. Complete instructions for how to prepare IndieCommerce/IndieLite sites for sales of IBD exclusives can be found here.

Black Small Business Webinar: Wednesday, August 19, at 5:00 p.m. ET
Small Business Majority is hosting a webinar for Black-owned small businesses, “Black Small Business Issues in a Pandemic: Compliance and Legal Concerns.”

Marketing Meetup: Romance Books, They’re Good for You: Thursday, August 20, at 1:00 p.m. ET. More details on the ABA Meetup page.

26.88% flat or up
In ABA’s recent survey on store sales, 26.88% of bookstores reported their 2020 sales were flat or up compared to 2019 sales. A big thanks to those stores who followed up with us to share some of the contributing factors to their increased sales during this challenging time. Here’s some of the factors we’ve heard about so far:

• Bookshop: Pool participation, using a Bookshop affiliate page for special orders, and setting up a Bookshop book page for virtual conferences

• Ticket virtual events: Ticketing all virtual events, either a low ticket price or ticket with book purchase

• Edelweiss360 Marketing: Driving customer engagement and sales; communicating one to three times a week rather than monthly

• Signed bookplates: Sterling Reed at Ferguson Books & More has had success with signed bookplates. He created bookplates with his store logo and solicited authors to sign them so that he could sell their “signed” books. (Note: This could become a national effort to lobby authors to sign bookplates for the indies. Contact us if you know of authors who might be interested.)

ABA is here for all of you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. Members can contact me directly or email the Membership, Advocacy, or IndieCommerce teams.

Best,
Allison