Tips for Booksellers on National Poetry Day

The following comes from the poets.org website, based in the US, which was created to help American booksellers promote poetry on National Poetry Month (April 2010).

Many of these suggestions may be helpful for NZ's National Poetry Day (30 July 2010). Take a look!

Use the following ideas during National Poetry Month and year-round to sell more poetry.

Representatives of the following book stores contributed suggestions for this tip-sheet: The Booksmith (San Francisco, CA), Books & Co. (New York, NY), A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books (Larkspur, CA), Hungry Mind Books (St. Paul, MN), Prairie Lights (Iowa City, IA), Shakespeare & Co. (New York, NY), Shaman Drum (Ann Arbor, MI), Square Books (Oxford, MS), Stroudwater Books (Portsmouth, NH), Tattered Cover Book Store (Denver, CO). Please contact The Academy of American Poets if you have suggestions that might be used next year.

Marketing

• Find someone on your staff (or a customer) who has a genuine interest in and knowledge of poetry; ask them what they think is missing from your store's poetry section; you may find that you have a customer who will go through catalogs with you to improve the section.
     
• In your poetry section, create a special display that features books by several winners of a particular award, such as the Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award. Keep abreast of the current winners. Experiment with different awards. Try a display based on the nominees for a particular award. Create and post a flyer that lists winners from a number of years.
      
•  Devote a part of your poetry section to essays and criticism by or about poets or poetry.
    
• Take advantage of poets who are authors of other kinds of books. "If you like their . . ." (e.g., Louise Erdrich, Raymond Carver, Annie Dillard, Michael Ondaatje, Wendell Berry, Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood, Jim Harrison, Conrad Aiken, Dorothy Parker, etc.).
    
• Take poetry books by local authors on consignment. Ask the poets to sign all copies, then let the customers know they're signed. Support them and they'll support you.
       
• Create handwritten shelf-talkers (a small card taped to the shelf, maybe including a short excerpt from, or write-up on, the book) based on staff or customer recommendations in your poetry section. Or place these cards directly into books, and face the books out. Maybe even make a special endcap display based on favorite poetry selections by employees or customers.

Merchandising

• Photocopy a different poem for each day in April and hand them out as bag-stuffers.
   
• Give away a volume of poetry each week in April; connect it to whatever you want, a random purchase, the nth customer of the day, etc. Or hold a raffle for people who visit your store, offering a poet's "collected," "selected," or "complete" poems. Ask your sales representatives to donate copies. Use signed copies from an author reading in your store.
   
• Take advantage of or instigate co-op promotions with publishers. One bookseller gave away a mug imprinted with its own logo and the names of a publisher's poets, and then distributed the mug with each purchase of a book by the publisher. The same bookstore gave away t-shirts promoting a specific book with each purchase of the book.
   
• Make a photocopied enlargement of a poem from a book you have for sale and place it in your store window, something fairly short and accessible to people just passing by. Some sales reps will arrange for a publisher to provide you with this mounted on poster board.

Events

• Host a publication party/reading for a local or regional poet's new book. Send invitations to a mailing list provided by the poet. (You might ask the poet to share the work or costs of the mailing.)
        
• Host a reading as a fund-raiser for a local organization. Have the organization send a special mailing to their supporters, and then donate a percentage of the profits from poetry sales during a particular time-frame to that organization.
        
• Offer your store as a place for a local reading and/or writing group to gather. Have a special reception during National Poetry Month with refreshments.
        
• Host a poetry panel or workshop. Enlist several local poets to discuss their work and/or offer a workshop (on either writing or the publishing process) for aspiring writers.
   
• Host a theme reading on tax day or April Fool's Day (or any special day in the year).

Events for Children

• Sponsor a poetry contest for children, separated by different age groups. Haiku is great for writers at this age. Winners might receive a gift certificate for your store and participate in a reading.
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• Sponsor a story time afternoon event with a local poet, in which children are led to write and/or illustrate their own poems.
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Other Ideas

• Create a bulletin board for local or regional poetry events.
   
• Encourage book clubs to include a book of poetry in their selections for April.
   
• Use publishers, local arts councils, and university writing programs as a resource for finding your local poets.
       
• Take advantage of publicity opportunities that result from poets being in the news, subjects of movies, the obituary pages, winning prizes, etc.
        
• Use your in-store newsletter to promote poetry in April
    
• Remember to include poetry in any theme-based displays you create. For instance, you might include an anthology of wedding or love poems in a display of wedding-related books.

Some Success Stories From Previous Years

The stores that had the greatest success with National Poetry Month were the ones that invested effort in hosting readings, setting up special poetry displays, organizing contests, offering poetry discounts and mentioning National Poetry Month in their newsletters and to the local media.

• The Book Mine (Leadville, CO) held poetry contests for children, young adults, and adults. A local journalist, a creative writing teacher, and a local poet judged entries. Winners received $25 gift certificates to the store and the Herald Democrat published their poems.
   
• After-Words (Chicago, IL) held "Poetrypalooza 2000." Customers were given a list of ten famous opening lines and asked to identify the poets. Half right meant half off a poetry purchase. Anyone who answered all correctly received a free used poetry book.
   
• Teacher's Delight (Lafayette, IN) handed out a poem a day to buying customers, and placed copies of the poem on the counter for anyone to take.

Read the rest of these "Tips for Booksellers" from the Poets.org website in the US.