Increase Your Sell-In throughout the Midwest
Midwest Connections helps publishers sell books with ties to the Midwest. Whether the book is a novel set in the Midwest, nonfiction that will resonate within the Midwest, or is written by an author who lives in the Midwest, we can help you find your ideal audience.
Booksellers regularly say they order Midwest Connections titles in higher numbers when they otherwise may have passed on stocking the book, and also promote these titles in creative ways. The cost is only $250/title, which we use to offer cash rebates to booksellers for promoting these books directly to their customers.
To suggest a title as a Midwest Connections pick, please mail a galley to the MIBA office and send an email to Carrie Obry at carrie@midwestbooksellers.org to let us know about the book.
Selection process. Working with publishers, MIBA selects a group of 4 to 5 titles every month across all genres. We’re actively seeking a higher percentage of paperback originals. Publisher recommendations are highly encouraged. Factor us into your marketing plans and recommend a group of titles per season. A limited number of slots across genres is available each month, so the sooner you recommend your books, the better.
Promotional material. Once the book is confirmed, we’ll post it to our website right away, so email us your promotional information: Brief, catchy hook; full descriptive copy of the book; price, ISBN, format, ordering info, etc.; book jacket photo; author photo and bio; author tour schedule; reading group guide; press release; video trailer; and anything else our stores may use. Be sure to save your text documents as PDFs, and if you can, send the author photo and book jacket in sizes appropriate for printing and for the web.
Galley mailing. We’ll give you a list of our stores best suited for promoting the title, hosting an event, etc. Please send ARCs (or finished books) along with a customized Midwest Connections letter. A minimum of 50 ARCs is recommended, up to 200 for larger publishers. Include the Midwest Connections logo in the letter. We find it most effective to begin the letter with a positive blurb from an independent bookseller. Store owners recommend marking the outside of the package with the Midwest Connections logo so it rises to the top of their inbox. Here’s sample letters to review: Written by publisher and written by author.
Pair with additional advertising opportunities. To further spread the word for your forthcoming title, consider selecting another advertising option. For example, if you have only 50 galleys to send to booksellers, select the Dedicated Title Email to ensure all our booksellers are familiar with the book. If you are sending plenty of galleys but want the attention of the wider industry, select a banner ad on our website or in our weekly bestseller list. If you want to talk through the options, please call Carrie at (612) 208-6279.
Create a shelf-talker and flyer. Stores use these POS items to create in-store displays. Here’s a sample flyer and shelf-talker to use as a guide. Please email them to us around the time of the on-shelf date.
Get the word out. Your titles enjoy a two-month promotional period, so engage us in whatever way we can. We’ll be happy to email our booksellers newsworthy info (great reviews, new video footage, author events, etc.) and post reviews, events, etc. to our social networking sites for the full two-month promotional period.
Invoice. Let us know who to invoice for the program. Please also send a final copy of the book to the MIBA office.
Here’s what booksellers have to say about Midwest Connections.
“We love Midwest Connections! Not only do we discover many new books we might not have known about, but it is yet another tool that we can use to make our bookstore unique and keep it local. We have a special area in the store and include the featured titles in our monthly newsletter. The information provided by MIBA on their website gives us a lot to talk about and makes hand-selling easy and fun. We do weekly book reviews for our local alternative newspaper and we are in the process of instituting a store policy that future reviews will be either Midwest Connections or Indie Next titles.”
– Alice Meyer, Beaverdale Books, Des Moines, IA“The Midwest Connections program is a win-win-win love triangle. It’s an absolute boon for independent booksellers in our region. Bookstores, authors, and publishers all gain increased exposure and sales from MIBA publicity tools and author events. Those events translate into great sales numbers. Most of our top bestsellers are Midwest Connections books. This would never have happened without this excellent program. I thank everyone who has a part in it!”
– Nancy Simpson, The Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA
“The program helps me to highlight books about the area that don’t receive the recognition of bestsellers or big name authors. Little Heathens and Truck are the best examples. Small books with strong sales. Programs like this help me stand out from the crowded world of bookselling. When you can put a lesser known book into the hands of customers, and they like it and would not have heard of it otherwise, they appreciate your expertise.”
– Jerry Bilek, Monkey See Monkey Read, Northfield, MN
