Search

Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion

Tag

library marketing

How Your Library Can Use Google Ad Grants to Supercharge Your Website and Reach a Huge Untapped Audience

Note: A newly updated version of this blog post is now published. Read it here.

Frustrated with Your Library Marketing Newsletter? Here’s Why You’re Not Getting the Results You Want AND How to Fix It

I hold a controversial opinion. Newsletters are an ineffective tool for library marketing.

I totally understand why libraries create them. Our customers are a wide and diverse audience and our budget is limited. Newsletters are an easy and efficient way to get information to our audience.

But many libraries are frustrated by the lack of demonstrable results from their newsletters, both the print and email versions. And there’s a reason you can’t get good results from a newsletter.

The mistake is: You’re sending the same message to all of your cardholders.

It’s understandable. It feels like the natural thing to do. Your library has great stuff and you want everyone to know about everything.

The problem with that approach is that your cardholders are individuals. One message never fits them all. The needs and interests of your cardholders vary greatly.

I’m not suggesting you ditch your newsletter. By transforming the way you approach your current print and e-newsletter, you can make it actually work! The trick is to make changes that increase your newsletter’s value by refining the message.

Tips that work for both print and e-newsletters

Give your cardholders LOTS more of what THEY want. I know you’ve been keeping track of attendance at events and holds or checkouts of books you promoted in your previous newsletters. If you notice that your newsletter audience turns out for a particular type of event or that they like a particular genre of books or collection items, put MORE of those in your newsletters.

Library marketers are often pressured to promote what their co-workers or bosses think is interesting. Or worse, what their co-workers think the audience NEEDS to hear.

I’ve actually had to gently explain to my colleagues that, while reading classic authors like Ernest Hemingway and Jane Austen are good for the brain, most people are not looking for an intellectual challenge when they reach for a book. It’s like getting kids to eat their vegetables. Veggies are healthy, but if your child doesn’t like them, they’ll clamp their mouth shut and refuse to take a bite.

The newsletter audience is the same. You can’t make people attend events or read books because they’re healthy or intellectual. Library marketers sometimes have to be an advocate for their audience; you have to be persistent in your defense of what your cardholders want.

At my library, we pivoted our newsletter to focus more on our the parts of our collection that our cardholders like. We had the data to back it up. We know that our cardholders really love content about coding and coding classes. We know they love mystery books. We know they love workshops about writing and publishing their own books. We learned all of these nuanced preferences by carefully measuring our audience’s response to marketing in all areas. Patterns emerge. And now, we do a lot of promotion around these areas because we know, for a fact, that our cardholders love this kind of content.

Make your content helpful, not promotional. Your cardholders are regularly bombarded with offers, sales, and promotions, both in their inbox and in your mailbox. To get people to read your newsletter, the content needs to be interesting, useful, or helpful.

Hundreds of studies and surveys about consumer behavior show us that content that is educational or entertaining gets better results that content that is promotional. So how can you promote something while being entertaining or informative? Content marketing in the answer.

Content marketing is a strategic approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience–ultimately, to drive profitable consumer action.

Content marketing breaks through the noise and the clutter by providing compelling, useful information for your cardholder–any type of information. It addresses whatever pain points your cardholders have. It positions your library as the go-to place for information. It builds trust.

And through content marketing, your library gets a better and deeper understanding of your cardholders. You can use that understanding to do a better job of addressing your cardholders’ needs. It’s a constant circle of giving and it carries more weight for a longer period than a traditional newsletter promotion.

Stop thinking of your publication as a newsletter. Start creating news magazines. Most library newsletters that come to my inbox or mailbox are long and contain a ton of text and images. There isn’t much white space and scanning them is difficult, because there is so much to scan.

At my library, we increased the effectiveness of our print newsletter by transforming it into a magazine. We trimmed it from 16 to 12 pages. My graphic artists started to give the publication a magazine feel in layout, using bolder visuals and shorter, more engaging articles. We left some white space. We changed the balance of the articles from 100 percent promotional to 50 percent informational and 50 percent promotional (even I have to fight the battle with my library to be less overtly promotional!).

What happened when we made these changes? Our news magazine became a must-read. People started asking when the next issue would be out. We had to order more copies. Library staff and outside partners vie for space in the publication. The news magazine is popular!

Tips specific to e-newsletters

Keep the text short and scannable. Your e-newsletter is a touch point, not the end of a conversation. Readers should get enough to be left with the feeling of wanting to know more about a particular subject. Drive your recipients to your website or another platform where they can get more information with compelling text and enticing calls to action.

Make it easy to share your e-newsletter. Include social share buttons that link directly to your library’s social pages.

Segment your e-newsletters. You can segment your e-newsletter in a number of ways… by age, by interest, and by location. This means you’ll need to create more than one e-newsletter. But each one will be targeted to a specific audience, which increases effectiveness. This step will be more work for you but it’s worth it for better results.

By targeting your message, you are more likely to say something that matters significantly to your cardholders. That individualized message makes them more likely to take an action, which makes it more likely that your newsletter will be successful.

More help for library marketers

How the Best Newsletters Get-and Keep-Reader’s Attention from Content Marketing Institute

NoveList’s Guide to Best Practices for Library Newsletters

7 Tips for Creating Engaging Newsletters from Mailjet

Great examples of targeted library newsletters

Dallas Public Library’s Young Black Readers Newsletter

Indian Prairie Public Library’s DVD Preview

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

 

The Library Marketing Show Episode 10: Why Email Marketing is the BEST THING EVER for Libraries

Library Marketing Show Episode 10

Watch Now

Library News: IFLA’s new Idea Store! I’m obsessed. It’s a great place to exchange ideas. Check it out here.

Reader question: Leigh of Pikes Peak Library District asked: I’d like to talk about how to convince the powers-that-be that email marketing is the best thing ever. That email is not dead and ROI is high. That automatic opt-in upon card signup is a great option, and that people expect to be catered to. How to segment and the welcome campaigns…all that good stuff!

I talked about the value of email marketing and made a personal plea to senior leaders to let library marketing professionals do email marketing! Here are some more posts about library email marketing that you’ll want to read.

Be Quietly Relentless! A Guide for How to Win Senior Leadership Support for Your Library Marketing Ideas

Email is Not Dead! Here are Eight New Ways to Help You Get the Best Results

Kudos: To the Tulsa Public Library for their My Neighborhood Library video, which showed the value of libraries AND made me want to move to Tulsa! It had energy, it evoked emotion, it did exactly what it was supposed to do… it made me feel connected to Tulsa and I’ve never been there! Watch it here.

Stay in Touch

Have an idea for the next Library Marketing Live Show? Submit it now.

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

 

The Library Marketing Show Episode 9: Make Your Library Website Accessible!

Watch Now

What We Talked About

Library News: A civil California Grand Jury decides that the Santa Cruz Public Library’s potential use of a data analytics tool would threaten patron privacy. The library ended up not using the tool, but it’s an interesting conversation about how much data we can use to market to our cardholders without threatening the sacred privacy of a cardholders’ data. I feel very conflicted about it. Read the article and let me know what you think!

Reader Question: Lori from the Nicolet Federated Library System in Green Bay, Wisconsin asked us to discuss web accessibility basics for library websites.  Thank you for this very important question, Lori! We know web accessibility is important. Some of our cardholders may not have full use of their hands. Others have a vision disability. There is a tool you can use to audit your website so you can see where accessibility is an issue and correct it. The tool is free and was developed by the ADA. You can get it as a Chrome extension here. You could also hire a web accessibility expert. They can do a hands-on audit of your site, identify problems, help you to fix them, and keep an eye on your site to make sure you stay in compliance in the future. This company has good reviews. I hope this helps!

Kudos: To the Pima County Public Library. They got media coverage of an overdue postcard notice sent back to them after 40+ years. The story had all the things our cardholders love–mystery, nostalgia, and it reminded the community of the length of service and commitment of the library in the community. It’s hard to get media coverage so kudos to them for finding this unique pitch! Watch it here.

Stay in Touch

I’m speaking at two conferences this fall and you can register for both on the Upcoming Events page. If you come to OLC, you’ll be able to tour the Downtown Main Library where I work! I’m getting ready to add new events soon so check back.

Have an idea for the next Library Marketing Live Show? Submit it now.

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

The Library Marketing Show Episode 8: Fighting Back Against the Endless Poster-Flyer-Bookmark Cycle!

Alright my friends, you asked for it and I’ve delivered. The Library Marketing Show is now pre-recorded and posted on YouTube! This week’s episode comes to you from the vintage newspaper stacks of my library.

Watch Now

Please subscribe, comment, and share the video. I’d love to be able to grow my channel from nothing to something. This is a great exercise for me. I’m going to learn a ton about YouTube! And there are lots of features I can add if I get a certain amount of views and watch time, as you likely know. Thank you in advance!

What We Talked About

Library news: I discussed the recent decision by four publishing companies to change the lending models for eBook and eAudiobook leases to public libraries. It’s going to affect the way libraries market their collection and cause customer service complaints at libraries to rise. And that makes me angry.

Reader question: Babette from the Licking County Library wrote in to ask me to discuss this: “How to help your ‘traditional’ staff understand and EMBRACE new ways to market. They are so disappointed that we are not doing tons of paper flyers, promoting every program on FB, press releases not being in the newspaper, etc. Staff struggling with the change. Sigh….”

Great question, and thanks Babette! I tried to share how I’ve handled this ongoing issue by explaining (over and over again) to staff that embracing new marketing tactics, particularly digital tactics, is not doing “less” marketing but actually doing more. It’s more efficient, it reaches customers where they are, and it allows us to get our message in front of new customers. I also love to share the marketing statistic that says we have to “touch” our customers 4-7 times with a marketing message before they will “convert” or take an action on any marketing message. If a person doesn’t come into your physical branch, they’ll never see your print marketing materials! I also tried to explain why I’m not ever super worried about press coverage of my library, particularly by newspapers. There are better ways to communicate your message, like a customer-facing blog. And when you’re doing the messaging, you get to control the narrative. For more on that subject, read How to Get Media Coverage Without a Press Release.

Kudos: Finally, I gave a shout-out to my friends at the Jefferson County Public Library for this hilarious and clever response to my stress-related tweet on Tuesday! I laughed all night!

Stay in Touch

I’m speaking at two conferences this fall and you can register for both on the Upcoming Events page. If you come to OLC, you’ll be able to tour the Downtown Main Library where I work! I’m getting ready to add new events soon so check back.

Have an idea for the next Library Marketing Live Show? Submit it now.

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

The Secret of the 60-Minute Meeting: Six Tips to Keep Your Library Marketing Team On Track and Stay Productive!

I dread Wednesdays.

On that day of the week, I usually have between five and seven meetings. I basically spend the day hopping from one conference room to another.

Not so long ago, most of those meetings would last beyond 60 minutes. Tangents were pursued. Ideas were dissected in great detail. My team and I were often blind-sided by requests to come up with an entire marketing campaign for an idea we’d only learned of moments before. It was unproductive.

As a marketing manager responsible for proving the bottom-line benefits of your marketing, it can be tempting to rely on recurring team meetings and regular check-ins to make sure you know exactly what’s going on with your team. But when long meetings evolve into habit, their value tends to plummet.

No meeting should ever last beyond 60 minutes. There are a couple of reasons for this. After 60 minutes of intense discussion, participants begin to lose interest. Their creativity and energy wanes. And the more time you spend in meetings, the less time you and your team have to do ACTUAL work.

Obviously you can’t control every meeting. But when you’re running the agenda, you can create an atmosphere of productivity and creativity while setting an example of efficiency for the rest of the library staff.

I don’t remember how it started but someone in my library’s senior leadership team took the initiative to institute a more efficient meeting structure. Suddenly, everyone was following this person’s lead. It was amazing and liberating.

I started instituting the 60-minute or less meeting rule about a year ago in my department and it’s worked so well that I recently introduced it in another setting.

I’m the chair of my school district’s bond issue campaign and our core committee meetings are 60 minutes or less. It was funny how many people from that group have commented about my 60-minute meeting pledge! It had never occurred to them that meetings, even ones where important decisions are made, could last less than an hour.

If you want to increase productivity in your library, here’s how to execute a 60-minute meeting.

Super prioritize your agenda.  For my library team, I divide action items into categories: the weekly schedule, immediate concerns, future concerns, and individual tasks. These four categories appear on the agenda every single week. Under each category, I list the items that need to be discussed in order of their priority. Next to each item, I list the name of the person in charge of that item or project. For the bond issue committee meetings, I simply list items in order of their priority without categories.

Time it out ahead of time. Try to estimate how much time you’ll need to discuss each item. If your total discussion time is more than 60 minutes, do some more prioritizing with your agenda. Once your agenda is set, make sure everyone attending the meeting has a copy so they can follow along and stay focused.

Set expectations at the beginning of the meeting. As the leader, set the example and start on time. Remind the team that the meeting will last 60 minutes and that you’ll be working to keep discussions on track. Assure them that if further discussions are needed on a particular item, you will schedule a side meeting. Off-topic discussions will be tackled outside of the formal meeting time.

The first time I made this announcement at the bond issue meeting, everyone looked shocked. I was worried that people would start watching the clock and timing me, thus cutting the productivity. But because I set firm expectations, the group trusts me to stick to them. They end up focusing more on the items we need to discuss. It’s funny how that works!

Watch your agenda word choices. Use words like “update” rather than “discussion” to help frame the conversation and give mental cues to attendees that work for the meeting will need to be done before the meeting actually happens. If a key decision needs to be made in the meeting, use the word “decision” in your action item to cue the attendees that you plan to come to a consensus at this meeting.

Take notes. Make note of who is assigned to each project. Give clear deadlines and expectations for each action item and include those in the notes. After the meeting, send out a copy of the meeting notes so everyone is clear about what they’re responsible for and when it’s due.

Continue to give time updates throughout the meeting. It’s OK to say, “We have 15 minutes left so we’re going to discuss one more item that is a priority to us. The rest of the items on this agenda will be discussed at a later meeting.” This will help keep discussions on track.

The LIVE LIBRARY MARKETING TALK ON INSTAGRAM is changing format. I have decided to pre-record my segments and post them to YouTube! I still want your email questions and topic suggestions ahead of time. Just fill out this form. If I pick your topic, I’ll send you a personal link to the video after it’s posted. I’m going to start posting my video segments on Thursdays so watch your email for that. Thank you to everyone who weighed in on the video decision!

And check out these upcoming events and webinars where we can connect and discuss library marketing. Registration links included.

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

Email is Not Dead! Here are Eight New Ways to Help You Get the Best Results With Your Library Email Marketing

I have a thing for email marketing.

I think it’s fun. I like trying to figure out all the pieces. Which subject line is best? To emoji or not to emoji? How much text? What should it say?  What kind of photo or graphic should I use? What’s the best call to action? Who should I send it to? On what day and at what time?

I love experiments. I love sending the message and then watching the results. How many people opened it? More importantly, how many people clicked on my call to action? MOST IMPORTANTLY, how many people did the thing I wanted them to do?

Maybe I just like convincing people to do stuff.

Email is not dead, at least not for libraries. People want to hear from us. They love free stuff and that’s basically all we have to offer! I send tens of thousands of emails a week to my cardholders (I live in a large county service area with nearly a million residents). My unsubscribe rate is zero percent. No kidding.

Email marketing truly is the most effective method of digital promotion for libraries. I use it whenever I can at my library because it gives the best return on my investment of time and money.

And because it’s the most effective digital tactic at my disposal, I spend an awful lot of time researching email marketing. I read a ton of blogs. I listen to a lot of podcasts. I comb surveys for insights that will make my emails better.

I’ve started a document where I keep a bunch of statistics and insights gleaned. I realized that I needed to share these insights with you. Email marketing could be your most valuable asset too. So here are the eight newest things I’ve learned about email marketing that will improve the work you’re doing at your library.

How cardholders look at your emails

You’ve heard it before but I’ll say it again. You must make sure your emails are mobile-friendly and responsive. About 3 in 5 consumers check their email on the go. 75 percent of Americans say they use their smartphones most often to check email. (Blue Corona)

And you must assume your cardholders will use their phones to respond to your email call-to-action. 62 percent of email opens occur on mobile. Only 10 percent occur on desktop. That’s huge! (Adestra)

Your cardholders are checking their email literally everywhere. People admit to checking email while watching TV, in bed, on vacation, in the bathroom, while walking, during meals, during commuting, while talking, while working out, while driving, and while at a formal ceremony! (Adobe)

Your cardholders are spending more time reading emails. In the last decade, the amount of time people spent reading an email actually increased by 7 percent, to 11.1 seconds. (Litmus)

How to design the best library email

Your subject line is the most important part of your email. It gets your cardholders in the door, so to speak. Focus on sentiment by using emotional words. Use different words for different audiences. The subject line for a message you send to teens will be completely different from the message you send to parents. Make it simple and easy. However, length doesn’t matter anymore, so you can make your subject longer if you need too!

Write like a human and make sure everyone can read your text. For the text, speak conversationally. No industry-speak (words like periodicals are out!).You don’t have to convey all the information about your product or service or collection item in the body of the email. Get to the point and drive users to your website or another platform for more information. Avoid multi-colored fonts. Use fonts that are accessible, like Arial, Helvetica, Lucida Sans, Tahoma, and Verdana. (Bureau of Internet Accessibility).

Make your email design hard to ignore. Use a one-column layout so people can scroll easily. Make the text large! Headlines should be no smaller than 25 pixels, body text should be no smaller than 18 pixels.  Call to action buttons can be pretty huge– anywhere from 44 x 44 pixels to 72 x 72 pixels.

Images matter. Photos of real people, especially faces with emotional expressions, are best. But don’t be afraid to use gifs too!

Learn more about email marketing for libraries

The Step-by-Step Method for Figuring Out the Best Time to Send Library Marketing Emails and Why You Should Never Stop Experimenting!

The Tiny Little Mistakes That Ruin Your Library Marketing Emails AND How to Fix Them!

This Advice Will Boost Your Library Marketing Email Click-Thru Rates

Don’t forget to join us for the LIVE LIBRARY MARKETING TALK ON INSTAGRAM every Tuesday at noon ET. We’ll talk about library marketing topics for about 15 minutes each week. My handle is Webmastergirl. You can email questions and topic suggestions ahead of time. Just fill out this form.

And check out these upcoming events and webinars where we can connect and discuss library marketing. Registration links included.

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

The Library Marketing Live Show Episode 6: Figuring out Evergreen Content for a Library Blog

Watch Now

What We Talked About

Shandi from the Illinios Heartland Library System sent me this question:  I just read your blog article “How to Launch a Library Blog.” I would love to hear more about this! Specific question: Our new website won’t be ready for maybe 8 months (at our current rate). I want to add a blog with the introduction of our new site. When do you suggest beginning to curate articles? I’m thinking I could start now with evergreen pieces, right? Thanks!

So I talked through my answer to that question and gave some advice for creating evergreen content for a library marketing blog. I’m excited to see what Shandi’s blog looks like and to read the content she curates.

If you’ve got a library blog that you really love, please let me know in the comments. I’m curating a list of great library blogs to share in a future post so get your nominations in! Thanks for the question, Shandi.

Stay in Touch

Thanks to everyone who attended the webinar with Library Journal and Recorded Books on July 25. I am going to answer all the questions either on the live show, on my blog, or via email so be watching for that!

I’m speaking at two conferences this fall and you can register for both on the Upcoming Events page. The OLC released their full agenda this week and it looks like a great conference. Plus, you’ll be able to tour my library!

Have an idea for the next Library Marketing Live Show? Submit it now.

We’ll chat on Instagram on Tuesday at noon EST for about 15 minutes. My handle is @Webmastergirl so follow me to see the show live!

I Asked a Podcast Host to Stop Interrupting His Guests. 😠 What His Reaction Can Teach Us About Library Customer Service.

A few weeks ago, I had an incredibly disappointing interaction with a man I’ve looked up to for ages. I’m not going to name him or his website in this post. But I’ve been listening to his podcasts for more than five years. I’ve sent staff to his conference. I’ve recommended his website and his materials here on the blog. I’ve met him in person. He was lovely to me.

But about a year ago, he started doing something that really upset me. He got into the habit of interrupting guests on his podcast. All. The. Time.

I’m a manager. I’ve been trying to foster better listening skills in myself and my staff.

It irked me that this person never let anyone finish a thought. It got so bad that he started cutting people off as they were explaining concepts and giving specific instructions on marketing tactics.

I decided to email him to ask him to stop interrupting his guests. I was as polite. I told him I loved his show and website. I said that I wished he would just let people finish their thoughts.

Here was his response:

Thanks for the feedback Angela. I pre-discuss with all of my guests that I often have questions and will likely stop people who are fast talkers and dig deeper. They all know I will do it. Indeed many of my listeners love that I do this. For example: ” I have to say that you have a special gift for asking great questions and making sure the audience can actually visualize the process & pin down your guest to clarify so we fully understand the material presented. It’s like you have a second sense for what we are thinking. I think of a question, and BAM!…you come in with the perfect question that was on my mind. (I don’t even know if I’m saying this right but I bet you know what I mean). I listen every day and look forward to the incredible, valuable and TIMELY nature of what you share. I’ve been a long-term fan of your blog for years and if anyone is seeking to stay current in what’s going on with everything related to social media marketing, you’d be crazy not to take advantage of this invaluable podcast. Thank you, for your gift of putting yourself in your audiences shoes and knowing how to get clarity from your guests. It’s truly an awareness most podcasters lack. Truly inspiring!”

So yes I understand that sometimes I interrupt guests but it really is by design to help make the show better AND the guests are fully in agreement that it’s okay for me to do it.

I NEVER intend for it to be rude EVER. I am actually friends with most of the guests that get on my show so I will reach out to them and see what they say. Thanks again for your perspective. 

There’s a lot to unpack here. In a nutshell, this was a defensive response. I didn’t feel heard. I didn’t feel acknowledged. I didn’t feel that this person was willing to do anything to address my complaint. The unattributed customer testimonial is self-important.

I ended up unsubscribing from the podcast.

And because I always try to learn from my experiences, I decided to use this exchange as a catalyst to think about the best way to respond to negative comments from library customers.

Libraries have it pretty easy. Most of our cardholders love us and rave about everything we do. It’s good to be loved.

But we do have our critics. They may post their comments online or in email. They may express their complaints to you in person at the front desk or at events.

Like this podcaster, your immediate reaction may be to go to defensive mode. You may feel the need to defend your library, its services, and practices. That’s a totally natural response.

But I want you to take a step back (and a big, deep breath) and find the opportunity in that negative comment. There are ways to response to customer feedback, even negative feedback, that acknowledge the complaint without damaging the relationship between your customer and your library.

 

Your response to complaints can also build credibility for your organization. And, because emotions are involved, it’s best to have a process in place beforehand so you can handle complaints professionally and swiftly. Here are your new best practices.

Don’t censor online comments. Unless the comment violates your social media or website standards of behavior in some grave way, don’t hide the comment and don’t want to respond negatively.

Respond as quickly as possible. It’s important to address the issue as soon as you can. The basic rule of thumb for businesses now is to respond to complaints within 60 minutes. I know that’s difficult for a lot of libraries, who struggle to balance staff work time in a 24-hour a day world. Make your best effort to respond to complaints quickly. Never let a complaint sit without an answer for more than 24 hours, even if that means you have to answer it on your off time.

Acknowledge the customer’s words and apologize. By simply telling your user that you hear what they are saying, and that you are sorry for the situation, you can diffuse a good deal of the anger or hurt that can be associated with a bad library experience. An apology is not a sign of guilt. It doesn’t mean that the complainer is right. Just saying, “I’ve been in situations like this before and it’s frustrating. I’m sorry this happened to you” can help to smooth the road for resolving the issue. It increases the likelihood that your complainer will leave the interaction with a renewed love for the library.

A co-worker asked me what I had hoped to hear from the podcast host I emailed. This was all he would have had to say to keep me as a fan and listener: “I’m sorry. I’ve been interrupted while speaking and it is frustrating. I’ll work on that.” 

If the problem cannot be solved easily, take it offline. Ask the cardholder for their email address so you can continue to resolve the complaint without doing so in front of an audience. “I’m sorry to hear you are having this problem. We want to make it right. Can I have your email so I can ask for more details about your experience? Then I can make sure your issue gets in front of the right person and is addressed.”

Realize that you cannot please everyone. Every once in a while, someone will complain about something and you will not be able to fix the problem. Apologize, explain your library’s side of the situation as best you can, and move on.

Don’t forget to join us for the LIVE LIBRARY MARKETING TALK ON INSTAGRAM every Tuesday at noon ET. We’ll talk about library marketing topics for about 15 minutes each week. My handle is Webmastergirl. You can email questions and topic suggestions ahead of time. Just fill out this form.

And check out these upcoming events and webinars where we can connect and discuss library marketing. Registration links included.

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.  

A WordPress.com Website.

Up ↑