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Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion

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marketing for libraries

Need a Free Stock Photo or Illustration for Your Library Promotions? Here are the Top Ten Websites Where You Can Find Them!

Main Library Cincinnati Library Catalog Department 1946

A picture is worth a thousand words. That’s so true in marketing.

The visual you choose to accompany your promotions can make all the difference. The quality of that image may determine whether a person engages with your content… or moves on.

Most libraries don’t have a budget to hire a photographer for every campaign or marketing initiative. They may not have a graphic designer to create illustrations. So, they rely on free stock photos and art to create promotional material that looks professional and modern.

But libraries must navigate the tricky legal maze of copyright issues associated with images, icons, and photos.

The basics of copyright laws

Unless you have a stock photo subscription, your library should use images in the Public Domain or images that are covered by Creative Commons.

Public Domain: If a photo of image is in the public domain, that means the creator has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. You can copy, change, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

Creative Commons: Anyone can then use the work in any way and for any purpose, including commercial purposes, subject to other laws and the rights others may have in the work or how the work is used.

This post gives a thorough explanation of copyright issues surrounding stock photos in particular.

Finding the right image for your library promotions

Your library can purchase a stock photo subscription. But, if you are working with a limited budget, there are many websites where you can find high quality, free stock photos. That’s where this list comes in handy.

I based my list on a couple of factors.

  • Websites where finding a photo or illustration is easy.
  • Websites where you don’t need an account to download photos or images.
  • Websites that had photos and/or art of subjects that pertain to libraries, like books, reading, and diverse populations.

I have provided a brief explanation of the copyright licensing for these websites. But, to fully protect yourself and your library, read the license requirements for each site thoroughly before you download.

The complete list of ten free stock photo websites for libraries

Creative Commons: This site is dedicated contains the most diverse selection of shots I’ve seen on a free photo site to date, with more than 500 million photos available. You can search by license so you can be sure to get the photos that you can use in any situation with or without attribution, according to your preferences. You can also search by the sources, and by the way in which you wish to use the photos. Attribution is required for most photos.

Freepik: Freepik has a limited number of free photos for download. You can use them for commercial or personal projects and in digital or printed media. Attribution is required.

Gratisography: This site contains a limited number of free photos and vectors. They are bright and eye-catching, even whimsical. It’s divided into easy-to-understand search categories. You can use the photos for personal and commercial projects including advertising campaigns, websites, blogs, and social media. Attribution is required.

Negative Space: Another site under Creative Commons with full use of photos for commercial purposes. Their photos are organized into collections for easy searching. They have plenty of photos of books and readers.

Pexels: A great site containing lots of high-quality photos and videos. They’re all free to use on your website, blog or app, in print materials, on social media, and in ads. Attribution is not required. You can modify the photos and videos.

Pixabay: The site contains 2.3 million free images and royalty free stock photos as well as free illustrations, vectors, videos, and music. You can download and modify content for commercial or non-commercial use without attribution. You cannot use the content for any products for sale, like t-shirts or other library merchandise.

Reshot: You can use any of the 25,000 photos and icons from this website for social media, online ads, education, commercial, and editorial projects for free. No attribution is required. Photos are searchable by orientation.

Stockvault: This site offers more than 138,000 free photos. You can search by license, but there are plenty of free photos for libraries licensed as Creative Commons CCo, which means you can use the works for personal, education, and commercial purposes without attribution.

Vecteezy: This website contains free vectors, photos, and videos. There are premium pieces for purchase, but their selection of free art is great. I like the modern feel of the work on this site. You can search by orientation, image style, number of people or age of people in the photo, and the composition of the photo (head shots, full body, etc.). Attribution is required and there are limits to the ways in which you can use the art under the free license.

Unsplash: An amazing site with a huge selection of high-resolution photos. Their license allows you to download and use the photos for free for commercial and non-commercial purposes. No permission is needed, although attribution is appreciation.


You may also want to read these posts

Donโ€™t Release All Your Library Promotions at the Same Time: Why a Staggered Approach Reaches More People!

The Quest for Perfection May Spoil Your Library Promotions! How To Walk the Line During the Revision Process and Still Create Authentic Messages

Angela’s latest book reviews

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo

Subscribe to this blog and youโ€™ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on the โ€œFollowโ€ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on YouTubeTwitter, InstagramGoodreadsand LinkedIn.

Give Your Digital Library Marketing an Accessibility Overhaul and Make Access to Your Library TRULY Open and Equal for All. Here’s Your Starter Kit.

Women working in library on computers. Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

Libraries all over the world have one thing in common (besides books).

If you look at the mission statement of most any library, you will likely find a sentence about equal access to information for all.

I believe most libraries truly want to provide equal access. Libraries work hard to make sure information is available to people living in disenfranchised communities. They translate brochures into native languages. They provide resources to combat economic disparity. They play a role in distributing information on mental health, addiction, and housing inequity.

But to truly live up to that mission, we need to use the same amount of energy and focus to make the library accessible to people living with disabilities.

One in five people around the globe live with a disability. Libraries will never be truly inclusive until they design services, programs, and marketing with this group in mind.

Angie Brunk changed my life, and the way I think about marketing and inclusivity. Her popular presentation at the 2019 Library Marketing and Communication Conference made me re-evaluate everything I do. I follow many of her suggestions now as I blog and post on social media.

She made me realize that many people live with hidden disabilities, and that libraries have a long way to go to be truly inclusive.ย For your library to be accessible, you’ll need to do more than add ramps and elevators in a building. You’ll need to make sure your digital offerings, your website, and your social media are all accessible to your patrons with disabilities.

Here are some suggestions on where to start.

Accessibility on your library website

Everything you create on the web must comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Bookmark that site because it’s your guidebook for all your online projects.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are developed with individuals and organizations around the world. The goal is to provide a single shared standard for text, images, sound, codes, and more… basically, everything that appears on the internet.ย  Here is the quick reference guide for the latest version of the guidelines.

Consider how easy or difficult it is for patrons with disabilities to find information about your library’s accessibility on your website. You’ll also want to create an accessibility statement, which should be as easy for people to find as your circulation policy or standards of library behavior policy.

Your statement should include information on the accessibility of your physical buildings, the accessibility of your vendor-provided services like eBooks and databases, and your library’s stance on service animals, support personnel, and assistive technology. Include contact information so community members can report a concern or ask a question about accessibility.

Some great examples of library accessibility statements include the policy of the University of Birmingham and this policy from the Toronto Public Library.

Accessibility in design and marketing

Create personas with disabilities, just as you would for other demographic groups. This will help you to imagine how those users will interact with your events, services, and promotions.

As you consider this, ask yourself these questions:

  • What does the persona have to do to find the information about your library?
  • What senses or physical tasks are involved in using your library services and how does that impact patrons with disabilities?
  • What barriers will disabled community members encounter?

Next, seek out patrons with disabilities and ask them to provide feedback on your website and social media marketing. Incorporate what you learn about accessibility from your patrons into your library marketing style guide.

Accessibility in written library marketing content

As you create content, you should check four main components to ensure accessibility.

  • Cognitive: How much time must a user spend with my content to truly interpret and understand it?
  • Dexterity: What kind of physical movement must a user perform to interact with my library’s website or with the content I’m creating on other digital platforms, like email and social media?
  • Hearing: What sound does my content produce that are required for a user to consume my content?
  • Vision: What shapes, colors, text, and graphics must a user understand to consume my content?

Once you’ve tackled those four questions, there are a few other small accommodations you can make to ensure everyone can have access to your library marketing content.

First, descriptive text is a must for all images on your website, social media, and in email. Make that text meaningful. Really describe what is happening in the image. I confess I often skipped this step before Brunk’s session. Now, I add descriptive text on all social media posts and on my blog images.

Next, check to see if your graphics are screen reader compatible. Avoid using anything that can’t be shared with the vision impaired through a screen reader. This article does a really good job of explaining screen readers and how they work.

The best way to check your graphics is to install a screen reader for yourself. Run your visual promotions through the screen reader before you release them and adjust when you find incompatibility issues.

Finally, make sure all videos on social media, YouTube, and your website are captioned. And just like with the descriptive image text, really take the time to explain what is happening in the video.

If you are posting a video on Facebook or Instagram, describe what will happen in the video in your post! This will help patrons with visual disabilities to fully understand your video content.

Additional resources for libraries

The latest version of Microsoft Office includes an accessibility checker!ย  Here’s the guide for how to use it.

Usability.gov has a wealth of information, templates, tools, and advice.

The American Library Association has a special section of their website dedicated to accessibility with a host of helpful tools and tips.

The Library Marketing Show: Make Your Library Website Accessible!

Latest Book Reviews

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

Find more 60-second Book Reviews here.

Subscribe to this blog and youโ€™ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on the โ€œFollowโ€ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on YouTube, Twitter,ย Instagram, and LinkedIn.ย 

Your Website is the MOST Important Gateway to Your Library Right Now. Here Are Eleven Quick Design Tweaks to Make It Amazing.

Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

Your library website is getting quite the workout right now. In fact, during this pandemic, your website is the most important connection between your patrons and your services.ย It’s your digital doorway. It’s your news center. It’s a promotional tool. So, it needs to be welcoming and easy to navigate.

When the pandemic is finally over, your website will still be your most valuable digital asset. In fact, the design and layout of your library website is critical to your library’s ongoing success. Bad web design will make your library look outdated and inefficient. Good web design will keep people coming back. (Scroll down to see some examples of great library websites.)

You don’t have to completely overhaul your website to improve the user experience. There are 11 easy ways to improve your website.

First, you need to enlist the help of people who actually use your website.

Get input from patrons

Create a small focus group. You can do this remotely. Ask for patrons to join your focus group by email or on social media. Set up an email box where they can submit their request to join. Ask them to include their age, their comfort level with technology, and their need for accessible website features. This will ensure you have a well-rounded sample of patrons from different age and ability groups. Choose a larger sample than you will need, keeping in mind that there will be people who will want to join the focus group but won’t complete your feedback survey.

Once you have decided which patrons will be part of your focus group, create your feedback survey using a free platform like Survey Monkey or using a Google Form. Ask your focus group to take a close look at your website and answer these six questions:

  • What is the first thing your eye is drawn to?
  • How easy was it to find the items you want most at the library?
  • Does our current color scheme to draw attention to important services or detract from your experience?
  • Do the images we use cause you to feel any certain emotions? Do they make you want to use our services?
  • Do our web pages feel crowded or do they contain the right amount of information?
  • Can you easily read the text on our website?

Once you compile their feedback, you’ll have a clear picture of what changes you’ll need to make to ensure people keep using your website. And you’ll be ready to make your first six tweaks.

Create a focal point. Identify your library’s number one priority. Make that the first thing people notice when they log onto your site.

Identify the landing pages your patrons most frequently visit on your site. Put links to those pages in the header navigation bar or in a layout that makes it easy for your patrons to find.

Adjust colors to make sure patrons can find what they need. Make sure your website color palette is in line with your brand.

Adjust the images on your website. Do a diversity audit to make sure the images you use accurately represent your community. Look for images that evoke positive emotions like joy or surprise.

Reduce the amount of text, particularly on your homepage. If a service requires a longer explanation, direct patrons to a service landing page with more information.

Increase the font size on your homepage and make sure the font and the colors are accessible. I use this website to check color contrast for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. And here is the Bureau of Internet Accessibility’s guide to picking an accessible web font.

Five more ways to optimize your library website

Prominently feature your e-newsletter opt-in and social network icons. Email and social media play a critical role in engaging your library patrons. Make sure your community can easily find how to connect with you.

Use easy language. Are you using a lot of library jargon or professional terms on your website? One word can make a huge difference. For example, a simple change from “periodicals” to “magazines” may help many people to find your downloadable magazine collection, which will increase circulation and engagement. So take the time to evaluate what you call things on your website.

Make a landing page for each of your services.ย  Many visitors will not see your home page. They’ll come to your website straight from a Google search or a link you provide on social media or in an e-newsletter. So group your services and create landing pages for each category, like workforce development or educational help.

If you do a good job with your landing pages, you’ll increase the chances that your library will be found in Google search. You’ll also increase the chances that a patron searching for services will find exactly what they need quickly. That’s good customer service! And as you create those landing pages, consider this next step.

Have a domain strategy. A good URL structure is short and includes a target phrase. For example, my former employer, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County,ย  created a page for their summer reading program, CincinnatiLibrary.org/Summer. This URL makes promotion easy (people can remember that URL when they see it on print materials or digital signs) and ensures the site is search engine friendly.

Get rid of all your dead-end pages. Make sure that every page leads to an action that takes a cardholder to another page. This increases the chances that someone will spend more time and take more actions on your website.

Great examples of library websites

Saint Paul Public Library: The colorful, clear images and simple text make navigation easy. Notice they’ve placed the things most library lovers search for–catalog, events, and the calendar-right at the top. I love that their FAQs are right on the homepage.

Clinton Macomb Public Library: A great example of how to position your social media icons in a prominent location on your homepage.

Prince George’s County Memorial Library: Icons draw the eye to key areas. Their most important service areas are filed like cards on the homepage, making it easy for users to find exactly what they need.

Ann Arbor District Library: A modern design with friendly, casual language and easy-to-spot newsletter signups and social media icons.

Kalamazoo Public Library: Their community clearly values the collection, and Kalamazoo has put the best titles in all formats front and center on their website.

Qatar National Library: This library’s website reminds me of Pinterest, with their top features displayed in easy-to-navigate squares. Their use of images is top-notch.

You might also find these posts helpful

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

Four Instant Ways to Improve the Most Valuable Page on Your Library Website

Latest Book Reviews

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi.

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Find more 60-second Book Reviews here.

Subscribe to this blog and youโ€™ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on the โ€œFollowโ€ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on YouTube, Twitter,ย Instagram, and LinkedIn.ย 

The Complete List of Free Online Tools to Help You Do Your Job as a Library Marketer

Your work as a library marketer is no walk in the park in the best of circumstances. But it’s especially difficult right now.

I started compiling a list of tools for library marketers before COVID-19 turned our world upside down. Now I want to share them.

Each tool is free. And I hope they make it easier to do your job, wherever you are.

But first, I have a question.

Tools for Writing

Grammarly. Grammerly is a plug-in. It scans what you are writing as you write it. It points out common grammatical mistakes, like subject-verb agreement, article use, and modifier placement. You can also upload documents for scanning. For remote workers or library marketers handling all the work alone, it’s a lifesaver.

Hemingway Editor.ย  The Hemingway Editor grades your writing for readability and points out the excessive use of adverbs, passive voice, and complex sentences. Use it to improve your social media posts, web content, blog posts, and press releases.

I have a love/hate relationship with this website. I love it because it forces me to become a better writer. I hate it because every time I use it, it’s clear what an awful writer I am without it!

BrainyQuote. A directory of inspirational quotes for web, email, and social media content. This is a great site to visit when you’re feeling creatively drained. They verify all quotes. There are plenty of quotes about literature, books, reading, and learning.

The Secret Language of Books by NoveList. This little guide helps you create engaging emails and social media posts about books. It can help you craft language for genres, mood, and styles. It expanded the vocabulary I used to entice readers to check out our collection.

Disclaimer: I work for NoveList. But, I got my first copy of this handbook last year, before I worked for them, and it changed my life.

Tools for Graphics, Videos, and Photos

Emojim. This website is my go-to source for finding emojis. I search what I need and then hit copy. Then I insert the emoji in my platform of choice. The selection on this site is better than Emojipedia.

Use of emojis on social media platforms like Instagram increases engagement by 48 percent. My own data from my time at my former public library job showed that the use of an emoji in an email subject line increased open rates by as much as 60 percent.

HTML Color Codes. Use it to find the exact HTML color of any section on an existing graphic or photo. Upload a photo or graphic, then hold your mouse over the section you want to match and click. The HTML code will appear in the box.

When I worked at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, I would use this to create a call to action button for my emails that matched the accompanying graphic or photo.

Iconfinder. Iconfinder is a database of almost one million icons. Don’t be fooled by the priced sets at the top of the page. Scroll down to find their selection of free downloadable icon sets. Right now, they have lots of free choices for hand washing, social distancing, and public health.

Trace by Sticker Mule. This tool will let your library remove a background from a picture.

Giphy GIF Maker. This site allows you to easily create animated video GIFs and GIF slideshows with captions.

Lumen5. Lumen5 is a video content creator. There is a free version that lets you create five videos each month. You can choose clips from a standard video library and get access to free music.

RecordScreen.io. This site lets you record your screen and your webcam at the same time. There are no bells and whistles and no other features. It’s great for demos and tutorials you might want to create to help patrons learn how to navigate your digital resources.

Tools for Organization

Otter. This cool app is a transcription service. It lets you record meetings or conversations on your phone or browser and then turn those conversations into notes that can be shared. The free plan lets you record 600 minutes of conversations per month.

Andrew and Pete’s Content Editorial Calendar. Andrew and Pete run a marketing agency in the UK. I had the pleasure of meeting them in person at Content Marketing World in 2018. They are sweet, funny, and smart. They created this free template for download. I know many library marketers who can put it to use to organize and manage their editorial calendar.

URL List.ย This website is a revelation. It creates one URL for a list of pages. For instance, I entered all the articles I’ve written on Super Library Marketing about COVID-19 before today and created this URL: https://www.theurlist.com/covid19. It also generates a QR code for use on print materials. To keep your URL lists, just create an account. Use this to promote multiple blog articles or programs happening at multiple branches in your library system.

Subscribe to this blog and youโ€™ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on the โ€œFollowโ€ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on YouTube, Twitter,ย Instagram, and LinkedIn. ย 

Show, Don’t Tell: Why Infographics are an Essential Component in Your Library Marketing

Infographics are visual marketing pieces that help explain facts and figures or lay out a complex set of information in a way that is easy to understand. They’re an incredibly effective marketing tactic.

Until recently, I thought infographics were a relatively new marketing tactic. I remember deciding in 2013 to create an infographic, the first for my library, to promote a readalikes list. I thought I was so innovative!

Turns out, infographics have been around for hundreds of years. Fun fact: The first known instance of infographics as we know them today dates to the late 1700s with a chart of wheat process and labor wages.

Frankly, I love infographics. They appeal to my visual and creative nature. They work well on social media. But they take a lot of time and planning. So, for libraries with a limited marketing staff, it can seem daunting to create one. But itโ€™s worth it.

Why use infographics in library marketing?

Infographics grab attention. Our brains are hard wired for visuals. The human eye can process 36,000 visual messages per hour. That’s 60,000 times faster than the brain can process text. 60,000 times. Whoa.

A good infographic will trigger a reaction in the human brain, sometimes even before the person consciously realizes and processes that reaction.

Think about what happens to you when you see a photograph of a beloved family member or friend. The photo instantly makes you cry, laugh, or long for that person to return to your life. An infographic can trigger the same kind of emotional response. And emotional responses are the best kind of marketing, because they are memorable.

Infographics can explain complex ideas and convey a lot of information in a simple way that is accessible to many audiences. Libraries deal with a lot of data. Our products and services are sometimes difficult to break down into steps. A good infographic will take facts and figures, difficult instructions, or confusing concepts and present them in a way that everyone can understand.

Infographics will position your library as an expert in a way that words can’t. A good visual will demonstrate your library’s subject-matter expertise. It can boost your credibility. It shows that you care about effective communication with your community. And that builds trust with your visitors, community members, and stakeholders in a way that feels more genuine that fancy words.

Three ways to use infographics in your library marketing

Promote your collection. Use infographics to promote a themed collection series, such as new dystopian fiction, the best book club reads, or mystery authors.

You can recruit your collection development department to come up with a list or, if your library is a NoveList client, you can use the NoveList database to find books within a theme. Use the infographic to drive traffic to those titles in your catalog.ย This works really well on social media.

Explain difficult information. Create an infographic to help you explain something to your cardholders, like how to download an eBook, how to pay a fine, how your library uses taxpayer funding, or why summer reading is vital to childhood literacy.

Infographic template from LibraryAware

Show that your library is fun! Have your content team come up with a great idea for a fun promotion, like 20 signs that you might be a bookworm or how to make a bookmark out of an old book.

How to design a library marketing infographic

Create an outline. An outline can help you to lay out the pieces of the infographic and cut your ideas down to the essential elements.

Decide which points are essential for getting your message across. Is there a story to be told in the data or concept you are trying to convey? Is there a beginning, a middle, and an end to that story?

Once your outline is set, your other design elements will become clear to you. What is your theme? Will you use charts or graphics, lists or numbered elements, photos, shapes, or icons? Write those decisions down next to each section in the outline to help you organize your thoughts.

Plan your layout. Youโ€™ll want to make sure all the elements of your infographic are balanced. But that doesnโ€™t mean everything has to be symmetrical!

For instance, if your infographic is explaining something that has a lot of considerations at the beginning of the process and works toward one end result, you could consider a funnel-design: making the number of visuals heavy at the top and lighter as the eye moves down.

If you are explaining something on a timeline, you can arrange your elements evenly from top to bottom but not directly across from one another.

It’s good to sketch your layout out before you go into a design program. This saves time in the actual process of creation and gives you space to make changes at a stage where itโ€™s easy to fix.

You will also want to plan out any places in your infographic where you might need a visual break, like a solid block of color or a line or shape. Finally, be sure to leave white space. You want your infographic to look uncluttered.

Decide your color scheme. A good rule of thumb is to design your infographic with two or three main colors. Then choose a few minor color accents.

The subject of your infographic will have a bearing on your color decision. Some colors work better for explaining data, and some work better for explaining processes.

Infographic template in LibraryAware

Take your branding into consideration when you decide on your color scheme, to avoid clashing with your logo.

Pick your fonts. Youโ€™ll want to make sure your type is accessible to all audiences. Avoid script-type fonts. Keep in mind that an infographic is visual, and the amount of text will be minimal, so the font you choose must compliment the design elements of the infographics.

Limit your use of fonts to just two or three types. Itโ€™s good design to pick a font for the header, one for the main body text, and a third for the complimentary or subtext.

Write a headline that hooks your target audience. As you would with emails or blog articles, the headline or title of your infographic will need to convey the general theme of your visual and catch the attention of your potential audience. Be descriptive and catchy. The title should be shorter than a headline you may use for other contentโ€”only a few words long.

Subscribe to this blog and youโ€™ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on the โ€œFollowโ€ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on YouTube, Twitter,ย Instagram, and LinkedIn. ย 

How Much Library Marketing Should You Hand Over to Your Branches? The Library Marketing Show: Episode 26

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Erin at Casey Cardinia Libraries in Casey, Victoria, Australia, asks: “Could you talk about how marketing can support the branch and then what the branch can do locally on their own. Itโ€™s a constant thing coming up in our service and Iโ€™m thinking a one-pager with some face to face training will help. Marketing teams (if the service is lucky to have one!!) are generally small and we need everyone to take ownership!”

Plus you’re gonna want to watch through the Kudos sections!

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

Want more Library Marketing Show? Watch previous episodes!

Check the Upcoming Events page to see where I’ll be soon. Let’s connect!

Subscribe to this blog and youโ€™llย receiveย an emailย every time I post. To do that, click on โ€œFollowโ€ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me onย Twitter,ย Instagram, andย LinkedIn.ย ย 

Welcome New Cardholders and Make Them โค๏ธ Your Library! The Library Marketing Show: Episode 24

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Lisa at Oshkosh Public Library asks “Do you have any examples of libraries that do an exceptional job welcoming new cardholders? What do they focus on when someone signs up for a library card? How do they follow up to gauge their new cardholders’ experiences and ultimately turn them into regular library users? I’m talking about libraries that do a great job engaging with new cardholders – not just bombarding them with all the rules involved with using the library.”

I use an email drip campaign to introduce the best of what my library offers. But readers, help a sister out! Tell us what you do in the comments.

KUDOS this week to the Princh blog for their blog article “Why The Library Intimidates Me.” It was heartbreaking and great food for thought for library marketers. Read it here.

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

Want more Library Marketing Show? Watch previous episodes!

Check the Upcoming Events page to see where I’ll be soon. Let’s connect!

Subscribe to this blog and youโ€™llย receiveย an emailย every time I post. To do that, click on โ€œFollowโ€ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me onย Twitter,ย Instagram, andย LinkedIn.ย ย 

The Top Five Reasons to Set Aside Time AND Budget to Attend #LMCC20! The Library Marketing Show: Episode 22

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Straight off the end of #LMCC19, I ran back to my room and rattled off the top five reasons YOU need to make sure you attend the Library Marketing and Communications Conference in November, 2020. The conference will be in Indianapolis, Indiana.ย  For more about what I learned at this year’s conference, read this.

And kudos to the organizers of this year’s conference. It was top-notch. The venue, the food, the speakers, the app, the registration information, the speaker process… everything was well-organized and smooth. This was the best conference experience I’ve ever had!

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

Stay in Touch

Check the Upcoming Events page to see where I’ll be soon. Let’s connect!

Subscribe to this blog and youโ€™llย receiveย an emailย every time I post. To do that, click on โ€œFollowโ€ button in the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me onย Twitter,ย Instagram, andย LinkedIn.ย ย 

๐ŸคทIf You’re New to Library Marketing, Where the Heck Do You Begin? The Library Marketing Show Episode 18

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In this episode, we answer a question from Megan from the Redford Township District Library in Michigan. She asks, “I’m brand new! New to the Redford library and new to the Library realm in general. I am two years out of college and my most recent marketing experience is in the automotive field (very different ). I am wondering where do I start? Tips & tricks for just starting off?”

I offer some advice and starting tips for Megan. Be sure to add your advice to the comments! Let’s crowd source a great experience for Megan’s first year as a library marketer!

I also offer kudos to the King County Library system in the state of Washington for their brave decision to stop buying eBooks from Macmillan. They did it in response to Macmillan’s decision to embargo new eBook sales to libraries for two months. It’s brave and if we all band together and follow their lead, we might be able to make a difference! Read this great article from Publisher’s Weekly on their decision.

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