Working on the business plan hasn’t really been holding my interest lately. I guess giving myself a month to complete it was too much time–because I am procrastinating. But I’ve been trying to motivate myself to get it done with small steps, one foot in front of the other. I worked on the sections I found more interesting first (company overview, products offered and market analysis) and now I’ve stalled on the left brain activities (marketing plan, logistics & operations plan and financial plan). Now those sections are interesting too…but I just keep getting distracted by taking action without a finished plan. Coming up with social media ideas is much more exciting lol.
So I set aside some time this week to focus on the marketing plan strategies and financials. I was planning to have a newsletter in the future, that will branch out of this blog. Once I have my voice solidified and a substantial archive in place. From my research apparently email lists are 100x more effective than social media…for authors. I need to find out if that is just for authors or for anyone providing a service. As a former e-commerce graphic designer…I’m thinking email lists are great for anyone providing a good or service. But as of this point I’ve heard about how great email lists are for marketing from two authors (one of them owns a bookstore).
What’s needed for an email list:
- Email List Tool (i.e. MailChimp)
- Permission to email customers
- Website with a form for email signups
Jeff Goins
So once I have my website set up, I’ll add a form to collect email signups. But until then going to keep working on the brand identity.
I also worked a bit on the financials, plotting and planning how much I can spend from my own funds for the next year. Rough draft budget I have $150-$200 per month that I can put towards this venture. I want to put the money towards the following:
- subscribe to a design tool (Canva, Photoshop or Figma)
- join a book association (CALIBA or ABA; to learn more insider tips and become a better bookseller)
- take a booksellers course (CALIBA will reimburse this expense once I’m certified – which well help me know how to spend my money more effectively)
- purchase books (duh!)
- launch a website (Shopify or Squarespace)
- advertising
While I wait for 2024 to jumpstart this venture for real I’ve started a Bookshop.org account to practice curating book lists. I can already anticipate my store is going to start with a small selection. The books I want everyone to read, because I love them so much.
What do you think…is there anything else I should be putting my money toward to get the online business up and running?
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