Tweak #086: Are We Telling Our Stories This Well?

Inspired by the NPR article on DJ Johnson's Baldwin & Co, we're thinking about telling the story of your store today. How is it possible for a person in TN to know so much about a store in NOLA – to know their story, their initiatives, their whys?  It's rooted in great storytelling, and inspires us all to think about our uniquely wonderful store's stories. Click to listen now!

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
I think if we do this bookshop thing just right, we'll be so different from
each other that we could have seven stores side by side and offer radically
different experiences.
Hi, I'm Lisa Urich with a two-minute tweak, a small idea that could be a big deal for your bookshop.
Steve Wax and I just finished leading an advanced class in storytelling and

(00:23):
display and marketing for the Professional Bookseller School,
and participating stores were just full of things that lifted my brain all over.
And over the coming weeks, I'm hoping to highlight several of those stores and stories.
Today, I wanna elevate one that I used as a case study in the class,
DJ Johnson's Baldwin and Company.
It's an exemplar of marketing and storytelling from me.

(00:46):
And I used a recent NPR piece on them to illustrate points in our workshop.
Here's what I found so inspiring. In the article, DJ's personal story and why is clear.
And so is all of the activity that stems from
the store centered around the work of beloved James Baldwin
who's having a very special birthday right now one of

(01:07):
their key personas one of the key types of persons Baldwin attracts with intention
are NOLA visitors interested in this fascinating man another key target audience
for Baldwin seems to be the local who's interested in building a small a stronger
community and here I sit in Tennessee never having been to that store,
knowing all sorts of things about what they're doing, how they're doing it.

(01:30):
And how it works, because they clearly tell their story. Their story is in their store.
And down the street from some of my favorite people in Frenchman's books,
there is no competition because each store has such a unique identity and quest.
What's your store's story? And are you telling it in every media post and every

(01:50):
display you make in some way in the store?
When we craft our media, our displays, our store layout, we're writing our stories,
that thing that can only come from us, that repeatable thing that is so very interesting.
You know, I'd like to do a better job of that for plenty.
And I bet you can find inspiration, too, here in what DJ has done.

(02:13):
You know about Baldwin & Company, or I know about Baldwin & Company,
because they tell a great story.
And I can't wait to hear yours. Let's work on telling it today.
Music.