Where do bookstore Web sites come from and where are they going? In
last week's column, we explored a Rainy Day Books online innovation
regarding staff e-mail addresses. This time we'll trace the roots of
the Fairway, Kan., store's Web site, take a closer look at current
online strategy and peek into the future.
In the beginning, however, there was Rainy Day Books.com: the domain name.
According to Roger Doeren, "Geoffrey Jennings, Vivien's son, was the genius behind the genesis of the Rainy Day Books Web site. He was our original webmaster and his insight was responsible for initially registering the domain name back in 1994. He anticipated the demand to do business on the Internet and he got the jump on other booksellers in the marketplace by creating, building and maintaining RainyDayBooks.com early on."
At BookExpo America 1996, Vivien and Roger met Dick Harte of BookSite and learned they could enhance their online presence with shopping cart and title search options. "Dick and I hit it off well," Roger says. "We stayed as loyal members of BookSite.com for eight years until we outgrew its capabilities. We parted on friendly terms."
In 2004, again at BookExpo, they took the next step when Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com, offered a trial subscription to the service. "I leapt at the opportunity," Roger says, "and after fully testing and evaluating BookSense.com for two weeks, I opted to accept a full subscription." He was soon invited to join the BookSense.com Users Council, and hasn't stopped testing and evaluating since then.
The learning curve is sharp and never-ending, but Roger describes the Rainy Day Books Web site as a creative expression of the bookstore's spirit: "Building and maintaining RainyDayBooks.com is similar to a Lego building block process. Given the same building blocks, other people will build something else. RainyDayBooks.com is frequently empirically evaluated and the feedback is utilized to calibrate and target changes and improvements for the best. Change for the sake of change is stabbing in the dark; hit and miss, mostly miss. I like to turn on the lights and see what is in the dark as I build and maintain my surroundings." Although that word change has become a siren song for most of us online, Roger tries to balance awareness and adaptability with foresight.
For example, he has an online wish list for BookSense.com: "I communicate directly with Len Vlahos about needed improvements that all subscribers will enjoy. I would like to increase the HTML character limit per text field from 4,000 characters to about 10,000 characters. I would like to add a gift registry. I would like simpler and more direct click-through purchasing power. I would like to add more Bookstream Bookwrap author videos."
Currently on Roger's drawing board are several new features: "I have recently completed a hyperlink from RainyDayBooks.com Author Events Photo Albums to SONY ImageStation. Many attendees to our author events know that I take a lot of photos and have often asked to see my photos. Now they will have that opportunity, as I upload more of my photo albums over time."
He is also working on a plan to offer live streaming audio and video of author events. Given Rainy Day Books's ambitious events schedule, this could be both a coup and a logistical nightmare. Roger, however, sees it as an incentive, "the next best thing to being there, live and in person. It will drive more attendance to our events and online author-autographed book orders. Live radio, television and webcasts drive attendance to other entertainment events."
Even as we communicated for this series, Roger was conducting an experiment. He embedded a Windows Media hyperlink throughout the Web site wherever an upcoming Robert Crais event was listed.
Roger believes that what he calls the "one-two combination" of the bookstore's Web site and weekly e-mail newsletters delivers an effective punch. The site attracts approximately 60% local, 25% regional, 10% national and 5% international hits; online book sales are "constantly increasing. The cost of time and money to build and maintain RainyDayBooks.com delivers a great Return on Investment (ROI). It is our 24-hour-per-day, 365-days-per-year extension of our full service, friendly and knowledgeable community bookstore."
Next week, we'll conclude the Fairway, Kan., leg of our bookstore Web siteseeing tour with some thoughts from Vivien Jennings, who promises to weigh in "on the right brain side, as Roger (who actually is a genius on both sides) has addressed the technology."--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)
In the beginning, however, there was Rainy Day Books.com: the domain name.
According to Roger Doeren, "Geoffrey Jennings, Vivien's son, was the genius behind the genesis of the Rainy Day Books Web site. He was our original webmaster and his insight was responsible for initially registering the domain name back in 1994. He anticipated the demand to do business on the Internet and he got the jump on other booksellers in the marketplace by creating, building and maintaining RainyDayBooks.com early on."
At BookExpo America 1996, Vivien and Roger met Dick Harte of BookSite and learned they could enhance their online presence with shopping cart and title search options. "Dick and I hit it off well," Roger says. "We stayed as loyal members of BookSite.com for eight years until we outgrew its capabilities. We parted on friendly terms."
In 2004, again at BookExpo, they took the next step when Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com, offered a trial subscription to the service. "I leapt at the opportunity," Roger says, "and after fully testing and evaluating BookSense.com for two weeks, I opted to accept a full subscription." He was soon invited to join the BookSense.com Users Council, and hasn't stopped testing and evaluating since then.
The learning curve is sharp and never-ending, but Roger describes the Rainy Day Books Web site as a creative expression of the bookstore's spirit: "Building and maintaining RainyDayBooks.com is similar to a Lego building block process. Given the same building blocks, other people will build something else. RainyDayBooks.com is frequently empirically evaluated and the feedback is utilized to calibrate and target changes and improvements for the best. Change for the sake of change is stabbing in the dark; hit and miss, mostly miss. I like to turn on the lights and see what is in the dark as I build and maintain my surroundings." Although that word change has become a siren song for most of us online, Roger tries to balance awareness and adaptability with foresight.
For example, he has an online wish list for BookSense.com: "I communicate directly with Len Vlahos about needed improvements that all subscribers will enjoy. I would like to increase the HTML character limit per text field from 4,000 characters to about 10,000 characters. I would like to add a gift registry. I would like simpler and more direct click-through purchasing power. I would like to add more Bookstream Bookwrap author videos."
Currently on Roger's drawing board are several new features: "I have recently completed a hyperlink from RainyDayBooks.com Author Events Photo Albums to SONY ImageStation. Many attendees to our author events know that I take a lot of photos and have often asked to see my photos. Now they will have that opportunity, as I upload more of my photo albums over time."
He is also working on a plan to offer live streaming audio and video of author events. Given Rainy Day Books's ambitious events schedule, this could be both a coup and a logistical nightmare. Roger, however, sees it as an incentive, "the next best thing to being there, live and in person. It will drive more attendance to our events and online author-autographed book orders. Live radio, television and webcasts drive attendance to other entertainment events."
Even as we communicated for this series, Roger was conducting an experiment. He embedded a Windows Media hyperlink throughout the Web site wherever an upcoming Robert Crais event was listed.
Roger believes that what he calls the "one-two combination" of the bookstore's Web site and weekly e-mail newsletters delivers an effective punch. The site attracts approximately 60% local, 25% regional, 10% national and 5% international hits; online book sales are "constantly increasing. The cost of time and money to build and maintain RainyDayBooks.com delivers a great Return on Investment (ROI). It is our 24-hour-per-day, 365-days-per-year extension of our full service, friendly and knowledgeable community bookstore."
Next week, we'll conclude the Fairway, Kan., leg of our bookstore Web siteseeing tour with some thoughts from Vivien Jennings, who promises to weigh in "on the right brain side, as Roger (who actually is a genius on both sides) has addressed the technology."--Robert Gray (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)