Website Basics: “Contact Us”

This week we’re taking a close look at the bookstore webpage. If you have just 5 minutes to spend on marketing today, spend those 300 seconds on the “contact us” section of your webpage.

Many visitors to your site are seeking information, and if they cannot immediately find answers on their own, it’s helpful to know exactly who on staff should be contacted for specific needs. For example: Do you have a specific person on staff who serves as a liaison for B2B orders? List that individual’s name, phone number extension and email address to eliminate tying up the front desk staff as they try to determine what the caller needs and who can best serve them.

Other areas of service where this proves helpful might include book talk inquiries, teacher and school orders, and consignment programs, as well as direct contact information for your media spokesperson.

It might take more than 300 seconds to get the “contact us” page up-to-date. Just tackle it as you have free moments and add it to your list of pages to look at every quarter or when personnel changes.

A direct line of contact not only saves time and effort for your staff, but also empowers the caller with a sense of ownership by providing valuable “insider” knowledge to your bookstore.

Beth Golay

Beth is a reader, writer, marketer and Books & Whatnot founder. Even though she knows better, she's a sucker for a good book cover and will positively swoon if a book is set in appropriate type. @BethGolay