Bookstore Japao

Archive for November, 2011

With the retail chain stores for books came a drastic decline in the number of small family-owned bookstores. Be it good, bad, or indifferent, it is a fact. Those that still pursue their dream of owning one are many times shocked when they start out and learn just how much time and money are involved in just getting started. There is a building to pay for, utilities, employee salaries, unemployment insurance, health/dental/vision care insurance for employees, property insurance, liability insurance, casualty insurance, phones, Internet access charges, website development and maintenance costs, taxes, and a host of other less significant costs. That neglects the cost of stocking their shelves to have something to sell!

Assume that you are able to get beyond this and survive the first six months in business. Now you will have to start the training of new employees because some of your initial crew will be moving on to other jobs, but you will get accustomed to this because it is something you will find yourself dealing with from now on. You will probably have experienced employee theft and/or shoplifting by now too, another expense you may have considered but thought you could control by one means or another.

Are you having second thoughts yet? You should be. Opening a brick and mortar bookstore is expensive, high risk, time consuming, and returns only a moderate profit considering both the time and money investments, and even then, only a small percentage of start-ups will ever show a profit.

Consider the alternative of selling books online. It requires a small initial investment, the risk is low, the profits are high, there are no employee costs to consider, if you do it from your home you already have the inventory storage building, and comparatively speaking, it doesn’t require any more time. Other than a time investment, everything about these two scenarios favors online bookselling. When you consider that you can put your online inventory on vacation any time you want and not be paying employees or worrying about what might happen in your absence, it would seem there is only one practical choice you could make.

I’ve always wanted to have a bookstore/knitting store, and having one online is so much easier than a bricks and mortar store. However, there are pros and cons to each, and I’d like to share them in the hopes that my story can help anyone interested in opening an online bookstore in their own carefully researched niche.

Finding your carefully researched niche is important for several reasons. With the likes of Amazon and Barnes and Noble as competition, you have to carve out a very specific small piece of the online bookstore pie and serve it with whipping cream. By that I mean, you have to create a very focused smaller bookstore that offers something that bigger websites don’t have – a very warm, personal touch.

The Pros of Owning an Online Bookstore

I have chosen affiliate programs as the basis of my bookstore because I don’t have to deal with receiving payments, accepting credit cards, processing orders, storing inventory, taking back orders, shipping, and so on and on.

Going to work in a bricks and mortar store would mean putting together the whole package – dress, hair, makeup – with my own online store, I can do what I want, when I want, looking like I want. to go to work, my store is open 24/7/365 to customers around the world, I never meet cranky people face to face (just sometimes in emails!) and my store is private and always peaceful (no cranky kids!).

Faced with a decision between two ideas for how to run my store, I chose option #1. I can simply fill my site with quality, relevant content pages and encourage visitors to click through to the merchant’s website to purchase, or I can use a data feed to create a carbon copy of the original store on my website. I still have to write original copy, to make it unique and not be penalized as duplicate content, but I can have a huge site instantly, automatically updated. Visitors then don’t need to leave my website to make their purchases.

The Cons of Owning an Online Bookstore

Of course there are always arguments against shopping online; the cons are that bookstores provide a wonderful customer experience. Maybe you like getting out to book signings, listening to authors read passages, and sitting down in a comfy chair with a stack of books to decide first-hand what you want to buy. And of course, online sites malfunction more often than stores have to unexpectedly close.

As an affiliate marketer there are some things that can make online shoppers annoyed, reluctant and skeptical that you won’t have to deal with personally, but you will have to be convincing enough to overcome their hesitation.

If your customer knows exactly what they want, no problem, but if they want to “window shop” the process can be painfully slow as they move from page to page. If they like to “scan and let something pop out at them”, they can become frustrated at only being able to view what fits on one page at a time.

When it’s time to pull out the plastic, they may question the security of ordering with their card online, wonder if they want to pay high shipping costs, and what happens if they need to return an order?

How I Made My Decision

Most of the cons can be compensated for or avoided by careful choosing of affiliate programs. Few online book companies simply offer books. They also offer reviews, contests, coupons, and ways to participate in what feels like a community.

Website design with care taken to make navigation clear and simple can make browsing and comparison shopping easier, and of course stores with great track records, testimonials, and security in place make all the difference with consumer confidence.

For me, love of my niche combined with love of books convinced me that I’d made a great choice, and success is almost assured as my next love, writing, makes it easy to write book reviews. If this all makes sense to you, then you must might want to try an online bookstore.

At Christian bookstore sites online, you will find a wide range of educational Bible stories for children. These stories help children to grow mentally and spiritually. It is a great educational solution to teach children how to overcome problems by allowing the young ones to see how Jesus and various Biblical figures handled different situations.

Many of the Bible stories for children include books, videos, voice overs, online books, audio, guides, and other written documents that include images, content, and even steps for children to follow. There are no limits to your child’s learning. With so many Bible stories in so many different formats, how do you choose?

Choosing Appropriate Stories

When it comes to choosing stories for children that come from the Bible, it pays to find stories rich with scripture to verify the story. Your child can use the scriptures to reference the books and audio videos. It will encourage your child to use the Bible more often to find out more information about Jesus and His followers.

When you encourage children to read the Bible, it builds strong spiritual habits. Your child can build spirituality by reading about the lives of Biblical characters and learning the principles of their faith. Children can learn about other characters, such as Job, Rachel, Paul, and other leaders. They will learn how Biblical characters played a role in building the church and spreading the faith all over the world.

Stories from the Bible are conscience building tools. Children who read the Bible become aware of their surroundings, and the actions that occur in our world today. The child can discover ways to handle problems in their own lives and build their faith.

Learning about the Bible and sin can help your child develop conscious behaviors to help them grow spiritually and increase their faith. Parents can download PDF files, iPod files, and voice overs, books, guides, and other spiritual tools on the Internet to help their children learn and grow.

Some of the stories you will find include Jacob and his deceiver, God’s test of Abraham’s faith, Noah and the Great Flood, and guides that teach them the creation story. There are no limits to what your child can learn from Bible stories for children. Let your child learn about Moses and how he brought the Israelites to the promised land. Take your child into Gideon’s army, and allow him or her to team up with inspiring Biblical characters. Walk with Jesus and His disciples in stories designed for children.