About Us
Hello, I am Faye Childs
I have over twenty years of experience as a long-standing innovator in the publishing industry, creating The BlackBoard African American Bestsellers in August of 1991. After serving as Executive Editor for twenty-five years, I am excitedly anticipating expanding BlackBoard as Publisher and CEO. The BlackBoard List is dedicated to the promotion of books by and about people of color, supporting Black booksellers and publishers.
Executive Team
Rhiannon Childs, BlackBoard’s new Executive Editor, is a nationally recognized social justice proponent of women’s issues, serving as Director, Ohio Women’s March, and Vice President, Ohio Women’s Alliance.
Kaci Thompson, BlackBoard’s Managing Editor, has an educational background in business, taxation, and finance.
Al White, a retired business executive with AT& T, has joined BlackBoard, as Director of Marketing.
As we move forward our future goals reflect our history:
- Engage the publishing industry in the development of technological advancements to promote book sales and author recognition regarding black titles
- Create a place where authors and fans have a personal connection
- Give The BlackBoard List fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite books to support the connections developed between authors and their fans.
- BlackBoard fan voting is an act of love, joy, laughter and loyalty to Black authors
Methodology
Though technology and entertainment have grown exponentially in the last decade, identifying the best in black literature has become more divisive than ever. In 1991 Faye was told black people don’t read, therefore we don’t buy books. This attributed to the false perception that there was no economic value within the African American bookselling market. Today black readers request major Internet booksellers separate a section of their website to clearly identify books by or about African Americans.
Black readers want books that are self-identifying more than ever. The BlackBoard List showcases books and authors by or about African Americans and solicits readers of black fiction and nonfiction, by interactive polling, to determine bestsellers. By becoming a trusted buying guide, The BlackBoard List has a positive economic impact on the publishing industry.
Methodology Analysis: The Engine Behind The BlackBoard List
Innovative Digital Marketing Campaign
“We’re able to deploy, in the initial campaign, 100,000 emails, both mobile and desktop.”
Geo-fence Campaign
Geo-fencing means to upload a list of locations, ex., independent black bookstores, or locations of possible events like a book signing, where people would visit during a certain date and time and serving their mobile device with a BlackBoard ad.
Contextual Ad Campaign
We have created a list of 25 specific keyword and keyword phrases, such as “black authors” and African American Authors”, as well as specific black author names and book titles. When a browser search engine is used for a news article, blog post, etc. using these keywords, we can begin tracking and serving them throughout the web.
The BlackBoard List
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- Incorporates the fan vote and the African American booksellers vote to create the list of bestselling black titles
- Provide an online retail store for our fans to purchase from authors whom they follow and voted as bestselling favorites
- A social media network, designed as a major influence in creating how fans and authors can communicate
- Update the BlackBoard Lists monthly based on fan votes listing the top ten fiction best sellers, the top ten nonfiction bestsellers garnered from the poll ballot results
- Offers prizes and discounts, in The BlackBoard List retail store
I look forward to hearing from all the fans who welcome the opportunity to vote on our website.