a friendly read · june 2026
for Dr. Tasha & Left on Read

You built something the city noticed. Let's make the online half work as hard as the shelves.

Not a sales pitch, and not a "you need a website" lecture. You're already further along than most. This is a short read on the one chapter a little AI could help write. Written by someone who actually did the reading.

subject
Left on Read
based
Downtown Wichita, KS
read time
about 6 minutes
I what you've already built

Most of the hard part is done.

This isn't flattery. It's the homework. Here's what already exists, so we can skip what you don't need.

the store

Real online ordering, live

A full storefront: books, audiobooks, e-books, gift cards, merch. Most indie bookstores never get this far.

e-commerce
the brand

A platform, not just a shop

The Millennial Black Professor® and TMBP Media. A newsletter, a membership, events, space rental.

media + retail
the standing

The only one in Kansas

Wichita's only Black-owned bookstore. The only one in the state. Covered by USA Today, KMUW, KAKE, and the ICT Biz Journal.

press + reach
the audience

A community that actually shows up

Thousands of engaged followers, a real membership base, and a mission people feel personally, not just a customer list. That is the single hardest thing to build, and it's already yours.

2,300+ on Instagrampaying membersa felt mission
The shelves are stocked. The brand has a voice. The hard chapters are written. What's left is making the quiet, online moments work as hard as you do in the store. the read in one paragraph
II the one real friction

Right now there are two front doors.

Not a flaw, a growing pain. It's the most common one for a brand that grew this fast.

leftonreadict.com

The brand site

Mission, story, "Meet Dr. Tasha," the LIT Review signup. Beautiful, but it can't take an order.

+
leftonreadbookstore.com

The store

The real shop where money changes hands. But it's a separate address, separate brand feel.

A customer who lands on one often doesn't realize the other exists. Two doors split your traffic, your search ranking, and your story. One front door, with the soul of the brand site and the engine of the store, fixes all three.

III where a little AI adds a chapter

Four things, layered on what you have.

None of these replace what's working. They sit on top of it and do the repetitive parts for you.

the headliner

A "what should I read next" quiz.

A reader picks a mood, a vibe, a genre, who they want to feel seen by. It returns three to five real titles from your shelves, with your voice on every pick. They add to cart and join the LIT Review in one motion.

drives sales + email at once
always open

An AI bookseller, trained on your catalog.

"I loved The Vanishing Half, what next?" answered at midnight, in Left on Read's voice. It knows your stock, your mission, and when to say "come in and ask Tasha."

a bookseller that never clocks out
the engine

The LIT Review, on autopilot.

New-arrival drops, segmented by what each reader actually buys. A gentle nudge when a cart gets left, well, on read.

more orders from the list you own
the calendar

Events that fill themselves.

RSVP, reminder, day-of nudge, then a recap that invites them to the next one. A quiet path from "came to one event" to "became a member."

turns events into membership
IV the new chapter

You're moving. Let's make it a relaunch, not a reset.

A move can quietly cost you the search ranking and reviews you earned. Handled right, it's the best marketing moment you'll get all year.

1

Carry the equity

Redirect the old address and reviews to the new one, so nothing you built resets to zero.

2

Fix the map

Update Google, Apple, Visit Wichita, and every listing to the new spot, the same day.

3

Make an event of it

A "new chapter" campaign: email, social, a grand-reopening RSVP that fills the room.

4

Capture the moment

Every new visitor who comes for the opening leaves on the email list and the member path.

V run your own numbers

What the quiz and the list could mean.

Plug in your real numbers. Conservative assumptions throughout. The results update as you type.

your reality
your year-one upside
added online revenue, conservative
a quiz + concierge lift the visitor-to-order rate; cart recovery catches the rest
extra orders per year
more visitors find a book worth buying before they drift off
new email subscribers in 6 months
the quiz captures readers you're currently letting leave anonymous
Conservative throughout. The partnership's fee only starts after real, sustained growth (see below), so it never arrives before this does.
VI how the partnership works

Free first. You only pay if it works.

No upfront cost, no retainer, no risk. We build it, then prove it before money is ever discussed.

months one through six

Completely free.

The unified site, the reading quiz, the AI bookseller, the email automation, the move relaunch. All built and running at no charge for three to six months. During the free window, you owe nothing.

only then, and only if

$200 / month.

The fee starts only when online orders rise 20% above your baseline. And only after that holds for two straight months. You review the numbers before a dollar moves.

Either side can step away with 30 days notice.
You keep all the static work: the site, the copy, the quiz, the graphics, regardless of how it ends.
In the free window, all we ask is a shoutout, a small site credit, and referrals when they come up naturally.

If any of this is useful, that's the point. If you'd like to talk it through, we're just an email away.

hello@ksautomate.com