B For Butterfly Books is Sale’s very own independent bookshop!
Established in 2020 by Michelle, B For Butterfly Books started as an online only children’s bookshop before moving into a small space in Emporium M33 in 2021.
In March 2025, the shop moved into it’s own premises at 8 Brooklands Road in Sale.
In this interview we take a look at their journey to opening their own shop and how social media training from Altrincham HQ supported that launch.
1. For our readers tell us a little about B For Butterfly books and why you decided to set up your own indie bookshop
My favourite book during childhood was a book called Calling B For Butterfly by Louise Lawrence. It told the story of a group of children who were forced to fend for themselves when the space liner they were travelling on was destroyed by an asteroid. Sadly out of print, this book has stayed with me since I picked it up almost 40 years ago.
I firmly believe in the value of reading for pleasure at any age and wanted to provide a space where people can visit, enjoy a coffee and a cake and feel comfortable to browse and discover new books and authors.
For me, an indie bookshop isn’t just a shop but a community hub.
2. Those who know the world of books know there’s 1 fairly big high street brand and the big online retailer. For some context how hard is it being an indie?
I used to work for that ‘one fairly big high street brand’ and have a number of friends who still work there. The brand is synonymous with book-selling in the UK but I don’t think a lot of people realise that they’re actually owned by an American Investment group. I left as a senior bookseller in March 2019 and I’ve not looked back!
As for the ‘big online retailer’ it’s hard to know what to say! People are generally time-poor these days and the ‘big online retailer’ has made it far too easy to click a button and a package appears the next day.
Obviously it’s hard to compete against huge corporate organisations, so it’s best not to worry about it!
I focus on what I can do – give you a big friendly smile as you walk through the door, provide great customer service and talk you through one-to-one recommendations.
3. For those down the road in Sale. You used to be in the Emporium in Sale and recently opened your own shop next to Brooklands Tram Station (next to Gonbay). What made you take the leap from a concession in a bigger shop to your own unit? How long has it been in the planning and how scary was it going BIG?
I actually set up B For Butterfly Books during lock-down as an online children’s bookshop. An opportunity arose in April 2021 to move into Emporium M33 in Sale and so I decided to take the leap into bricks and mortar bookselling.
While I was in the Emporium I moved spaces a number of times, expanding the children’s range but also stocking adult titles and board games.
The dream was always to have my own space – but it needed to be the right space. I knew I wanted space to host author events and a book club with a small seating area so customers could enjoy a browse with a coffee and a cake.
And yes, it was scary going BIG but with both my boys now at secondary school and having found a great location right next to the tram stop it felt right. People keep telling me I’m brave to open my own shop but I don’t really feel it! There will always be big scary world events and daft men in suits throwing their weight around…I’d say if the time is right for you, go for it!
4. You’ve been in business for years. You must know quite a few social media marketers. What was it about Altrincham HQ that stood out when booking?
I’ve known of Altrincham HQ for years having followed Alex on Twitter long before I owned my own business. I think it’s important that businesses support other local businesses and that’s exactly what Alex does.
Alex focuses on positive and achievable outcomes rather than the ‘get thousands of followers tomorrow’ approach. Being local to Sale means he knows the local market and the people in it.
He also worked with my youngest son on the Young Enterprise project at his primary school and I was happily informed he’s a ‘nice guy’!
5. You wanted a clear social media strategy for the launch of your shop. Could you tell our readers about how much was packed into those 2 hours and what changed for you at the end of the 2 hours?
There was a lot packed into those two hours! I had a clear goal – to successfully launch the new shop to the local community – so I came away with a clear idea of what I needed to do over the following four weeks to make that happen. We set SMART goals and focused on what was achievable. At the end of the two hours I felt confident that I had a plan in place that would work.
6. How easy was it for you to implement the learnings from the session?
Social media can be quite daunting and it’s easy to get overwhelmed when trying to plan content. I had quite a scattergun approach to social media before the session – flitting between Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, Threads, Tiktok…it was a full-time job in itself! By focusing on content pillars on just a few platforms it was far easier to implement the learning and keep on message.
7. We always try to give businesses we’ve worked with extra support. We did a video on the opening that reached over 25,000 people across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Were you surprised at the response and the amount of people that saw it?
Definitely surprised! Sometimes it can feel like you’re shouting into the void on social media so it’s amazing when a piece of content you’re involved with takes off.
8. So you opened up the bookshop of your dreams. I was blown away when you said you’d sold 400 books in one week. That’s insane. Did you expect it?
Not at all! We had an incredible opening day – which just shows that the marketing plan worked. Lots of people commented that they’d seen the posts on social media and were excited to see something new in the area.
9. Let’s look at the other things that led to the sales. Hundreds of followers in just a few weeks are those things that people dream of. Was it one piece of content that led to a massive leap or just consistency?
A new shop opening is always going to create some local buzz – good or bad! But I was really surprised at the level of engagement on posts. I never expected that a short video of the tram going past at Brooklands would attract more than 25,000 views! I don’t think you can expect that kind of interest though if you only post now and again – consistently posting five times a week really helped keep B For Butterfly Books at the front of peoples mind in the lead up to opening.
10. One thing you’ve really stuck to was the 5 posts a week because you had a clear idea of what to post after our session. How did the plan help and how often were you posting before we met?
I was trying to post consistently before we met but it was far more ad-hoc across lots of platforms. Coming away from the session with a clear plan of what I was going to post and when meant it became much easier to tackle.
11. And finally real meaningful engagement from the content. We set the target quite low looking back, but we expected 15 likes per post and you’ve got 54 likes per post on average. How does it feel knowing that when you post the audience truly gets your business?
A lot of hard work goes into setting up a small independent business and you never know if anyone will walk through the door on opening day. Achieving bumper sales on day 1 means that the hard work was worth it!
The local community have really embraced the idea of having an independent bookshop on their doorstep and I’ve been a little overwhelmed by the number of new customers coming into the shop and commenting on how great it looks.
If you listen to the media you’d believe that no-one reads books any more. But I’m delighted to prove them wrong – people really do love books and they love small indie bookshops even more!
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B For Butterfly Books is based at 8 Brooklands Rd, Sale M33 3SQ (next to Brooklands Tram Station & Gonbay Sale)
Follow B For Butterfly Books on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/bforbutterflybooks/
Follow B For Butterfly Books on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/BForButterflyBooks
Check out their website here https://bforbutterflybooks.com/
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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
