Shepherd - Our two-pronged strategy to help authors...

Author

Ben Fox
September 18, 2023

What's new for September?

  1. Shepherd's two-pronged strategy to help authors.

  2. Preview the "new book launch" program.

  3. Preview the live "3 favorite reads in 2023" page!

  4. August: Traffic, clicks, and sales

  5. Ben's life updates and reading list...

Funsize:

First... Mark Huntley-James and his partner Caroline are generously matching any Founding Member signups for September! ðŸ¥³

If you have considered signing up, it counts 2x for September.

Check out Mark's list of the best fantasy novels that give a poke in the tropes with a sharp wit. Thank you, Mark and Caroline (especially for all the feedback on features and ideas)! 

Shepherd's two-pronged strategy to help authors.

Here is an 8-minute video on how I plan to help authors in the coming years.

Short summary if you can't watch the video:

  1. Create and launch formats to help authors get their book in front of the most likely readers (and do so in a way that delights readers). 

  2. Create a platform for authors and book lovers to share book recommendations and build a fan base around those recommendations. Not only is that great for readers, but it will create thousands of book recommendation channels that can help highlight amazing books and authors. 

I will write more about this as I get past the big best books of 2023" launch on October 1st and November 1st (going to be a busy month). 

What do you think?

Preview the "new book launch" program

Next month, I will be launching the long-awaited new book launch program.

This is designed to help authors get the new book in front of the most likely readers. I consider a new book any book published in the last three years.

How will this get your book in front of the most likely readers?

For every book in our system, we know the genres and topics it is about. We will use that data to match your book to readers across the different parts of the website. 

For example, if your book is a middle-grade book about space exploration (topic) and adventure (genre), we are aiming to show your smart-book-ad on:

  • Bookshelves about space exploration and adventure. As well as related bookshelves on subjects like Mars, astronauts, the Mars rover, etc.

  • Bookshelves focused on books for middle graders.

  • On books-like pages for books similar to your book.

  • On the bottom of book recommendation lists that have similar readership. 

What will this "smart book ad" look like?

  • Keep in mind the below is using fake data for the book description. 

  • Based on some great feedback from Founding Members, I am also working to make changes to the below.

  • This is designed to blend in with the book results like Google does for their search results (or Amazon for their book ads). 

This feature is a perk for authors in our Founding Member program. 

I am so excited! This is the first new format I have created since we launched, and this will be a fun way to find new books. 

(keep in mind this test page is using my picks for the best books in 2022 and just for testing purposes)

Quick highlights:

Traffic, bookstore clicks, and sales

For August:

  • We had 421,000+ visitors and 552,000+ pageviews. That is up 175% over the previous year. 

  • We sold ~$60,000 worth of books we can track (actual number is higher).

  • We had ~40,000 clicks to bookstore partners. 

Traffic from Google was flat again. That is part of the process, but it is always frustrating (as search traffic has been flat since January). This will improve as I improve the website and add new features. 

For a big-picture perspective:

  • In 2022, we had 1.8 million visitors.

  • In 2023, we've already had 3.3 million visitors (through August)! Woohoo! 

What else is going on?

I am back from my August biking trip through France. It was amazing!

I rode 1,269 kilometers from Bordeaux to Paris to Mont Saint-Michel. I had fantastic weather and mind-blowing food. I am fully recharged. 

What am I reading?

  • I am reading Finder by Suzanne Palmer. This is a Hugo award-winning book, and I am about 20% in. The story is solid, and I'm very curious about where it goes. It is about someone working to reclaim a stolen spacecraft in a remote part of space. 

Have a great week!
Ben

P.S. Some pictures from my trip. 

 Do you like what we are doing?

Please help us create an awesome book website for readers and authors :)

How do we help authors?

I need your help. Can you join our Founding Member program for $50 a year to help me create a better book website for readers and authors?
How do we help authors like you?

In the last 12 months, Shepherd has helped 5 million visitors find new books and connect with authors like you.

We have a two-pronged strategy to help authors in the coming years. 

  1. Shepherd will create features to help authors get their books in front of the most likely readers for their book (and do so in a way that delights readers). 

  2. Shepherd will create a platform for authors and book lovers to build a fan base around book recommendations. Not only is that great for readers, but it will create thousands of book recommendation channels for authors to reach different slices of readers. 

What are some of the perks of joining?

Founding Members get to use our new book launch program to help you meet readers! And once our new front page launches in January they will be featured there as well. 

And I am launching two new formats in 2024.

Meet readers by...

You can sign up here to take part.