A Better BookShop: BookBaby Adds New Features to its Online Book Purchasing Pages to Boost Direct-to-Reader Sales

BookBaby, the self-publishing powerhouse, wants indie authors to connect directly to readers--and to keep more of their sales revenue in the process. To this end, the service’s long-standing BookShop just rolled out a series of key upgrades, giving writers even more flexibility in how to market and present their books.

“We wanted to expand the ways authors can reach their readership and market their books,” explains Steven Spatz, BookBaby CEO. “While other platforms and retail outlets can be very important to an author’s career and income, selling directly to fans is one of the best ways to build a meaningful career as a writer-entrepreneur.”

BookBaby authors can now do everything from create banner ads to lead directly to their BookShop, to offer discounts and curate reviews. The visual presentation has gotten a serious, mobile-friendly revamp as well. “BookShop is a retail landing page that you, the author, control,” notes Dan Baker, BookBaby’s head of marketing. “It’s also more visually appealing than the big online retail sites and lacks the clutter that might distract readers from engaging with and purchasing your books.”

Another key element: Authors keep significantly more per sale via BookShop, almost twice as much for printed books and three times as much for ebooks. And unlike some retailers, BookShop’s Print-on-Demand approach means books are always in stock and ready to ship to happy readers no matter how high the demand. BookShop is a free part of every BookBaby author’s publishing experience.

BookShop’s new features

Coupons and discounts allow authors more control and flexibility in their marketing and enable them to trace where sales are coming from.

New eye-catching layouts: “We’ve created new easy-to-use, templates and themes in order for authors to easily match the design aesthetic of their book,” Baker explains. “Plus, with our new responsive templates, BookShop will look as good on a mobile device as it does on a desktop computer.”

Author-approved book reviews: Select reviews help guide readers and increase discoverability. “Authors can encourage readers to review directly on their BookShop site, which will boost their page in search engine ranking and sales,” says Baker.

Embeddable banner links lead readers from author’s websites to their BookShop pages—where they can earn more money than anywhere else.

“See Inside”: BookBaby has added this popular feature that prompts more sales

Showcase your other book titles: Authors can let readers know your prequels, sequels, and other series.

BookShop is part of BookBaby’s growing suite of services and events for independent authors who want to thrive. “As self-publishing matures, and more and more high-quality books are being published this way, authors need an expanded toolkit to grow audiences and benefit from their work,” Spatz notes. “We’re working to make BookShop an attractive and effective place to do this.”