Connections. November 2020
As we edge closer to Christmas, things are feeling busier as book sales rise and the usual excitement around seasonal bestsellers ensues! This year has certainly been unique for eBooks and audiobooks, with digital content consumed in quantities like never before.
This digital demand was widely discussed at this month’s FutureBook conference, which went online and was spread across five days just last week. (We penned a short blog post recently on the continued success of online events!)
As one of the FutureBook sponsors, it was great to be integrally involved, and it was fun walking through a few product demo slides via the platform during the Lunch and Learn slot on the Wednesday. We’d be more than happy to go through a similar demo for any of you that missed out – drop us a line on glassboxxsales@firstygroup.com.
Across a range of interviews, panels and online presentations, the scope for discussion was more varied than ever – and it was good to hear audio in particular being talked about as such an important factor in the future of publishing.
And perhaps it was just us – or the sessions we managed to catch – but, whilst there is universal agreement on the need for eCommerce at a time like this, we couldn’t help but detect a slight anti-Amazon sentiment coming across…
Anyway – sterling work from the Bookseller team – what can we expect from events in 2021 I wonder?
We are now offering zero download costs on gratis fulfilment for 6 months from launch. So if you would like to offer gratis copies of a certain eBook or audiobook, you can do this for no cost – especially useful in marketing campaigns!
Speaking of marketing, our #eBookWednesday campaign across social media is having a real impact, with plenty of publishers joining in to get more exposure for their latest titles.
It’s here!
After several weeks of tantalising ‘Coming Soon to a Screen Near You’ announcements, Multi currency is now available on Vendor+, meaning that customers buying direct from Glassboxx have the option of paying in EUR, USD and CAD.
This is something that will prove extremely useful for publishers with multiple storefronts and gives much more choice for publishers thinking of expanding their reach.
Additionally, some of you may have caught an interesting item in the news recently from Apple.., and their announcement to drop in-app purchase commissions to 15%. This will undoubtedly have development impact across the vast app developer community, as content owners pivot to cash in on a greater return on sales. Whilst there’s no visible change within our own Glassboxx apps as yet, there are conversations afoot as to where this news may lead us…
As the demand for digital content and the drive to support publishers continues, we’re continuing to work closely with publishers on marketing their books with Glassboxx.
We’re also noticing an increasing amount of queries on how to gift Glassboxx. Gifting eBooks and audiobooks is a great way of giving book lovers the perfect escape – at a time when we all need to find space to relax.
As a publisher, gift cards are a great way to provide this option, and can be very attractive as part of a Christmas campaign. Creating these from your own eCommerce site (Vendor) is obviously within your own hands – but for those of you on a Vendor+ integration, the functionality is all there in the Publisher Dashboard for you to create the redemption voucher…, to add to a pre-made email template, or pdf.
For example, The Reading House (more of which below) are offering gift cards alongside a wide variety of Christmas titles and popular authors.
The Reading House – As part of Firsty’s new joint venture with Ulverscroft, Glassboxx is live on The Reading House’s new website!
We’re naturally very excited about this venture, given their unique position as one of the leading publishers of large print and audiobooks, and are very proud to be working with a focus on accessibility and inclusivity. The Reading House boasts a huge selection of titles, including Sir Captain Tom Moore’s autobiography, Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day. We have listed some more of their latest releases below, which are all subject to a fantastic lockdown discount!
The Thursday Murder Club
Death On The Nile
Reasons To Be Cheerful
Black & White – last month we talked about Olive, Mabel & Me. The audiobook version, exclusive to Glassboxx, went live this morning! It is narrated by Andrew Cotter himself, and so we’re expecting it to be very popular – it has already generated a huge buzz, helped greatly by Cotter’s own involvement on social media, where it all began.
Karnac Books – The Brain has a Mind of its Own: Attachment, Neurobiology and the New Science of Psychotherapy
The Guardian ran an article earlier in the month, covering the ways in which what was previously an eBook slump has become an eBook surge during lockdown. This spike in eBook and audiobook sales was one of the most talked about topics during FutureBook, and it’s something that we have seen as publishers have turned their focus towards maximising their digital lists.
The most exciting aspect of this is an increase in audio sales – although we have seen double digit increases in audiobook sales over the last 7 years, listening has skyrocketed during lockdown, and this reaffirmed the value of being able to access content in multiple formats, and with ease.
During FutureBook, Steve Bohme from Nielsen spoke about the ways in which audio listening had switched from being on the move to about the house – given that listening while multi-tasking is listed as the #1 benefit of audiobooks, even before narration, it is no surprise that audio consumption has really come into its own. According to Bohme, growth in the audio market this year has been driven largely by non-fiction, and boosted by lockdown – again, no surprise, when you couple the leading share in self-help genres with the focus on mental health and wellness that we have seen expanding this year.
Although the aforementioned Guardian article mentioned plunging sales of print books due to shop closures, the industry, especially from what we saw across FutureBook, appears to be taking things more positively, and several publishers have reported a good third quarter, and a large proportion of sales coming from digital.
