there is a story behind every book

Ebook Analytics for Authors

Welcome to Reader Analytics by Jellybooks!

Reader Analytics by Jellybooks was developed for you the writer to receive data on how your readers actually read ebooks. It doesn’t matter whether your readers access the book on an ereader, smartphone, tablet or compute.

The service is available to self-published authors, traditionally published authors, as well as hybrid authors.

The service uses many of the same technical principles that are used in Google Analytics for web pages. Hence, the publishing trade press has nicknamed the tool a “Google Analytics for Ebooks” (Disclaimer: this Jellybooks service is in no way connected to or endorsed by Google Inc.)

The reader analytics service is designed for use in easy to set up virtual focus groups.

Jellybooks currently does not encourage, endorse or support the use of the tool for ebooks sold in general retail (online book shops by Kindle, iBooks, Kobo, Nook, etc.).

The allows provides you the author to see:

  • When readers opens a new ebook chapter
  • Average reading speed
  • Length of reading sessions
  • Position where readers abandon an ebook
  • Time of day an ebook is read
  • Readers clicking on links or images in the ebook

The data is displayed for both individual readers and as group averages. Thus it is possible to correlate:

  • What kind of reader abandons the book, reads in and off or reads cover to cover
  • How reading style compares to whether a user will recommend the book

It is important to note that participants in our virtual focus groups are not anonymous. By enrolling in a focus group to receive a free book, participating readers agree for their personal reading data to be viewed by the author. This is one of the central reasons why Jellybooks does not endorse or support the use of the tool in general retail. In such a scenario, readers would have an implicit expectation of remaining anonymous.

Participants in our virtual focus group can be selected by you’re the author (closed groups) or by Jellybooks (open groups).

  • Where the closed option is selected, you the author (or your publisher) invite participants via email. Invitees can redeem the invite code you email them on the Jellybooks website. Each copy redeemed has a personalised tracking code unique to the focus group participant.
  • Where the open option is selected, the focus group is advertised by Jellybooks on its home page and through its social channels (we operate one of the largest book community groups on Pinterest with other 60,000 avid and passionate readers). As the author you have still the option to approve each individual participant (i.e. if you are concerned about freeloaders).
  • As author, you can also select a hybrid option of inviting participants from your existing email list, as well as promoting the focus group via Jellybooks.

Benefits

You can use the data Jellybooks collects:

  • to make editorial improvements (in which case you should organise the focus group when you have an early draft)
  • To decide on how best to position, market and promote the book (in which case the focus groups should be put together when you have a near final draft and are almost ready to publish the ebook)

You can also organise virtual focus groups after publication or for books you have published in the past, when deciding on a new promotion for a book. However, the principle of readers being invited and receiving a free book in exchange for their participation applies also to these scenarios

How Does Reader Analytics Work?

Reader Analytics by Jellybooks works with the same ebook files you already upload to Apple, Kobo or Smashwords, provided they were generated and can be supplied to Jellybooks as ePub 3 files.

  1. The first step is to upload a copy of the ebook that you want to use for the virtual focus group via the Jelybooks VIP portal
  2. Jellybooks then adds special tracking code to the ePub file.
  3. Next ebook files with the personalised tracking codes are sent to focus group participants
  4. Participants can read the ebook on third party reading apps with the Jellybooks software recording their reading style and interactions which are stored in the ePub file
  5. Every time a reader taps the sync/upload button at the end of each chapter a record of their reading data is uploaded to the Jellybooks servers
  6. Authors can then visualise and analyse the collected data on the Jellybooks VIP dashboard and compare it with data for other books in the genre.

Data is not available where participants do not tap the click/sync. However, participants receive a nudge from Jellybooks if no data is received. Also, Jellybooks keeps a record of users who participate in virtual focus groups and do not upload their reading behaviour. Authors can use this to exclude suspected freeloaders or deadbeats from their focus group.

The basic bargain between author and reader is that the reader receives a free copy of the book in exchange for sharing their reading data with the ebook creator. Readers who opt out of this arrangement lose their right to participate in future focus groups (data on individual reader compliance in the past is available to all authors and writers using the Reader Analytics service). Readers participating in focus groups can also see their own reading data at www.jellybooks.com. We wish to emphasize that Jellybooks is committed to total transparency in terms of the data collected.

Technical Details and Specifications

The basic requirement is that the ebook must be an ePub3 file and that it is provided with a high resolution cover image. The files can be uploaded quickly and easily through the Jellybooks VIP portal.

Currently only iBooks for iPhone, iPad, and Mac is supported, but support for Adobe Digital Editions, Kobo, Bluefire and other ebook reading apps will follow over the course of 2015.

Amazon currently does not support Javascript in any of its applications or devices though it is part of the ePub 3 specification. We have been in contact with Amazon, but they cannot give a date when Javascript will be supported. Unfortunately, we are unable to support the use of Kindle applications and devices in focus groups until Amazon starts supporting Javascript, which is part of the epUB3 specification.

Reader Analytics by Jellybooks is a hosted web service, like Smashwords and others. There is a modest monthly fee if you require more than a set number of transactions (each ebook supplied to a focus group participant is counted as one transaction). You can cancel your subscription at any time.

Signing Up for Reader Analytics

You can sign up for early access to Reader Analytics at https://analytics.jellybooks.com if you are interested in the program or want to find out more. The Reader Analytics service from Jellybooks is currently in limited beta with major trade publishers and will launch commercially in spring.