Jellybooks launches new interactive online platform for booksellers, publishers and readers
(20 July 2021) Technology specialist Jellybooks has launched a new interactive online platform for book catalogues and magazines, making it easier than ever for publishers, booksellers, literary festivals and prizes to showcase a diverse range of titles to industry and consumer audiences alike. In addition, Jellybooks is now offering dedicated book QR codes for publishers, booksellers and other literary organisations, enabling them to create interactive print materials such as magazines and bookmarks.
Interactive online magazines and catalogues
Jellybooks’ new interactive online platform enables magazines that offer interactive access to samples of all the books featured. Readers can also buy featured books directly from participating bookshops via buy buttons in the catalogue and via links at the end of the book samples, thus providing multiple touch points for purchasing. The online magazines and the book samples within them are accessed via the Jellybooks Cloud Reader, which is a browser-based ePub reading platform.
In addition, the Jellybooks Retailer Engine allows bookshops to create their own magazine versions within minutes. These custom versions feature buy buttons that link directly to the bookshop in question and no other third parties. Booksellers and publishers are also able to curate bespoke lists of books by assembling their own unique magazines and catalogues from a range of predefined templates and draw on Jellybooks’ database of tens of thousands of titles. Covers, descriptions, excerpts, samples and key meta-data are imported with just a few clicks allowing for bespoke and curated book magazines and catalogues to be created in less than half an hour. No web or graphic design skills are required.
The first interactive magazine being launched today features books from the Jellybooks’ Summer of Reading campaign with titles from publishers including Birlinn, Cambridge University Press, Europa Editions, Granta, Oneworld Publishing, Pan Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Pushkin Press and Yale University Press. The magazine will be continuously updated with new August and September releases to support pre-orders by readers.
To view the magazine, visit https://jbks.co/interactive-magazine.
Jellybooks is working with several partners, including booksellers, literary festivals and major book prizes, on dedicated magazines to further support their work and enhance book discoverability and reader engagement.
The Jellybooks platform not only supports online magazines and book samples, but also sales and rights catalogues for publishers which can include excerpts and snippets of narrative books, illustrated books, graphic novels and audiobooks. Interactive catalogues can also feature author interviews (text, audio, or video), user voices, reviews and much more.
Detailed reader engagement and reading statistics are provided for all formats including samples, reader magazines, sales and rights catalogues. Supporting data-smart publishing and book marketing is a defining feature of all Jellybooks’ services.
Dedicated book QR codes
The pandemic has significantly increased the awareness and use of QR codes among the general public, and Jellybooks has now created a dedicated design for book QR codes. These bespoke codes feature book icons at the centre of the QR image, making them instantly recognisable as codes that offer access to book samples.
Jellybooks has created four unique designs that signal to the reader if they will receive access to a narrative book, illustrated book, graphic novel or audiobook. All four formats are supported by the Jellybooks Cloud Reader. The QR codes can be included in printed rights and sales catalogues, as well title and advance information (AI) sheets to make them interactive and provide access to online book samples.
The dedicated book QR codes can also be utilised in bookshops windows displays, on promotional posters at stations, on bookmarks for bookshop customers, festival or author reading attendees, on postcards for inclusion in subscription boxes or online orders, and on stickers on shrink-wrapped books.
Plus, the QR codes can link not only to samples, but also review and inspection copies hosted with the Jellybooks Cloud Reader.
Andrew Rhomberg, CEO of Jellybooks, says: “We are delighted to be able to offer these new and easy-to-use tools as ways to support book discovery and the latest titles. We have been working closely with Blackwell’s and other bookshops to develop this innovative technology that helps to engage readers more deeply and promote pre-orders, especially those of signed and special editions that are unique to independent bookshops.
One of the highlights of the projects so far so far has been the launch of the dedicated window display at the Cambridge University Press bookshop on 1 Trinity Street, Cambridge. One of the most historic sites in bookselling, its window currently promotes EARTH DETOX by Julian Cribb and they are using our QR codes and the Jellybooks Cloud Reader to provide access to samples of the book to visitors and window shoppers alike.
Jellybooks became an associate member of the Bookseller Association last month and we look forward to partnering with many more bookshops in the months to come. We also look forward to helping publishers with their rights and sales catalogue for the upcoming Frankfurt Book Fair and at many other events.”
The technical development behind both the interactive online platform and book QR codes has received financial support from Innovate UK, and the Cultural Recovery Fund administered by Arts Council England.
For further information or images, please contact Zoe Poulton:
[email protected] | 07891 423 440
ENDS
About Jellybooks
Jellybooks was founded in January 2011 and has grown into the leading publishing technology specialist with a focus on reader analytics, audience insights and data-smart reading systems.
The Brixton, South-London-based company serves trade, academic and professional publishers in the UK, Germany, Europe, USA and elsewhere. Jellybooks has an active reading community that participates in test reading campaigns where publishers test covers, descriptions, audience engagement and positioning weeks or months prior to publication.
In 2018, Jellybooks launched the first browser-based ePub reading application based on the second generation Readium architecture. The Jellybooks Cloud Reader is available in ten languages including English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, and Italian provides a one-click solution to access and read ebooks and audiobooks on almost any browser-enabled device from smartphone to tablet, laptop to Internet kiosk, smartwatch to PC.
In spring 2021, Jellybooks launched a new cross-industry cloud platform for book excerpts and audiobook snippets that gives publisher and retailers access to ‘peek inside’ functionality, supporting better book discovery and widening choice for consumers. The Jellybooks platform enables readers to access content from books, including illustrated books, with a call to action that takes them straight to the individual bookseller.
In summer 2021, Jellybooks launched the Jellybooks ARTS service offering support for interactive magazine and catalogues. Jellybooks ARTS is based on the industry standard fixed-layout (FXL) format. Online magazine and catalogues are accessible via the Jellybooks Cloud Reader, but can also be made available as downloadable ePub files with no additional effort required. These downloadable ebooks have all the same interactive sample and buy link features as the online version.
The Jellybooks platform is open to all UK and Irish retailers, as well as publishers, small and large.
To find out more about the services that Jellybooks offers for publishers, visit https://www.jellybooks.com/products/publisher_services
About Innovate UK
The development of the Jellybooks platform has been supported by the Sustainable Innovation Fund administered by Innovate UK. Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth. We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation.
About #HereForCulture
The design and development of the Jellybooks ARTs platform including the interactive magazine for readers, as well as the Summer of Reading program have been supported by Arts Council England through the Cultural Recovery Fund.
Here for Culture is a movement that unites the public, government and cultural organisations in support of our fantastic cinemas, theatres, music venues, museums, galleries and heritage. Whether on the global stage or quietly in our own lives, culture inspires, uplifts, comforts and entertains us. Now, in these challenging times, it’s our turn to provide a lifeline and show our support. The government is #HereForCulture with an unprecedented £1.57 billion of funding coming through on top of the furlough scheme, bounce-back loans and emergency grants. The public has been #HereForCulture as organisations have innovated online and outdoors.