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Book Discoverability & Sales Trends Autumn 2024PART 1
Supadu insights and trends collected from our customer data and the wider ebook publishing industryThe landscape of book publishing is constantly evolving; driven by technology, reader preferences and social media. It is essential that publishers take both the current and the emerging industry trends on board, to ensure broader access to their books. By staying up to date with the latest developments, embracing new opportunities, as well as using readily available digital tools to engage readers directly, publishers can simply make small changes to make fruitful gains and workflow improvements. We’ve broken our report into five easy to read parts.20102030405 Genre Specific MarketingCart Abandonment Social Media MattersFrontlist vs Backlist TitlesMultiple Formats, Keywords & Metadata
Genre Specific MarketingBISAC codes, custom subject categories & audience profilingPART 1
Genre preferences by demographicUnderstanding demographics by genre is crucial for targeting the right audience and optimizing marketing strategies. Different genres appeal to specific age groups, genders, and cultural backgrounds, influencing how content is received and consumed. Accurate, up-to-date metadata helps ensure that content is categorized correctly, making it easier to reach the intended demographic. By keeping metadata current, creators and distributors can better analyze trends, tailor content, and enhance audience engagement. This not only drives higher viewership or sales but also informs future content creation and marketing efforts, ensuring that the right message reaches the right people.Example10 years ago, the main romance-reading group was women ages 35 to 54.In 2023, 44% of readers purchasing a romance book are ages 18 to 44. 4
Profile your audience to match your genrefor maximum engagement and discoverabilitySubject codes and filters are only half of the story. A book audience profile is a detailed description of the target readers for a particular book. It helps authors, publishers, and marketers understand who the book is intended for, allowing them to tailor their content, marketing strategies, and distribution methods to appeal to the right audience. Example Working with a third-party book club that has a dedicated passionate audience with the correct reader profile is a good start. Reese Witherspoon has been sharing monthly book recommendations for 8 years, attracting a dedicated following of 30.2 million Instagram followers and 2.5 million subscribers to Reese’s Book Club. The sole requirement for a book to be chosen is that it features a woman as the central character. This audience profiling enables a highly focussed dedicated community with shared reading interests.5
Harness AI for targeted advertisingAudience curation for targeted advertising. Shimmr, is one example, of a platform that generates and deploys automated advertising to drive e-commerce for Publishers.The advertising continuously self-optimises across the course of a year, finding new audiences for books and converting their interest into durably higher revenues per title subscribed to our service.Supadu + ShimmrWe have trialled 2 titles on behalf of one of our publishers with Shimmr and results were impressive. 6
Importance of BISAC codesBISAC codes are an important component in your marketing program. The book market is constantly changing which is why it is so important to add your subject categories into your metadata. As your audience profile changes your metadata will remain relevant. Reading genre popularity is influenced heavily by fashion, social media and other factors across the different age groups with significant swings year by year.7
Choosing your BISAC (& Thema) codes It is crucial that the primary format for each title has at least one BISAC code and preferably five codes. However, it is still good practice for ALL formats to have BISAC and Thema codes in case one format is discontinued and to promote broader title visibility. The primary format is the format that appears in search results eg. Paperback, Hardcover, eBook, Audio. Primary Format vs Non-Primary FormatYou need to select the most relevant BISAC subject heading and then drill down to select the most relevant codes by genre.Specific vs GenericRelated titles look for relevancy so specific BISAC codes will provide better results than generic codes. e.g. French Architecture vs Architecture.8
GenresBook genres listings are crucial for successful ecommerce. Without them your books will struggle to be found. Readers will search for the types of stories they enjoy through subject categories, using filters or through search strings. By categorizing books into primary genres and subgenres you stand the best chance of broadening your audience reach as well as finding niche sales opportunities. Below is the URL for the full list of BISAC subject codes which you can use as a guide for creating a robust subject mapping for your eCommerce site.FREE Complete BISAC Subject Headings List - Book Industry Study GroupUnderstanding the Difference Between BISAC Codes & Amazon CategoriesAmazon subject codesNavigating Amazon's 16,000 subject categories can significantly impact your listing's visibility, sales, and ROI. Selecting the right categories ensures your product reaches the most relevant audience, increasing the chances of conversion. Here are our essential tips to help you optimize your choices:1. Relevance Over Quantity2. Utilize Niche Categories3. Maximize Allowed Categories4. Regular Review and Updates5. Analyze Competitors KEY TRENDShttps://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G2006521709
Subgenres BISAC falls short in offering detailed sub-genres. Adding sub-genres into your metadata will help solve this problem and increase visibilityWith the romance genre increasing in popularity, more and more strands are appearing as a result. According to Written Word Media, steamy contemporary romance was the most promoted genre amongst indie authors. KEY TRENDS10
Most popularaudiobook genresUp until 2022, fiction books were the most popular amongst audiobook listeners. In 2023, non-fiction has taken over with an increase of 16% over 5 years. Fiction as a genre saw a spike of 5% in 2022, followed quickly by a decline of 8% in 2023.Non-Fiction genresTrue crime has gained listeners, seeing an increase of around 7% over the past 5 years, followed by comedy biography which has seen two consecutive years of steady increase.¼ Listen to crime/thrillerKEY TRENDS KEY TRENDSSOURCE: The latest on UK audiobook consumers, Nielsen 11
Websites, eCommerce and creative digital marketing solutions for trade & academic publishers, and university pressesContact sarah.arbuthnot@supadu.com for more info