An introduction to reader analytics for self-published authors by Andrew Rhomberg of @Jellybooks on the Publishing Perspectives stage at Frankfurt Book Fair 2016, moderated by Porter Anderson.

1. 1
Reader Analytics
there is a story behind every book
presented by
Andrew Rhomberg
@arhomberg @jellybooks
©Antonio Roselló

2. Part I
Why care?©Li Dandan

3. The Unknown Reader…
3
Despite the digital
transformation of the
publishing industry,
authors & publisher
still cannot measure
reader engagement!
Do consumers read
the books they buy?

4. It doesn‘t really matter, does it?
4
If readers buy and pay for
books (revenue) does it
matter if they read them
or not (engagement)?
Ah, but are you as author
selling bit & bytes or
• entertainment,
• inspiration, and
• self-improvement?©Frederic Bordoni

5. One Killer Reason: why you should care!
Readers who don’t finish
a book are 10x – 100x
less likely to recommend
a book to friends, family,
colleagues or tweet, like
and snapchat it…
@Jellybooks @arhomberg
5

6. Engineering
Virality
6
Discover
Sample
BuyRead
Share

7. Part II
How to Collect Reading Data?

8. 8
Amazon, Apple & Google collect
vast amounts of reading app/device data,
but don‘t share this with publishers.
@Jellybooks @arhomberg

9. “Google Analytics for Ebooks”
9
1. Modified ebook (ePub3 format) distributed to users,
who read on their existing reading device or app
2. Embedded Javascript software tracks (offline) reading
3. Readers click on button at end of chapter/end of
ebook to upload/sync data to Jellybooks
4. Data Visualisation for Author/Agent/Publisher

10. Readers use familiar Apps
Participating readers can use reading apps and
devices they are already familiar with:
10
iBooks
iOS
ADE
Windows
Ebook Reader
Android
@Jellybooks @arhomberg

11. Data Collection from 3rd Party Apps
11
iBooks Vitalsource Adobe
Digital
Editions
Ebook
Reader
Mantano Azardi Overdrive Bluefire
Cloud-
reader
iOS
- -
Android
- -
Kindle Fire
- - - - - - -
Windows
- - - - -
@Jellybooks @arhomberg

12. 12
3
=
HTML 5 + CSS 3 + JS
A key feature of ePub 3 is the support for Javascript,
as well as HTML5 support for offline storage of data.

13. ... and the data connection?
Engage readers!
When the reader clicks on a
link at end of chapter/book
(styled as a button), a data
connection with Jellybooks is
established = user opt-in
13
@Jellybooks @arhomberg

14. Part III
Focus Groups

15. ePub Modification by Jellybooks
• We receive a regular ePub 3
file from author or publisher
• We modify it with candy.js to
record reading data
• We automatically insert sync
buttons to extract data
• We make sure user is aware
of the modification via
identifiers like “candy stripe”
15
@Jellybooks @arhomberg

16. Test Reading Campaign Page
16

17. Survey Follow-up
17
not finishedfinished

18. Part IV
Visualising Data

19. KPIs of a Book
19
1. Completion Rate
how many readers finish?
2. Velocity
fast read or slow read?
3. Recommendation factor
do readers rave or rant?
and more…

20. KPI – 1
Completion Rate
20

21. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
F
F
F
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
B
B
Displayed like Table of Contents
Each horizontal bar = completion
rate for a particular chapter
narrative
front- and back matter
21
Completion Ratebookchapters

22. 22
Completion rate – Example
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
F
1
5
9
13
17
21
25
29
33
37
41
45
49
53
57
61
65
69
73
B
A lot of “flipping” (jumping between
chapters), which is typical of book titles
readers find “have to read” but that
don’t hold their attention…
Rapid decline of reader
engagement in first 100
pages

23. 23
Completion Rate - Example
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
F
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
B
B
B
20% drop off
within first 5
chapters - “not
my kind of book”
80% finish book,
straight through

24. 24CR: 80% excellent CR: 62% very good
Completion Rate – Examples
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
F
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
B
B
B
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
F
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
B

25. 25
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
F
F
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
B
B
CR: 30% good CR: 20% poor
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
F
F
F
1
3
5
7
9
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
B
B
B
Completion Rate – Examples

26. Completion Rate
• Does the book keep
reader’s attention?
• Rate is measured as
percentage relative to
those who start reading
• Unlike ratings
(subjective), this is an
observational KPI
26

27. KPI - 2
Velocity
27

28. Example A – Easy & Fast Read
28
The majority of users read this ebook on a smartphone
female, 27 female, 25 female, 48

29. Example B - Slow & Difficult Read
29
male, 26
@Jellybooks @arhomberg

30. Velocity
• Measure of whether
readers glued to the pages
• Are readers coming back
daily/hourly or are they
distracted by other books,
movies, social media etc.?
• Measure of how
“digestible” content is for
readers.
30

31. KPI - 3
Recommendation Factor
31

32. 32
Would you recommend this book
to a friend?
0 = not all likely 5 = neutral 10 = Extremely likely
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Recommendation
Factor
= Promoters (%)
(9s and 10s)
Detractors (%)
(0 through 6s)
-
@Jellybooks @arhomberg

33. Book Candy for Readers
Data Candy for Authors
brought to you by @arhomberg from @Jellybooks