Readers who previously “favorited” authors at Smashwords will receive notifications of new releases starting tomorrow.
To track an author, readers simply visit any author profile page at Smashwords and click the button labeled, "Subscribe to Author Alerts." When the author releases a new book, readers will receive an alert.
Readers are in full control of their subscriptions. From the Smashwords Alerts Subscription Management page (found under Account: Communications Preferences or linked to from any author profile page), readers can manage the frequency of alerts (daily, weekly, monthly) or remove alerts.
If a book is on preorder, readers will receive the alert the day the book goes onsale.
Per our strict email privacy rules, the reader’s email address remains private and is not shared with anyone.
Readers appreciate that all 400,000+ Smashwords ebooks are DRM-free and most are multi-format. Readers and authors alike appreciate that the Smashwords Store pays indie ebook authors industry-leading royalty rates - up to 80% list - which puts more money into the pockets of hard-working authors and small independent presses.
To get the most out of this new capability, authors and publishers can encourage their readers to subscribe to alerts so they never miss another new release. Just point readers to your author profile page and encourage them to subscribe!
Authors can track the number of subscribers and "favorites" in real time from the Smashwords Dashboard under "Marketing and Distribution Tools".
Where Shall We Take This Next?
We have a number of ideas for how we can build upon Smashwords Alerts to make it even more valuable to readers and authors. For example, we’re considering an “Instant alert” option for readers who want to receive notification within minutes of a new release. We’d also like to provide direct buy links to Smashwords retailers. We welcome your suggestions for where you want us to take this. Either comment below or click the “?” link at Smashwords to contact us via email.
Enjoy!
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10 comments:
I think that is something great!!
I really like the Instant Alert idea. As we know, Amazon notifications aren't instant :)
It is a marvelous idea for authors such as myself. You can grow your following and make them aware of your releases in an easy and timely manner. Well done!
Lefth Robinson
Thanks for the kind comments, Alberto, Gabriella and Lefth!
Thanks Mark for building further on
This is a good idea, but seems limited in a couple of ways: 1. Only those readers who buy from the Smashwords store. Those who get our ebooks from B&N and the other retail partners without ever visiting our author pages on Smashwords won't be included. 2. Only those readers who click on the Favourites button. Not all do.
Great addtion, Mark. Thanks.
i've posted your information on our Smashwords Forum.
It's all rather marvellous but I'm just getting a blank Alerts Subscription Management Page. I've a fair few authors listed as favourites and I've already received alerts about new releases, so I assume there should be something there. Does this new page only work on certain browsers? I use Safari on a Mac (I also tried Firefox and it was the same). Many thanks.
Steph, can you log into your account at Smashwords and click the "?" to reach our support team? It's tough for me to diagnose from here. When I look at your wyrdstar publisher account, I see the account is subscribed to alerts from 21 authors. Possibly you're logged in to another account? Let us know because we're eager to identify bugs if they exist!
Well done, passed the word to my readers!
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