Bowker Announces Partnership with Bookshop.org to Promote Book2Look View-Inside Widget

Publishers invited to submit titles for inclusion in pilot program

CHATHAM, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As noted in recent press coverage, Bowker and Bookshop.org have launched a joint pilot program to make the Book2Look view-inside widget available to publishers free of charge. “As the exclusive Book2Look distributor for the United States, we are pleased and excited to invite publishers to participate in the program,” said Bowker General Manager Beat Barblan. “We encourage publishers to act now and take advantage of this unique limited-time opportunity.”

Bookshop.org, an online shopping platform that supports independent booksellers, is adopting the Book2Look view-inside widget (aka “Biblet,”) for all of its titles. Biblets will give Bookshop.org customers the option of previewing a few pages of a book while browsing, increasing the likelihood of purchase. Market research (Nielsen) shows that the option to look inside a book before purchase is among the top deciding factors after author, topic/genre, and price.

As stated by Andy Hunter, Bookshop.org CEO, "Bookshop.org is pleased to offer our customers an opportunity to browse books before buying them, using Book2Look’s elegant, embeddable preview technology."

With Book2Look, publishers can share book excerpts, videos, audio clips, and reviews, enabling readers to more fully experience the book before purchase. An analytics component provides a dashboard for tracking Biblet performance including such key metrics as page views, click-throughs, and time spent in Biblets.

Designed to improve book discovery and sales, the Book2Look view-inside widget is a dynamic and effective way to present books to potential customers online. According to Book2Look managing director Ralph Möllers, a well-known digital publishing figure in the book industry, more than 4,000 publishers and self-publishers are currently using the technology.

To have their titles featured on Bookshop.org, publishers need only provide book content, cover image, and title data (the Biblet will only use whatever the publisher decides to give readers to preview). Publishers can request a free publisher account from Bowker by clicking here: http://bit.ly/3YJLY7t.

ABOUT BOWKER
Bowker provides products and services that make books easier to discover, evaluate, and experience – connecting publishers, authors, and booksellers with readers. From essential identifiers like ISBNs and barcodes...to editing and copyright protection assistance...to marketing and publicity tools, Bowker offers a wide range of resources to help authors publish and promote their titles.

ABOUT BOOKSHOP.ORG
Bookshop.org works to connect readers with independent booksellers all over the world. With a commitment to helping independent bookstores thrive, the Bookshop.org platform provides tools to help them compete online, and financial support to help them maintain their presence in local communities. Every purchase on the site financially supports independent bookstores.

ABOUT BOOK2LOOK
Ralph Möllers founded Book2Look as a digital book marketing platform to promote titles for his publishing company. He later partnered with Hitesh Jain, the owner of WITS Interactive, to develop Book2Look into a marketing tool that other publishers could use to promote their own titles.