COVID-19 corona virus is everywhere in the news today. People are scared and sheltering-in-place, trying to remain healthy and safe.
Publishers are at the forefront of communications and people are tuned in to what they are saying. It seems you can’t go anywhere without seeing newspapers, magazines, advertisements, website blogs and news stories about the pandemic.
According to Taboola, a company that supports online publishers, there have been new trends in audience participation that have emerged recently.
Increase in Publisher Engagement
Audience engagement with content publishers in the U.S. has increased. According to Taboola:
There’s been:
- 8% increase in unique readers
- 14% increase in page views
- 25% increase in time on page
Much of this interest has been related to the pandemic, but not all. A good amount of publishers have reported an increase in book sales as well as more people are turning to the time honored tradition of reading during the long weeks of “sheltering-in-place”.
This presents opportunities for authors to reach new customers by offering special sales on their books. Several authors in the 80percentdone.com network have reported an increase in unit sales through online channels such as Amazon.com and BN.com.
Additionally, authors who utilize their own blogs and websites may be able to drive additional traffic to generate sales volume.
Interest in News Reporting
Many readers are also pursuing news reports on the virus from government agencies and business news as the stock market swings wildly.
Not all of the content being consumed is virus or business related, however.
According to Taboola, each category has grown accordingly:
- Business news: 69% increase
- Local News: 53% increase
- Government & Politics: 49% increase
- General News: 12% increase
- Lifestyle: 4% increase
- Technology and Computing: 1% increase
Many people are looking for entertainment. However, the primary interest these days has been with regards to the COVID-19 virus.
Decrease in Book Store Sales / Increase in Online Sales
Book expositions, trade shows and author events at brick-n-mortar book stores have all but ceased due to the corona virus.
According to Publisher’s Weekly, numerous events have cancelled, putting authors and book stores in a difficult position of watching their income decline.
In San Francisco, the famous City Lights book store, for example, recently took to GoFundMe in order to crowd raise funds to maintain its operations during the shut down in California.
Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org, told Marketplace.org that they have had “a steady rise in book sales” and that independent bookstores that are now selling online are selling “about 800% of what they were selling a few weeks ago.”
Online Sales Opportunity for Authors
With so many people staying home and unable to travel out, a great opportunity exists for authors to sell more books digitally.
Some of the best websites to use to sell your books online include:
Check out our article on these top 5 online book stores!
There is no argument that COVID-19 has been difficult for everyone. It has very likely caused a decline in your book store unit sales. Hopefully, you are diversified and have online sales to help mitigate the revenue decrease. If not, you are highly encouraged to look into selling online as another opportunity to reach readers and sell more books.
No one knows how long the pandemic will last. Don’t let it deter you from continuing to write more books and to diversify your sales channels to include digital book sales in addition to the traditional brick-n-mortar stores. We will get through this difficult time and emerge wiser and better prepared.
How has the COVID-19 affected you as a writer? We’d like to know! Comment below.
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