Launch paid book ads for authors (replacing the ugly display ads).

What does this feature do?

In November 2024, I removed all the ugly display ads from Shepherd.com.

This is a slightly scary move, as they pay for a good chunk of our server and software costs (see our business model). But I feel confident we can replace them with book ads and provide a better experience for readers and authors in one go.

Over the last six months, I’ve interviewed hundreds of authors and small publishers and learned what they want from ads, what is working, and what isn’t working. Their feedback was immensely helpful, and I am working to build this feature based on their input (and what I have learned from our Book Boost Perk for Founding Members).

The ultimate goal is to give authors a “one-click” way to get their book in front of the most likely readers based on similar authors, similar books, similar genres, and other factors. And do that in an authentic way that drives interest in the author and their book(s).

What are we adding?

Launching the beta test...

I will launch this feature with five interested authors and work with them to build something great. I will share what we learn in the authors' newsletter. Once I am happy with the results, we will open this up to other authors.

What will it look like?

We are upgrading our ads to pull readers into the book with a pitch like this:

Then, when they open it they get the full details:

And I am also working to integrate ad spots for editorial content

Status

We haven't started building this yet.

Why is this update important?

• I want to help authors meet the most likely readers for their books. We do this with a lot of free methods, but we also want to give authors an option if they want to buy additional exposure to readers. This is a big part of how we fund Shepherd and keep building the best book discovery platform for readers and authors.