Metadata Minute (Issue #2): Winter is Coming; Update your Metadata

The Metadata Minute is your monthly guide to boosting book sales and visibility by mastering metadata elements! Whether you're an author, publisher, marketer, or industry enthusiast, "Metadata Minute" has something to offer everyone.

??What to expect:

• Insights from industry experts
• Tips and techniques to perfect your metadata for backlist & frontlist titles
• The latest industry trends in metadata practices, ensuring you're always one step ahead
• Case studies proving the power of metadata transformations

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As the leaves begin to fall and winter approaches, the famous Games of Thrones warning “Winter is Coming” serves as a reminder that preparation is key when facing the opportunities of the winter holiday season.?

Nearly 25% of all book sales throughout the year occur during the winter holiday season, hitting its peak in early December, so it is absolutely vital to ensure your titles are prepped with the necessary metadata enhancements well before then.?

Why is updating metadata important??

During the peak holiday months (November & December), online holiday shopping sales saw a 160% increase in the quantity of items sold in 2022 vs. 2019, and this year U.S. holiday sales are predicted to be up 5.4%. This is great news for book sellers, given that 10% of Amazon purchases come from book sales, but could be bad news for publishers if their metadata isn’t up to date.?

Ideally, publishers should ensure their relevant backlist metadata is all up to date by the end of October to prepare for the holiday season. Backlist titles account for at least 70% of a publisher's unit sales (Circana BookScan) and nearly 25% of all book sales throughout the year occur during the holiday season (WordsRated); therefore, it's best to put some time into your backlist in addition to your newer releases during this critical time of year.

Holiday Metadata Ideas:

• Seasonal Appeal: Tweak your book descriptions to emphasize winter themes or holiday relevance.?
• Keywords: Include holiday-related keywords, such as terms related to holiday gifts, winter romance, or gift-worthy books.
• Holiday Discounts: If you plan to offer holiday discounts or promotions, update your metadata to display the discounted prices and promotion duration so potential buyers can make their purchase decisions quickly.?
• Cross-Promotion: If a backlist title shares similar elements with a newer release, update your Comp Title lists on both books, and even consider mentioning the relationship in your book descriptions, encouraging readers to explore both.
• Author Bios: Update author bios to reflect holiday-themed events, books, or messages.?

How Can Firebrand’s Solutions Help You Update Your Metadata?

Our Eloquence on Demand (EOD) service is known as the golden standard for asset and metadata management and distribution. As we learned in last month’s Metadata Minute, EOD can send out up to 1500 characters for keywords and we highly encourage publishers to include as many keywords as possible to increase the visibility of your titles.?

Eloquence on Alert also helps monitor your titles in real-time, ensuring that all cover images and prices are accurate and buy buttons are present, while also tracking third party sellers taking the buy box and watching changes in your availability and sales rank. Don’t let a sudden bestseller catch you by surprise!

Take heed of the Game of Thrones "Winter is Coming" warning and prepare your titles for the holiday shopping frenzy. Your sales will thank you.