Is there a way I can track how many people look at my recommendations? Or click my book?

What stats do you have?

I have stats on my side to see how many visitors we receive and what recommendations they view. I also have stats on how many people click links to bookstores (but not on individual books).

I am currently using Google Analytics to do this, although, in the past, I used Plausible.io. I will likely move from Google Analytics in 2023 due to their upcoming forced upgrade to a new version (which is terrible). At that time, I will be looking for a solution that has an API and a way to extend these stats to authors. 

Why is this a technical challenge and so expensive to build?

First, I need a user account system for authors so they can see these stats. I aim to launch a user account system in 2023 for the upcoming personalized email newsletter feature. Once that is in place, I will have user accounts so that I have a place to add stats. Even with a user system in place, this is a massive amount of work to connect authors, their books, and their lists together. 

Second, I need to find a tracking system that can track clicks on a book level, page level, and allows me to pull that data via an API. If I can't find one that works, I will have to build something custom. Both of these paths are incredibly expensive and time-consuming. 

What stats would I like to show authors in a future dashboard?

• How many readers viewed their book list(s)
• How many readers clicked their book, from where they clicked, and to which bookstores.  
• And more... 

When can you build this? 

I believe I will have a better ETA in December 2023. 

Why not now?

With our very limited development resources, my main focus right now is to build features that grow traffic and have the biggest impact on getting Shepherd to financial sustainability. My goal is to be profitable by December 2023.

And building an author login system with these stats doesn't help me grow traffic or make money, so it isn't on my list for now. I am hoping that might be something we can do for 2024 or 2025. If you want to help us build faster, check out the membership program for founding members.

An author just sent me info on Amazon Attribution which could be used to measure sales Shepherd sends to Amazon. That is super cool, and you can learn more about it here. I would love to build that into this system. 

P.S. Would you like to help us build features like an author stats system faster?

I launched a membership program for founding members at the urging of authors and readers. 100% of the money goes toward developing new features and my goal of hiring a full-time developer in 2023 (currently, we only have one part-time developer).