Book Reviews Coming to IndieCommerce & IndieLite
The American Booksellers Association is partnering with Literary Hub to bring professional reviews to book pages on IndieCommerce and IndieLite websites as well as IndieBound.org.

Starting this month, readers visiting IndieBound.org will begin seeing at least three book reviews, courtesy of LitHub’s Book Marks, on certain title pages. Reviews will also appear automatically on IndieLite sites; stores using the IndieCommerce platform can easily enable the LitHub feature on their site. Here is an example from Third Place Books of what a product page on and IndieCommerce site would look like.

IndieCommerce stores that wish to have this feature on their website can opt in from this configuration page: Store -> Configuration -> Account Information and Preferences -> Configure Book Settings.

Questions? Contact [email protected].

 Updating Your Privacy Policy to Comply With GDPR

You may have noticed that you’ve been getting a lot of email notifications regarding updates to privacy policies for websites you frequent. This is because everyone is scrambling to comply with the European Union’s new data privacy law, called the “General Data Protection Regulation,” or GDPR. During an average month, IndieCommerce and IndieLite websites get about 5,000 visitors from the EU. Even if you don’t sell to customers in the EU, ABA's counsel has advised us to update our privacy policy and we think you should too.

We’ve got some sample privacy policy language that ABA's counsel has suggested. It can be viewed on this help page. Also, check with your email service provider to see if they have any suggestions for privacy policy wording for subscribers to your email list.

We are currently assessing other changes that IC and IL websites may want to consider for GDPR compliance and will make them available to you in upcoming newsletters.

Two New Features for Your Website

1. Upgraded Wish Lists / Gift Registry Feature
 

1. Wish Lists are now responsive and mobile-friendly
2. ‘Private’ Wish Lists: Private Wish Lists will not appear when someone searches for Wish Lists on a site, but can be emailed to friends and family. Store admins will be able to see it listed under ‘All wish lists’
3. Optional ‘notes’ field: Creators can include a description of the Wish List, which will be displayed at the top of the Wish List.
4. CSV available: Wish lists are available for download as a spreadsheet
5. ISBN included with the title on Wish Lists
6. Reports: Custom Wish List order reports can be created using ‘Views’
7. Customize checkout for Wish List orders: Shipping options, payment methods, coupon discounts, etc. can be controlled for orders that have items from wish lists

Please note that features ‘F’ and ‘G’ are not available for IndieLite sites.

2. Event Calendar Now Responsive (only for IndieCommerce sites at this time)

When viewed on mobile, the default monthly calendar is now responsive, with events displayed in list format. The function provides a pop-up on mouse-over, displaying the event information when viewing the calendar on desktop/laptop. To the right is an example of what the list/responsive view looks like on a mobile device.
 

To activate this feature, go to Store -> Configuration -> Account Information and Preferences -> Store Features

E-commerce Marketing Tips and Tactics at BookExpo NYC 2018

Join fellow booksellers for an in-person roundtable discussion from 1:00 pm to 1:50 pm on Thursday, May 31, in Room 1E10 at Book Expo 2018 at the Javits Center in New York City. In this session, booksellers will exchange online marketing strategies that have worked (and not worked). Topics may include but are not limited to: newsletter marketing, local search optimization, social media marketing, and video marketing.

Registration is not required.

IndieCommerce One-on-One Sessions at BookExpo 2018

One-on-one sessions are open to both IndieCommerce and non-IndieCommerce stores. Participating stores can meet with staff to discuss their website; non-participating stores can learn more about the premier e-commerce and online marketing solution for independent bookstores and the new IndieLite, designed for stores just starting with e-commerce or with limited time and resources.

For past editions of IndieCommunication, visit this page.