The October Check-In

Last week I had a 1:1 feedback call with 8 of the StoryGraph Editors. What did I learn?

More books, please!

I know the number of books on the site is a weakness, but I didn't expect the majority of my paid testers to call it out as their main pain point.

Longer term, we'll definitely need an automated approach, but for now I've contracted Abbie to add new books for a few hours each week and I've given my keen Librarians — those that were already asking me for more work, mind — a huge list of books that they can randomly pick from when they've got a few minutes to spare. 🤓

Ooh, what are all of these strangers reading?

The News Feed is proving to be the hot, new way for the community to discover books. Some users check in at least once a day just to see if there are any updates.

To make sure the page stays vibrant, I enlisted the help of my #bookstagram friends to start posting their reviews on the site.

If you've got the time, please consider doing so as well! 🙏🏾

How I analyse feedback calls
 

You chose this just for me?!

Pretty much everyone has loved the Personal Recommendation feature so far. Some see it as the paid subscription's main source of value! Looks like I may need to make space for it in The StoryGraph's long-term business model. 😅
 

Last week

Given how incredibly slow the prior week was, I wanted to make sure the Editors had a new feature to play with. 

Saved searches are now live and I'm so excited to see how they're used!



If you could do a saved search, which options would you choose and what would you call it?

         

Maybe I'll share some fun ones in next week's newsletter!
 

This week

Why is this update so uncharacteristically early?

I'm about to head to the airport to go to Japan for a couple of weeks. I'm speaking at a conference in Shimane and then I'll be spending a week in Tokyo.

Once I'm through Heathrow security, I'll re-prioritise my task list based on last week's feedback.

This week's challenge is to deliver great product updates whilst having some Japanese-themed fun! 😁

What I'm reading right now 

Fainted on the London Underground last week with this book, ironically, in my hands:
 

The main cause was that I accidentally took painkillers on an empty stomach, but I'm sure my minimal sleep the night before didn't help. 🙈

Don't worry, y'all. I'm completely fine now! 

Have a great week,

Nadia

P.S. If you know a friend who's an avid mood reader or would enjoy following along with this journey, please do forward this email to them! Thank you. :-)

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