Optimized eBook experience delivers member value, reader insights, and cost savings
Background
Delivering more value and responding to changes in reader habits
Historically, as a benefit of membership, each year European Respiratory Society (ERS) delivered print copies of a title in the ERS Monograph series to its members. As the society grew and lower-cost membership categories were added, ERS needed a more sustainable approach to offer this member benefit and promote its book program.
At the same time, online readership of both books and journals was increasing, and ERS wanted to deliver a better online reader experience and increase the visibility of its prestigious authors and books. ERS decided to move its books to Folio, HighWire’s flexible eBook solution that supports online book publication from content management to e-commerce with a user-friendly, intuitive reading experience.
Goals
ERS wanted to:
- Deliver an enriched reader experience for the existing ERS Monograph series and new ERS Handbooks
- Raise visibility of books program and increase satisfaction among authors
- Find a more financially and environmentally sustainable approach to its book program
- Understand interests of readers in topics
- Increase direct book sales with eCommerce
- Provide seamless navigation between books and journals platforms
Challenges
- Journals and books were hosted on the same platform, which was geared to the content features of journals
- Content management and reader experience of books needed to be optimized to improve the reader experience
- Content migration needed to be seamless to maintain the reputation of the Society and the monograph series, especially among members and authors who value the member benefit
- The Society needed to promote the benefits of the transition from print to digital by enriching the online reader experience on desktop and mobile devices
Solution: Publish books content on HighWire Folio platform
Technology
Increased ability to feature content on website
- Platform features are customizable, including image carousel to create visual advertising
- Folio allows special offers to be displayed
- Blog posts integrated to promote book content on ERS site; SEO is built into platform architecture
Access control ensured content delivery for members and librarians
- ERS had already completed a successful implementation with HighWire to support member access control. Folio reliably delivers the monograph electronically as a member benefit, and as library subscriptions
eCommerce to support direct sales
- Folio’s eCommerce solution makes it easy to set prices, collect taxes, and deliver reliable reader access
People
HighWire is a trusted partner
- An experienced and professional HighWire project team collaborated closely on the roadmap to migrate the content from the journal platform to Folio
- ERS was supported by HighWire’s large project team to implement the platform change
Process
Collaborative strategic planning from the start
- HighWire worked with ERS to define a strategic roadmap with shared understanding of readers’ needs
- Communication between HighWire and ERS was constant, with weekly scheduled project updates
- Content migration went smoothly due to the synchronicity in the project team
Results
- Launched on time to promote to members and editorial boards at annual congress
- Opportunity for new customer growth by migrating entire portfolio of books online for direct purchase
- New library sales opportunities by delivering all books as a new electronic collection for sale
- Evidence-based analysis of reader behavior and needs resulted in enhanced user experience
- Print cost savings due to decreasing reliance on hard copies as member benefit
- Increased control over featured content; flexibility to increase prominence of monographs and all books
- Google Analytics and usage reporting provide trends that inform editorial content strategy
