December 3, 2020
Hey there BFFs!
For a lot of our users, BookFunnel is a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. Authors come in, set up their newsletter magnet, and then get back to the business of writing more books. Which is exactly what we want you to do!
Set-it-and-forget-it is great and all, but it can sometimes mean that we add cool new things and you don’t get to see them! If you haven’t checked in recently (because you’re super busy writing, right?!), have we got a surprise for you… a whole new dashboard!
Now, don’t panic. We kept our beloved accent color (voted the most hated color in America!) and everything is mostly in the same place. We added a bit of razzle, a dazzling (and time-saving) new navigation treat, and scooched a few things around in the name of consistency…
Lights!
The new dashboard is cleaner and brighter than the old one, if-we-do-say-so-ourselves (and we do!). It’s simpler. More soothing. A bit less shouty.
The understated elegance of orange is used sparingly and only to highlight the button or link that you are probably trying to find, resulting in a 31% reduction in eye-stabbiness.
We also added a handy Landing Pages link to our navigation menu where you can view all of your… (wait for it…) landing pages.
Recents!
The Recent Activity list is the real MVP in our redesign and is front and center when you load the author dashboard. It highlights everything that’s been going on in your BookFunnel world so that you don’t have to go mining for the data you need.
Unlike the ol’ Monthly Downloads list, which only listed books that had been downloaded, Recent Activity lists all of your book’s activity, including downloads, page claims, ARC campaigns, sales transactions, and recent gifts! It tracks the last 30 days of activity, so you won’t lose all recent history on the 1st day of the month (Monthly Downloads resets to zero every month*).
Got an opt-in landing page with new emails listed in your Recent Activity? Simply click it and we’ll bounce you directly to the page where you can view its stats and export any subscribers that are waiting.
The Recent Activity list is especially helpful if you name your landing pages something descriptive (and the Type A’s cheer!!). Name your pages to make it easier to track what purpose they are serving, like “Facebook ad campaign”, “New Mysteries Fall Promo”, or “Free download from website popup” and Recent Activity will be your new best friend.
Actions!
We’ve moved all the actions on the dashboard under some handy-dandy new action buttons. Aside from the our trusty “Add New” button that we’ve had for years, you’ll also find a new Action button in the top right of most pages on the dashboard. Anything you’re looking to do is probably going to start there.
There are also smaller action buttons on each row in a table. These are quick actions you can take on any book or page in the system without having to drill down further.
Help!
We have an author knowledge base! Had it for years, that’s not the new thing we’re announcing here. Some of you may not have known that it existed, though, probably because we only linked to it in one teensy Help button at the top of the dashboard. Well, now we’ve added help everywhere!
At the top of every page you’ll find quick tips about what you’re looking at, what you can do, and, most importantly, where you can go to learn more.
New, improved, but still familiar
BookFunnel is always adding new tools and services (like audiobooks!), and it was past time for a little facelift. We hope you enjoy the changes and find everything easier to navigate with the all new dashboard.
Until next time!
* Did you love the old Monthly Downloads list? It’s still there! Just scroll down below Recent Activity to see which books have been downloaded this month.
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