In January of 2020 alone, readers within the U.S. spent a whopping $75 million on e-books. While those staggering numbers could have been evidence of a surge towards digital readership during the pandemic,  e-book market share today still takes up 21% of all book sales. In short, e-book sales show no signs of slowing. Want to take advantage of the boom? 

Many benefits exist for businesses that choose to sell e-books as digital downloads. Your store is operating 24/7/365; making it accessible for everyone, everywhere, at any time. 

Further, you have an unlimited inventory when you sell downloads online. Nothing is out of stock and you can realize a significant bump in e-book sales with low overhead.

EPUB formatting for all platforms and devices

When publishing and selling an e-book within Shopify to be easily accessible in all touchpoints, an EPUB file format should be your first choice. 

Delivering e-books as digital downloads in EPUB formatting, Sky Pilot enables you to deliver across all platforms: Kindles, Nooks, iPads, desktops, mobiles, etc— automatically adjusting to the size of a device for a smooth, and enjoyable reading experience referred to as “reflowable" (meaning that the so that the text adapts to the screen's size and settings).

What is an EPUB? 

Also referred to as an electronic publication, an EPUB file in the most common document format in the world for e-books. Created and certified in 2007, it is recognized by the Book Industry Study Group as the most readable format in the world. 

EPUB files are: 

• Open source.
• Reflowable.
• Resizable.
• Highly adaptable. 
• Good for highlighting and bookmarking.
• Able to contain digital rights management (DRM).
• Easy to incorporate multimedia like video, illustrations, or anything imaginable. 

Owning the e-book market on Shopify 

While some e-book sellers may opt to promote and sell through large online retailers like Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Apple, those markets often take a meaningful cut of profits and limit publishing control. 

Leveraging best-in-Shopify automation tools like Sky Pilot, Shopify store owners can add e-books to their store as digital products for purchase without having to rely on third-party retailers. 

And the app’s latest update to display EPUBs directly in the browser gives merchants and brands the ability to sell and distribute e-books and remarkable experiences directly within their own online stores. And customers can view and read the content directly within a store.

This is a significant improvement over traditional e-book distribution methods, where customers often have to download and install third-party software or applications to read content—a deterrent for many shoppers hesitant to download unfamiliar software. This not only makes the reading experience more convenient but also helps to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

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Powering the e-book market with Sky Pilot

E-book readers expect a fully personalized shopping and reading experience. Sky Pilot delivers a fully branded storefront, customizable delivery pages, instant access to content upon purchase, and a convenient dashboard for customers to view their shopping history right within their account.  

Shopify merchants and brands will appreciate the intuitive order management interface whereby you can view visitor activity from one dashboard. This is especially helpful because it can also give you insights into how your digital content is performing.

 How to get started with EPUB formatting and Sky Pilot 

1. Ensure you are on theme 1.0.9 or above. Navigate to Settings > Theme and select Add Theme if you are not. 

2. Select Customize and you will be able to toggle the settings for e-books

3. Attach your EPUB to your Shopify product and start selling! 

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Locking in on e-book content security 

Another major advantage of Sky Pilot’s new update is that it allows Shopify merchants and brands to a high-level of flexibility and control of their content through DRM (Digital Rights Management). 

DRM implementation gives merchants and brands the ability to decide whether or not to allow customers to download the EPUBs to their devices, to set a limit on the number of downloads, a date of expiry of the content, or to limit the number of IP addresses that can access the content. 

Conclusion: Reading between the lines on opportunity in the e-book market 

The numbers show a clear trajectory: The sky's the limit for the e-book market. Whether you are looking to enter or expand your reach, Sky Pilot can put your business on the cutting edge of the e-book industry. Sign up today to get started with your 14-day trial. Distributing digital content has never been easier, or more profitable. 

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