BEA Content & Digital Conference Maximizing Metadata & Improving the Bottom Line

Maximizing Metadata &
Improving the Bottom
Line
BEA WORKSHOP
MAY 12,2016

Speakers
Patricia Payton
Senior Manager, Provider Relations
Phil Madans
Executive Director, Digital Publishing Technology
Margaret Harrison
Director Product Metadata
Sam Dempsey
VP Database Management & Development

Maximizing Metadata
And Improving the Bottom Line
Publisher Perspective
Book Expo America
May 12, 2016

Madans -- Maximizing Metadata -- BEA-- May 12, 2016
Freely available for download at www.bisg.org
4

Metadata at HBG
Madans -- Maximizing Metadata -- BEA-- May 12, 2016 5

BABY
Gender
Eye Color
Weight
Length
Name
Apgar
Score
Hair Color
Identifier
Metadata
Person
Metadata

Welcome to Bookland
20 Million Books Available in U.S.
Source: Bowker
Bookland USA: 59th Largest Country By
Population
Right Above Romania

Hi!

FICTION / General

Discoverability
Identifiers
Book

By Sgt. Ida Irby

By Pete Souza
19

How Data is Linked on the Internet

FOOD THIS EXIT
ATTRACTIONS THIS EXIT

22
• It’s crucial for discoverability
• It allows for better merchandising at retailers
• Data recipients can be be slow to make changes to
some data points
• Some sites receive data from aggregators, so there’s an added
delay
• Some sites just don’t have the resources to update quickly
Why Complete and Accurate
Metadata Matters
There is no standard for how metadata is used
in search

23
The Main Metadata
• Subtitle
• Author Bio
• ONIX Synopsis
• BISAC Codes
• Series
• Keywords
• Merchandising Themes
• Regionality
The Main Metadata

Author Bio
Indexable: Retailers (some) pull keywords out of the Subtitle
to improve search results on their sites
Originally published 2002
Title: Betrayal
Subtitle: The Crisis in the Catholic Church
Movie tie-in edition published 2015
Title: Betrayal: The Crisis in the Catholic Church
Subtitle: The findings of the investigation that inspired
the major motion picture Spotlight
Subtitle
Search results for “Spotlight”
on three online book sellers:
Site Search
Rank In
Books
Search Rank In
All Categories
Search Rank
for "Betrayal"
Amazon 1 4 1
B&N 1 2 10
Powell's 2 7
Site Search
Rank In
Books
Search Rank In
All Categories
Search Rank
for "Betrayal"
Amazon 1 4
B&N 1 2
Powell's 2
Site Search
Rank In
Books
Search Rank In
All Categories
Search Rank
for "Betrayal"
Amazon 1
B&N 1
Powell's
Site Search
Rank In
Books
Search Rank In
All Categories
Search Rank
for "Betrayal"
Amazon
B&N
Powell's

25
Author Bio
• Indexable: Retailers pull keywords out of the text to
improve search results on their sites
• Include notable information:
• Awards, honors, affiliations
• Bestselling prior titles
• Movie or TV tie-in titles
• Where the author is from or where they live
Plan on revisiting and
updating this field over time
Author Bio

26
ONIX Synopsis
• Indexable
• Different from catalog copy—this is consumer facing. No
spoilers!
• Include the most important info in the first two sentences
or treat as headline
• Awards, nominations
• Media tie-in info
• Best-of lists
• Call out special elements like illustrations or reading
group guides
• Minimum of 50 characters across formats
Textual Description

27
BISAC Codes
• Should reflect the primary content of the book
• Use as specific a subject category as possible
• Aim for 3 codes or more, if appropriate
• Subjects can span categories
• Where do you want the title to appear on vendor sites
• Bestseller lists by category
• List the most relevant category first
• Gets the most weight
• Some recipients only take one code
• Avoid first level “general” categories, especially
Fiction/General
• Fiction/Literary
• Fiction/Romance/Historical/Scottish
• Titles in a series or by the same author in a particular genre
should have the same BISAC codes
BISAC Codes

28
Series
• Series names are critical for discoverability and
merchandising
– All titles in a series should have the same series name
• Include series number in your metadata
• If multiple books are linked editorially or by a character
but aren’t technically a series, use an unofficial series
name, like the main protagonist’s name
• Some online retailers will create their own series from three or
more linked books
• Review backlist BISAC categories with each new
publication
Series
Pre-orders are the new backorders

29Madans -- Maximizing Metadata -- BEA-- May 12, 2016

30
Keywords
• Descriptive words about the content or theme that are
relevant to the work but do not appear in the title,
subtitle, author bio, description, subject codes, or other
consumer-facing display data
• Not required but used to ensure books are found by
consumers using keyword searches and for search
engine optimization (SEO)
• Used to supplement but not duplicate consumer-facing
data
Keywords

31
Keywords Examples
• Include words and phrases you think consumers will use
to search
• Title: The Goldfinch
• BISAC Subject Code: FICTION/Literary
• Keywords: coming of age; orphans; terrorism; Dutch painters; art
history; art
• Title: Call Me Burroughs: A Life
• BISAC Subject Codes: BIOGRAPHY &
AUTOBIOGRAPHY/Literary; HISTORY/Modern/20th Century
• Keywords: Beat generation; Beat writers; Beat poets; Jack
Kerouac; Joan Vollmer; Tangiers; Junkie
Keywords

32
Merchandising Themes
• Terms that can be used in addition to
BISAC Subject Codes to denote a
particular audience for the book or to
indicate a season, event, holiday, or topic
• Themes are grouped as Cultural Heritage,
Event, Holiday, and Topical
• Add as many themes as appropriate
Merchandising Themes

33
Regional Themes
• Can be used in conjunction with BISAC
Subject Codes and Merchandising
Themes
• Identify titles with a strong relationship to
a geographic region
• The most general applicable code
should be used
• Add as many as appropriate
• Can be used for fiction and nonfiction
but not in lieu of Subject Codes
Regional Themes

34
Updating Across Formats
• Update with new quotes, reviews, awards, honors,
media mentions
• Update all formats of a title
• Update backlist metadata with an author’s new
publication
• Update backlist series metadata with a new publication
Keep Metadata Current and
Consistent

35
Don’t Panic When Things go
wrong

Thank You!
Phil Madans
Executive Director of Digital Publishing Technology
Hachette Book Group
Chair, BISG Identification Committee
phil.madans@hbgusa.com

37
Metadata Strategies
to Maximize Sales
Margaret Harrison

40
Why Metadata Matters
Discovery Conversion

41
Discovery
Delighting a customer with content, whether they were searching for
a book or not.

47
Tried-and-True Book Discovery Strategies
Apply 2-3 good BISAC or BIC subject codes

48
FIC000000 = 
Tried-and-True Book Discovery Strategies: Subjects

49
Tried-and-True Book Discovery Strategies: Subjects

50
Include marketing images

51
Use author and series to link related titles

52
Manipulate price for discovery (promotions, Kindle deals, etc.)

53
Trending Book Discovery Strategies
Optimize book description for online retail
• Consider bullets or snappy headers
• Use HTML tags in book descriptions
• Concentrate on first 150-200 words

54

55
Smart use of keywords
• On-screen: incorporate into title and description
• Off-screen: expand your reach with 5-7 terms

56
Metadata is alive
• Experiment weekly or even daily
• Ensure you have a “live” data connection

57
Chapter ebooks

58
Trending Book Discovery Strategies: Chapters

59
Trending Book Discovery Strategies: Chapters

60
Conversion
Converting a browsing customer to a buying customer.

64
Tried-and-True Book Conversion Strategies
Highlight relevant awards and reviews

65

66

67
Avoid the dreaded OUT OF STOCK!

68



69
Identify any special features (e.g. recording extras, special
bindings, etc.)

70
Trending Book Conversion Strategies
AUDIENCE, AUDIENCE, AUDIENCE!
With the advent of social media, customer satisfaction matters
more than ever – and metadata shapes their experience.

71
Trending Book Conversion Strategies

75
Final Thoughts
Don’t try to complete all the metadata. Prioritize!
• Good subject codes
• Formatted book descriptions
• Keywords

76
Final Thoughts
If you are considering revitalizing content from your backlist…

78
Thanks!
margaret.harrison@ingramcontent.com
@ingramcontent
@metadatable

Metadata and Library Programs
Sam Dempsey

Library Programs
• Approval / Notification
– Originally sent copy of book to be kept or returned without penalty
– Based on library profile: subject, format, price, audience, edition, others
– Librarians make selections
• Standing Order / Auto Ship programs
– Library signs up to receive products automatically
– Popular authors
– Popular series
– Reference materials

Library Programs Evolution
• Reduced library staff
– Less manual selection, more automation
• Reduced budgets
– From “What titles should we have” to “What titles do our users want?”
– “DIY” web access
• Improved technology
– More sophisticated, efficient automation

Evolution: What do our users want?
• Demand Driven Acquisition (DDA): we’ll order it if our patrons
request it specifically
• Evidence-based Selection Planning (ESP): we’ll order it because
similar titles circulate in our library or in libraries similar to ours

Sales
• Every major vendor in all L&E markets have some of these
services
• B&T’s extensive services are used by most of our largest
volume library clients
– US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore
– 200,000+ title carts per year
– 10% library revenue from Standing Order/Auto Ship programs

Metadata Dependence
• Metadata determines if titles match library customer profiles
• Metadata allows for efficient automatic shipment
• DDA requires connecting patron provided details with actual
metadata
• ESP requires reliable metadata to determine ‘similar’
• Librarians will accept results if matches are valid

Important Data Elements
• Title, Subtitle
• Series Title
• Author / Contributor
• Format
• Pub Date
• Price
• BISAC Subjects
• Edition
• Audience
– Age
– Grade
– Reading Level
• Numbers:
– Edition
– Volume
– Series

BISAC Subjects 1
• Accuracy
• Consistency
Title Format BISAC Subject 1 BISAC Subject 2 BISAC Subject 3
Fifty Shades of Grey Hardcover
Fiction - Romance -
Erotica
Fiction - Erotica -
General
Fiction -
Contemporary
Women
Fifty Shades of Grey Paperback
Fiction - Romance -
Contemporary
Fiction -
Contemporary
Women
Fiction - Romance -
General
Fifty Shades of Grey Paperback
Fiction - Romance -
Contemporary
Fiction -
Contemporary
Women
Fiction - Romance -
General
Fifty Shades of Grey
(Movie Tie-in
Edition) Paperback
Fiction - Romance -
Contemporary
Fiction -
Contemporary
Women
Fiction - Romance -
General

BISAC Subjects 2
Title BISAC Subject 1 BISAC Subject 2 BISAC Subject 3
Fifty Shades of Grey Fiction - Romance - Erotica Fiction - Erotica - General Fiction - Contemporary Women
Fifty Shades of Grey Fiction - Romance - Contemporary Fiction - Contemporary Women Fiction - Romance - General
Fifty Shades of Grey Fiction - Romance - Contemporary Fiction - Contemporary Women Fiction - Romance - General
Fifty Shades of Grey
(Movie Tie-in Fiction - Romance - Contemporary Fiction - Contemporary Women Fiction - Romance - General
Fifty Shades Darker Fiction - Romance - Erotica Fiction - Erotica - General Fiction - Contemporary Women
Fifty Shades Darker Fiction - Romance - Contemporary Fiction - Contemporary Women Fiction - Romance - General
Fifty Shades Darker Fiction - Romance - Erotica Fiction - Erotica - General Fiction - Contemporary Women
Fifty Shades Freed Fiction - Romance - Erotica Fiction - Erotica - General Fiction - Contemporary Women
Fifty Shades Freed Fiction - Romance - Contemporary Fiction - Contemporary Women Fiction - Romance - General
Fifty Shades Freed Fiction - Romance - Erotica Fiction - Erotica - General Fiction - Contemporary Women
Fifty Shades Trilogy Fiction - Romance - Erotica Fiction - Contemporary Women Fiction - Romance - General
Fifty Shades Trilogy
Shrinkwrapped Set Fiction - Romance - Erotica
Grey Fiction - Romance - Contemporary Fiction - Contemporary Women Fiction - Romance - General
Grey Fiction - Romance - Contemporary Fiction - Contemporary Women Fiction - Romance - General

BISAC Subjects 3
• Specific code is better than general code
• If you have a specific code, you don’t need the
general
BISAC Code BISAC Literal Title Count
FIC000000 FICTION / General 20,691
FIC036000 FICTION / Thrillers / Technological 256
CKB000000 COOKING / General 9,991
CKB020000 COOKING / Methods / Cookery for One 45

BISAC Subjects 4
• Don’t mix Fiction and non-Fiction
• Find the appropriate code:
• FIC014000 FICTION / Historical
• FIC059000 FICTION / Native American & Aboriginal

BISAC Subjects 5
• Don’t mix Juvenile and Adult

Standing Order Series
• Properly field Title, Subtitle, Series, Series Number
Title Sub Title Series Title
Series
Number
The Wraiths of War Obsidian Heart book 3
Lady of the House
Book Three of the
Forever Divas Series
Teen Titans Go!:
Heroes on Patrol
Attack on Titan:
Colossal Edition Vol. 3
Welcome to
Wonderland #1: Home,
Sweet Motel
Welcome to
Wonderland

Standing Order Series
• Consistency across formats and members of
the series
ISBN Title Series Format
9780385530149 Dexter by Design Dexter Digital Download
9780785154501 Dexter Down Under Dexter Down Under Hardcover
9780385536547 Dexter Is Dead Dexter Novel Digital Download
9780345802590 Dexter Is Dead Dexter Morgan Paperback
9780385536530 Dexter Is Dead Dexter Hardcover
9780385532358 Dexter is Delicious Dexter Hardcover
9780307577542 Dexter is Delicious Dexter Compact Disc

Standing Order Authors
Submitted Standardized
Andrews, Virginia Andrews, V. C.
Atwood, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Eleanor
Baldacci David Baldacci, David
Higgins Clark, Mary Clark, Mary Higgins
Cole, Joanne Cole, Joanna
Jackie Collins Collins, Jackie
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama XIV
Lama, Dalai Dalai Lama XIV
Jones, Merry Jones, Merry Bloch
Monk Kidd, Sue Kidd, Sue Monk
Koontz, Dean Koontz, Dean R.
LaHaye, Tim LaHaye, Tim F.
Guin, Ursula K. le Le Guin, Ursula K.
Barack Obama Obama, Barack
Eby, Tanya Sirois, Tanya Eby
Lemony, Snicket Snicket, Lemony
Velde, Vivian Vande Vande Velde, Vivian
Llosa, Mario Vargas Vargas Llosa, Mario
Clive, Cussler Cussler, Clive

Audience
• Specific Age Range, Grade Range, Reading Level
– Required for juvenile titles
– Be precise
• Ages 0 to 99 and Grades 4-10 will not find a profile
• Include General Adult if appropriate
• Lexile, Fountas & Pinnell, Guided Reading Levels for Schools

Specific Library Needs
• Reinforced and library bindings (FormDetail)
• Picture Books (Form Detail)
• Easy Readers, Chapter Books (BISAC Subjects)
• Graphic Novels (BISAC Subjects)
• Reading Level (Hi-Lo; Audience)
• Media Tie-In (Edition)
• Edition Number, Volume Number, Series Number

Timing
• Send metadata as early as reasonably possible
• 6 months prior to Pub Date for trade titles
• 3 months for competitive titles, e.g. tech
• As early as possible for “drop-in” titles
• Library budgets expire: lock in orders while funds
exist
• Buyer can purchase enough copies
• Publishers establish print runs
• If title detail, covers, etc. change, send update

Library Programs
• Accuracy
• Consistency
• Timeliness
Thank you!
sam.dempsey@baker-taylor.com

BEA Content & Digital Conference Maximizing Metadata & Improving the Bottom Line

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