We are putting the finishing touches on our reader referral program...
Plus, a huge Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🥧🥹!
Every 3 weeks, I share my notes on building Shepherd.com.
Join the rebellion and help me create the indie book platform readers and authors deserve! Three hurrahs for our 842 Founding Members who keep us independent and fund new features. Readers and authors can become Founding Members (both get special perks, and more perks are coming as we grow).
My mood is 🦃🥧🥹
Happy Thanksgiving!
We are going to celebrate on Saturday since Calico is in school today. We have been so busy with the aftermath of our move to France that we are keeping it super simple this year. I will cook a roast, and Lindsey will make some pie and mashed potatoes.
We are putting the finishing touches on our referral program.
What is this?
You can now refer friends to sign up for a Shepherd account and get rewarded for it! I’ll implement more rewards next year; for now, the reward is only for authors (more details below).
Where can you access this?
We just added the referral URLs to the emails we send you when your 3 Favorite Reads of 2024 are published. So, if you use that URL to email friends or share on social media, readers who sign up for an account will be attributed to you as the source.
You can also find this under your profile on Shepherd and can use this referrer tag with any page (just put the “?” and rest of the code at the end of any page):
Why is this cool for authors?
If a reader you refer shares their 3 favorite reads of 2024, your book will also be featured at the bottom of their list. I thought this would be a cool reward for authors who encourage their fan base to share as part of our Readers’ Favorite Books of 2024.
I will let the authors know soon about this; for now, I want to get another week of testing under our belts to ensure everything is working perfectly.
Who else will it be cool for?
We will also have perks for readers in the long term and more perks for authors. I wanted to keep it simple to start, and we will expand it in 2025 as we get more time.
What is going on outside of Shepherd?
We have been so busy getting fully moved in with furniture, house todos, and French paperwork. I thought we would be done by now, but nope, so much is left. I am looking forward to December as things will slow down…
What am I reading?
I am reading...
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by KJ Parker—I am LOVING this fantasy book. I am so excited that there are two more in the series. I’ve been in a big fantasy rut, hoping this will change it. A huge shout out to Zara for the recommendation (great YouTube channel).
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts—I am 30% in, and this book is stunning. I am glad my brother picked it for our family book club. The stories are heart-wrenching, but somehow, the book still feels positive. I wish every politician would read this book and improve as people and policymakers.
Have a great week,
Ben
P.S. From a fantastic bike ride a few months ago.
