2026 NetGalley.com Community Update

Unless otherwise noted, all information is based on the Annual NetGalley.com Member Survey, conducted January 2026.

Every year, we ask NetGalley members to share insights about how they read, discover, and engage with books — and the response from our community keeps growing. In the most recent annual survey, more than 11,000 dedicated reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators, media/journalists, and book trade professionals told us about their reading habits and preferences. We’re excited to bring you this latest snapshot of activity and trends across the community, and encourage you to explore the full report for deeper breakdowns and practical tips on connecting with different segments of the NetGalley community.

VIEW THE FULL REPORT | UK Report here

When we say NetGalley’s 700,000+ active members are highly engaged, we really mean it. In January 2026 alone, NetGalley.com logged a record-breaking 13.3 million pageviews — a 19% increase over January 2025 — and key engagement metrics from Requests to Feedback submitted continue to grow by the thousands (or even hundreds of thousands!).

Activity on NetGalley functions as a funnel — and understanding that funnel can help publishers make smarter promotional decisions. At the top are Impressions: the more visibility a title receives across the site and in promotions, the more likely members are to click through and submit a Request. Increased exposure directly fuels downstream activity.

Once Requests begin coming in, the next step is in the publisher’s hands. Strategic Approvals determine how many members move from indicating interest to active reading. A higher approval volume typically results in more overall Feedback — but thoughtful targeting (approving the right readers for your goals) can improve both the quantity and the quality of responses.

Finally, a percentage of approved readers will submit Feedback. While conversion rates vary by genre, format, and promotional timeline, on average we see a 38% Average Monthly Feedback Rate for DRCs, and a whopping 57% Average Monthly Feedback Rate for Audiobooks.

On average we see a 38% Avg Monthly Feedback Rate for DRCs, and a whopping 57% Avg Monthly Feedback Rate for Audiobooks

Speaking of Audiobooks, over 304,000 NetGalley members are interested in audiobooks, a 25% increase over last year!

Behind the scenes, NetGalley’s Community Growth & Engagement team is continually developing tools and programming designed to help books succeed — at every level. Whether it’s a debut from a small independent press or a lead title from a Big Five publisher, our goal is the same: empower members to become informed, enthusiastic book advocates.

Free resources like the NetGalley Reading Journal and the Book Advocate Toolkit are intentionally designed to drive meaningful engagement. They help members track their reading, craft stronger, more thoughtful Feedback, and confidently share titles with their audiences. Additional tools, including Book Club Kits, give members ready-made ways to amplify the books they love.

VIEW THE FULL REPORT | UK Report here

Six Things We Learned From the IPG Spring Conference

The Spring IPG conference was held in London on 11 February. It’s a vibrant and eclectic program of lectures, seminars and panel discussions, and always provokes much food for thought. Here are our half-dozen takeaways from the days’ sessions!

1. It’s important to ask yourself the right questions

In his keynote speech, Ajay Chowdhury – tech entrepreneur with Shazam and acclaimed crime writer – talked of a series of questions one should ask oneself when undertaking any big project. These were:

Does it matter?
Does it work?
Can you win?

It was a great starting point to the conference, and I think this interrogative approach to new and existing work processes and functions is really important. Asking yourself why you’re doing something can sometimes be as valuable as doing it in the first place.

2. AI – it’s complicated…

Ajay Chowdhury was the first, but by no means the last, speaker to talk about the power, pitfalls and possibilities of AI. It is just three short years since the launch of Chat GPT, and when George Walkley (publishing technology expert and provider of the IPG’s training in Artificial Intelligence) later asked the audience how many people had used AI in the last week, almost everyone raised their hand. The publishing industry’s legitimate fear of the effects of AI is also balanced by the fact many, possibly most, use it on a day-to-day basis. As do their readers!

George’s very practical presentation echoed what Ajay had said earlier: that AI is brilliant at some things, but isn’t the answer to every question. Use cases, like specific research that could significantly reduce time spent, contract checks, and data analysis remains perfect for AI – though George did warn that AI hallucinations, according to OpenAI, are mathematically inevitable. Which leads us to…

3. Authenticity and trust matters…

BBC’s culture and media editor Katie Razzall gave her keynote address regarding how we trust our sources and said that “information is important, but so is who you get it from.” – and increasing this is moving away from institutions to individuals. Where we source our information is now a key battleground. Social media is no longer social: it is just media. The algorithms make sure that we are seeing content it believes we wish to see, and curates our view of world accordingly

4. And books are trusted and authentic

Books remain the gold standard of trustworthiness. But with that comes a responsibility for publishers to ensure their books are rigorously checked and meticulously researched. Katie Razzall expressed surprise that “there didn’t seem to be as much fact-checking of that work and due diligence around it as we would do in news journalism.” With individuals becoming bigger than brands, the onus is on both to ensure that what is produced meets the standards expected by readers.

5. Reading enjoyment is at its lowest level in 20 years…

In his keynote speech regarding the National Year of Reading, Jonathan Douglas, CEO of the National Literacy Trust, showed a graph showing the consistent year-on-year reduction in reading enjoyment. Jonathan argued that this leads to a number of negative social outcomes, including reduced educational attainment and a lack of social mobility. The theme of the National Year of Reading is GO ALL IN – meaning if you like something, you can improve your knowledge, and love of it, by reading about it.

6. But it’s not all doom and gloom!

In a panel devoted to working with booksellers, Bea Carvalho from Waterstones and Sarah Walden of online retailer World of Books both mentioned that non-fiction was up year-on-year, despite many media reports suggesting that non-fiction publishing was struggling to find readers as people migrated to audio and podcasts. Viviane Basset also ran an excellent masterclass in marketing and publicity, which showed that grassroots appeals, as well as events and thoughtful interaction with influencers can make a huge difference to sales and engagement.

As Bruce Daisley, formerly of big tech businesses including Twitter and YouTube, said in the final session of the day: “Books remain one of the things we celebrate spending money on… From an outsider’s perspective on publishing, there are plenty of reasons to fill up the positive column.”

Who’s the Audience on Booktrovert.com?

Publishers and authors are using Booktrovert to drive sales through digital giveaways, advertising, and special promotions. So, who makes up the audience interacting with these campaigns?

Booktrovert [book-tro-vert] (noun)
A person who turn toward a book... in moments when they want to find joy, connection, escape, reflection, comfort, knowledge, and more. Anyone who loves to get lost in a book, talk about what they're reading, and share their favorite books with their favorite people. You might read 1 book a. year, or 100. Everyone can be a bootrovert.

Only three months since launch, and Booktrovert has amassed approximately 35,000 registered users. Plus, 93% of users have fully completed their profiles, which reveals powerful insights about this audience of readers…

Booktroverts Read Hundreds of Books per Year

Chart showing number of books read per year by Booktrovert users — *Data as of October 6,2025*

Booktroverts Love Popular Fiction Categories

Plus, Bios & Memoirs and True Crime are among the popular nonfiction categories

Chart showing categories of interest from Booktrovert users — *Data as of October 6,2025*

“Booktrovert” isn’t just a cute name. There are so many reasons someone might reach for a book – to find escape or comfort, to learn something new, to understand other perspectives, etc. People who read aren’t just introverts who, by definition, ‘turn inward’, and they aren’t just extroverts who ‘turn outward’. A Booktrovert is anyone who turns bookward… for any reason!

Only three months since launch, and Booktrovert has amassed approximately 35,000 registered users. Plus, 93% of users have fully completed their profiles.

How we’re bringing more readers to Booktrovert

Booktrovert is designed to ensure that readers come back again and again to see what’s new and interact with publishers’ campaigns and other activities.

Exciting Campaigns

First and foremost, publishers’ campaigns will continue to drive Booktrovert growth. Exciting giveaways, like the next book from a bestselling author (click below to read the case study!) special pricing promotions like 50% off celebrity book club picks, advertisements for highly-anticipated titles, plus mixed CTAs for a whole series—Sweepstakes (enter to win), Giveaway (claim a copy), and Retail (buy now)—drive new user registrations by incentivizing readers with content they’re voracious for. This targeted engagement and activity will continue to expand the audience on Booktrovert.com, especially as readers and authors post excitedly about the campaigns on social media.

Image showing the Karin Slaughter Booktrovert campaign details — *Click to read the case study*

Sticky Activities

To ensure Booktrovert is “sticky”, we’ve also introduced games and activities in the Booktrovert Arcade, encouraging readers to create beautiful digital bookshelves with Share a Shelf and play a round of Bookish Bingo as a reading challenge. Booktrovert users can then share their digital bookshelves and bingo boards on social media, where their followers will naturally find their way to Booktrovert to join in. Plus, more interactive activities are coming soon!

Image showing the Booktrovert Arcade page

Custom Library Stacks

Readers can also track their overall reading—even outside of the books they access on Booktrovert—by building their library with custom book stacks. Booktrovert’s curation tools to organize TBR lists offer an alternative to some other well-known platforms, for any readers who may be looking to make a switch! For publishers, see how Booktrovert compares to Goodreads here. We’re collecting ideas from registered users, and we already have plans for enhancements to the tracking tools and even more ways to organize stacks.

Outbound Advertising

Our acquisition strategy also includes a branded presence at industry events (we’ll be making a splash at BookCon 2026!), B2C advertising and social media campaigns, and partnerships with book influencers. We anticipate that the Booktrovert community and mailing list will grow exponentially in the coming year.

We’re cultivating a community you can activate to fill your sales funnel by reaching any consumer… in parallel, or in conjunction with, the NetGalley community. By creating Booktrovert.com as a standalone website, we are thrilled to offer publishers and authors a streamlined consumer marketing and advertising opportunity to reach the widest audiences, while still retaining the professional community that exists at NetGalley. Learn more about how we launched Booktrovert by leveraging the NetGalley community!

NetGalley Promotion or Booktrovert Campaign?
Learn more about when and why you might promote either . . . or both!

NetGalley Launches Booktrovert.com, a Modern Consumer Marketing Platform for Publishers and Sleek Destination Website for Readers

Newburyport, MA (June 23, 2025)—NetGalley, LLC—the recognized industry-standard for digital galley distribution and book marketing, and part of the Firebrand Group collection of companies owned by Media Do International (MD-i)—today announced the launch of Booktrovert.com, a standalone consumer marketing and advertising platform and destination website for readers. Powered by NetGalley, Booktrovert spurs book discovery through digital giveaways, special promotions, and engaging bookish activities, while providing publishers and authors with a powerful tool to reach a wider audience.

For readers, Booktrovert.com offers ebook giveaways, reader perks (pre-orders, special deals, and more), fun games and activities, exclusive merch, and unique curation tools to organize book lists—all on a sleek, accessible, mobile-friendly website.

Booktrovert addresses the industry’s growing need for a modern consumer marketing platform with flexible options for secure ebook giveaways. Publishers, authors, and marketing agencies can easily set up ebook giveaways and advertising campaigns using a simple self-service interface built within the NetGalley.com platform. Campaigns can feature single or multiple books, offering options for giveaways, pre-orders, and direct purchase links. Booktrovert campaigns can be public or private, allowing for exclusive engagement with targeted audiences, such as event attendees, book clubs, launch teams, and more.

“Booktrovert is our answer to the book industry’s demand for robust consumer marketing tools,” said NetGalley President Lindsey Lochner. “By leveraging NetGalley’s established technology, plus our decades of experience in community building and reader engagement metrics, Booktrovert offers publishers and authors a direct way to connect with a significantly wider audience and build excitement around their books. Best of all, NetGalley remains the trusted back-end system for managing marketing and publicity efforts to both the professional community who use NetGalley, and consumers via Booktrovert.”

Key features of Booktrovert for publishers & authors:

Self-Service Interface: Schedule and purchase campaigns all via a simple interface within NetGalley.com.
Digital Giveaways: Create giveaway landing pages featuring up to ten books at once.
Special Promotions: Launch targeted campaigns to generate buzz and sales across a book’s lifecycle.
Flexible Campaigns: Easily offer campaigns of all sizes—from exclusive private campaigns to large-scale outreach with urgency and excitement.
Pre-Order & Buy Links: Direct readers to purchase books and drive sales to preferred retailers.
Secure Ebook Distribution: Deliver instant digital fulfillment for giveaways via Kobo, Kindle, and a proprietary Web Reader.
In-Depth Reporting & Analytics: Receive campaign traffic stats, clicks on CTA, plus optional bonus charts, aggregated demographic data, and more.

Any NetGalley client—whether a subscription or pay-per-title client—looking to reach U.S. readers can purchase Booktrovert campaigns within their NetGalley account.

For more information about Booktrovert, visit Booktrovert.com or contact booktrovert@netgalley.com.

Continue reading →

Booktrovert vs. Goodreads: Why Modern Book Marketing Needs a Modern Platform

When it comes to running effective, flexible, and modern book marketing campaigns, Booktrovert is setting a new standard—far outpacing other giveaway platforms in features, value, and control.

📣 Call to Action Flexibility
Booktrovert empowers authors and publishers with multiple CTAs including Giveaway, Sweepstakes, Pre-Order, Buy Now, (or mix & match!), offering marketing versatility across a book’s lifecycle. Goodreads, by contrast, limits campaigns to giveaway only, making it far less adaptable.

📚 Campaign Scale & Control
Booktrovert allows up to 10 books per campaign, while Goodreads supports only one, making it inefficient for grouped titles, like series, authors’ backlist, or even seasonal campaigns. Want to give away more than 100 copies? Booktrovert lets you decide the limit, by number of books (Sweepstakes) or time (Giveaways). Goodreads Giveaways cap at 100 copies.

🔒 Visibility Options
Booktrovert lets you choose public or private campaigns, ideal for targeted promotions or exclusive access. (Here are 10 Ways to use Booktrovert!) Goodreads? Always public, which restricts strategic customization and limits your creative marketing ideas!

⚙️ Giveaway versus Sweepstakes Mechanics
Giveaways: Unlimited quantity for a limited amount of time, and participants claim their eBook instantly. You choose giveaway duration from 1-7 days. Detailed Analytics (optional add-on) will include email addresses for readers who claim a copy. Fulfillment is digital with a permanent license via Web Reader, Kindle, Kobo—depending on your settings. After the giveaway ends, the CTA will automatically switch to retail.

Sweepstakes: You offer a limited quantity of eBooks, and participants can enter to win.
Entries are collected for the full 7 days of your campaign, then winners will be randomly drawn and automatically notified. Detailed Analytics (optional add-on) will include email addresses of everyone who entered. Fulfillment is digital with a permanent license via Web Reader, Kindle, Kobo—depending on your settings. After the sweepstakes ends, the CTA will automatically switch to retail.

Goodreads Giveaways run on an enter-to-win model, where readers must wait until the campaign ends, creating little momentum or real-time engagement.

⚡ Fulfillment & Retail
Booktrovert giveaways and sweepstakes deliver instant digital fulfillment via Kobo, Kindle, and Web Reader. If a giveaway campaigns automatically switch to retail CTAs if they are shorter than 7 days, with links you choose to drive sales wherever you want.

Sweepstakes winners are automatically and randomly chosen, automatically notified, and have instant digital fulfillment. No action needed from the publisher!

Goodreads, however, requires you manually ship print books or limit your eBook giveaways to Kindle-available titles. There’s also no retail campaign option on Goodreads.

📊 Reporting & Data
Booktrovert provides standard engagement reports and offers detailed analytics, including email addresses for giveaway winners. Goodreads Giveaways give you just a list of winners—no engagement metrics, no reader insights.

💸 Cost & Value

Booktrovert campaigns start at $200 per title, with pricing based on campaign type and scale—no printing or shipping costs. Plus Booktrovert offers optional add-ons for even more advertising and reporting. Goodreads Giveaways range from $119 to $599, plus shipping and printing, making them more expensive for less control and insight.

🌟 Reader Experience & Discovery
Booktrovert is designed with readers in mind—modern, intuitive, and engaging. It offers interactive features and discovery tools that encourage real-time interaction and curation. Goodreads, by contrast, is perceived as outdated and inefficient.

Bottom line: If you want to use a flexible, data-rich, and cost-effective platform for consumer marketing, Booktrovert is the clear winner. 👉 Launch your campaign on Booktrovert today

Why Booktrovert is NetGalley’s Natural Next Step

We’ve always been proud of the flexibility that NetGalley’s tools offer publishers and authors. For well over a decade, it’s been our pleasure to help connect our clients’ books with the reviewers, booksellers, librarians, educators, and media who make recommendations to their audiences. Now, as we’re expanding our tools and branching out beyond the NetGalley community, some may ask: Why is NetGalley introducing Booktrovert? And why now?

We’re thrilled to be introducing Booktrovert because we truly believe it’s answering a need that we’ve been hearing for quite some time in our industry. The NetGalley platform and existing tools have always been very flexible, by design, so publishers could offer free digital galleys or audiobooks to trade professionals — like librarians, booksellers, educators, and media or journalists, as well as book advocates who write reviews for traditional media outlets, or online like Bookstagram, BookTok, blogs, and of course retail sites like Amazon. The primary goal of NetGalley has always been driving reviews, building buzz, increasing discoverability for books.

NetGalley is uniquely positioned to introduce a platform like Booktrovert — We’re seated in this very special place among publishers, authors, & readers.

And as the NetGalley service grew over time, and became an industry standard for digital galley distribution & book marketing, we heard over and over from publishers that they wanted to use our digital fulfillment tools for their consumer marketing efforts, too.