Sales Analytics
Understand your sales performance across all channels. See what sells, where it sells, and how your business is growing.
Why Track Analytics?
Analytics help you make informed business decisions:
- Which books sell best?
- Which retailers perform best?
- How do promotions affect sales?
- Is your business growing?
- Where should you focus marketing?
Without data, you are guessing. With analytics, you are strategizing.
The Analytics Dashboard
Go to Sales Studio → Analytics to see:
- Total revenue — Money earned across all channels
- Units sold — Number of books sold
- Average price — Revenue divided by units
- Trends — Sales over time
Date Range
Filter by time period:
- Today
- This week
- This month
- This quarter
- This year
- Custom range
Tip
Compare the same period year-over-year to see growth. "This month vs same month last year" shows if you are improving.
Key Metrics
Revenue
Total money earned from sales. This is gross revenue before costs.
- By retailer — Amazon vs Apple vs direct
- By format — Ebook vs print vs audio
- By book — Which titles earn most
- By series — Which series is strongest
Units Sold
Number of individual purchases. Useful because:
- Some retailers report units before revenue
- Units show popularity independent of price
- Helps compare promotions (99¢ sale vs full price)
Average Price
Revenue divided by units. Helps you understand:
- Impact of sales and promotions
- Mix of formats being sold
- Pricing optimization opportunities
Royalty Rate
Percentage you keep after retailer fees:
- Amazon KDP: 35% or 70% depending on price and enrollment
- Apple: 70%
- Direct2Readers: 90%+ typically
Note
Revenue shown may be gross (before retailer fees) or net (what you receive), depending on the data source. Check the dashboard labels.
Sales Reports
By Retailer
See which platforms perform best:
| Retailer | Revenue | Units | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | $X,XXX | XXX | XX% |
| Apple | $X,XXX | XXX | XX% |
| Direct2Readers | $X,XXX | XXX | XX% |
By Book
Identify your top performers:
- Best seller by revenue
- Best seller by units
- Biggest improvers
- Declining titles
By Series
Series-level view helps you see:
- Which series drives your business
- Read-through from book 1 to later books
- Series momentum over time
By Format
Compare ebook, print, and audio:
- Which format is growing?
- Is audio worth the investment?
- Print vs ebook ratio
Read-Through Analysis
Read-through measures how many readers continue through your series:
- Book 1 → Book 2 — What percentage buy book 2?
- Book 2 → Book 3 — And book 3?
- Complete series — How many finish?
High read-through means readers love your series. Low read-through might indicate problems with book endings, pricing, or availability.
Series Economics
Read-through is crucial for series profitability. If your book 1 to book 2 read-through is 50%, you can afford to spend more acquiring readers because half will buy more books.
Trend Analysis
View sales over time:
- Daily — Spot launch spikes and promotion effects
- Weekly — See weekly patterns
- Monthly — Track month-over-month growth
- Yearly — Long-term business trajectory
What to Look For
- Launch spikes — New releases should spike then settle
- Promotion effects — Sales during and after promotions
- Seasonal patterns — Holiday effects, summer slowdowns
- Growth trajectory — Is your baseline increasing?
Data Sources
Analytics can come from:
- Direct2Readers — Real-time via API
- Manual entry — You enter sales data
- Finance tracking — Income recorded in Finance
Note
Retailers like Amazon and Apple do not provide real-time APIs for sales data. You may need to manually update from their dashboards or wait for royalty reports.
Exporting Reports
Export your analytics for:
- Tax preparation
- Business planning
- Sharing with accountants
- Personal records
Click Export to download CSV or PDF reports.
Best Practices
- Check weekly — Review sales at least once a week
- Track promotions — Note when you run sales or ads
- Compare periods — Year-over-year shows real growth
- Focus on trends — Single days vary; patterns matter
- Combine with costs — Revenue without profit data is incomplete
- Act on insights — Use data to make decisions, not just observe