In another effort to increase its direct-to-consumer reach, HarperCollins has acquired The Midlist, a daily e-mail newsletter that features e-book deals from a variety of publishers.
HC, which acquired the newsletter from Libboo, will merge the Midlist with its Bookperk newsletter. Bookperk spotlights discounted HC titles that can be purchased directly from the publisher, as well as from other e-book retailers.
The combined Midlist-Bookperk operation will, HC said, reach over 1 million readers. “Folding The Midlist into Bookperk is the next logical step as we grow Bookperk into an industry-leading direct-to-consumer platform," said Angela Tribelli, HC's chief marketing officer. She added that the combined newsletter will "connect our authors and our tremendous backlist to more than a million readers.”
At least for the moment, it appears that HC will limit the titles available on the new Bookperk to only those in the HC catalog. "To date, Bookperk has only offered titles from across the entire HarperCollins catalog -- from Harlequin to HCCP to Impulse e-originals, which we will continue to do-- but the platform is constantly evolving," Jim Hanas, senior director of audience development and insight at HC, told PW.
HC has worked with Libboo, an audience development company, in the past. Libboo has provided audience development services to Bookperk, and will continue serving HarperCollins as a client with instaFreebie, an e-book giveaway tool.
