Audiobook listeners are burdened by choices.
With hundreds of thousands of books at their disposal, readers can feel overwhelmed by choice. Although Libro.fm provides tools for book discovery — search filtering and curated playlists — it is difficult for readers to keep track of them, leaving them to start their journey from scratch each time they visit the app or move to other services altogether.
Improved and customized findability
I created a new and improved method for Libro.fm users to interact with existing content to more easily find their perfect next read without leaving the app.
Save playlists for future browsing
Find a bookstore playlist on a topic you love? Don’t forget about it! Save it to your account and browse it any time.
A redesigned library
Quickly access owned and saved content on one convenient page.
— Emily, User Interview
Getting to know audiobook fans
In order design & develop a new feature for Libro.fm I set three distinct goals for discovery research:
Understand the ways audiobooks and reading fit into users’ lives.
Determine what factors contribute to readers choosing their next book.
Understand what draws users to Libro.fm over competitors.
Libro.fm's support of bookstores shines
Libro.fm, founded it 2014, makes it possible for users to buy audiobooks through their local bookstores, giving readers the power to keep money within the local economy, create jobs, and make a difference in their community.
Bookstores leave staff picks and craft thematic playlists for readers to browse. Audiobooks are available through memberships, credit bundles, and à la carte purchases.
Amazon’s Audible is the service to beat but users are looking for a way out
In order to design a feature that will draw in users it is important to understand how Libro.fm fits within the current market of audiobook providers. I conducted a competitive analysis of other major audiobook services, looking at their features, strengths, and weaknesses. I also looked to user reviews for each service for a snapshot of user's frustrations and needs.
🎧 What are the opportunities?
- Playback features on Audiobooks have fairly comparable feature-sets. The differentiator between these services often comes down to how users find out what to read next and how easy it is to get it. (Other readers, trusted sources, algorithms, local stores, publications).
- Across the book world, socially-conscious book lovers are looking for Amazon-alternatives for their book consumption in the form of indie trackers, indie retailers, or library systems.
Audiobook listeners are more loyal to genre and mood than they are to any particular app
I reached out to audiobook specific interest groups on Reddit with a 13-question survey to learn where, when, and how users listen to audiobooks and received a staggering response: 282 participants within a 24-hour period.
44.7% of respondents listen on Audible and 31% listen on Libby however, price and availability are more important to listeners than app loyalty.
Readers choose books based on genre, mood, and recommendations from trusted sources.
98.9% of respondents prefer to listen to audiobooks on their smartphones.
Users identify strongly with Libro.fm’s mission but not necessarily it’s features
Armed with a wealth of preliminary data from the survey, I sat down (virtually) with 6 audiobook listeners to hear from them directly about their experience with choosing audiobooks and choosing Libro.fm.
- What was the last book or audiobook you loved?
- How did you find out about it?
- Is that how you typically find out about books?
- When you listen to audiobooks what service(s) do you use?
- How did you learn about it?
- What do you like about it?
- Is there anything you find frustrating about it?
- [If they use Libro.fm]
- Do you support a particular bookstore on Libro.fm?
- Have you ever purchased a book based on a bookstore’s staff pick recommendations or reading list on Libro.fm?
- How do you organize your Libro.fm library?
- Are you now or have you ever been a paid subscriber to an audiobook service?
- [if they are no longer] What made you unsubscribe?
- [if they currently are] What do you like about being a member?
- Have you ever used an audiobook platform other than the one you use now?
- Why don’t you use that one any longer?
- Describe some of the ways you seek out new books to read.
- What makes you trust a recommendation?
- When you hear about a good book what do you do with that recommendation?
- How do you decide where to get a book after you learn about it?
— Linda (User Interview)
Users want to listen to more audiobooks but get discouraged by complex browsing
Finding opportunities where user and business needs connect.
Build on user affinity from a ideological standpoint...
increase users’ connection to Libro.fm specifically...
and encourage users to find their next read within the app.
How might we personalize the browsing experience on libro.fm so that users can more easily find a next read that's right for them?
Ideas built on practicality & scaleability
Alright, how do we give users more tools for a pleasant browsing experience? I sat down with an empty whiteboard and a time and let the ideas go.
Given the timeline and scope of this project and the relatively small size of Libro.fm as a company we decided to focus on where we could make the highest impact within these constraints. I prioritized features that:
- Fit within the existing patterns and architecture of Libro.fm.
- Be easily-learnable and user-friendly.
- Honor the core relationship on Libro.fm: affinity between readers and independent bookstores.
- Fit within the timeline and scope of my project.
Let users interact with content in a new way.
I settled upon features that will give users more control over their browsing experience.
Libro.fm’s current exploration model is built off of thousands of thematic playlists crafted by indie bookstores. Users can search these playlists based on certain theme, moods, genres, and more.
My research revealed that users highly value this type of recommendation when deciding what to read next. However, while you can save individual books on Libro.fm to a wishlist currently there is currently no way to save with these playlists.
So, how might Libro.fm achieve this personalization?
— Victoria, (User Interview)
Building new elements within an existing design system
To ensure my new feature could fit seamlessly into the existing product I created a UI kit that let me take stock of current design patterns...
...and add new ones
Saving a playlist
User Need: Find audio book recommendations that cater to their specific interests while supporting indie bookstores of their choosing.
Solution: With this new feature, users can now save and return to playlists from their favorite bookstores, genres, moods, or themes.
Upgrading your library
User Need: A simple way to keep track of what audiobooks they have purchased and what content they have saved.
Solution: Users’ owned titles, wishlist, and saved playlists are consolidated on the new library screen making it easier to access titles all in one place.
Using this feature to personalize the wholistic app experience
Part of this new feature includes further personalization with supporting text and indicators that help users recall their choices and aid their browsing.
Returning to the users
To test the viability of this new feature I ran moderated, virtual usability tests with 5 participants. All users were able to successfully complete both tasks!
... and making user-guided iterations.
Users favored the indicators shown in the right column below.
I discovered that they would rather their own interactions override over generic statuses like “new,” “bookseller pick,” or “coming soon.”
User feedback also led to some hierarchical changes to aid reading clarity.
A feature can be a stepping stone
There are so many opportunities to grow Libro.fm’s features on behalf of the users we identified. Here is an example of a feature roadmap built from my research that shows how one way new content interactions can lead to more engaged users and a community of indie-bookstore loving audiobook listeners.
Personal takeaways
Designing and working within an existing system was a real learning experience. This process taught me a lot about focusing on what is helpful for users, building for future growth, and aligning design work with established patterns. Some key takeaways are:
