Calaméo Magazine #11 : The Tech issue

The Calaméo Library Widget is one of our very favorite ways to share amazing publications online. Besides being simple to set up, the Library Widget offers tons of advantages for digital publishers. That’s why today we’re giving you 10 great reasons to create a virtual library!

Make a collection

Thanks to the Library Widget, gathering all of your digital publications in one place is a piece of cake. No need to embed individual materials on your website or blog one by one; create a virtual library in seconds and display your entire collection on the same page.

Showcase your brand

Because the Library Widget will feature the covers of all included publications, it’s a perfect opportunity to showcase your brand. Let visitors to your site get to know your business through the eye-catching designs of your digital publications!

Encourage browsing

In addition to making your publications easy to discover, the Library Widget makes them easy to browse. Create a virtual library so that your readers can click through to check out any title that interests them, then return to your collection once they’re done.

Easy archive

Have you been publishing your magazine, newsletter or catalogue online for a long time? You can make an archive online in no time with the Calaméo Library Widget. Dust off your digital back issues and present them in a format that’s optimized for exploration.

Organize files

If your business has a wide range of digital publications, from annual reports to eBooks, you may want to create a virtual library for different categories. Luckily, you can organize your materials into Folders and link a separate Library Widget to each group.

Customize the look

With the Calaméo Library Widget, you can customize the look of your virtual library. For example, do you love the fun detail of skeuomorphic design? Choose a faux wood background, drop shadows and flipbook cover. Plus, control the number of shelves, display elements and click-through behavior.

Never update anything

Maybe the best part about the Library Widget is that there’s nothing to update—ever. Once you create a virtual library and share it on your website, your Widget will automatically include any new publications added to its Folder.

Highlight your favorites

There’s more than one way to create a virtual library! First, you can use Folders to organize your own publications in multiple Library Widgets. Next, you can use a Favorites list to bring together must-reads from all over Calaméo and make a digital shelf to share.

Get more data

As every good librarian knows, it’s essential to keep track of which materials are checked out. In other words, you need analytics to follow how may readers are discovering your publications in a Library Widget. They’re built right in on Calaméo: our advanced statistics help you see how your library is performing.

Start a conversation

Most importantly, displaying your digital publications in a Library Widget is a wonderful occasion to build a relationship with visitors to your site. Consider using online forms that allow visitors to sign up for updates, then send subscribers fresh content. Or perhaps you’d like to encourage them to comment on your publications or follow you on social media. Experiment to find out what works best for you!

TIP: Our video tutorial walks you through how to create a virtual library using Calaméo.

In short, there’s no good reason not to create a virtual library for your online publications. The Calaméo Library Widget is a valuable part of any smart digital publishing strategy. Ready to get started? All you need is a free Calaméo account.

We’re standing by to answer your questions! Write to our Support teams at contact@calameo.com and we’ll be happy to help.

2023 has been a great year for Calaméo. Not only have we offered you improved account security and the ability to export your statistics in CSV format, thanks to new features introduced this year, but it’s also time to announce the arrival of a major new feature that will change the way you use Calaméo: integrations.

Easy-to-use integrations

Link your favorite applications to your Calaméo account to unlock brand-new features: with integrations, you’ll be able to add many new elements to your Calaméo publications, in the same way you used to add links, to make your content more interactive.

However, the difference with our EDITOR‘s initial options, such as links, is that the integration elements come directly from the applications you’ve linked to your Calaméo account, such as Calendly, Shopify (coming soon) or Embed.ly for example. And all in just a few clicks!

💡 Find our Help Center articles right here.

Integrations: endless new possibilities

The reason we’re so excited to bring you this new feature is that we know it will enable you to use Calaméo in many new ways, and that it will not only enhance your experience, but that of your readers too.

Generate qualified leads with your Calaméo publications

Integrations are a powerful marketing tool that will enable you to achieve your objectives with ease (lead capture in particular).

Thanks to integrations with applications such as Hubspot, Calendly, Mailchimp, Typeform, Jotform, Shopify (coming soon) and Google Forms, you can :

• capture qualified leads directly from your publication using Mailchimp, Jotform or Google Forms forms
• use a trigger to display a mandatory Hubspot or Typeform form when your publication is downloaded to collect information from your readers, with the aim of capturing leads,
• display a Calendly appointment calendar to make it easier to book appointments,
• integrate products from your Shopify store directly into your publication (coming soon),
• and much more!

💡 Learn more about each of the integrations right here.

On the other hand, integrations give you the option of using triggers.

Triggers automatically activate a specific action at a chosen moment. They are added, like a layer, above your publication. On Calaméo, you can choose between three key moments to trigger an action:

• when the publication is opened,
• downloading,
• or when the publication is printed.

These moments are crucial for capturing your audience’s attention and maximizing the impact of your content.

What’s more, you can choose how this trigger element is displayed on screen:

• once only,
• until the reader completes the action,
• or always displayed.

Note that in addition to lead capture triggers, you could, for example, embed a YouTube video as a trigger, with the aim of promoting your products or services, educating or engaging your audience.

💡 Read all about triggers right here.

Analyze your audience

Thanks to the new integrations, it will be easier than ever to link your Calaméo and Google Analytics or Matomo accounts, so you can track the performance of your Calaméo publications directly where all your other statistics are already. All the more reason to simplify your reporting!

🔎 Please note: If you have linked your Google Analytics 4 account to your Calaméo account before the integrations, good news, you won’t have to do a thing. Your accounts will be linked automatically via the integration, and there will be no loss of statistics!

Add even more interactive elements

Thanks to the wide range of integrations we offer (and will be offering in the future), you’ll be able to insert a multitude of new rich media into your publications, for an ever more unique and dynamic reading experience.

Add :

• maps with points of interest with Leaflet,
• appointment calendars,
• questionnaires,
• social network posts,
• and much more!

💡 Find the list of integrations we offer and their possible uses right here.

Conclusion

Integrations are going to revolutionize the way you use Calaméo. We can’t wait to see what you, our extraordinary users, will create with all these new possibilities open to you!

💡Integrations are a new feature reserved for PLATINUM accounts.

Ask for your free 14-day trial to Calaméo PLATINUM and test all our professional tools!