The contacts database is worth the price alone. Storiad is like a DIY marketing manager for authors The amount of time it saves just in finding contact information for potential book marketing. Given that book writers almost always write and publish more than just books it would be great if the tool was a fully fledged CRM for an author that tracked not only contacts and marketing outreach but also submissions of whatever type of writing (article, book, screenplay, play, poem etc., proposals, query letters) to literary magazines, publications, editors, agents, contests. etc.
Founder Team
Ramzi_Storiad
May 9, 2024
Hello Matthew - Thank you kindly for the review of Storiad and your excellent CRM suggestion. In fact ... we are in the process of developing a more CRM-focused approach to Storiad to offer authors even more control over their book promotion campaign's strategies and management. We are also planning on incorporating even more AI-driven support to make the business side of being an author just a...
While the database of contacts would seem quite useful, it's also harder to navigate than I would like. It's hard to know which categories to choose for my non-fiction book, and even when I do, it's full of irrelevant listings and categories, with no way to filter down more finely (like -Christian for example). And then when I find contacts that seem like they might be relevant, there's no suggestions on what to do with their information. One contact had a website link only, and when I went to their website, their was nothing that suggested they were interested in taking on board a new book in some form.
I didn't even know that the email templates existed until I stumbled onto them after starting a pretend email. And the fact that I have to use the Storiad system to send emails is not ideal. I think I'll be using the DB to find names and then sourcing my own contact methods outside of Storiad, so I'm in control. There's also no way of knowing how receptive any of these contacts are to me reaching out, so I lack the confidence that my efforts will get results.
And the Marketing Plan wizard is a very odd user experience - I tell the site about my book, can pick only ONE thing to learn about, and then have to sit there for 30 seconds or more while it generates a "customised" set of information. This is supposed to save me time, not waste it.
Sure, for some questions, like "the top influencers" maybe it needs to be tailored to the genre, but for things like "the difference between marketing and publicising" I really don't understand why I have to sit there for 30 seconds to get generic recommendations. This content would be better off as a static resource that I can access through a knowledge hub at my leisure. Honestly, I should only have to enter my book details once, and then have access to customised answers to EVERY question that I can go back to at any time.
And it's very hard to get back and choose a different topic. Half the time the "Ask again" option is missing, and I end up having to re-enter all my book criteria all over again, with no way to save what I've done. All I can see to do is copy and paste the text out of each answer into a word processing document so I have some way of coming back to it again later.
I have no need of a website or calculators, as that's my area of strength, so the only value for me is the contacts, the templates and maybe the marketing plan wizard (but I lack the patience to keep using it).
I really wanted to like this tool, but it's just not sufficiently useful from my perspective.
At this point, I MIGHT keep Storiad just so I can go back to the list of contacts and email templates in future if I want to, but I'm not sure that a well done Google search might not just get me as far.
I wish we could export the contacts database and email them via our own email. It would take too long to go through every single contact, emailing them one by one
I'm giving 3 Stars because the database of contacts is invaluable! I would give it a 4 star if there was a way to access the contacts without all the layers in more of a true database format. I understand that Storiad might not want all the contacts available for batch mailings, but this really needs work on the backend as well as the Author pages. All that said, if you’re an Author, you should get this deal.
I like the layout and I'm excited to have a database for my books. Since users cannot modify the database, I have sent messages to the development team with my suggestions. Since most books are published in several formats, each book entered into the system needs places to enter several ISBNs, not one. Audiobooks need a place for that info. The book titles in the dashboard may need to be smaller to expose more of the title--especially if each format of the book will require its own catalog entry instead of grouped together. I'm hoping to grow with this Storiad database as it hopefully grows in its abilities.
Verified purchaser
a great resource + a great start on a tool
The contacts database is worth the price alone. Storiad is like a DIY marketing manager for authors The amount of time it saves just in finding contact information for potential book marketing. Given that book writers almost always write and publish more than just books it would be great if the tool was a fully fledged CRM for an author that tracked not only contacts and marketing outreach but also submissions of whatever type of writing (article, book, screenplay, play, poem etc., proposals, query letters) to literary magazines, publications, editors, agents, contests. etc.
Ramzi_Storiad
May 9, 2024Hello Matthew - Thank you kindly for the review of Storiad and your excellent CRM suggestion. In fact ... we are in the process of developing a more CRM-focused approach to Storiad to offer authors even more control over their book promotion campaign's strategies and management. We are also planning on incorporating even more AI-driven support to make the business side of being an author just a...
Share Storiad
Verified purchaser
Underwhelmed
While the database of contacts would seem quite useful, it's also harder to navigate than I would like. It's hard to know which categories to choose for my non-fiction book, and even when I do, it's full of irrelevant listings and categories, with no way to filter down more finely (like -Christian for example). And then when I find contacts that seem like they might be relevant, there's no suggestions on what to do with their information. One contact had a website link only, and when I went to their website, their was nothing that suggested they were interested in taking on board a new book in some form.
I didn't even know that the email templates existed until I stumbled onto them after starting a pretend email. And the fact that I have to use the Storiad system to send emails is not ideal. I think I'll be using the DB to find names and then sourcing my own contact methods outside of Storiad, so I'm in control. There's also no way of knowing how receptive any of these contacts are to me reaching out, so I lack the confidence that my efforts will get results.
And the Marketing Plan wizard is a very odd user experience - I tell the site about my book, can pick only ONE thing to learn about, and then have to sit there for 30 seconds or more while it generates a "customised" set of information. This is supposed to save me time, not waste it.
Sure, for some questions, like "the top influencers" maybe it needs to be tailored to the genre, but for things like "the difference between marketing and publicising" I really don't understand why I have to sit there for 30 seconds to get generic recommendations. This content would be better off as a static resource that I can access through a knowledge hub at my leisure. Honestly, I should only have to enter my book details once, and then have access to customised answers to EVERY question that I can go back to at any time.
And it's very hard to get back and choose a different topic. Half the time the "Ask again" option is missing, and I end up having to re-enter all my book criteria all over again, with no way to save what I've done. All I can see to do is copy and paste the text out of each answer into a word processing document so I have some way of coming back to it again later.
I have no need of a website or calculators, as that's my area of strength, so the only value for me is the contacts, the templates and maybe the marketing plan wizard (but I lack the patience to keep using it).
I really wanted to like this tool, but it's just not sufficiently useful from my perspective.
At this point, I MIGHT keep Storiad just so I can go back to the list of contacts and email templates in future if I want to, but I'm not sure that a well done Google search might not just get me as far.
Share Storiad
Verified purchaser
Could be improved
I wish we could export the contacts database and email them via our own email. It would take too long to go through every single contact, emailing them one by one
Share Storiad
Verified purchaser
Needs Work
I'm giving 3 Stars because the database of contacts is invaluable! I would give it a 4 star if there was a way to access the contacts without all the layers in more of a true database format. I understand that Storiad might not want all the contacts available for batch mailings, but this really needs work on the backend as well as the Author pages. All that said, if you’re an Author, you should get this deal.
Share Storiad
Verified purchaser
Needs Development
I like the layout and I'm excited to have a database for my books. Since users cannot modify the database, I have sent messages to the development team with my suggestions.
Since most books are published in several formats, each book entered into the system needs places to enter several ISBNs, not one.
Audiobooks need a place for that info.
The book titles in the dashboard may need to be smaller to expose more of the title--especially if each format of the book will require its own catalog entry instead of grouped together.
I'm hoping to grow with this Storiad database as it hopefully grows in its abilities.
Share Storiad