ARC Tracker

How do I run an ARC campaign?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-V8_YwP6s0 Set up four things once. After that, approving readers is a few clicks. Before you start 1. Add the book in Book Library, and upload the ARC file (EPUB or PDF) to Storage. 2. Connect email in Settings → Email (Gmail or SMTP), so ARCs and follow-ups send from your address. 3. Set up Email Templates and an Email Sequence. A sequence is a short series sent on a schedule after someone is approved, such as a reminder to start, a nudge to finish, and a request for an honest review. It has to be active before you can pick it. 4. Get applicants. Share an ARC sign-up form from Form Builder with responses going to ARC Tracker, or add readers yourself. They show up as pending. Running it 1. In ARC Tracker, select the pending applicants and click Approve & send. 2. Choose what happens: watermark and email each person their copy, email a note with no file, or only approve them. 3. Pick the email sequence to start, then confirm. 4. Track each reader's status as they read and review. A sequence keeps going until it finishes. If someone reviews early, cancel it from Email Sequences → Active Sends.

How do I send ARC copies?

In ARC Tracker, add a reader with their name, email, and book. Connect Gmail or SMTP in Settings → Email to send from the app. The tracker keeps the send date, the response, and your follow-up notes. If you watermark a file in File Watermarker, the matching ARC row updates on its own.

How do ARC Tracker and File Watermarker work together?

The two tools share readers. Watermark a file and the app updates the ARC reader with that email instead of adding a duplicate. If that email has two ARCs for the same book, it asks which row gets the file. From ARC Tracker you can open File Watermarker for that reader. Both tools have a Books dropdown so you can look at one title. Watermarked copies are deleted after 30 days.

What do the ARC statuses and summary cards mean?

Statuses Each reader in ARC Tracker has one status: - Applied: they asked for a copy and you haven't decided yet. - Invited: you've invited them to read. - Sent: they have their copy. - Pending or Asked for Extension: still reading. - Reviewed: they posted a review. - Not Reviewed, No Response, Ghosted or Declined: the ARC ended without a review. - Rejected: you turned down their application. What happens when you change a status Change a status from the dropdown in the Status column. - Reviewed fills in today as the review date, if there isn't one yet. Picking a star rating also marks the reader as Reviewed. - Sent fills in today as the sent date, if there isn't one yet. - Moving someone from Applied to Invited offers to add them to your mailing list, then opens Send ARC. - Rejected offers to send a rejection email, using the ARC Application Declined template by default. Changing a status to Sent by hand doesn't start your ARC Sent email sequences. They start when you send the ARC from Author's Toolbox. To change many readers at once, tick their rows and use the bar that appears. You can set Status, Platform, Book or Due Date, or archive them. Summary cards - Total ARCs: every reader shown. - Applied: waiting for your decision. - Completed: marked Reviewed. - Reading: marked Sent. - Pending: Invited, Pending or Asked for Extension. - Ghosted: No Response, Ghosted, Not Reviewed or Declined. - Rejected: applications you turned down. - Overdue: the due date has passed and the reader isn't Reviewed, Rejected or Applied. - Response Rate: Reviewed readers divided by everyone past the Invited stage, not counting Applied or Rejected. The cards follow the Book and pen name filters and Show archived. Search, status and file filters only change the table. File Delivered column This shows whether the reader has downloaded their watermarked copy: Downloaded, Not Downloaded or Expired. Download links last 30 days. If a reader got their copy another way, edit the row and tick Mark as downloaded.

How do I import ARC readers from a spreadsheet?

Import a file or pasted rows 1. Open ARC Tracker from the sidebar and click Import. 2. Choose a tab: - Upload file: pick a CSV, XLSX or TSV file. - Paste rows: copy rows from Google Sheets or Excel, paste them in, and click Parse Pasted Rows. The first row must be your column headers. 3. Match your columns to the fields. Author's Toolbox guesses the matches for you, so just check them. Available fields are Name, Email, Book, Platform / Source, Notes, Sent Date, Review Date, Due Date, Rating (1–5) and Downloaded. 4. Optional: pick a Default Book (optional). It's used for any row that has no book. 5. Click Import N Applicants. To begin again with a different file, click ← Start over. What gets imported - Each row needs at least a name or an email. Rows with neither are skipped. - New readers are added with the status Applied. - If a row has the same email and book as a reader already in the tracker, that reader is updated instead of added twice. When it's done, a message tells you how many readers were added, updated, and couldn't be imported. You'll also get a heads-up about rows with no email address, since you can't email those readers until you add one. Exporting Click Export CSV to download everyone in the tracker as arc-tracker.csv. Archived readers are included.

How do I add ARC applicants automatically from a sign-up form?

If you collect ARC applications with another form tool, a webhook can send each new application straight into ARC Tracker. Set it up 1. In ARC Tracker, click Add via webhook. 2. In ARC Application Webhook, copy the URL. 3. Paste the URL into your form tool's webhook settings. 4. Send a test application through your form. It appears in the window straight away. 5. Match the fields from your form to Name (required), Email, Book, Platform / Source and Notes. 6. Click Save Mapping. You'll see Live — every new submission is added automatically as an Applied entry. From then on, each application shows up as a new reader with the status Applied. The webhook accepts submissions sent as JSON or as regular form posts. Change or replace the URL Click Regenerate URL to get a new address. The old one stops working at once, so update it in your form tool. Limits - Up to 500 submissions a day. After that, new submissions are refused until the next day. - Each submission can be up to 256 KB. - If more than 100 arrive in one day, you'll get a notification, in case something unexpected is sending them. You can also collect applications with Form Builder and send them to ARC Tracker directly.

What are my options when I approve ARC applicants?

To approve one applicant, click the accept button on their row. To approve several, tick their rows and click Approve & send N. A short, numbered window walks you through the steps and skips the ones you don't need. 1. Method - Watermark and email each copy now: makes a personal watermarked copy for each person and emails them a download link. - Approve and email them a heads-up: sends a short email saying they're approved, without a file. - Just approve: changes their status and sends nothing. Without a connected email account, the first option makes the copies but doesn't email them. 2. Watermark Pick the book file with Choose from Book Storage or Upload a PDF or EPUB, or use the suggested file. Set the stamp text, up to 200 characters. The default is REVIEW COPY - {{name}} - {{email}}. You can also set the opacity and colour. 3. Sequence Pick an email sequence to start for everyone you approve, or leave it on Don't start a sequence. If you're emailing copies, your ARC Sent sequences that are switched on start as well. 4. Email Choose who the email is sent as and a template, then check the subject and message. When you're emailing copies, each person's download link is added automatically. Finish Click the final button, such as Approve & send ARC. Each person then shows one of these results: - Approved and sent, Approved and emailed or Approved. - Needs attention, with the reason. Click Try sending again to retry. Applicants for different books need to be approved one book at a time.

How do readers report their review, and how do I confirm it?

A review page lets readers tell you where they posted their review, without logging in or typing their email. Create the review page 1. In ARC Tracker, open the … menu on any reader for the book. 2. Click Create review page. A page called Review: followed by your book title is made and published in Form Builder. It asks for a star rating, review links (Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub or anywhere else) and an optional note. To change it, use Edit review page in the same menu. Share each reader's link Every reader gets their own personal link, which knows who they are. - Click Copy review link in a reader's … menu and send it to them. - Or add {{reviewFormLink}} to an email in a sequence, for example {{reviewFormLink type=button text=Leave a review}}. Each reader gets their own link. Confirm a reported review When a reader submits the page, their row shows Validate review. 1. Click Validate review. 2. Check the rating, their note, and the links they posted. Each link opens in a new tab. 3. Click Validate review to mark them Reviewed with that rating and link, or Dismiss to clear the report without changing anything else. A reported review also stops any email sequence running for that reader, so they won't get more reminders.

Why can't I send an ARC or import my readers?

The Send ARC button is missing The send button isn't shown for readers marked Applied, Reviewed, Not Reviewed or Rejected. For Applied readers, use the accept button to approve them instead. The file has expired Watermarked copies can be downloaded for 30 days. After that you can't send that copy, and the File Delivered column shows Expired. Use Watermark a file in the reader's … menu to make a fresh copy. The copy was made for a different email If the file you attach was watermarked for a different email address than the reader's, you're asked to confirm before sending. Check you've picked the right copy, since the stamp shows the other person's details. No watermarked files to attach If you haven't made any copies yet, Send ARC sends a plain email without a download link. Make a copy in File Watermarker first, or approve the reader with the watermark option. Approving fails for some readers - Applicants for different books must be approved one book at a time. - No watermarked file was made for this person. Click Try sending again, or make their copy in File Watermarker. - Copy is ready. Connect an email provider, then use Send ARC on their row. Connect Gmail or a custom SMTP account in Settings, then send from their row. Readers didn't import - Rows with no name and no email are skipped. - File appears to be empty or has only headers. Check that the file has rows below the header row. - Unsupported file type means the file isn't CSV, XLSX or TSV. Save it in one of those formats, or use Paste rows. - A reader updated instead of added means they were already in the tracker with the same email and book. The webhook stopped adding applicants - You may have reached 500 submissions in a day. New ones are accepted again the next day. - If you clicked Regenerate URL, update the address in your form tool. - Check the field matching is saved. Name is required.