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In the face of declining book sales we have seen a number of publishers using online tactics to increase and maintain their readership. There is a Polish bookstore that shares first chapters of books on Instagram for free, and a plugin which hijacks Amazon’s site and tells customers the best book price from their local store. Now, women’s book publisher Harlequin is launching a loyalty scheme which offers readers points in return for engaging with their books online.

To begin, users create a My Rewards membership via Harlequin’s website. Then, every time they make a purchase online or instore they are rewarded with points. They can also earn bonus points by sharing or reviewing books online, and by completing surveys and reading challenges. The points can then be used to get free books or other perks such as autographed books and Skype chats with Harlequin authors.

My Rewards is currently in the testing phase and Harlequin are offering 2000 free bonus points to anyone who joins to scheme now. What other forms of customer feedback and product engagement can retailers incentivize, and use it to better their service?