Your author newsletter is a crucial tool for building a strong, direct connection with readers, even before your first book is out. But it’s a good idea to think strategically about encouraging readers to sign up. When we get so many emails already, many of us ask ourselves: What’s in it for me?
Below, we’ve gathered some ways to offer readers value in exchange for their email address, whether you’re starting a new email list or growing an existing one. As you go through these ideas, put yourself in the mind of your ideal subscriber and consider where you’re trying to reach them. What’s most effective for signing up a reader in a book’s back matter will be different from what’s effective for reaching readers on social media, for example.
Now let’s get to the fun part: email marketing tactics authors use to collect more subscribers!
Entice readers with special offers
What can you give to readers to convince them to add their email to your list?
1. Reader magnet
One of the most popular and powerful ways for authors to build a mailing list is with a reader magnet: a piece of downloadable free content you exchange for a reader’s email address.
Many authors use a permafree ebook — a standalone book, a first-in-series, or a collection, for example. On Maisy Magill’s Mailing List page, she offers readers the chance to “begin this swoony, cozy fantasy romance series for FREE!”: a great hook for a first-in-series freebie that speaks directly to her target audience.
2. Content series
Your offer doesn’t have to be a one-and-done download. Some authors find success keeping subscribers engaged by delivering content in parts over time.
If you’re writing nonfiction, you could repackage your knowledge into an email course. Author and writing coach Henneke Duistermaat calls hers a “snackable writing course,” and throws in several bonus resources to sweeten the deal.
3. Discounts on books
Readers love a discount, too — and a discount coupon isn’t only a great perk for signing up to your newsletter. It’s also a way for you to funnel readers to your store and buy books directly instead of through retailers!
Barbara Freethy adds a friendly message above the form on her sign-up page, positioning her 20% discount as a thank you for joining her “VIP group.”
4. Behind-the-scenes access
You could promise readers a backstage pass to your world in the form of writing updates, research, world-building lore, character sketches — think about what can help readers connect on a deeper level with your stories or subject matter.
Echo Sable promises subscribers “behind-the-scenes insights and author updates” along with her free reader magnet so readers “never miss a moment in the world of suspense.”
5. Access to a private group
More personal access to their favorite author is something many fans will sign up for! You can gate access to a private Facebook or Discord group behind a sign-up form.
Diana Urban’s Thrill Seekers can join her official reader group on Facebook and get the link to join the Discord server by subscribing to her newsletter.
6. Quizzes
BuzzFeed-style “Which character are you?” or “Which trope are you?” quizzes can be a fun way for readers to interact with you, and also make great social media fodder — many of us love to share an exciting self-discovery!
Florence Bliss posted this eye-catching carousel for her quiz, which ends with a prompt to sign up and clearly describes what subscribers will receive.
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Or you might use quizzes as additional opportunities to capture emails on your website. Gretchen Rubin offers five quizzes as different ways for readers to learn more about themselves, each one ending with a sign-up form customized to the quiz’s topic.
Run a giveaway or contest
Some authors make signing up to their newsletter more exciting by promising a prize to a limited number of sign-ups. Here are ideas for prizes you can offer readers for participating.
7. Advance reader copy (ARCs) giveaway
Given the buzz around early access to new releases, an ARC (advance reader copy) can drive lots of exposure, which means more potential subscribers. You can try posting about your giveaway in a reader group in your genre that allows ARC requests to reach readers beyond your own followers.
Or get creative with posting on your own socials, like FX Holden, who challenged entrants to correctly answer a “not-so-tricky” question.
8. Signed copy giveaway
Adding your autograph can make your free book even more enticing to fans.
Yume Kitasei offers an extra incentive by giving readers two chances to win a signed copy of her new book — and by including that she has ARC copies, too.
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9. Swag pack
Swag packs make winners feel like they’re opening a gift. Even if the pack includes basic items — one book, bookmarks, branded items like pencils or buttons, makeup, etc. — it’s a way to make a prize feel really special without spending all of your budget.
Rachel Fallon celebrated her birthday with a gift to her fans, listing all the goodies included and adding the option to subscribe to her newsletter for extra entries.
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Bonus idea: When Jessica Brody wrapped up a giveaway, she posted the winners along with another call to sign up to her newsletter. Naming the winners is a great way to generate extra content around your giveaway, and it may as well help you capture even more subscribers if you’re offering future chances to win!
Cross-promotions with other authors
What’s better than a freebie from one author? Freebies from lots of authors! That’s why collaborations are one of the best email marketing strategies for authors — whether you’re promoting your books or growing your newsletter. You each get exposure to potential new subscribers who are already interested in your type of content. And working together can help you build relationships that open up more marketing opportunities!
10. Join group promos
Cross-promotional marketing tools like BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, and BookSweeps help authors expand their pool of potential subscribers by joining group promos: promotions run by a group of authors in the same genre who get access to each other’s audiences. Or you can host your own by reaching out to your contacts or other authors on social media. This type of giveaway can lead to a quick spike in sign-ups, so they’re great for preparing for big milestones like book launches.
C.L. Cannon ran a KingSumo joint giveaway and posted it to a relevant Threads group for exposure to cozy fantasy readers. Readers could enter by subscribing to all participating authors’ newsletters and earn more entries by sharing the giveaway with friends.
11. Run joint reading challenges
Another interesting way to frame your giveaway is as a reading challenge: Readers still get a free book, and building in a challenge for an additional prize not only adds extra incentive, but also encourages readers to read your free book!
A group of 39 romance authors, including Delaney Diamond, Ines Johnson, and Theodora Taylor, challenged their readers to read 10 of their books in six weeks to win a custom sticker — and they could download the books by signing up to the authors’ newsletters.
12. Organize newsletter swaps or takeovers
A newsletter swap or takeover is when you collaborate on another author’s newsletter — a particularly powerful strategy, as you get access to another already engaged email list! You can collaborate on new release promotions, events, and more, but to promote your newsletter, using a giveaway or permafree book usually makes sense.
A swap typically involves exchanging details about your offer — the book cover, description, clear CTA, and link to download the reader magnet — and promoting each other’s offer in a brief section of your own newsletters. Jenna Hartley promoted her free book in an email also featuring two other authors, including Lisa Renee Jones:
A takeover tends to be a longer feature in a newsletter — maybe even the main one — offering readers a more comprehensive introduction to your brand. Corinne Michaels featured a takeover by Elsie Silver in an email with the subject line “A gift from a friend you definitely want!” Elsie was able to use her spot to promote a limited-time giveaway and a new release.
Bonus idea: As with group promos, you can use dedicated platforms to find other authors to join forces with — or you can organize a promo yourself. T.A. Rosewood has a page on her site where authors can submit for a swap.
13. Partner with book clubs
Many authors have a dedicated page on their website where book clubs or libraries can download helpful discussion guides or book club kits. You can work with your publisher or create your own resource, put it behind a sign-up form, and then post about it on social media or reach out to groups who might be interested in making your book their next pick (you can find these on social media, Goodreads, or websites like Bookclubs.com).
Sash Bischoff’s contact page has a pop-up form for her book club kit and newsletter.
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Collect emails out in the wild
Any time spent face-to-face with a reader is a great opportunity to get their contact details — now that you’ve met, they’ll hopefully be inclined to stay in touch!
14. Live events
Bring along a physical sign-up sheet or QR code to catch anyone who visits your table at a convention, book signing, reading, book fair, library event, or other event where you can find your ideal readers. If they’ve invested time and money to attend, they’re likely to be interested in hearing more from you.
Ben Wolf shared some insight on our blog about how he collects a reader’s email address after making a sale at an event:
I always say, “If you’d like to stay connected, jump on my author newsletter.” Then I put an iPad in front of them, they enter their email address, and they get added to the list. The main reasons I do this are twofold: First, adding them after they’ve made a purchase means they’re a qualified lead… Second, I do this on the back end because doing it on the front end discourages sales, especially if you offer a free giveaway when they sign up. Why buy anything when they can try you out for free to see if you’re worth their time and investment? Better to make a sale now and offer the freebie as a bonus at the end, which will further endear them to you.
15. Virtual events
If you host a virtual event that’s free to join — like a livestream on social media — offer attendees a bonus if they subscribe, like a resource to take away. Or try looking for opportunities to join other industry professionals’ events and share your expertise.
These authors who spoke at author coach Ella Barnard’s event were able to contribute to a “goodie bag” for attendees containing memberships and digital downloads.
Optimize your author platform (and books!) for sign-ups
You never want to miss a chance to capture a reader’s email, so make sure that wherever they can find you online or read your books, they’ll also find your newsletter sign-up — and that each of these touch points is well-optimized for converting readers to subscribers. Here are some general tips for hooking readers:
16. In your back matter
Your ebooks’ back matter is prime real estate for promoting other books, encouraging readers to leave reviews, or — you guessed it — driving sign-ups. Use a direct sign-up link (rather than your website home page) ideally tied to a free read for readers who enjoyed your book and are eager to keep reading.
Willow Winters’ sign-up offer stands out in bold against the other CTAs at the back of her books.
17. Within the book
If you write nonfiction, you might find it makes sense to insert links to resources or other reader magnets in the main body of your book, where they are most relevant to the topic at hand.
In the chapter summary at the end of a section of Atomic Habits that introduces his framework for creating and breaking habits, James Clear previews the rest of his framework in a cheat sheet readers can download and follow as they keep reading.
18. On your author website
Home page, sign-up page, about page, blog, pop-ups… there are so many places for a sign-up offer on your author website! It doesn’t have to be everywhere, but it does have to be clear.
Landing pages are essential tools in an author’s email marketing — they’re optimized for a single offer so readers can’t get distracted from converting! A landing page should have a simple layout that puts the important elements above the fold: concise, compelling copy and a clear CTA. Here’s an example of a landing page by Alina Comsa that ticks those boxes:
You can take a similar approach for your home page and keep it very simple. On Alder Strange’s home page, there are only two actions readers can take: learn more about their book or sign up to read the first chapter.
You can also insert calls-to-action in places users tend to check for more information as they’re looking around your website, such as the sidebar of your blog, your footer, or your navigation bar. Instead of the standard “Mailing List” or “Newsletter,” Evelyn Tanner uses the label “FREE Book” for her sign-up page.
Or post on your blog whenever you launch a new offer — readers who follow your updates but haven’t yet signed up to your mailing list will be delighted to be among the first ones to know! We love the quick emoji-filled updates on Lauren Helms’ blog, like this one promoting a free novella at the top of the post.
These are just a few of many examples of ways to optimize your author website for more sign-ups — check out these ideas for more.
19. On social media
Like your author website, your social media bio is another digital storefront that should let readers know immediately who you are and what you offer. If you have several offers or other places where new visitors can learn more about you, you can use link-in-bio tools like Linktree or Direct.me to create landing pages with multiple links.
Angela Henry’s short and sweet TikTok bio directs readers to her Direct.me page with a link to “Join my newsletter for free ebooks!”
You can also pin a post about your newsletter or offer to keep it visible. As well as pointing to “free resources” in her bio, Jennifer Noel Wilson pinned a post going into more detail about her newsletter and freebies and directing readers to her bio for the link.
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20. In your author profiles
Don’t be afraid to add your sign-up to all your other author profiles as well! There’s no limit to how many links you can include in your BookBub, Amazon, and Goodreads profiles, but think about how to give your newsletter special visibility.
Martin Lastrapes includes a link right at the beginning of his BookBub Author Profile that takes readers directly to the landing page for his collection of short stories — ensuring readers won’t miss the offer or encounter any friction in trying to download it.
21. In guest content
Can you find opportunities to create guest posts for blogs or appear in interviews for podcasts where you can mention your newsletter or offer?
On the BookBub Partners Blog, we publish guest posts from authors sharing their expertise and resources for other authors. Ines Johnson recently wrote a post about how to plan a series and included a link to a series planning course that signs authors up to her Romance Write Club.
Get help from existing readers
Word of mouth is a powerful tool in your list-building arsenal, because readers trust recommendations from each other more than anything else. Many email services provide a “forward to a friend” link or referral program you can use to encourage recipients to share your emails.
22. Using a referral program
These allow you to create unique links readers can share with others to win rewards, as an extra incentive to share!
Melissa Stevens ends each of her emails with a CTA inviting readers to refer friends to her newsletter, and participants can win free books.
Building your email list takes consistent effort, but you don’t need to use all 22 of these strategies at once! Start by choosing one or two tactics that align with your email marketing strengths and where your readers already are — whether that’s in your book’s back matter, on social media, or through collaborations with other authors. The key is giving readers a compelling reason to sign up, and making sure every sign-up opportunity has a well-designed landing page to maximize conversions.
