A large, engaged email list is a valuable asset for any author. It’s an audience of readers that you control — unlike audiences you might be able to reach on social platforms or retailers. And it can be deployed any way you want: to grow reviews for a new release, to drive sales of your backlist books, to help out an author friend, and more. The beauty of your email list is that you decide.
How do you build such a valuable email list? One of the most effective strategies is to create reader magnets and use them to attract readers.
In this post, we’ll go over five common types of reader magnets you can use to attract email sign-ups and why you might use each one.
What’s a reader magnet?
Before getting into different types of reader magnets, let’s define the concept: A reader magnet is a free piece of content that authors give away in order to entice readers to sign up for their email list. It’s a piece of content that serves as a magnet for readers.
Authors use all sorts of content for their magnets — bonus material related to their books, artwork, complete ebooks, and much more. When deciding on the right content for your magnet, think about what type of readers you’re trying to attract, what might interest them, and what you can realistically offer.
For example, are the readers you’re targeting already familiar with your work? How do you want to balance the volume of email signups with the quality of those signups? What type of magnet could you offer today, without writing anything new?
The best magnet for your situation will be the one that you can practically offer and that best captures the attention of the readers you want on your email list.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common categories of reader magnets to help you navigate these decisions:
A Complete Ebook
Giving away a complete ebook for free can be a powerful magnet since it offers significant value to potential readers.
Free ebook reader magnets can be particularly effective when they’re the first book in a series or if you have a lot of other books for readers to discover and purchase. In these situations, the reader magnet can introduce new email list subscribers to an easy entry point in your catalog and help drive purchases of your other books.
Of course, there are downsides to offering a free ebook as a reader magnet. For example, a complete ebook may be more likely to attract email signups from readers more interested in a free book than your work in particular. And if you haven’t published a lot of books, it may not make financial sense for you to give one away for free right now.
When should you consider offering a complete ebook as a reader magnet?
- You want to get as many email signups as possible from the widest audience possible
- You’ve published multiple books and can afford to give away one for free
- You have a series that you want to market
- You’re already offering book 1 in a series for free on retailers but haven’t turned it into a reader magnet yet
New York Times bestselling author Diane Capri has a pop-up and footer on her website offering a free copy of a book in a popular series to new email subscribers:
Constance Ruth Clark shares the full description of the first book in her romance series that she uses as a magnet:
A Free Chapter or a Book Sample
A free chapter or a book sample is a great option for a reader magnet if you have only a single book or you’re reluctant to give away a full book. You can use a free chapter or a sample of a book to whet readers’ appetites and encourage them to purchase the full book. If you haven’t finished your first book yet, you can use samples of your work-in-progress as a magnet.
One downside of a free chapter or a sample is that it doesn’t have the same broad appeal as a free ebook, and might therefore be a less compelling offer for readers who are unfamiliar with your work. However, you may find that the quality of the signups you get is higher because readers who want to see a sample are likely to be very intrigued by your work.
When should you consider offering a free chapter or sample?
- You have one book published or your first book is in progress
- You’re reluctant to give away a full ebook
- You want to focus on incentivizing sales of the book you’re sampling
New York Times bestselling author Charles Duhigg offers a free chapter of his latest release to encourage email sign-ups:
G.P. Engdahl has only published the first book in her series so far, so she offers a sample of that book to new subscribers:
A Novella or Short Story
Novellas and short stories are great reader magnets if you don’t have a full-length ebook to share. These magnets are attractive to readers because they’re complete works. Readers know they’re going to get a full story, not just an excerpt like they’d get with a sample or free chapter.
If you have a novella or short story that’s closely connected to your other books — set in the same world or featuring the same characters — that can be a good choice for a magnet. Alternatively, a standalone story can work well for readers who aren’t already familiar with your other books. The downside of fully standalone novellas and short stories is that it can be harder to convert readers to explore your other work afterwards.
When should you consider offering a novella or short story?
- You’re not willing to offer a complete free book
- You’ve already written a short story or novella, or you’re excited to create one
- You want a valuable offer that attracts the widest audience of potential readers short of a free ebook
Chloe Longstreet’s magnet is a prequel that shares more about the post-apocalyptic world of her novel:
Bonus Content
Bonus content is a great way to entice readers who have completed one of your books to subscribe to your email list.
When a reader finishes your book, you have a great opportunity to offer them something to read next. Of course, you could offer a free copy of a related book or a sample of a different book, but bonus content is a great way to build on their interest in the book they just finished. The content itself can be anything that enriches the story — an extra chapter, an epilogue, a deleted scene, a character family tree — whatever you can create to capture the interest of readers who have just finished your book or series.
Bonus content is usually specific to a book or a series, so it’s important to use it in the right context. A bonus chapter won’t work as well for readers who haven’t read the original book!
When should you consider offering a bonus content reader magnet?
- When you have a popular book attracting lots of new readers.
- When you’re launching a new book or series.
Jennifer Faye uses a heartwarming bonus scene from a recent release in a popular series to entice new sign-ups:
Free Tools
For some nonfiction authors, a free tool can be a very effective reader magnet. In this context a “free tool” usually means a very simple download like a spreadsheet, a checklist, a workbook, or a quiz, that target readers can use to help solve common problems they have. This type of magnet may not make sense for every author, but if you can create a free download that helps a reader down the path to solving their problem – it can be a very powerful magnet
When should you consider offering a free-tool reader magnet?
- Your target readers have a common problem or question that your work addresses
- You can start to solve the problem or help them answer the question with a simple downloadable tool
New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur Jay Shetty offers a quiz on his website to encourage self-reflection from potential readers related to the content of his latest release:
Digital Artwork
Since most authors don’t double as graphic artists, offering a download of digital artwork as a reader magnet usually requires the help of another creator. If you’re able to commission artwork or create digital artwork yourself, it can be a distinctive, unique magnet. You can also use your cover as a downloadable artwork magnet.
Like bonus content, digital artwork can be used to attract email sign-ups from readers who have read one of your books and are eager to engage more with your work. For example, you might entice readers with illustrations of characters or a map of a setting described in the book. Like a sample chapter, digital artwork can also be used to introduce a new reader to your books.
When should you consider offering a digital artwork reader magnet?
- If you have an artistic background
- If there are visual components of your books
- If you’ve already commissioned artwork for other marketing purposes
- When you have a popular book getting lots of readers
- When you’re launching a new book or series
- When you think artwork could be an effective way to introduce readers to your work
Christy Healy offers a digital download of the cover art of the upcoming release in her fantasy series:
These are some of the most common reader magnet strategies, but they’re by no means the extent of the reader magnet possibilities. It all depends on what you can create and what you think will engage your readers.
What sort of magnets have worked well for you? Let us know in the comments!
