An email newsletter is one of the most important marketing tools authors have to contact their readers. How can you convert more of your author website visitors to newsletter subscribers?
One popular strategy is to offer a reader magnet. A reader magnet is a digital download authors offer readers in exchange for joining their mailing list. Reader magnets are often free books or free chapters, but there are many ways you can get creative with the content you use for your magnet and its display on your site.
For inspiration, we collected 21 examples highlighting a wide range of content types and merchandising strategies authors employ to entice readers to their newsletters.
Feature a free book on your home page
Many authors boost the visibility of their reader magnet by putting it in a prominent place on their site’s home page.
Emily Oberton features a link for a free cozy mystery novella at the top of her home page, along with links readers can use to learn more about her Hadley Home Design world and get a taste of what they’re signing up for.
Instead of linking to a separate page, Thomas K. Carpenter displays a download form for the first book in his series right on his home page.
Dan Walsh offers free books “as a gift to say thanks,” and lets readers choose their gift.
AJ Campbell doubles up the promotion of her magnet on her home page. She has one banner to download a novella at the top of the page:
And another form to download at the bottom:
Build a library of bonus material
Some authors dedicate an entire page of their author website to bonus material. Each piece of bonus content is usually its own reader magnet, giving authors multiple chances to attract readers to their newsletter via the content they’re most interested in.
Lucy Score has a collection of bonus epilogues for her bestselling books. Readers have the option to download the epilogue to their ereader or read it directly on her website. The website page with the epilogue includes links to purchase the full book or join her mailing list.
Elsie Silver named her page, which includes songs, chapters, and bonus scenes, The Goods.
Julia Kent has a Bonus Content page where she highlights extras for some of her most popular books.
Natasha Bishop offers a library of bonus epilogues and themed bonus chapter sets to keep readers connected to her characters.
E.L. Koslo has a “Free Ebook Previews” page for her two-chapter excerpts, which she also features on pages where readers can purchase the full book, like this series page:
Add links to your reader magnet in the nav or footer
Links to reader magnets on authors’ home pages or bonus content pages often take readers to a download page or form. Some authors give this page extra visibility by making it directly accessible via elements that repeat across many pages on their site, like navigation bars, site footers, and banners.
In addition to highlighting his two-book reader magnet on his website home page, Dusty Sharp puts a link to his “Free Books!” page in his site navigation.
Stuart Jaffe supplements the starter library promo in the center of his home page with a banner across the top of all pages of his site.
Toni Anderson puts a promo for her magnet — two free short stories plus a military romance novel — in the footer of her site.
Promote your magnet in a popup
Another popular way to grab attention is to place the reader magnet in a popup that shows to new visitors.
Charlotte French’s simple but effective popup makes the free offer immediately clear.
Meg Easton’s popup promotes not only her free book, but other enticing content readers can expect from her newsletter.
Vanessa Miller gives the popup a personal touch with a welcome message and picture of herself.
Glynnis Campbell offers a bundle of books as her magnet and prominently displays the covers in the popup.
Marley Valentine calls her newsletter her VIP Club to give the offer an air of exclusivity.
Try different types of magnets
So far we’ve looked at free books and chapters, but what else can you use as a magnet?
Children’s author Jennifer Nestor offers a printable maze as a fun activity for her young readers.
Instead of an evergreen download available all the time, Tess Marron promotes the cover reveal of an upcoming novella.
Jill Sanders entices readers to join her mailing list — and open her emails! — with the chance to win a $100 gift card.
Jenna Hartley pitches future newsletter content as a kind of magnet, with eye-catching emoji bullets listing the benefits readers will get.
Do you use a reader magnet on your site? What is your magnet and how do you promote it? Let us know in the comments!
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