Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you).

When a marketing-savvy author friend said recently that they were removing their content-rich, SEO-friendly blog from their site and relocating it to Substack, I nearly gasped. (And I’m not even a drama queen.)

This was part of their plan to use Substack as their email newsletter service.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I want to monetize* my newsletter and Substack makes that easy to do,” they replied. (*Monetize: marketing buzzword for “earn money from.”)

I explained why I didn’t think this was in their best interest, but the author was locked in. Logic be damned.

I’ve since had this “Substack for authors” conversation with several book marketing coaching clients and, quite recently, in person with a group of local author friends over lunch.

Here’s what I’ve been telling them.

What’s Substack?

Substack is a newsletter platform. People who use Substack benefit from:

• Free use until they start charging for their newsletter. Then Substack takes 10% of subscription fees, while Stripe, its payment provider, takes another 2.9% plus 30 cents per payment and 0.5% for recurring payments.
• A newsletter network that makes it easy for Substack publishers to recommend each other’s newsletters.
• An online home for each newsletter publisher’s archive of back issues. Think of each of these issues as a blog post.

Why authors are attracted to Substack

Here’s what authors tell me about why they’re considering Substack or have already signed on with the service.

Everybody’s doing it.

Yes, some people with large followings are using Substack. I’ll bet a bunch of your author friends are, too.

But, let’s remember the words of my wise mother: “If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?”

“Everybody’s doing it” is a shallow rationalization that doesn’t work in this situation any more than it does when it comes to combovers for balding men.

With book marketing, what works for one author doesn’t necessarily work for another. How well you execute makes a difference, too.

It’s easy to set up.

This is true. You can be up and running quickly.

That’s partly because Substack is so basic. It lacks important features offered by other more conventional email marketing service providers, including the ability to personalize messages by adding a subscriber’s first name to a salutation.

It’s free.

That’s attractive to many.

But several other email service providers, including mine, provide far more functionality at the free level. (I use ConvertKit, which is free for up to 1,000 subscribers.)

But that’s okay. If you’re just starting out, the simplest and least powerful service available might be a good fit for you.

I want to monetize my newsletter.

Yeah, well, good luck with that.

Most authors scramble to get unpaid subscribers.

Generating enough paid subscribers to make a difference is harder than you might think. Be sure you’ve got a marketing plan in place for it.

Substack makes it easy for other newsletter publishers to recommend mine.

That’s such a smart idea that my email service provider, ConvertKit, offers that feature now, too.

Readers can search for and find my newsletter from the Substack home page.

This is pretty cool…in theory.

I’ve found it hard to uncover lesser-known newsletters when all I’ve got is the topic, though.

I’ve played around with that function and discovered that you aren’t likely to be found unless someone is searching for your name or newsletter title. The most popular newsletters show up first in various categories. To find a less-popular one, you have to scroll … and scroll … and scroll.

Who has time for that?

Clearly, there are plenty of reasons to like Substack. But there are a few reasons not to like it, too.

4 reasons I’m not a fan of Substack for authors

Here’s why I discourage authors and others – especially bloggers – from using Substack for email marketing and blogging.

1. Placing your best content on someone else’s platform boosts that site’s SEO while undermining yours.

Let’s presume you’re giving your subscribers the information they need. They love it! They recommend your newsletter to others!

All – all – of the resulting traffic completely bypasses your website and goes to Substack.

Substack, not your website, benefits from all of the SEO (search engine optimization — what you do to your website so that it gets found by search engines) value generated by the newsletter content you create specifically to appeal to your target audience. That type of targeted content is precisely what you need for your site to show up near the top of online searches for your topic.

Why would you undermine your brand online to support another company’s business?

You’re redirecting traffic away from your site. Not. Smart.

2. Substack doesn’t offer enough automation.

As you learn more about the power of email marketing, you’ll want your email service provider to perform a range of pre-determined functions. You tell it what to do once, and the system automates it for you.

For example, one best practice in email marketing for businesses of all sizes involves sending a series of welcome email messages to new subscribers on a schedule that’s unique to when they subscribed. Each message shares new information that’s relevant to your subscriber.

Substack can send a single welcome message to a new subscriber, but that’s it.

This lack of automation isn’t a deal breaker initially. You might not want sophistication if you’re using email marketing for the first time. But as your success grows, you’ll want more power.

(For more on that, read “Book review: Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert.”)

3. Monetizing is a lot harder than it looks.

The hype around how Substack makes it easy to earn from paying subscribers is incredibly misleading.

We’re accustomed to subscribing to free newsletters that might offer value. But paying for a “premium” version of that content requires a big shift that most aren’t ready for yet. And it sure doesn’t happen instantly.

I need to get value from your content before deciding if I want to pay you for more of it. Determining if the value is there takes time.

In addition, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like how many of these newsletters persistently beg for money.

As a user, I find the constant requests to pay for the newsletter or “premium” add-ons tacky and intrusive. How do you build relationships with your subscribers when you’re annoying them?

Here’s an example of what I see in Substack newsletters when the publisher decides to use theirs to earn money.

This is from a writer who added me to their subscriber list (I did not opt-in). I’ve blocked out the newsletter title and the introductory text so the sender can’t be identified; I’ve left the requests to pay for more issues where it appears in the beginning of the newsletter. It appears at the end, too.

Repeatedly asking for money is no classier than asking your dinner guests to pay for their meal as they’re leaving at the end of the evening.

4. You’re hosting all of your content on something you can’t control.

Admittedly, I might be a little paranoid about this.

But what if Substack crashes and you lose all of your archived content?

I feel like I have more control over that with my own little website, where I can constantly and consistently monitor all threats and keep them from taking my site down.

Should you sign up for Substack for authors?

I realize that these negatives might not outweigh what you see as positives. So, should you sign on with Substack, or should you spend time comparing it to alternatives?

I don’t recommend making an important business decision based on what “everyone else” is doing.

Instead, whether it relates to email marketing or the latest social network or whether you should host a podcast, I always recommend learning as much as possible about a tactic and its options before making a choice.

Instead of chasing the latest bright, shiny object, consider where you’d like to be with email marketing in one, three, and five years. Then explore enough solutions to understand which will do the most to get you there.

FAQs about Substack for Authors

1. What exactly is Substack?

Substack is a newsletter platform that allows users to create and distribute newsletters to subscribers. It offers features such as free usage until monetization, a network for newsletter recommendations, and an archive for back issues.

2. Why are authors attracted to Substack?

Authors are drawn to Substack for several reasons:

• It’s a popular choice among authors and peers.
• Setting up a newsletter on Substack is quick and easy.
• Substack offers a free plan, which is appealing for those starting out.
• Many authors wants to monetize their newsletters, and Substack provides tools for this.
• It facilitates cross-promotion among newsletter publishers and offers visibility through its homepage.

3. What are reasons for authors to avoid Substack?

There are several reasons why Substack might not be the best choice for authors:

• It redirects traffic away from your own website, potentially undermining your brand and SEO.
• Substack lacks advanced automation features that are common with other email marketing platforms. This limits how much your email marketing will contribute to your goals.
• The constant payment solicitations within Substack newsletters can come across as inappropriate.
• Hosting content solely on Substack means relinquishing control over your content and risking potential loss if the platform has issues.

4. How does Substack compare to other email marketing solutions?

While Substack has its merits, it’s essential for authors to weigh its pros and cons against other email marketing solutions.

Be sure to consider factors that include control over content, automation capabilities, and how well the platform is aligned with your long-term goals.

5. Should authors choose Substack based on its popularity alone?

No, popularity shouldn’t be the sole factor in choosing an email marketing platform.

Authors should assess their specific needs, long-term objectives, and the various service provider capabilities before making a decision.

It’s crucial to put informed decision-making over blindly following trends.

I know that many of you love Substack. Please tell us why in a comment!

I don’t like when industry buzzwords and terminology are dropped into conversations with people who don’t work in that field.

You know how it goes . . . social workers never tell anyone anything. They share with them.

Educators don’t work with groups. They’ve got cohorts.

And there are no phrases with words in the military and financial services field — those folks love their acronyms. They’ve got a POV or ARM for everything.

Authors are guilty of using buzzwords, too

Authors do it, too.

How many times have you mentioned to someone who doesn’t write that you’ll add a POD option for your next book or that you’re wondering if you should ditch ARCs this time?

Marketers are no different. They might even be worse!

I get frustrated when I see them using the latest buzzword (or any buzzword) with authors without pausing to explain or define industry expressions.

No matter who does it, it’s a way of setting up boundaries that separate those in the know from those in the dark. I prefer inclusion over exclusion.

Learn these book marketing buzzwords

With that in mind, here are a dozen common book marketing buzzwords you’re likely to come across as you learn how to market your books. The list is not exhaustive, but it’s a good start.

1. Call to action — CTA

A call to action, often abbreviated to CTA, tells your reader what you want them to do next.

Authors who are savvy social media users include CTAs in many of their posts. They might say, “If you liked this, please subscribe to my newsletter,” or “What do you think of my new character’s name? Does it work for you? Tell me in a comment.”

All authors should include a “please review this book” CTA at the end of their books.

We need to be told what to do, so please tell us in a CTA.

2. Funnel

This concept describes the journey a reader takes from the first interaction with your book(s) to purchase. It typically moves from awareness to opinion to purchase, as shown in this illustration. (Note that it looks like a funnel.)

Not everybody who becomes aware of your book will go on to purchase it. Those who do move through the complete cycle shown in the illustration and come out the bottom of the funnel as your readers after they purchase your book.

For more on this, read “Curious about book funnels? Here’s (almost) everything you need to know.”

3. Landing page

This is a simple web page with a single purpose.

For authors, that could be encouraging readers to subscribe to your newsletter or buy your book (but not both).

Because a landing page is so focused on just one goal, it is visually simple and has no menu or toolbar with other options to distract visitors.

My landing page offering the “Build Book Buzz Guest Blogging Cheat Sheet” is an example of one that’s designed to get newsletter subscribers.

The landing page for the Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Forms is a product sales page. Note that there’s no menu or toolbar.

4. Lead magnet

Also referred to as a “reader magnet,” “lead generator,” “opt-in bribe,” or “freebie,” this is an irresistible gift you offer your target audience in exchange for their contact information.

While marketers might encourage you to collect full mailing addresses, don’t.

First, you don’t need that much information — all you need is a name and email address.

Second, people won’t provide it. If you force them to fill in their address to get your lead magnet, they’ll close the window and you’ll lose your chance to start building a relationship with someone in your target audience.

My “Guest Blogging Cheat Sheet” mentioned above is a lead magnet,  as is my “Book Marketing Plan Template” and “9 Places to Look for Readers Who Write Reviews.”

Get nonfiction lead magnet ideas in this article and fiction lead magnet ideas in this one.

5. Opt in

Opt in is a verb that describes what people do when they add themselves to your email list (often because they want your lead magnet). They opt in.

Best practice for email marketing is a 100 percent opt-in list. Don’t add people to your email list without their permission. They need to decide whether they want to hear from you or not.

Note the example on the right; you’ll also find it on the right sidebar of this page.

For more on this subject, read “3 important email marketing truths you need to know as an author” and “Book review: Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert.”

Don't add people to your email list without their permission.Click to tweet

6. Optimize/Optimization

When you “optimize” something, you make the most of it.

For authors, optimize refers to maximizing the power and impact of your Amazon sales page, Amazon author page, and the text on your website for SEO reasons (see below).

It’s often used in conjunction with search terms people will use to find you and your books.

7. Pixels

Pixels also refers to images but in this case, it’s an advertising term referring to a piece of code that is used to track behavior on a website. It’s often used when talking about the effectiveness of Facebook ads that drive traffic to a website.

8. Re-targeting

Have you ever noticed how a product you looked at on an e-commerce site shows up as an ad on other sites you visit?

That’s re-targeting. It’s designed to encourage you to buy that product. Think of it as a digital reminder.

Here’s an example of re-targeting and really, it’s kind of creepy. After my daughter’s dog had surgery, I asked her via text how she got the pup to take pills. She sent me a picture of this product . . . which showed up on a page I was reading on my phone’s browser this morning.

9. Plugin

This is software that you add — plug in — to your browser or website that gives it more functionality. You’ll use a plugin to add an email optin form to your website.

Notice the social network icon toolbars at the top and left side of this article that allow you to share it quickly and easily. We added those toolbars here with a plugin.

10. SEO

SEO — search engine optimization — is what you do to your website (see optimize/optimization above) so that it gets found by search engines.

The better your site’s SEO — meaning, the more content you create that fits what your target audience is looking for — the higher your site pages will show up in search engine results.

11. Split testing

Also referred to as A/B testing, this function allows you to test website features such as headlines, text, or images or email subject lines and content, among other things.

12. Upselling

Upsells are designed to sell more to someone making a purchase. The most recognizable example is “Would you like fries with that?”

When you upsell, you’re either suggesting that the customer buy a better version (with more features or functionality, for example) or encouraging them to add a complementary product to the purchase.

Authors can upsell by offering a discounted price on a companion workbook, providing a volume discount, or selling additional merchandise or services from within the book.

There are many, many more book marketing buzzwords, of course.

Is there a book marketing buzzword you don’t understand? Maybe we can help you. Share it in a comment. 

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2017. It has been updated and expanded.)

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you).

It makes me crazy when people selling products and services to authors use marketing buzzwords and phrases without defining them. The phrase du jour is “book funnels.”

And I’ll be honest: When I first learned about marketing “funnels” years ago, it took me a while to truly understand the concept because marketing funnels don’t work like my kitchen funnel. (I’ll explain that later.)

So, what is a book funnel and how can it help you sell more books? I’ve got the answers for you. In this article, I explain:

• What are book funnels
• Why you need one
• Book funnel process flow
• Book funnel elements
• How you’ll use your book funnel

Note: This article is not about the paid resource called BookFunnel, a brand name for a service that allows you to outsource the book funnel process to a specialist.

What the heck are book funnels?

A book funnel is a marketing strategy used to increase book sales. It consists of a series of steps that guide potential readers from discovering your book to purchasing it.

I created this graphic to help visualize it.

How book funnels differ from my kitchen funnel

Now let me explain why this concept wasn’t obvious to me at first.

When you pour a liquid into the wide mouth of a kitchen funnel, all of that water comes out the narrow bottom. All of it.

With marketing funnels, lots goes into the top, and little comes out the bottom. The difference between “lots” and “little” remains trapped in the middle. The marketing happens in that middle.

Getting stuck in the middle is a good thing

People enter the top of the funnel, and either take the action you’re requesting in the middle, or they don’t take it. If they don’t take action, they remain in the middle.

If they do take action, they move farther into the funnel.

And if they take the final desired action – purchasing a product, registering for an event, etc. – they come out of the funnel at the end. Sort of.

So, lots of people enter the top, but not everybody takes all of the steps that lead them out at the end. Unlike the liquid flowing through my kitchen funnel.

Why you need a book funnel

Now that you know what a book funnel is and isn’t, the big question is: Why do you need one?

Book funnels are a great way to gain visibility and generate more sales for your books. Here’s why.

Increased visibility: A book funnel and the marketing activities that drive readers into it increase your book’s visibility and boost your author brand. It will also help generate more traffic to your website.

More sales: Targeting potential readers who are interested in your book and guiding them towards making a purchase helps you sell more books.

Increased engagement: A book funnel can help increase reader engagement on social media but also through email, which I find both helpful and rewarding. You’ll be able to use your email list to launch promotions, send notifications about new releases, and create conversations around your book and other topics.

Saves time: It automates the marketing process and reduces the time you spend manually promoting your book. This gives you more time to do what you’d rather be doing – writing another book.

Affordable: It’s a cost-effective way to market your book.

Once it’s set up, it keeps working for you all day and all night. What’s not to like about that?

Book funnels are a great way to gain visibility and generate more sales for your books.Click to tweet

Book funnel process flow

If you’re new to the funnel concept, it helps to break down how readers flow from top to bottom. Here’s how it works.

Step 1: At the top of your book funnel

Book funnels typically begin when you or your publisher create awareness of your book. This might involve social media campaigns, advertising, blog posts, and email marketing.

You’re attracting readers to the top of your funnel.

Step 2: Drawing the right readers into your funnel

Picture those readers hovering at the top of the book funnel. You want to draw them in by helping them learn more about your book. Reviews, interviews, videos, and other content can give readers a better understanding of the book’s themes and characters or what they’ll learn from it.

That information will help them decide if they want to move further into your funnel to continue learning more.

Step 3: Pulling readers further into your funnel

To pull those at the top even further into your funnel, you offer them a free digital gift that’s related to the book. Some call this a “freebie” or “reader magnet.” The marketing term is “lead magnet.”

They must provide their email address to receive this gift.

Step 4: Convert readers in your book funnels from “interested” to “buyers”

The process you use to capture their email takes them to a “thank you” page on your site. In addition to information on how they download your lead magnet, this page provides more information about the book, including purchase links.

Your process will also automatically send an email containing the link they use to download your lead magnet. You use this to encourage a purchase, too.

Step 5: Continue to encourage purchase by staying in touch

You have the email address of everybody in the middle of your funnel who added themselves to your email list – they “opted in.” This is whether they bought the book and came out the end or not.

Send them regular emails with helpful and interesting information so they don’t forget about you and your book.

These aren’t “buy my book” emails. They’re “staying in touch” emails that include book and other news as well as a purchase link.

These are the people who are most likely to purchase from you eventually. It might not be this book, but it could be the next one.

Visualize these five steps as you look at the book funnel diagram again.

Book funnel elements

Book funnels require technology. If you’re not a do-it-yourselfer, you can pay someone to set this up for you.

These are the elements you need.

Email service provider

I hope you’re already collecting email addresses that you use to stay in touch with readers. If you aren’t, this is a great way to start.

Your email service provider will:

• Give you the power to add a form to your landing page that collects email addresses
• Automatically collect and store those email addresses for you
• Automatically send email messages to people as soon as they provide their address (this is called an “email sequence”)
• Allow you to create and distribute to your list an email newsletter or any other messages you want to send them

There are many email service providers to chose from. I used several before discovering my absolute favorite, ConvertKit. It’s designed for creators like us, and the customer support is exceptional.

Landing page

A landing page is a single web page designed to encourage a single, specific action. It has no toolbars. There are no links to other pages on your site. I design mine with Thrive Architect, which works with WordPress.

The goal of your book funnel landing page is to get people to join your email list. This is where you offer that free digital download, your lead magnet.

This means there should be a clear call-to-action that encourages readers to do that. Include these elements:

• Text that describes your lead magnet
• An image of the lead magnet or something that represents it
• A call to action
• An email signup form, either on the landing page or on a form or page that pops up when people click on the call-to-action button

Here’s an example of the landing page for my newest lead magnet, a cheat sheet that lists the “8 Services That Help Journalists Find Authors and Other Sources.”

Lead magnet

A lead magnet is a digital, downloadable incentive you offer your target readers in exchange for providing their address so they add themselves to your email list. It must be relevant to your book.

Get nonfiction lead magnet ideas and resources for creating one in “5 nonfiction lead magnet ideas.”

A sample chapter works well as a fiction lead magnet, but I’ve got other ideas plus tools you can use to design yours in “3 fiction lead magnet ideas.”

Thank-you page

As soon as readers submit their email address, technology will take them to a thank-you page. That page can either provide the download link for your lead magnet, thank them for requesting your “gift” and instruct them to check their email for a message with the download link, or both.

Use this page to sell your book.

In addition to text that thanks people and instructs on the next steps involved for downloading the lead magnet, include:

• Your book cover
• Book description
• Your best influencer blurbs/testimonials
• A few reader reviews if you have them
• Purchase links to online retailers selling your book

Email sequence

An email sequence is an automated series of messages.

In this case, the first message thanks readers for requesting your gift and provides instructions on how and where to download it.

Follow that with an email with more information about your book and purchase links.

Continue to nurture these interested readers by sending regular emails with updates about your book, additional content related to it, helpful or interesting information, and so on.

View your landing page as an alternative home page

The idea behind a book funnel is to create a series of steps that use information to turn readers from browsers to buyers. This is why I want you to use your landing page as an alternative home page for much of your book marketing.

Send people to your landing page instead of your website’s home page. Get ideas for how to do that in Carolyn Choate’s free lead magnet, “20 Ways to Bring People to Your Funnel.” (Carolyn sets up funnels for authors and others. This is part of her funnel, so even if you aren’t interested in her free download, check out her landing page for inspiration.)

Add the URL to your social media profiles. Share it on social media regularly. Include it in your speaker bio if you speak at conferences and online summits.

Repetition can lead to purchasing

Here’s why: People aren’t going to buy your book the first time they hear about it on social media, in a guest post, or in a YouTube video. When you send them to your Amazon sales page early in this relationship, they aren’t likely to buy the book quite yet.

People aren’t going to buy your book the first time they hear about it on social media, in a guest post, or in a YouTube video.Click to tweet

They need more information and they need it more than once. A lot more.

You can do all of this with email marketing. And that’s why you want to capture their email addresses.

Email marketing allows you to connect with the right readers in a way that helps keep your book top of mind now and later.

There are definitely situations where you’ll send people to your book’s sales page on Amazon or elsewhere. But when you’re marketing to readers who don’t know you and your work yet, a book funnel built around email marketing is one of the best ways for them to get to see the value you offer.

Start building your book funnel

Don’t wait to get started building your book funnel. And don’t let the technology frighten you off. If you don’t want to do it yourself, pay someone to do it for you. Help is out there.

But do it.

Let a book funnel help you connect in a more meaningful way with the people you wrote the book for while you sell more books.

What company do you use for your email service provider? Please tell us in a comment. 

It caught my attention because although I was on his list, I didn’t subscribe to his newsletter. He added me without my permission.

I wasn’t interested in his newsletter topic so I deleted his messages without reading them.

Maybe unsubscribing isn’t as easy as we think

I could have unsubscribed, right? It was certainly easy enough — all I had to do was use that option at the bottom of any newsletter.

But I didn’t unsubscribe because I was certain he would confront me if I did. (Remember, I know him.)

Who needs the drama? Certainly not me.

Was it my get out of jail free card?

This time, though, I thought that his newsletter’s “I’m cleaning up my list” subject line was my get out of jail free card.

“I don’t like spam any more than you do, so I’m cleaning up my contact list,” the message began.

It felt like he was giving me permission to unsubscribe. So…I scrolled down to the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom, only to discover this warning just above it: “Feel free to opt out, but remember that unsubscribing works both ways: I have no desire to get email from people who don’t want to receive it from me.”

Whoa.

That is all kinds of wrong.

And it made me wonder if other authors shared the misperception that this was an okay thing to do.

Here’s why it isn’t, and here are two other author email marketing truths that will help you move forward, not hold you back.

Email marketing truth #1: Reciprocity isn’t the goal.

You want the right people as subscribers.

The “right” people are those in your book’s target audience. They’re the people who read the types of books you write.

And they’re probably not the people whose newsletters you subscribe to.

Take me. I don’t read science fiction, so you don’t want me on your email list. I will never buy and read your book.

And I won’t recommend your book simply because I learned about it in your newsletter because I’m not qualified to recommend it.

So don’t add me to your list.

It doesn’t matter that you receive my newsletter. You subscribed because you’re interested in what I write about — book marketing. You never want to presume that someone who writes about a topic you’re interested in will automatically be interested in what you write about.

Focusing on the right subscribers saves you money

Here’s another reason you don’t want to add people to your list just because you’re on theirs: Adding the wrong people will eventually start costing you money.

Some email marketing services give you a free account until you reach a specified number of subscribers. After that, you start paying.

In addition, even when you’ve got a paid account, your monthly fee increases as your list grows.

Don’t pay for people who aren’t your ideal readers.

Email marketing truth #2: This isn’t a loyalty test.

I took the plunge with the author who invited people to unsubscribe because I am constantly, constantly trying to decrease the amount of email I receive.

But after I unsubscribed, I watched my inbox for his response, because I knew there would be one.

It came pretty quickly.

The author told me that because I wasn’t willing to demonstrate my loyalty to him by remaining on his email list, he had unsubscribed from my Build Book Buzz newsletter and disconnected from me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

via GIPHY

He showed me, right?

Who pays the price?

Will I miss seeing what he shares about a topic I’m not interested in?

I will not.

Will he suffer because he won’t see the information I share that could help him sell more copies of his book or build a bigger platform for the next one?

I don’t know. Maybe he never looked at anything I wrote or shared after he subscribed.

But I don’t care. And I won’t suffer because of his actions.

People can support you in other ways

Please remember that the people in your life can support you in many ways that don’t involve receiving your newsletter.

They can announce your book to their social networks, introduce you to people who might be able to help you in a bigger way, or just listen to you talk about the joys and frustrations of publishing — and that’s just for starters.

Email marketing truth #3: You can create a newsletter your readers will look forward to.

When I ask authors why they aren’t using email marketing, most say it’s because they don’t want to be “spammy.”

Then I ask if they subscribe to any newsletters. When they answer “yes” — and they usually do say “yes” — I ask why. More often than not, it’s because the newsletters are interesting, informative, helpful, or entertaining.

Well, then, if that marketer can send a newsletter that’s interesting, why can’t you?

So let go of this idea that all email marketing is spammy. Because it isn’t. When you create content that serves your reader rather than yourself, your subscribers will look forward to your messages.

When you focus on what the reader wants from you, you’ll attract more of the right subscribers. Your list and fan base will grow — without adding people who don’t want to be on it.

Avoid an uphill battle

But back to the author who invited people to unsubscribe from his list, then punished them for doing so: It’s a mean-spirited approach to book promotion.

When your marketing decisions are grounded in a “you-do-for-me-and-I’ll-do-for-you” approach, it will be an uphill battle. (Consider that another email marketing truth.)

It doesn’t matter how beautifully you write or how much you know about your  topic. If you make people uncomfortable by approaching your tasks with an “And what will you do for me in return?” attitude, you’re going to find yourself with far fewer opportunities than your competitors.

You are who you are, but if you’re someone who…

• Subscribes to an author friend’s newsletter and gets angry if she doesn’t add herself to your list (or removes herself after you make the mistake of adding her) or
• Unfollows people on Twitter for no other reason than they don’t follow you back or
• Sulk because your college roommate hasn’t reviewed your book yet

…it will be slow going for you.

When you’re always looking for trouble, you’ll find it. Why not look for opportunities, instead?

Each email marketing truth will serve you well. Embrace all of them.

And if you haven’t started building an email list yet, what are you waiting for? Get started now!

Learn more about author email marketing attitudes, content, and mechanics in Tammy Labrecque’s book, Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert.

What have you seen in email marketing that you liked? What works for you? 

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2015. It has been updated and expanded.)

With that in mind, I used my book marketing Facebook group and “Help a Reporter Out” – HARO – to ask authors, book marketers, book publicists, and publishers for their best book marketing tips.

They did not disappoint. There’s a lot of wisdom in their responses, whether their advice is to zero in on a narrow target audience or to use email marketing.

Book marketing tips

Here’s what they had to say, in no special order. Big thanks to all of them for sharing their experiences with us.

A regularly updated author website is essential.

Too many authors don’t have a website or it is one that has not been updated in months or even years. Your author website should be a workhorse and not a show pony. If there isn’t valuable content, it won’t matter if it looks good. People won’t have a reason to stay, much less revisit it.

Make sure your website is easy to navigate, and is useful to your audience. Without new content, there is no reason to come to your website. Keeping your audience engaged with new content is key to audience retention. If the only content on your website is what people can find on Amazon, what’s the reason to come to your website? Make sure that your content is unique and valuable to your readers. Once you have a website with fresh and unique content, you’ll be able to direct people from social media to visit your site and learn about your books.

Tiffany Obeng, author, Scout’s Honor: A Kid’s Book about Lying and Telling the Truth

Write and publish a book that people actually want.

This tip made marketing 100% easier for me. By publishing something people were searching for, my job was nearly done. I then just needed to create and deliver a quality product that met the customers’ needs. I did this by conducting market research. I searched the topic on Google to determine if the topic was relevant and I researched potential competitor books.

For example, last September, I noticed there was an active customer base for children’s books about honesty. I then researched other children’s books about that topic to see what they provided and what they were missing. Next, I carefully created a book about honesty that kept the things people loved about other books on that subject, and added the things people wanted but didn’t find.

My book was an Amazon Hot Release for weeks, is still purchased daily, and has been featured as a recommended book in magazines. All of this happened without paid promotion on my end. The book marketed itself.

Anita Petty​, author, Money Switch: Flip Yourself Onto Happiness, Health & Wealth

Throw a book launch party. 

A book launch party can do many things for a new book:

• Boost sales
• Increase social media presence
• Opportunity to promote other products or services
• Great forum for others to talk about your book and share reviews
• Media opportunity: Invite the local press.
• Create videos of event and interviews to share on social media.

The best part of all: A launch party is a great way to invite sponsors to contribute and help pay for the event. Swag bag giveaways can help defray the event costs while enabling your sponsors to market to your audience.

Ross Kernez, author, The Digital Marketing Bullet Train: Get Onboard or Get Left Behind

Understand exactly who your book is for and speak to them in your messaging.

Every product will appeal to multiple types of people (personalities). Your job is to identify the most profitable personality or the one you believe will benefit most from your book, and speak to that person and only that person. Now you might be thinking you will alienate other potential audiences. True, you will. But you will potentially alienate everyone by speaking to no one specific. Your words will resonate and strike a chord when you focus on the right personality. Spend time researching your ideal audience and create a value proposition that will leave them curious and intrigued by your book.

Your job is to identify the most profitable personality or the one you believe will benefit most from your book, and speak to that person and only that person.Click to tweet

Kim Stewart, podcast publicist and host, Book Marketing Mania podcast

Be a guest on podcasts to market your book to new readers.

By guesting on podcasts, you can share your book’s message of organically with new readers by serving on other people’s platforms. Podcasts hosts work very hard to grow an engaged audience that trusts them to bring value to their busy lives. Being an invited guest on a podcast is such an honor, and when the listeners trust their host, they will trust you as a guest. Podcast interviews usually last 30 to 40 minutes and as listeners hear your authentic voice engaging with the host, encouraging listeners, solving problems they have, there will be an instant connection to you as an author, especially if they’ve never heard of you before.

If you show up to serve well by bringing lots of value to your conversation, you can naturally lead listeners to your book, or to your email list, where they’ll discover additional content to help them take action on what you shared in your interview, including buying your book.

Scott Graham, author, 15 books

Pay attention to your search engine results page.

The most important factor is your author brand SERP. SERP stands for search engine results page. It takes work but you can significantly impact what shows up when someone Googles your name. This includes the Google Knowledge Panel, the box that contains information Google itself thinks is important to your search result. This is not to be confused with a Google Business Listing/Panel. Google creates this panel itself and you can only influence the information that appears in it. I’ve connected the Google search engine to my photo, author website, and social profiles. The panel also includes my birthdate and a description of me. Here’s my brand SERP.

Jeremy Morang, author, The Surrender Game: The Guardian War Chronicles Vol 1

Create an effective email marketing campaign.

My best marketing tip for authors is to create an effective email marketing campaign that engages your readers with high quality content, teasers and promotions to highlight new and re-releases. If you are an aspiring author and you don’t already have an email list your audience can subscribe to, this needs to be your next big to-do. Email lists are nothing new in the world of book marketing, yet there are still so many authors who haven’t tapped into this resource yet, and it’s pure gold.

When someone subscribes to an email list, they are signaling that they are already sold. They came to your site, sampled your content, and they’ve made a decision to “consume” more of you. Now, it’s your job as the author to follow through and deliver the quality content your reader signed up for when they subscribed. Understanding the latter is where the challenge lies for many authors.

Maria McDowell, author, Processing A Heartbreak and Moving On

Use email marketing.

Email marketing remains my first book promotion and marketing strategy. When I published my first book, which was nonfiction self-help, I gave away the e-book version free in exchange for the reader’s email address. I distributed about 10,000 e-books, and got as many email addresses as a result. When I published a follow-up to that book, I sent an e-mail to everyone on my list to notify them that I had just launched the second version of the first book. This strategy helped me sell more than 4,000 copies in the first week of its launch. Email marketing should be the best tool for authors to market their books.

Kris Bordessa, author, Attainable Sustainable: The Lost Art of Self-Reliant Living

Create a network of people in your niche to help spread the word when the book launches.

My book dropped at about the same time as the pandemic arrived in full force, so in-person events were non-existent. Thankfully, I had assembled a big list of bloggers, podcasters, and other authors who were interested in my topic and able to talk about the book on their channels, either as a review or excerpt on their own blog, or on social media. This also allowed me to share more on my channels; instead of me talking about my book (which everyone gets tired of!), it was great to be able to share what other people were saying.

K.M. del Mara, author, Twist a Rope of Sand

Focus, focus, focus.

Three words helped me with my latest book: focus, focus, and focus. I followed a new plan, which was to get all my ducks in order – every last beak and feather, it seemed – before starting to write (per the book The Anatomy of Story, by John Truby). It was having a clear idea of what I wanted to say, what difficulties I anticipated in trying to say it, what concepts I would try to put forth, and so much more, that gave the whole project focus, not only with writing but with marketing, too. It helped me decide keywords, form a clearer description than I usually manage, create Facebook posts, etc., and I’ll continue to go back to the outline as I go forward.

Linda Hansen, author, Otto the Otter, A Big Surprise 

You must knock on a lot of doors to get one or more to open.

Marketing a book takes a lot of time, effort, and the willingness to ask a lot of people if they will sell your book in their store, allow you to have a meet the author and book signing event, visit a school, sell at a market, and the many other opportunities that are possible. Marketing is not only about selling your book, but it is also about doing publicity. This means reaching out to radio and TV stations for interviews, getting on podcasts, and getting magazine and newspaper articles and reviews. In the end, if you don’t make the effort to knock on doors, you can’t be told “yes” or “no.” And, “no” doesn’t mean they don’t like you; it just means not now.

Laura Akers, author, the Davia Glenn series

Learn from experts.

The success of your book is dependent on reaching your target audience. I studied and applied tips from Sandra Beckwith’s Build Book Buzz website, read David Gaughran’s books on building an author platform and using Amazon Ads, and learned about keywords and marketing via Kindleprenuer’s articles. Other useful resources are classes on Udemy, marketing experts on Fiverr, blogs, and podcasts to help you find what’s suitable for you and your budget.

Tylar Paige, author, F*ck You, Watch This: Tired of choosing the wrong men, she finally chose herself

Post unique and creative content on social media every single day. 

Facebook groups are essential for book marketing. I have sold hundreds of copies of my book in a single day just by sharing my book (along with a creative story) to groups. I also make sure to engage with my readers and any comments that are relevant. TikTok videos are also helpful, when you can jump on a trend and add context in the form of “the story” of your book. This is the best way to intrigue and entice your potential readers. Be consistent with your hashtag across all social media. Be a podcast guest, then share your show links on social media, as well.

Kelly Van Zandt, author, Powerful Postpartum

Sell your book by building a community on Instagram. 

My book, Powerful Postpartum, discusses early motherhood, and I make an effort to establish meaningful connections not only with mothers, but also with like-minded individuals and industry professionals such as doulas, midwives, and therapists. If I wholeheartedly support their ideas, I share their posts with credit, comment, or write a personal note to connect.

These connections have turned into both book sales and a beautiful community. This Instagram community has become an added network of referrals, for which I am eternally grateful. Oftentimes, readers even are compelled to share quotes and images from the book on their own account pages, which is great because we all know the power of personal reviews and recommendations.

Most often, Instagram users will include hashtags to increase their own post engagement, but you can also take some time to search and follow your industry hashtags to discover new connections. Following hashtags is a great way to become exposed to new accounts that may connect with your message.

Sophia Demas, author, The Divine Language of Coincidence: How Miracles Transformed My Life After I Began Paying Attention

Go old school. 

My husband made fliers with tear-off strips printed with my book title and website URL; I put them up on kiosks on UPenn’s campus. People are actually tearing off the tabs. He also created a t-shirt imprinted with my book cover that turns him into a human billboard.

H.R. Bellicosa, author, The Punishings

Link your book to relevant events and groups.

Each book, fiction or nonfiction, falls into a particular niche, and you need to target that same niche when marketing your book. If you are marketing a novel about refugees during World War II, you must target historical societies and refugee charity organizations. People in those groups will be most interested in your work. Offer to speak at local historical society meetings, ask your local museum if they’ll sell your book, and give a talk at your local library. Link the book to events such as World Refugee Day on your social media channels, and post news articles about the subject with a link to your book.

Each book, fiction or nonfiction, falls into a particular niche, and you need to target that same niche when marketing your bookClick to tweet

My book is a novel about reproductive rights, so I market it to feminist activists and organized groups that are fighting for reproductive justice since they are the demographic mos tinterested in that topic. You can also choose to donate a portion of proceeds to a charity that is linked to your book’s niche. I’ve chosen to donate to the ACLU, a group committed to suing states that enact restrictive reproductive laws. Once you find your target niche, you’ll be happily surprised at how eager people are to read and support your work. That’s why you always want to have business cards and bookmarks with your book’s title, cover, and website ready to hand out.

Amy Lyle, author, The Book of Failures

Professional photography can land you free press.

When launching The Book of Failures, I was my own PR person. I hired a photographer friend to capture something for the book covers. Not only did we get the perfect covers, but we were also able to get about a dozen really funny shots that led to multiple features in publications. Local and even larger publications may be more compelled to run your story if you have quality photography, as it makes the story more interesting and it saves them time and money.

My book’s publicity generated paid (and unpaid) speaking engagements, including a Boston TEDx, television appearances, and invitations to more than 30 podcasts. The free publicity helped drive my books to #1 bestsellers in the very competitive humor and entertainment niche and land on Goodreads’ Top 10 Best Humor list.

Kami Hoss, author, If Your Mouth Could Talk

Invest in digital marketing.

We invested heavily in Facebook and social media advertisements to promote my book and saw great success with these ads. Be sure that your ads stand out and provide a shocking statistic or information that entices them to click on the advertisement and purchase your book. Partnering with a digital marketing agency is a great way to ensure that your goals are accomplished and you convert as many customers as possible.

What’s your best book marketing tip? Please tell us in a comment!

I get it. It feels personal when you don’t get that kind of tangible support from people who are important to you.

Even so, it’s important to remember that we all have our own taste in books. You might love to read and write science fiction while your work or college or neighbor friends prefer to read memoirs or mysteries.

Are you being fair to your friends?

So . . . if your pals don’t generally read the kinds of books you write, is it fair to expect them to buy your book, even if they’ll never open it?

Some say, “Yes.”

I say, “No.”

I’m not here to convince you that I’m right and you’re wrong, though. Instead, I’d like to propose other ways your friends can support your books. Truth is, while they probably think it’s cool that you’re an author, most probably don’t realize that they are in a position to help you get the word out about your book.

It’s your responsibility to ask for that help.

How friends can help promote your book

Here are six things you can ask friends to do. Each includes suggestions for making your request something they can act on quickly and easily.

Select a few that work for you and ask for help making things happen. Their friendship is worth it.

1. Use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networks to share a link to a purchase page.

Ask them to write a personal message with the link, such as “Can’t wait to read my friend’s new book about project management!” or “Nobody writes better cozy mysteries than my friend Betsy Bowen – buying her latest book now!”

And make it easy for them to do this. Provide a “clean” link to the book’s Amazon sales page (here’s how to create it), images with the book that they can share, and sample text they can consider using.

The easier you make it for people to help you, the more likely they are to take action.

The easier you make it for people to help you, the more likely they are to take action.Click to tweet

2. Email information about your book to appropriate people they know.

Send your friends an e-mail that they can forward to people they know who might be interested.

The e-mail message should describe the book, explain who will find it interesting, detail how readers will benefit from reading it, and include a link to an online purchase site.

(For more on how to announce your book via email, read, “How to announce your book with an email blast.“)

3. Share a review online.

Give a copy of your book to friends you can count on to read it. Ask them to write an honest review on Amazon and other retail sites. Point out that they need to note in their review that they received a free copy in exchange for that honest review.

Make it easy for them to write that review by giving them a copy of the Build Book Buzz Reader Book Review Form. With it, they can write something meaningful in less than 10 minutes. (And be sure to thank your friends when they do!)

A word of caution: Sometimes Amazon removes reviews when it suspects the reviewer has a connection to the book’s author. Don’t let that stop you, but be prepared for it if it happens.

If it does? Eat cookies and move on.

4. Provide information about organizations that might use you as a speaker.

There are many, many different types of organizations that meet locally. More and more are starting to move back to in-person meetings after going virtual during the pandemic.

Ask friends if they belong to groups that use guest speakers and might consider you for that role.

Even better, ask if they’ll connect you to the group’s leader or meeting planner. A complimentary word or two from your friend might be all you need to secure a slot as the luncheon speaker at the monthly gathering of a group that’s perfect for your book.

5. Look for your book in stores and libraries and request that they stock it if it’s not available.

A lot of my friends are authors, so I do this for them at Barnes & Noble all the time. I also turn the cover face out on the shelf so it’s easier to see, and when there’s more than one copy, I add one to a display at the end of the shelf, too.

If you catch me doing this, I might even smile and tell you, “My friend wrote this book! It’s great!”

When the book isn’t in stock, I ask the store to order it. Your friends can do this, too.

Friends can also request your book at their local library branch. Libraries like to know there’s demand for a book before they buy it, so ask friends to help create that demand.

Libraries like to know there's demand for a book before they buy it, so ask friends to help create that demand.Click to tweet

6. Interview you on their blog or podcast when it’s a good fit.

This is a reasonable request only when the blog or podcast’s target audience matches your book’s. Otherwise, you’re putting your friend in an awkward and unfair position.

While some of your friends might not be able to do any of these things, others might be able to do one or two.

Finally, please be sure you express gratitude for any support you get. We all like to know our contributions are appreciated.

What have you asked your friends to do to support your book, and how has that worked out for you? Please comment below.

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in March 2014. It has been updated and expanded.)

A nonfiction lead magnet is the digital, downloadable incentive you offer your target readers in exchange for providing their address so they add themselves to your email list.

Whether you call it a lead magnet, reader magnet, freebie, or ethical bribe, it’s what people get when they “opt-in” – choose to add themselves – to your email list.

And you need one.

Nonfiction lead magnets and email list-building

Years ago, author email marketing was novel enough that all you needed was a newsletter sign-up form on your website to begin building your essential email list. Now that email marketing is the norm, things are more complicated.

Today, people expect a gift in exchange for their address, and why shouldn’t they? When they opt-in to your list, they’re giving you permission to contact them regularly. Thank them with a small, useful, and relevant gift.

“Useful” and “relevant” are key. Your nonfiction lead magnet has to be something your readers, fans, or audience need or want. (Do you write fiction? Read “3 fiction lead magnet ideas.”)

Make sure it solves a promise, is short and easily digestible, and offers high value.

Lead magnet examples

My primary lead magnet is a one-page PDF file with my “Top 5 Free Book Promotion Resources.” Authors receive it when they complete the form on the right side of this screen or on a page I’ve created specifically for that purpose — a “landing page.” (I use ThriveArchitect, a WordPress plug-in, or my email service provider, ConvertKit, to create most of my landing pages.)

I have several others, too. I offer each on its own landing page. They include:

• Virtual Book Tour Basics: How to Connect with Your Audience and Sell More Books Without Leaving Home
• Guest Blogging Cheat Sheet
• Book Marketing Plan Template
• Platform Building for Authors Cheat Sheet

What can you offer as a lead magnet? What does your target audience want that you can provide? Here are five ideas.

Nonfiction lead magnet idea #1: The Template

A template is a fill-in-the-blanks form.

What can you pull from your book that you can turn into a form? If your book teaches a system, you might have a worksheet that you can pull out of the manuscript and turn into a downloadable PDF file.

A fitness book author might offer an exercise tracking Excel file; the author of a book on small business website design can offer a form that lets people outline site content.

Example: Momentum Planners by Productive Flourishing

Nonfiction lead magnet idea #2: The Cheat Sheet

I’m a sucker for a cheat sheet, which is probably why I like to create them. A cheat sheet offers best practices or your best advice on a specific reader problem or challenge.

I created my author Guest Blogging Cheat Sheet after volunteering as the editor of an association blog with a monthly member column. Many member-written posts and headshots arrived in my inbox with issues I had to fix before the next step. I used them to create a short list of best practices for authors using guest blogging as a book marketing tool.

Any nonfiction author writing how-to or instructional content can easily pull a list of tips on a specific topic out of their book. Memoir writers can distill their lessons learned about the key problem or turning point in their lives into a cheat sheet, too.

Example: Guest Blogging Cheat Sheet

Nonfiction lead magnet idea #3: The Plan

A plan is a form of calendar where you’ve mapped out what someone needs to do on a schedule – it might be daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

Are you a cookbook author? Create a menu plan based on your book. Is yours a career book for new college graduates? Provide a simple “do this, then do that” plan for landing that first job.

Example: 100 Days of Real Food (when you move your mouse to leave the page, you’ll get a pop-up with a free meal plan offer)

Nonfiction lead magnet idea #4: The Resource List

People love resource lists because they save them time.

What are your favorite resources that are related to your topic? What tools, products, or sites do you use that will help others who are interested in what you write about? Drop them into a one-page resource list.

Are you a social media guru? List your favorite content creation and scheduling tools. Do you write travel books? Give us a list of what you won’t leave home without.

Example: The Content Hacker Educational Resource List for Today’s Marketers-in-Training

Nonfiction lead magnet idea #5: The Checklist

Who doesn’t love a checklist that will keep them on track and prevent mistakes?

Do you offer dating advice? List the elements of a dating app profile that gets results. Is your book about how to make soap? Give us an ingredients shopping list.

Example: The Ultimate Optin Form Checklist

Designing your lead magnet

Before you can create a compelling lead magnet, you need to know what goes into one and what it looks like. For that reason, I recommend downloading the examples listed above.

Add yourself to lots of other email lists, too, and study their lead magnets to see how others are doing it.

Once you’ve selected a format and written text to go with it, you’ll decide whether you’re going to design it yourself or outsource the work.

You can also create an attractive, effective lead magnet with low- or no-cost resources. I’ve used each of the following. The first is for out-sourcing; the second two are do-it-yourself options.

Fiverr 

Fiverr is an online marketplace for freelance services. For tasks like this, I think it’s an easier way to find a graphic artist than alternatives that include ask friends for recommendations or using a job site such as Upwork.

On the site, search for “lead magnet design” until you find one or two designers that you like.

When placing an order, attach to your order a lead magnet that represents what you’re looking for. It will help your designer better understand what you need in a finished product.

If you don’t have a lead magnet to offer as a sample, scroll through the design samples offered by Fiverr designers to find something that resonates with you and your book’s personality.

In general, I find that I get the best results on Fiverr when I can give the designer an example of the type of look I’d like to have.

Designrr 

Designrr is one of my favorite book marketing resources. It’s a web-based tool that lets me take content I’ve already created on my blog, in a Word file, or on a web page and turn it into a range of end products. I pay $27 for it annually and use it specifically for lead magnets.

Just last week, I used it to turn my 2021 Literary Calendar blog post into a downloadable PDF. Now, authors reading that article can also download and save the calendar when they provide their email address.

It was as simple as selecting the template I wanted to use (this one was my first time using a two-column design), pasting my URL into the form for the text import, and  playing around with the result.

Every time I use it, I get a little more brave . . . and a little more creative.

Canva 

Canva is an online design tool with both free and premium levels.

Creating a lead magnet is easier, of course, if you already know how to use Canva. If you aren’t taking advantage of it yet, it will probably take longer to create an end product than other options. Reviewing templates and learning how to customize or replace elements isn’t hard, but it takes time.

If you know what you want  – say, an e-book or a checklist   – simply type that term into the search box. You can also search for “lead magnet” to get some fun ideas and templates.

As an alternative, on the home page, review the options under the Canva header image. These categories are your best bets:

• Documents
• Education
• Marketing
• Events

Click around each collection to find something that speaks to you.

Set aside time to browse your options, as there are plenty of them. To get started, in the “documents” collection, try the “A4 document” options. Or, in the “events” group, select “announcement” in the “events” collection.

There are many more lead magnet options available to you, so spend some time Googling the topic to see what else you might discover. Once you’ve got your lead magnet (or magnets!) in place, remember that it won’t help if people don’t know about it.

Your goal with email list-building is to constantly send ideal readers to your landing page so your list — and your reach — grows steadily.

If you have a lead magnet, please tell us what it is in a comment and explain why you selected that format and topic. 

“Lead magnet” is a marketing term for the gift you give readers as an incentive to add themselves to your email list.

Think of it as an ethical bribe.

This isn’t optional. To get people to sign up to receive occasional author updates or a regular newsletter, you need to offer them a free, downloadable gift. It has to be something your readers, fans, or audience need or want.

My primary lead magnet is a one-page PDF file with my “Top 5 Free Book Promotion Resources.” Authors receive it when they complete the form on the right side of this screen or on a page I’ve created specifically for that purpose — a “landing page.”

The big question for you is: What should I offer as my incentive?

Not an easy question for novelists

That question is easier for nonfiction authors to answer than it is for novelists. Nonfiction authors can create quizzes, templates, infographics, cheat sheets, and samples, among other options.

More often than not, if they’re using any kind of lead magnet, fiction writers are using a novella or short story.

But is that your only option?
Nope.

Here are a few suggestions to get you thinking.

Fiction lead magnet idea #1: How to do something

Bear with me on this. It’s possible.

When I read Jane Green’s Saving Grace, which made frequent references to food that sounded delicious, I wanted the recipes. I wanted them so badly that I searched for them online. Unfortunately, she didn’t provide them.

If Green had offered a collection of recipes featured in that book as a lead magnet for her list, I would have “opted in” — marketing-speak for “added myself to her list” — without thinking twice.

The author of The Language of Flowers could create a one-page illustrated guide to flowers as symbols (daisy is innocence, calla lily is passion, aster is wisdom, etc.).

And how about a tongue-in-cheek sheet of instructions for “how to be a crazy rich Asian” to go along with the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy?

It’s not that hard after all, right?

Fiction lead magnet idea #2: A cheat sheet

Imagine a lead magnet for How to Make an American Quilt that offers the best quilting tips from top quilters — even though it isn’t a nonfiction how-to quilting book.

If you’ve read Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons, you can appreciate how a map of the Vatican or a guide to Bernini’s art might have enhanced your story enjoyment. You’d add yourself to his mailing list to get that, right?

If you write fantasy novels with many characters with unusual names, consider creating a one-page PDF character guide with names and descriptions. It will be a Godsend to fans who read in many small units of time rather than in long sittings.

Fiction lead magnet #3: Your book’s first chapter

This is the go-to option for most novelists. It’s what most recommend doing not because it’s the only idea they can think of, but because it’s the easiest to offer and implement.

Just save your first chapter as a PDF file and set it up in your system for downloading.

It’s a smart option because it lets readers sample your storytelling and writing skills. (Because of that, if you’re not a good writer, this could work against you.)

Because it will help readers who aren’t yet familiar with you take your book for a test drive, it’s a solid option for first-time novelists.

If you’re a seasoned writer with an established fan base, though, start getting creative with options one and two. You’ll have more fun with it, and so will your readers.

Creating your lead magnet

You can create an attractive, effective lead magnet with low-cost resources. I’ve used each of the following:

Fiverr

On the Fiverr site, search for “lead magnet design.”

To make sure you have a vision for what you want your designer to create, I recommend adding yourself to lots of email lists that offer lead magnets so you can see what other people are doing.

When you find one or two that you like, attach one to your order as an example of what you’re looking for.

Your other option is to scroll through the design samples offered by Fiverr designers to find something that resonates with you and your book’s personality.

In general, I find that I get the best results on Fiverr when I can give the designer an example of the type of look I’d like to have.

Designrr

Designrr is my new favorite toy. I paid $27 for this web-based software that lets me take content I’ve already created on my blog, in  a Word file, on Facebook, or on a web page — and turn it into a range of end products.

When I wanted to create a special free gift for a conference I spoke at recently, I used Designrr to turn a blog post into a short report. The nerd in me enjoyed exploring the templates and imagining the many design options for the audience handout.

You’ll get a PDF as well as a URL that houses the PDF. Give that URL to people who add themselves to your list.

Canva

While Canva is free, if you aren’t familiar with it already, it will be your most time-intensive option as you review templates and learn how to customize or replace elements.

Start by typing “lead magnet” into the search box to get a nice selection of options and templates. Or, if you know what you want — say, an e-book — simply type that term into the search box.

Alternatively, on the home page, select “browse all” in small type in the upper right, just under the large search box. Scroll down to see all options. Best bets are documents, education, marketing, and events categories. Click around each collection to find something that speaks to you.

“A4 document” in the “documents” collection and “announcement” in the “events” collection offer appropriate templates and inspiration.

Need a lead magnet idea for your book? Join the Build Book Buzz book marketing group on Facebook and start a discussion. Tell us you’re looking for help with a lead magnet idea, provide your book title, and give us a short book description. Let’s rally the troops to help you if you need it!

What are you using as an incentive to get people on your list? Tell us in a comment. 

If you’re an author who has already started building an email list, read these stats and then pat yourself on the back!

If you haven’t started building your essential email list yet, prepare to be motivated. Here are three important email marketing statistics you can’t overlook.

1. Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring customers than Facebook and Twitter combined.

McKinsey & Company, the source of that statistic, adds that email is only the start of the author’s relationship with the reader. In addition to being thoughtful about what goes into each email message, authors should also about where the link in that message sends the reader. “Landing pages” — website pages with no links that take people off the page — customized to your email message can increase sales by 25 percent.

2. Email offers a 4,300 percent return on investment, according to the Direct Marketing Association.

What’s more, Email Expert reports that every $1 spent on email marketing generates $44.25 on average.

3. 95 percent of those who opt into email messages from brands say the messages are somewhat or very useful.

This statistic from the 2014 Mobile Behavior Report is a good reminder to make sure the content you send to your email list is focused on the recipient — your fans — not the sender — you.

You can’t avoid email any longer

If you still aren’t convinced, read Joan Stewart’s 10 reasons why authors should start building an email list.  Don’t wait any longer to start building your list — you won’t regret it.

What do you like about the email newsletters you receive now? What appeals to you?

Tip of the Month

I always share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

Today it’s one of my own gifts to you.

Download a free copy of my e-book, Author Email Newsletter Samples. It’s 64 pages of actual author email newsletters generously provided by 15 authors who are using email marketing right now to build and nurture their fan base.

Use these examples to get you thinking about what will work best for your newsletter. Make note of what you like and what you don’t like as you scroll through the file.

You can get your copy of Author Email Newsletter Samples here.