Over the last couple of Zoom calls we’ve had, the question of reader magnets has come up. I’m a huge proponent of email list building for which reader magnets play a role. Especially today when readers love to connect and engage with authors, a reader magnet that entices them to join your email list is one of the best ways to build your fan base.
A reader magnet isn’t just a freebie. It’s your chance to make a lasting first impression, turn a curious browser into a fan, and start a long-term relationship that leads to loyal readers and book a steady stream of book sales.
What is a Reader Magnet?
A reader magnet, sometimes called a lead magnet in the non-bookish world, is a free piece of content you offer to readers in exchange for their email address to build your email list. (Check out this post for more information about email list building)
For romance authors, a reader magnet serves two key purposes:
- To introduce readers to your storytelling style, voice, and tone so they know what to expect from your books.
- To encourage ongoing engagement and future book sales by nurturing readers toward becoming loyal fans.
A good reader magnet should do more than offer a free read. It should represent your brand and inspire readers to want more from you.
What Makes a Great Reader Magnet for Romance Readers
A reader magnet works when it connects emotionally with the reader and reflects the kind of stories you write. Whether your books are sweet or spicy, contemporary or paranormal, your magnet should evoke the same emotional payoff your full-length novels deliver. Think of it like an ice cream sample. You taste it to know if you want a full serving. The same is true for the reader magnet.
A strong romance reader magnet has:
- Emotional connection, making readers feel something.
- Romantic tension or payoff, delivering satisfaction, even in a short story.
- Brand consistency. The tone, voice, and heat level should match your books. Note that you don’t necessarily have to write in the same series or the same tropes as your book. Only the category, tone, voice, and heat level need to be similar.
When I first started out promoting the Valentine Mysteries, I wrote a novella about a sleuthing couple to give as my lead magnet. Same idea (sleuthing couple and a mystery) written with the same tone and heat, but a different couple with a completely different background.
Choosing the Right Type of Reader Magnet
Not every reader magnet has to be a book or even a novella. What matters most is that it’s relevant, engaging, and naturally tied to your main series or brand.
Short Fiction Options
- Prequel or origin story: Show how a couple met or introduce your series world. I have a series in which two of the characters are siblings. A running gag in their books is how their father always comes home for “lunch” with their mom, lunch being a euphemism for sex. I’ve been thinking of writing a prequel telling their parents’ love story as a reader magnet for that series. If you have a second chance romance story, you can write a prequel that tells about their love the first time around.
- Spin-off story: Introduce a side character who will star in a future book. I’m doing this under my new pen name, in which the reader magnet is a story in the same world, and the couple in it will appear in future books as a source of information.
Note: I wouldn’t provide chapters of your book as a reader magnet. No reader wants a snippet of something. They’ll see your few chapters as a gimmick to buy the book…which, yes, a reader magnet is. But a sample carries the idea that the reader will love it so much that they’ll go buy the book to finish it. But more likely, they won’t get the chapters in the fist place because they know they need to spend to read the whole thing. It’s why most readers hate cliffhangers in books.
Nonfiction or Bonus Content Options
For fiction authors, I’m not a big fan of nonfiction reader magnets. Sure, readers might want your recipe book, but that won’t necessarily lead them to buy your fiction book. Still, if you need something until the time you have a story more inline with your book(s), these ideas can suffice:
- Behind-the-scenes extras: World guides, character letters, or lore pages for fantasy or paranormal romance. Under my new pen name, I made a blog post of a glossary for my world, but this could be used as a reader magnet.
- Fun additions: Playlists, recipes, or character diaries that let readers connect more deeply with your fictional world. I once had a reader magnet called How to Talk Southern, which discussed the Southern accent and dialect, and how they differed from region to region.
Crafting a Magnet That Converts
The reader magnet is a carrot or worm on a hook. It needs to be enticing enough for readers to bite. You can’t slap any ole story together and expect it to lead to a growing subscriber list and book sales. Even a short story should deliver a satisfying romantic arc.
Checklist for Writing a Strong Reader Magnet
- Deliver a full emotional journey with tension, climax, and resolution. If you write a short story, you may need to skip some of the beats, but keep the important ones. Inciting event. Pinch Point. Black Moment. Grand Gesture. HEA.
- Leave threads or characters that tease future stories. Remember, the goal is for readers to love it and want to read more. Book series do well because readers want to revisit characters, so having characters or other threads they can follow is an additional enticement.
- Maintain the same level of editing, polish, and cover (yes, you should have a cover) quality as your books. This is your first impression. If it’s loaded with typos and wonky formatting, the reader will think your books are filled with them too.
- End with a clear call to action: “If you loved this story, start the full Donovan Brothers series with Kiss Me, Mr. Donovan!”
Note: Once you have 4 books in a series, you can consider giving book 1 away as your reader magnet. This increases the value to the reader as it’s a full book. Plus, it’s a great way to get them to buy the series. I give away book one in my Valentine mysteries.
Setting Up the Reader Magnet Delivery System
Once your story is written, revised, and edited, you’ll need an easy, reliable way to deliver it to readers. You’ll need the following:
- Format your story for ereaders
- A place to store your story for readers to download.
- Email List service to collect and store email subscriber
- A landing page for readers to fill in their information to receive the book
- Welcome Email
Step-by-step setup:
- Formatting: You have several options for formatting. You can use formatting software such as Vellum or Atticus. Calibre is free and can covert Word and other docs into Epub, although you’ll want to test to make sure the conversion doesn’t go wonky (how your formatting in Word matters to making this right). Draft2Digital and Kindle Create are also free. If you use Scrivener, you can export as epub as well.
- Storing: Once you have your epub file, you’ll need to upload it to a place where readers can get it. The fastest, easiest, and free is to use a Cloud storage option such as Google Drive or Dropbox. The only concern is that anyone with the link can download, which means if someone gives away the link, you’ll be giving the book away without gaining a subscriber. If you host your website, you can store on your server, but unless you have a way to check the download with your email list, you can have the same issue as using Google Drive. Another option is Bookfunnel. The free tier has the same problem as Google Drive, but with the paid option, you can integrate your email list, which will check to make sure the person using the link is on your email list. You can also use Bookfunnel’s other features to gain subscribers. StoryOrigin is another option.
- Email List Service: The whole point of this is to collect emails so you can contact readers to build a relationship and share your books. You have many options for this. If you want to use Bookfunnel or StoryOrigin and its integrations, you’ll want to use MailerLite, AWeber, Convertkit (now Kit), or ActiveCampaign for your email list service provider. I use AWeber and love it. MailerLite is another popular service with authors.
- Landing Page: If you use Bookfunnel or StoryOrigin, you can create a landing page from which readers can enter their information and then receive your book. Under the free version, you can download the names and emails of subscribers to add to your list provider. With the paid version, these services will send the name and email directly to your list provider for you. Many list providers have landing page features. For example, AWeber offers the ability to build landing and thank you pages (and any other pages you want). Otherwise you can build the landing page on your website and then get the form code from your list provider and paste it into webpage. This form will be where the reader enters their name and email, and then clicks Submit. The info will go onto your email list.
- Create a Welcome Email: In your email list service, you’ll want an email to go out as soon as the reader submits their information. Today, most services use a “flow” system by which you indicate a trigger (such as on-subscribe) and the next action would be “Send Email.” This welcome email will have the link to download the reader magnet, as well as information about you and your books.
- Test: Before you start promoting your free reader magnet, test that the system works. Fill in the form to subscribe to your list. Check that you get the welcome email. Click the download link in the email to ensure it’s working. Finally, open the downloaded ebook to make sure it works and looks right.
Promoting Your Reader Magnet
Once your reader magnet is live, you need to tell readers about it. Make it visible everywhere your readers spend time. Places to share your magnet:
- Your website homepage, sidebar, and footer
- Social media bios and pinned posts
- The back matter of your ebooks and print books
- Your Facebook reader group welcome post
- Cross-promotions (Swaps) or themed giveaways. BookClicker is a good place for swaps or low cost ads to build your list. Bookfunnel and StoryOrigin offer giveaway and swap opprotunities.
- If you have a small ad budget, try running a Facebook or Instagram lead ad pointing directly to your landing page.
Following Up to Build a Relationship
Delivering the magnet is just the first step. The follow-up is where you turn a freebie reader into a lifelong fan.
One option is to have a welcome sequence that automatically goes out to readers. Using the flow above, you’d trigger email #1 upon subscription. Then you can add more emails indicating the days between. For example, you might have email #2 go out 2 days after email #1. This isn’t required, but it can be a nice way to onboard your reader with information about you and your books, where to follow you on social media, and other information or resources you might want to share.
A sample welcome sequence of 3–5 emails:
- Deliver the magnet and say thank you.
- Introduce yourself, your series, and what you write.
- Share something fun like bonus content, a behind-the-scenes look, or a favorite trope.
- Invite readers to explore your backlist or join your reader group.
Email Newsletter
The above emails are automatic, triggered when the subscriber submits their information. Beyond that, you can email your list anytime you want. I recommend having a schedule. I email my reader list every Wednesday. If that’s too much, you can email twice a month or even once a month.
Another tip is to have a format for your email. Mine opens with something in my life or an anecdote. Next, I’ll have something about my writing. Could be a reminder about a backlist book, research I’m doing, behind-the-scenes peeks (such as teasers or pictures), etc. If I’m doing a swap or running a feature for another author, I add that next. While this can vary depending on what’s going on, by having this format, I know each week what I need to have ready.
A final tip is to ask a question. I nearly all my emails I have a question for my subscribers. Recently I confessed to a book hoarding problem and asked if they had it too or any tips for dealing with it. I got several responses (one told me he had 80,000 books on his Kindle!!! Compared to that, I’m not a hoarder at all!) The question I ask is usually related to whatever I’ve talked about in the opening of my email.
Check out this post on 18 email ideas you can send your readers.
Focus on connection over sales. Too many “Buy My Book” emails and they’ll unsubscribe.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Offering a freebie that doesn’t match your genre or tone. Remember, this is a sample of what readers can expect from your books.
- Forgetting a call to action or links to your books.
- Skipping delivery tests. If the system is broken, readers aren’t getting what they signed up for.
- Neglecting follow-up emails (don’t ghost your new subscribers!).
A strong reader magnet is more than just a giveaway. It’s your invitation for readers to fall in love with your books and want more. When done well, it grows your list, strengthens your author brand, and builds lasting loyalty.
