A lot of writers mistakenly assume that their job solely lies in writing. It’s come to a point where “just keep on writing books” is touted as solid advice. But that rarely gets your audience buzzing around your work.
Behind every successful book is a ton of planning, editing, and marketing involved. You don’t finish a novel and expect a line of eager readers to magically appear before you.
In order for that to happen, authors, agents, and publishers use a lot of techniques to catch a reader’s attention—and keep them coming back again and again. One of these methods is the reader magnet.
What is a Reader Magnet?
A reader magnet is an incentive; something you give away with the purpose of engaging with your readers and building a loyal fan base. It can be many things, including a free chapter of your book, a short story, or downloadable goodies.
In most cases, these are exchanged for your reader’s email address. Your goal is to grow a list of email subscribers who actively engage with your content. The more they know about your work, the more invested they are. And the more invested they are, the more they’re likely to buy your book.
Think of it as a mutual and beneficial exchange. Readers risk nothing in learning more about your work. They can simply unsubscribe if they find it not to their taste. You, on the other hand, can continue building your community and making more sales.
Types of Reader Magnets
Writers can create reader magnets in a variety of ways. It all depends on what you want, and which best suits your work. Here are a types of reader magnets you can do.
1. Short Story
Specifically, a short story that occurs in the same world as your main work. Not only is it added content to an already established universe, but it also helps relieve a reader’s anxiety.
Book series can take a long time to write in between books. Releasing a short story gives them more to read while maintaining their interest in your series.
A short story can range from plot events seen from another character’s perspective, expanding a minor character’s backstory, or a story that’s irrelevant to the main plot but is still part of the world.
2. Activities
Devise simple activities that your audience can participate in. These can range from card games, clue hunts, and which-character-are-you tests and other derivatives. The length, complexity, and themes of these activities will depend on what stories you write.
And if you make a competition out of it, give appropriate prizes—ones that will catch your audience’s interest and make them actively try to win. They don’t have to be grand, just aligned with your readers’ interests. A signed copy of your book, merchandise, or an exclusive peek at your next project will work.
Mysteries and thrillers do well with extra activities. For example, The 39 Clues released cards alongside the books that contained codes. When used online, these would unlock clues that can help readers with the series’ Clue Hunt. It further evolved into an actual, physical card game.
3. Artwork
Books are powered by a reader’s imagination, especially when it is fiction. But visual cues can also work to provide them with a more vivid experience.
Give them artwork depicting scenes from your stories. Even drawings of how your world and characters look like go a long way of further cementing their interest in your book.
Better yet, make sure your artwork is downloadable and can be used as wallpapers. This way, your readers will be reminded of your work everytime they use their phone or computer.
4. Bonus Content
Reader magnets can be used to add depth to your world. Depending on your genre, the content you make could be:
- Thrillers: government dossiers and “top-secret” files
- Fantasy: bestiaries, herbariums, and character art
- Mystery: maps, clue and item cards
- Romance: love letters and electronic messages
Think of them as the literary equivalent of flavor text from video games. They might not affect your story directly, but they make them much more interactive and immersive.
5. Videos
Come up with video ideas that act as trailers or sneek peaks to your works. You don’t need to create movie-level videos to do this. They can simply be you narrating a scene or summary while relevant graphics (book covers, illustrations, snippets of you working on the book) appear on screen.
Take a look at this book trailer for Lev Grossman’s The Magician’s Land:
Notice how it uses crowdsourced content. Doing so not only makes your existing readers special but it is also great for authors on a budget.
6. Serial Fiction
Serial fiction is a story that’s published in installments. Consider each installment as an episode of your story that you release to your audience in a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
There’s a lot of flexibility with these episodes, especially with length. It’s best to stick with short ones though as you don’t want to spend more or as much time on them as you do with your main story. About 300-500 words will do for a start.
It is important that your serial fiction is connected in some way to your main world. Make it a side story that unfolds parallel to your main story. This way, it is not critical to the main plot but offers a different perspective to the story.
7. Updates
Even simple updates can be used as reader magnets. Whether you do it through a newsletter, on social media, or on your website, your audience will appreciate that you update them about your work.
Potential readers, on the other hand, can use it to gauge how fast you work, how dedicated you are to the craft, and whether your books are worth investing in.
Brandon Sanderson has a simple way of doing this. On his site are progress bars for each project he’s currently working on. This, combined with his social media content, do well in informing his audience about his works.
Choose your Delivery System
There are a few ways on how you can deliver your reader magnet. Keep in mind that it’s best to use multiple formats to reach a wider coverage of your readers.
There are many email marketing services you can avail, such as Mailchimp and Aweber. Prices can range from free to a couple of dollars a month.
Set up an autoresponder that automatically sends pre-written emails to your new subscriber. These emails can contain a link that sends them to your website where they can view and download your content.
If your content is in a pdf or mp3 format, you might have an option to send it directly through the email, cutting out your subscriber’s need to visit a certain page.
Additionally, you can set up a drip sequence (several emails sent over a specific period). Deliver your prize with the initial email and then surprise them with bonus prizes through your subsequent emails.
You can learn more about building an email list here.
Backmatter
Backmatter is what you find at the back of a book after the main contents. This is where you put your epilogue afterword, appendices, and reader magnets.
Most of the time, you can add preview chapters for the next book of the series or a different work. You quickly follow it with a recommendation to buy your other books, or subscribe to your social media accounts or email list.
Ebooks have made this easier as you can directly add a link to your website or socials within your backmatter copy.
Ebook Delivery Services
You can also use ebook delivery services like Bookfunnel or StoryOrigin. Through these services, you can easily set up pages and upload your prize. Readers simply need to click on a link that sends them to a landing page.
On the page is your reader magnet, which they can then download. Additional features can include your book cover, a short blurb, and options of which format they want to download your content.
Each service has its own steps in setting up a page, uploading a file for download, and cost. Choose which one aligns with your needs, goals, required features, and budget.
Social Media
Whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, or any other platform, running ads can be a powerful way to grow your subscribers. It will cost you though, with your costs largely depending on competition, target audience, bid amount, and more.
If you do go ahead with ads, make sure that they’re short, eye-catching, and memorable. Briefly explain what you’re offering and make it clear how and where people can subscribe to avail of your content.
The great thing about social media advertising is that once they’re set up, they basically run themselves until the end of campaign.
Reach Your Readers Effectively
Setting up touch points is a critical step in reaching your audience. To build a community, you’ll need to evaluate which platforms you want to use, plan out a newsletter, and even start your own website.
This way, you and your readers have a way to stay connected. The better you take care of these channels, the more effective your book marketing will be.
Reader magnets may not make sense at first glance. You pour a ton of effort to create something, but you end up giving it out for free! The return on investment though, is worth it.
In exchange for a simple sign-up, your readers get something worth their while in return. This not only cements their loyalty to you, but now they have something else of yours to read while waiting for your next big release.
Ultimately, the goal isn’t just to grow your readership but to establish an audience that will keep coming back for your work.
Have you tried making reader magnets? Share your experience in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- How to Build an Email List: A Guide for Authors and Small Businesses
- How to Write Marketing Hooks that Snag Your Audience’s Attention
- The Ultimate Book Marketing Plan: What To Do Before, During, and After Your Launch
- How Adding Digital Content to Your Book Can Increase Sales and Marketing Opportunities
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
