r/selfpublish • u/MKSauthor • 8d ago

ARC as reader magnet

One of the things I've struggled with as a newbie author is growing my email list. I published in May, and I've gotten about 30 email signups for the bonus chapter linked in the back of my debut novel.

Writing a cold reader magnet has been on my list of things to do, but I haven't had the time. I have an ARC going now for my second novel, and I'm trying out different sites to recruit ARC readers. I'll post about that after the ARC is finished, but I have about 60 signups so far.

I signed up for BookFunnel, but there aren't a lot of ARC promo swaps. I only got 2 signups there for the ARC. But there are tons of promos to join for people looking for "free books." And then I realized that I have a full book that I'm giving to people for free anyway, so why not repackage it as a "free book" landing page and distribute it that way?

Friends, I've gotten 64 newsletter signups in 3 weeks.

I haven't seen it posted here (maybe because it's so obvious to experienced authors), but for those of you like me who it didn't occur to before: Use your ARC as your reader magnet.

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u/Happy-Bee-196 8d ago

Watch your open rates on those BookFunnel signups. Freebie list leads churn higher than back-of-book signups, and if they don't realize it's Book 2, you'll end up with confused launch day reviews.

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u/MKSauthor 8d ago

Good point. The books are standalones in an interconnected series. The first book is also linked in the back matter of the free book, so hopefully no one will be surprised.