What Is a Reader Magnet and Why Do You Need One?

In one of our previous blog posts, we talked about how you can set up a mailing list to get more readers. We mentioned that it is a good idea to include freebies in exchange for your readers’ email addresses. That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today. Here at Rowanvale, we’re with you every step of the publication process and we care about you and your book. So here’s our advice on how to create and make the most of a reader magnet.  
 
What Is a Reader Magnet? 
The role of a reader magnet is, by definition, to attract readers towards you and your writing. The term was coined by Nick Stephenson and is a catchy name for a free piece of content that you give to your readers when they subscribe to your mailing list. It can be a story, artwork, or perhaps a map of the world you describe in your books if you write fantasy or sci-fi novels. As long as it’s something you care about and that you are keen to share, we have no doubt your readers will love it. 
 
Ideas for Your Reader Magnet 
Do you have a standalone or a short story in your drawer that you don’t know what to do with? Time to turn it into a reader magnet! And if you need a hand to make it perfect, we can help with our proofreading and copyediting service. You can custom write something that you know your readers will like, or write different reader magnets to attract different people within your fandom. If you’re a fiction author, you can create a reader magnet for new readers when they sign up to your newsletter, and also something for existing fans to use further down the line in a newsletter or at the end of your book. If you specialise in non-fiction, you can create reader magnets on as many micro-topics as you want to explore, and include them at the end of your most-viewed blog posts. The possibilities are truly endless. 


3 Rules for the Best Reader Magnet 
When you’re creating your reader magnet, there are a few things you should always keep in mind to get the best results. Here are our three key points for you to create the best reader magnet: 
 

• Answer a popular story question: Is there an aspect of your book that is left undefined and that your readers keep asking questions about? Answer those questions with a reader magnet! For example, if the plot includes a battle, but in the book you only talk about the aftermath, you could use your reader magnet to show your readers how the battle actually played out and exactly what happened. This gives your readers something unique that they won’t be able to get anywhere else to answer their burning questions. 

 

• Make it about your readers’ interests: If you write fiction, remember to focus on the characters your readers love the most. A good example of this is the American novelist Cassandra Clare, author of the Shadowhunters series. Using her Tumblr page, she regularly asks her fandom about any particular spin-offs, side stories or drawings they want to see based on their favourite characters. This strengthens your relationship with your readers and keeps them coming back to your writing time and time again. Besides, reader magnets might sometimes spark new ideas for another book, so it’s a win-win!   

 

• ​​If you write non-fiction, make sure you know your audience. Which questions do you find yourself answering most frequently in the comments on your blog or on social media? Did you receive feedback that made you think maybe you need to go more in-depth about a certain topic? That’s ideal reader magnet material. 

 

• Create a self-contained story: Your reader magnet needs to be self-contained, meaning it has to make sense even, and especially, to those who have never read any of your books. If anything, the purpose of a reader magnet is to hook new readers, even more than your first book. But it also has to work for regular readers – someone who has read all of your books and is now signing up to your mailing list to get exclusive content is looking for a new story to answer their questions. So it is very important that the story you use as a reader magnet has an ending and doesn’t introduce any further questions. As we said earlier, generating ideas for new books from reader magnets is good, but just make a note of your ideas in a notepad and focus on the few, self-contained questions you want to answer in your reader magnet.  

 
Did this give you an idea of what to write for your reader magnet? If you feel like you need more resources, we can help! The great thing about a reader magnet is that you decide how and when to publish it. If your first reader magnet doesn’t work very well, you can swap it for a new one and just test out a few options until you find the one that really brings you readers. You can get in touch with one of our writing advisors to receive support tailored to your needs and become an expert in the art of reader magnets. 
 
How to Deliver a Reader Magnet 
Once you’ve decided the nature of your reader magnet and spent time creating it, you want to make sure to deliver it to your readers in a safe and easy way. There are various websites and pieces of software that allow you to do this for a fee. It’s worth spending some time researching the best option for you.  
 
The most popular tool to deliver reader magnets is BookFunnel. The website allows you to set up a giveaway page which you can link to on your own website. Readers will be directed to your BookFunnel landing page and will be prompted to subscribe to your newsletter in order to download your reader magnet. The great thing about BookFunnel is that it allows for direct email integration and download monitoring. Plus, you can upload your reader magnet in common formats such as PDF and BookFunnel will optimise it for a variety of devices. Last but not least, you can customise your reader magnet’s landing page to convey all the uniqueness and awesomeness of your writing. ​

If BookFunnel just isn’t for you, there are alternatives worth exploring, such as Book Cave, ProlificWorks or StoryOrigin. There’s really something for everyone! Alternatively, if none of these platforms suit your needs, you can simply upload your book and set the price to free on traditional commercial outlets like Amazon, Kobo or iTunes. 
 
Finally, Don’t Forget the Looks! 
Just because your reader magnet is free, it doesn’t mean you can overlook the appearance. Your cover design is especially important if you decide to use BookFunnel to deliver your reader magnet. The cover will be the central point of your landing page and will be displayed prominently across the BookFunnel website. Besides, a cover can really help to convey how deserving of your readers’ attention your writing is. Are you stuck on how to design a cover? We’re here for you! Check out our bespoke cover design service and start working with our amazing team of designers to create the best cover you will ever see.  
 
We hope this was useful to understanding the importance of reader magnets and how to create and deliver one. Just remember that reader magnets are often a matter of trial and error. The success of your reader magnet doesn’t define your worth as a writer. Keep doing what you love, and get in touch with us. We’re here to support you!