How to create a reader Magnet Before your book is finished
The reader magnet that builds your list before the book exists
By Sarah Ewen
You’ve been told to build an email list.
Right. But with what, exactly?
Your book sits unfinished. No publication date exists. Asking people to "sign up for updates" feels a bit hopeful when your latest update involves rewriting chapter four again.
In our guide to the five pillars of a successful book launch, we discussed building readers before you need them. This part gets practical, giving someone a reason to join your list when there's nothing to buy yet.
A reader magnet can help here.
What is it? A free story or resource you offer when someone signs up to your author email list. It gives them something to enjoy or use right away - a reason to get familiar with your work.
For fiction, that might be a short story leaving them hungry for more. For non-fiction, perhaps a worksheet helping them solve one small problem. Either way, it's a taste of what you offer.
You can create one before your book is done, but you need a clear picture of who you're writing for, plus a small piece of work those readers would appreciate now.
Here's how to get started, whether you write fiction or non-fiction.
1. Start with the reader you want to attract
Before you decide what to make, consider who you'd like to download it.
Ideally, that person would also be interested in your eventual book. Otherwise, you could spend months building a list of people who enjoy your freebie but couldn't care less about what you publish.
If you’re writing cosy mysteries, your reader magnet could offer a short, satisfying mystery with the same warmth and humour.
If you’re writing a practical book for first-time managers, it could help someone prepare for their first one-to-one meeting.
Try finishing this sentence:
“Someone who would love my book would also enjoy or find value in…”
Be specific. “A free story” is a starting point. “A village mystery they can read over a cup of tea” gives you something to work with.
Before committing to your idea, run three checks:
Relevant: Would someone who wants this also likely read your book?
Appealing: Can you explain why they'd want it in one clear sentence?
Manageable: Can you finish making it, and can the reader comfortably enjoy or use it?
You’re looking for something worth signing up for that you can realistically create alongside your book.
2. Choose a reader magnet you can actually finish
Your reader magnet shouldn’t become another unfinished manuscript.
Give it a clear job and a manageable scope. The reader should understand what they’re getting, and you should be able to create it without abandoning your book.
Reader magnet ideas for fiction authors
A fiction reader magnet lets someone experience your writing - think of it as auditioning for their next read.
It can introduce your voice, your characters or your world, but it needs to work for someone arriving completely cold.
You could create:
A standalone short story in the same genre as your novel.
A prequel story with its own satisfying ending.
A side character’s adventure that makes sense without knowing the main cast.
A short story in your novel’s setting, introducing its atmosphere through a separate event.
Imagine you’re writing a cosy mystery set in a seaside village. Your magnet could follow your amateur sleuth solving a small mystery at the summer fête. Readers meet the character, enjoy a complete story and get a feel for your writing. They don’t need the novel to exist yet.
For romance, you might write a complete short romance involving supporting characters. For fantasy, you could follow a traveller whose seemingly simple errand goes wrong.
For historical fiction, you could write a standalone short story set a few years before your novel. If your book follows a family in wartime London for example, your magnet might centre on a neighbour who receives a letter meant for someone else during the first week of the Blitz. Give that story its own resolution, while offering a taste of the period, atmosphere and human dilemmas readers can expect from your novel.
Be careful with deleted scenes, character profiles and elaborate world guides. Those can be lovely extras for existing fans but a stranger usually needs a reason to care about your characters before they want their family trees.
Reader magnet ideas for non-fiction authors
A non-fiction reader magnet can help someone make progress on one specific problem.
You could create:
A checklist for a task readers find confusing.
A worksheet that helps them make a decision.
A short exercise they can try today.
A template that saves them time.
A focused guide to one early step in a bigger process.
For our first-time management author, a “First One-to-One Meeting Planner” could include preparation questions, a simple agenda and space for agreed actions.
That’s useful before the book is published. It also connects naturally to the book’s wider subject.
You don’t have to squeeze everything you know into the download. Give the reader something they can finish and use.
3. Create a simple signup page
Your reader magnet needs somewhere people can get it.
A signup page, sometimes called a landing page, explains your freebie and includes a form where readers can enter their email address.
You can use an email marketing service with a landing-page builder to set this up without creating a whole author website.
Give the page one clear purpose: helping someone decide whether they want your freebie. Explain what they’ll get, who it’s for and what emails they can expect afterwards.
For our cosy mystery author, that might look like:
A missing trophy. Three suspicious bakers. One very determined amateur sleuth.
Get The Summer Fête Mystery, a free short cosy mystery you can read over a cuppa. You’ll also receive my monthly emails about cosy reads and the seaside mystery novel I’m writing.
Button: Send me the story
For our non-fiction author:
Your first one-to-one doesn’t have to feel awkward.
Get the free First One-to-One Meeting Planner, with preparation questions and a simple agenda. You’ll also receive my monthly email with practical ideas for new managers and updates on my forthcoming book.
Button: Send me the planner
Those offers give readers something concrete to say yes to. Keep the page focused, with the signup form easy to find.
4. Set up delivery before you share the link
The basic setup looks like this:
A reader completes your signup form and any confirmation step.
Your email service adds them to your list.
An automatic welcome email sends them a link to the freebie.
Your first email can be short. Put the download link near the top, introduce yourself and remind them what to expect.
The fiction author might write:
"Here's your copy of The Summer Fete Mystery. I'm writing a longer mystery set in the same village, and I'll pop into your inbox once a month with bookish news and reading recommendations. Enjoy your first visit!"
The non-fiction author might say:
"Here's your First One-to-One Meeting Planner. Try it before your next meeting, and hit reply if there's a part you're finding tricky. I send one practical email a month for people getting used to managing a team."
Before promoting anything, test it and sign up yourself. Check that the email arrives, the link works and the download is easy to read on your phone.
And make sure you're clear about the ongoing emails at signup - people should know they're joining your list as well as getting a download.
5. Find your first readers when you have no email list
A reader magnet gives people a reason to subscribe. You still need to put it in front of them.
If you’re starting with no list and a small following, choose a couple of realistic places to begin.
Put the offer where they already find you
Sign up link on the social media account you actually use. A sentence about the freebie. Pinned post about it. If you have an author site, somewhere prominent.
"Read my free seaside mystery" gives people more information than "Subscribe".
Share something that leads naturally to it
Our management author could share three helpful questions to ask in a first one-on-one, and then link to the planner. Our mystery writer could share the hook of the story, with a sentence or two of actual story, and invite people to read the whole thing. Give them enough information to judge whether it's for them.
Look for relevant communities and collaborations
Consider where your future readers are. It could be a genre reading group, or a niche newsletter, or a community centred around your book's topic. Engage, listen to what they like, and share links when it's appropriate.
You can also reach out to other authors or newsletter hosts and see if their readers would be interested in your freebie, as long as you make it clear how it fits and you ask for something reasonable in return. If you don't have an audience of your own to offer in exchange, you could offer a helpful guest post or offer to be on an interview.
Remember that other writers and future readers are not always the same audience! An author community can be amazing support, but it may not be the best place to find people who buy your particular book.
6. Keep emailing while you write
You don't have to have an announcement for a publication every month to have something worthwhile to email.
Fiction authors could share:
A book recommendation and why they liked it.
An interesting piece of research related to their book.
A brief look inside a setting, with enough information to make it interesting.
Non-fiction authors could share:
An answer to a reader's question.
A helpful idea, with an example of how to use it.
A small exercise that follows up on the original download.
Decide on a cadence that you can sustain. Monthly is a good baseline.
Keep giving people some of what drew them to you in the first place. If they signed up for cosy fiction, give them something bookish to read. If they wanted help managing a team, continue to help them with that. You can also talk about your writing process. Just give people something to engage with, rather than just the latest word count.
And encourage people to respond now and again. The questions and responses you get can tell you more about the people you're writing for.
Four common magnet mistakes to avoid before you launch yours
The freebie is attracting a different audience to your book. A general prize draw might get lots of entries, but it won't necessarily tell you who wants to read your writing.
It needs too much explanation. If people need to know all the lore of your fantasy world to enjoy your free story, you need to make it easier for them.
It's taking up too much writing time. Scope it down. It's totally fine to have a short, nicely produced story or a focused worksheet.
People only hear from you again once they download the freebie. Decide what your next email will be about before you publish the signup page. It's easier to keep writing when you already have an idea of what you'll write about.
Start before you're ready to launch
A finished short story. A useful planner. One signup page. One welcome email.
That's not a lot.
Starting early will help you figure out what will draw readers in and what they'll find valuable from you. If you'll be publishing soon it's still worth starting. You can continue to build your relationship with readers long after launch day.
Your list might grow slowly at first. Are people finding your page, signing up, and engaging with what you're sending them?
You're giving people who are interested in the type of book you write a way to hear from you again.
When you're ready to say "my book is here", you'll have already started that conversation.
Want help making your reader magnet?
This process works for both fiction and non-fiction writers. Start with one small thing that speaks to your future reader, and make it worth their time.
Non-fiction authors who'd like help building the download and the copy around it can use bookfluence’s Reader Magnet Creator, which builds a custom reader magnet for your book and audience, with copy for your signup page, a welcome email, and social posts to help you share it. Your book can still be a work in progress while your first readers are signing up.