How to Write Short Stories: Reader magnets and your email list
Your email list is the primary marketing asset that you own.
Social media platforms rise and fall, algorithms change, and retailers control their own recommendation engines, but your email list is a direct line to readers who have opted in to hear from you. It’s the most important thing to build if you want a long-term author career, and a reader magnet can be one way to build it. Offer a free story in exchange for an email address, and the right story will bring in exactly the readers you want for your longer books.
Why use a short story?
A novel excerpt or sample chapters can work as a reader magnet, but they are incomplete by design, whereas a short story is a whole experience. The reader finishes it, feels something, and then decides whether they want more of your writing.
I use a thriller novella from my thirteen-book ARKANE series as my magnet at JFPenn.com/free, but the concept is the same for a short story, and if you write in multiple genres, you can have a different magnet for each.
Match the story to your longer books
The goal of building an email list is not to build a bigger email list. It’s about building a list of readers who will buy your books over time, which means you can keep writing, and making money (if that is one of your goals).
A free story will inevitably attract some people who only want free things, but if the story leads naturally to your other paid work, it should result in some converting to paid customers over time. Matching the genre, the author voice, and even the series if applicable can lead more naturally into the next (paid) option.
If the magnet and your other books don’t match, you will build a list of people who never buy anything, and that just costs you money and effort to maintain over time.
How to set up your reader magnet
You can use BookFunnel to deliver your free ebook or audiobook and they also handle any technical support if a reader can’t load the file onto their device. Connect the sign-up to your email newsletter provider and then add the link to your website, social media, and of course, in the back of your books.
Over time, you will get a trickle of real readers who sign up for your list to get the story. I know it doesn’t look like much at first, but over the years, this is how you can grow a real audience for your books.
Remember to end your magnet, and every short you publish, with a call to action that tells the reader where to go next, whether that’s your next book, or another story.
Questions:
- Which of your stories might make the best entry point to your paid work? Or what could you write specifically for this reason?
- If you already have a lead magnet, does it match the genre and voice of the books you want readers to buy next?
- Does every story you publish end with a clear call to action?
- Are you building your email list in a sustainable way for the long term?
Resources:
- BookFunnel for reader magnet delivery: www.TheCreativePenn.com/bookfunnel
- Kit email list service: www.TheCreativePenn.com/kit
- My free thriller reader magnet: www.jfpenn.com/free
- How to Market a Book — Joanna Penn
- Newsletter Ninja 2: If You Give a Reader a Cookie: Supercharge Your Author Mailing List with the Perfect Reader Magnet — Tammi Labrecque
