Nowadays, some traditional publishers won’t even consider signing an author who has less than 10,000 email subscribers. Even indie authors see a big jump in sales after they build an email subscriber base. 

Over the last ten years in publishing, nothing has consistently performed as well as email when it comes to selling books and connecting with readers. This is true for indie, traditional, fiction, and nonfiction authors.

Do you want more email subscribers?

Learn how to use these amazing tools that will help you grow your email subscriber list. 

In previous podcasts and blog posts we’ve addressed various techniques to help grow your list:

* Creating a reader magnet * Building a landing page* Promoting your email list in your back matter 

But today you’ll learn about tools you can use in addition to techniques.

Tool #1: BookFunnel.com

Cost: $20-$250 a year 

Many authors, especially novelists, offer a free short story in exchange for a reader’s email address. We’ve called it a “lead magnet” or a “reader magnet,” and most often it’s offered as a PDF file.

But the problem is that readers don’t want to read a PDF file on their laptops. They prefer to read on their e-reading devices like Kindle, Kobo, and Nook.

Book Funnel solves this problem by making it easy for readers to get your ebook in the proper file format for their device without the technical delivery nightmares for you.

But how does that grow your email list?

BookFunnel makes it super easy for readers “buy” your short story (or reader magnet) with their email address. The easier it is for readers to read on the devices they prefer, the more they will love you.

Offering your reader magnet through BookFunnel is one of the most effective ways of growing an email list, especially for novelists. Nonfiction authors can offer tip-sheets and guides, but BookFunnel works best for novelists who give away short stories and full length ebooks.

Tips for using BookFunnel

* Write the very best short story you can. Learn how to write a great short story by listening to Episode 137: How to Write Short Stories that People Will Love.* Get a professional cover design for your reader magnet. The better the cover, the more subscribers you will get. * Have your short story professionally edited. To learn about working with an editor, listen to Episode 133: How to Find and Work with an Editor with Karen Ball

Tool #2: BookSweeps.com 

Cost: $0-$100/promo

Ryan Zee hosts book promos for authors at booksweeps.com. Your short story or free ebook is listed in their directory, and readers can sign up for your email newsletter in order to receive your short story.

Book Sweeps (Affiliate Link) also promotes reader magnets to their email list of over 100,000 readers. 

Authors who use BookSweeps tend to get 400-800 new signups within a month. On a recent coaching call, one author told me she went from 0 to 1100 subscribers with a single BookSweeps promotion.