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What Makes a Good Reader Magnet?

Alexandru FilipUpdated Oct 1, 2026Facts verified Oct 1, 2026

One that a reader of your book actually wants and cannot get anywhere else. A reader magnet is the free thing you offer in exchange for an email address. The ones authors report working are extra stories from inside the book's world: a prequel, a bonus epilogue, a scene from another character's point of view. The one that rarely works is the first chapter, because every retailer already gives that away as a free sample.

The longer version

A reader magnet has one job: turn someone who liked your book into someone who hears from you when the next one comes out. That decides what makes a good one. It has to appeal to the reader you want on your list, not to anyone who likes free things.

What tends to work

These are drawn from what authors report on r/selfpublish and r/romanceauthors, where the question comes up constantly:

MagnetWhy it works
Bonus epilogueThe reader has just finished the book and wants more of these characters. This is the strongest pull you will ever have on them.
Side-character storyFans of a series often care about a secondary character. A short story about them is something no retailer can sell them.
Prequel novella or short storyShows a new reader what your writing is like and leads straight into book one. Works for people who have not read you yet, too.
Alternative point of viewA key scene from the other character's head. Cheap to write if you drafted it already.
Non-fiction: a working toolA checklist, template, worksheet or reference sheet that does something the book only describes.

What tends not to

  • The first chapter or a sample. Readers can already read it free on the retailer's site, so it offers nothing new.
  • Something unrelated to your books. A generic freebie fills the list with people who will not buy the next book.
  • A whole, otherwise paid book. It can work, but authors report it attracts people looking for free books in general, and they rarely go on to buy.

Where to put it

The best place is the last page of the book, straight after "The End". The reader is as warm as they will ever be. The front of the book is second, for readers who sample and then buy.

Make it one step

The fewer clicks between the offer and the file, the more people finish. Authors consistently report that a direct link to a delivery service — one that collects the email address and sends the file in the same step — converts far better than "visit my website, find the signup form, confirm your email, wait for the download". Delivery services built for authors, such as BookFunnel and StoryOrigin, exist for this. So do the automations in most email providers.

Common exceptions

  • KDP Select books. If your ebook is enrolled, Amazon's exclusivity means no digital distribution of the book anywhere else, including your own website or blog; print is unaffected. So the magnet must be content that is not in the enrolled book: a separate prequel or a bonus scene, not a chapter of it.
  • One-book authors. A magnet collects readers for the next book. If there is no next book yet, start the list anyway, but write the magnet when you know what it is leading to.
  • Pen names. Each pen name needs its own magnet and its own list, or readers get something they did not sign up for.
  • Subscribers still have to be welcomed. A magnet gets the address. What you send afterwards decides whether they stay.

Sources

  • Amazon KDP, "Self Publishing and KDP Select" — exclusivity of the digital edition.
  • Author reports on r/selfpublish and r/romanceauthors (2025–2026) on which magnets convert. These are experiences, not measured results.

The KDP Select rule is quoted from the AuthorAZ record for Amazon KDP. Verified 1 October 2026.

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