Free Books ARC & Beta Readers – New Authors discussion

I have not yet put any work into developing an email list, and I intend to rectify that. It appears that BookFunnel might be the most effective way to get started.

The starter plan ($20/year) offers many features for adverts and downloads. But it does not include a *mandatory* entry of name and email. For that, the mid-tier plan ($100/year) is required.

I already set up a reader magnet on my website, and have been offering a free download of a short story in exchange for sign up. THe back matter includes a call to action to pick up the bundled collection (The Infernal Twins), and includes links to my other books.

But getting people to sign up has been... challenging.

Please respond if you have had experience with BookFunnel.

Which tier did you choose, and why?
Has it been effective?
Have you engaged with Group Promos or Author Swaps?
I using the starter plan, have you found that most people enter their email even though it is not required?

One last question... any other platforms that I should consider to power a reader magnet?

I looked at Book Funnel...but honestly I wasn't willing to pay for yet another "tool" for authors. We use Shopify for our website, and a newsletter/signup is included in the cost. It has templates you can follow, pop ups, automatically sends follow ups. Our mailing list is slowly growing...but we have far better luck with in person sales conversions.
There seems to be a "list " of things authors are supposed to do for success, including the newsletter. I'm personally subscribed to several myself. Does it encourage me to buy their books? No. I signed up to be supportive or because I genuinely like the person. I know some authors have great success with the newsletter strategy.. but how many author letters are readers willing to ACTUALLY read unless they are super fans? I have lost my interest in the ABC of what we are supposed to do. Every one of our journeys is different...and our level of success varies on location, genres, and frankly how much energy we are willing to give. Just my 2 cents

That's some wisdom, indeed! I don't have a blog, nor a newsletter, and only 6 people registered for email. My promotional spend is very low (I'm independently impoverished), but I have still gotten notice for my books.

So step by step, doing what I think works best.

That's how you do it! Step by step. It's a marathon. We have a blog ... no one reads it 😅😅