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What works best, as I tell authors, is to use content and social media to send people to a free lead magnet, so they join your email list, and then to keep offering them the book by email. It usually takes about seven touches before a reader buys a nonfiction book, and more for fiction, so the list is where those touches happen.
This post covers each step, the rules that catch authors out, and what I would do before spending time on events.
What is the method in one line?
Content brings people in, the lead magnet gets their email address, and email does the selling. A lead magnet is a free gift, such as a short book or a checklist, that a reader gets in return for an email address.
Most authors do only the first part. They post, hope, and have no way to reach the same person twice. The list fixes that. If you want the longer argument for email, my post on the top 3 book marketing strategies explains why I put it first.
How does content and social media fit in?
Content is anything useful on your book’s subject: a blog post, a short video, a post on the platform where your readers already spend time. Its job is not to sell the book. Its job is to give a stranger a reason to trust you and one clear next step, which is the link to your freebie.
I use the same freebie link in video descriptions and social profiles, so one lead magnet can bring in readers from several places. Platforms change their rules and their reach often, so pick one or two and check what each allows before you build on it.
How do I get readers from the book to the list?
Put one lead magnet page near the front of your book, and send readers to a landing page where they trade a first name and email for the freebie. How a lead magnet page works has the layout, what the landing page asks for and the sign-up rates I tell authors to aim for.
One rule matters here. KDP’s Hyperlink Guidelines name “links to web forms that request customer information” as prohibited, with an email address as one case, and the page calls its list examples. So the link inside a Kindle book should go to a freebie page on your own site that describes the gift, and put the form on the next page. What KDP allows for links in a book goes through the details.
What do I send after they sign up?
Keep offering the book. That does not mean one email that says “buy my book”. It means a run of useful emails that return to the book now and then, because of the seven touches.
Your emails have legal rules too. The FTC’s CAN-SPAM guide (page dated August 2023) says every marketing email needs a valid postal address for you and an easy way to unsubscribe, and that you must act on an opt-out within 10 business days. Most email tools add the address and the unsubscribe link for you, but you fill in the address.
Why do reviews and ads come before events?
I tell authors that a lead magnet, reviews and ads are a better use of your time than in-person events. A review helps every shopper who lands on your book page, and an ad shows the book to people who are already searching, while an event reaches only the people who walk past the table.
On reviews, follow Amazon’s rules. Its Community Guidelines don’t allow a review given in exchange for payment, a discount or a free product, or one from anyone who knows the author personally. You may give readers a free copy, as long as a review is not the price of it. So ask every reader the same way for an honest review, and never make one a condition of the freebie. Ad prices and rules change, so check Amazon’s current ones before you set a budget (as of 13-Nov-26).
What should I do next?
If your book has been out a while and sales are slow, book a free 25-minute discovery call. Bring your book page and whatever you have for a freebie, and we will work out which step is missing.
Frequently asked questions
How many times does someone need to see my book before they buy?
I tell authors it usually takes about seven touches for nonfiction, and more for fiction. A touch can be a post, a video, an email or an ad, so one reader should meet you in several places.
Do I need a website to market my book this way?
You need a page where readers can sign up for your freebie, and an email tool that stores the addresses. A landing page from your email tool works to start, and my post on the lead magnet page shows what goes on it.
Are in-person events worth it?
I tell authors to do a lead magnet, reviews and ads first, because they reach more people for less effort than events.
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