How to tell if your reader magnet is working

Most authors set up a reader magnet, share the link, and then guess. Subscribers are arriving, so it must be working. But "some people signed up" doesn't tell you whether the page is persuading the readers who see it, whether the book is reaching them, or whether the effort you put into promotion is paying off.

A handful of simple numbers answers all three. This guide explains what to look at, what each one tells you, and what to change when a number looks wrong. You don't need a spreadsheet or any special skill, and you don't need hundreds of signups to learn something.

The four numbers that matter

A reader magnet has a short journey, and each number marks one step along it:

1. Views. How many people landed on your signup page.
2. Signups. How many of them handed over their email address.
3. Conversion. Signups divided by views. It's the share of visitors who joined.
4. Downloads. How many of those subscribers actually collected the book.

Each pair of neighbouring numbers shows you one thing. Views to signups tells you about the page. Signups to downloads tells you about delivery. Views on their own tell you about promotion. Looking at them together points you to the step that needs work.

In Storyfinch these appear on your Performance page, per reader magnet, with totals across all of them at the top. Views are counted on your hosted signup page.

Views: is anyone seeing it?

If views are low, nothing else matters yet. The page may be fine; it just isn't being found. The fix is promotion, not redesign.

• Is the link in the back matter and front matter of your books?
• Is it in your social profiles and email signature?
• Have you shared it with other authors? Our guide to newsletter swaps and group promotions covers how.

Don't change the page when only a few people have seen it. A handful of views is too few to show you anything.

Conversion: is the page persuading?

Conversion is the most useful number, because it measures the page itself: the cover, the pitch, and the form. It's also easy to misread, so it helps to know what it can and can't tell you.

• There's no single "good" figure. It depends on where your visitors came from. Readers who have just finished your book and clicked from the last page are far more likely to join than strangers who found you through a group promotion. Compare a magnet with itself over time, or with your other magnets, rather than with a number you read somewhere.
• Warm and cold traffic behave differently. A mix of both gives you a middle figure that fits neither. If you can, note what you were promoting during each stretch.
• Small numbers wobble. Two signups from ten views looks like twenty per cent. It means very little. Wait until you have a few dozen views before drawing conclusions.
• Check what views count. Conversion here is signups divided by views of the hosted page. If you also collect signups through an embedded form, a popup or a QR code, those signups are included but their visitors aren't, so the figure can look better than the page really is.

What to change when conversion is low

Change one thing at a time, and give each change a fair run before judging it.

1. The pitch. Say plainly what the reader gets. "A bonus epilogue: the wedding day" beats "Join my newsletter".
2. The cover. A cover that looks like a real book in your genre signals quality. A plain placeholder suggests an afterthought.
3. The form. Ask only for what you need. An email address is usually enough; a name is optional.
4. The consent line. It should be short, honest and easy to read. Vague wording puts careful readers off. See our guide to author mailing lists and consent.
5. The offer itself. If the first four are sound and conversion is still weak, the magnet may not match the readers arriving. Our reader magnet ideas can help you rethink it.

Downloads: is the book reaching people?

Downloads should track close behind signups. If many people join but few download, something between the signup and the book is going wrong, and that's worth fixing quickly, because those readers wanted the book.

• Do you require email verification? If so, readers must click a confirmation link before the book is delivered, which is one more step where people can drop off. Keep that first email short and easy to spot. We compare the approaches in single vs double opt-in.
• Is the email landing in spam? Ask a friend to sign up with a different email provider and see where it arrives.
• Is the link easy to use on a phone? Most readers sign up on mobile. The book should open cleanly there. See EPUB vs PDF for which format suits your readers.
• Is the delivery email clear? One obvious button works better than a paragraph of instructions.

Download counts can be lower than signups for ordinary reasons, too. Some people sign up and read later, or open the book on a different device. A small gap is normal. A large one is a sign to check delivery.

Which sources are worth your time?

Not all signups are equal. Subscribers can arrive through your hosted page, an embedded form, a popup, a plain HTML form or a QR code, and Storyfinch records which one each person used on your subscribers list.

Use that to see where your best readers come from. A QR code in a book's back matter or on a table at an event may bring fewer people than a popup on your website, but those people may be keener. Spend your effort where the readers are, not where the biggest number is.

Beyond the signup: do they stay?

A reader magnet that fills your list with people who never open an email isn't doing its job. After the first few weeks, look at your email platform for:

• Opens on the welcome email. It's the most-read email you will ever send. If people aren't opening it, your subject line or sender name may be unclear.
• Unsubscribes after the first email. A spike suggests readers weren't expecting to hear from you. Check that your signup page says plainly that they're joining a mailing list.
• Replies and clicks. These are the signs of a reader who is engaged.

A good welcome email sequence makes a big difference here.

A simple routine

You don't need to watch the numbers daily. A few minutes at the same point each month is enough:

1. Open your Performance page and note views, signups, conversion and downloads for each magnet.
2. Write down what you promoted that month.
3. Pick the weakest step and change one thing.
4. Check again next month.

Over a few months you will see what works for your readers, which is more useful than any general rule.

Frequently asked questions