Author Lead Magnet Ideas
Having a mailing list is a phenomenal way to announce upcoming book launches, but having a highly targeted, perfectly interested audience is the best kind of list to have. How can you create a list like that for yourself? Offer a lead magnet that is impossible for the right readers to resist!
This page offers some ideas that you can customize to fit your target market. It’s organized by genre, but you may want to bookmark it, because we’ll update it with new ideas as they come to us! If you don’t see a match for your genre, get creative with some of the ideas from other categories. In fact, mixing and matching from other genres is a great way to make something as unique as your story, just what your perfect reader is looking for!
Fiction
Romance
Romance readers are romantic, by nature. Let’s help them bring romance into their lives, inspired by your story. Consider creating a downloadable set of printable cards with the most heart-stopping quotes from your novel that they can share with their IRL lovers. Or, better yet, a [Your Novel’s Title] Guide to Date Night, inspired by the types of dates your characters would go on.
Thriller/Mystery/Suspense
What might the case file for your antagonist look like? Mug shots, details about the suspect and nature of the crime, past criminal history, known associates, psychological evaluations, evidence and lab reports, and anything else that would relate to the case in question!
Just be sure to warn your readers if there are spoilers, so they read it after your novel!
For something to pique their interest before they commit to a novel, you can give your readers a mystery of their own to solve. You probably have a long list of “future ideas”. Pick one that you don’t think you’ll flesh out into a novel and work out just enough to create a 5 or 7 day email challenge where you send clues and your readers guess the mystery! Maybe you even write a short story so that at the end of the challenge, they can find out if they solved the mystery. Encourage them to respond and interact with you to build a connection they’ll remember forever.
Horror
There are many different types of horror, and depending on what your audience prefers to read, you may need to cater your lead magnet to the type of horror you write.
Psychological horror overlaps quite well with Thriller and Suspense, above. Another idea might be to craft a dating profile for your main characters. Would your villain disguise their red flags, or flaunt them? How would your protagonist write their profile before/after the events of your story? This would be an interesting way to flesh out their character arc, even as an author exercise!
For creature features, you may want to commission art work to bring the monster(s) to life. Or perhaps a Zoologist could create a scientific profile for the monster, cataloguing it like a new species. Similar to the mythological fantasy/sci-fi genres, an origin short story is always an idea!
If your antagonist is human, a short manifesto might give your readers a reason to lock their doors at night. Perhaps the notes taken from their psychiatrist?
Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Maps, character art, origin stories and myths are all treasures that fantasy and sci-fi readers love and they make great lead magnets.
Personally, I like to know more about the flora and fauna of a world, so consider creating a Bird-watchers Guide to [Your World] or your own version of a dictionary of fantastical creatures, or most dangerous plants.
Historical Fiction
Readers of historical fiction love to know what was fact and what was fiction. Many authors include some additional details in the back matter, but you could turn it into a lead magnet or two instead. Perhaps some foundational information to ground and interest your reader before they commit, and deeper details about what you changed, and what inspired the story for readers who want more after they’ve finished the book.
Other ideas might include day-in-the-life style downloadables: recipes, medicinal “cures”, chore charts, fashion sketches, or diary entries. What was real life really like for your characters?
Young Adult
Young adult readers are the best super fans. They love printable or sharable quotes that connect them to their favorite characters. Quizzes like “which character are you” tie them to your world with unbreakable bonds, and if you can give them a short story with “their” character living their best life, they’ll eat it up!
Christian/Religious
For fiction, Christian or other Religious literature falls under the umbrella of other major categories, just with a spiritual undercurrent to it. So the recommendations for Romance would work just as well for Christian Romance, and so on. However, there are ways to deepen your connection to this sub-audience by focusing on lead magnets that emphasize the religious nature of your work.
- Romance: [Main Character’s Name]’s Guide to First Date Questions to Find Your Perfect Christian Match
- Horror: Top Ten Most Horrifying Biblical Villains
- Historical Fiction: Critical Analysis of Christianity During [Historical Event/Time Period]
- YA: Beginners Spirituality for [novel theme] Loving Teens
Non-Fiction
Self Help
Companion guides work really well in the self-help space. Consider workbooks, journals, checklists, log-books, affirmations, or other types of guides that will help them process and implement the tools you teach with your book.
True Crime
Visuals can be put to good use with true crime readers. You’ll want to be careful not to get too macabre, but a visual representation of the timeline or movement of a case would be a great lead magnet that makes the story feel even more real. If you can find enough details about the criminal, you can put together a rap sheet or evidence file. Try to dive deeper into the lives of the people the criminal affected, and offer insight into the aftermath after the case was closed.
Memoir
You are only limited by your own privacy boundaries here. Be respectful to yourself and anyone who may be affected by what you’re sharing, but consider:
- an annotated photobook
- bonus chapters of events that were important to your life, but may not have made it into the memoir
- a cheat sheet of life lessons
- a collection of personal essays, sharing your thoughts on topics covered within the memoir
- answers to the top 50 questions about the author
Business Niches
Similar to Self Help, companion guides work really well in the self-help space. Workbooks, journals, checklists, log-books, or other types of guides that will help them process and implement the tools you teach with your book. If you teach a system, step-by-step breakdowns that can help them trigger a workflow or mind maps can also be great lead magnets!
Christian/Spiritual
Similar to fiction, Christian or Spiritual non-fiction will remain under the umbrella of the category you’re publishing within. The recommendations for Self Help, for example, could be tailored for Christian Self Help, etc. Addressing this subset of an audience, however, can further qualify your readership to develop devoted, raving fans.
Here are a few ideas that might work in various non-fiction categories:
- Topical guides to scriptures, such as “Top Ten Scriptures About [your topic]”
- Scripture-led guided journals, such as “Guided Journal for Using Scriptures to Build Resiliance [or your topic]”
- Downloadable/printable collection of coloring pages with scriptures worked into them
- A guide to influential Biblical figures based on your topic(s) of discussion