How do you entice readers to give you their email? Through one or more reader magnets. That’s a good start, but how do you keep them coming back to see what’s new on your website? The answer is that you need to create a reader magnet initially, then develop a system that keeps readers engaged.
This can be fairly straightforward for non-fiction writers, but fiction writers may scratch their heads and come up blank.
Fiction author Lorena Angell does an excellent job of keeping her readers engaged and begging her for more.
To explain how she does this, let me share a bit more about her books. Lorena writes a young-adult fantasy series called “The Unaltered”, and in each book the characters obtain their special powers from gems, thus the titles of A Diamond in My Pocket; A Diamond in My Heart; etc.
During one of my classes, I urged Lorena and other writers to develop a product readers would want enough that they would gladly provide their email addresses in order to obtain the gift. She created her initial reader magnet with book giveaways, primarily . . . but once she had readers on her list she knew she needed to keep them there.
That’s when she created monthly drawings.
Every month she does a drawing for a $25 gift card. In order to enter the drawing, readers need to make a comment on her blog. Their comments serve to interest other readers, too, thereby accomplishing things such as having the readers themselves create excitement around the launch of new books and eagerly buying up every new title.
While anyone can offer a gift card, she needed to do things that reminded readers of her books – not just the loot they might win. She accomplished this through creating a giveaway of the “Sanguine Diamond” a huge fake diamond that is awarded via special drawings throughout the year.
She names her winners and features a picture of them on her blog.
Her latest enticement for readers is a custom bookmark that any reader would love to have. She’s designed these as valued reminders of her series. Like the other drawings, she offers these through a contest that may only be entered through leaving a message on her blog.
All winners are highlighted so everyone can see the fairness of the contest, as well as join in the excitement. Her “readership care” has helped build a strong list of supporters around the world.
It’s also what’s kept her on international bestseller charts for years.
Of course when there’s a new post, she reaches out to those readers via her autoresponder to let them know they want to follow her blog link in order to see the pictures of the latest booty.
These creative efforts on her part have helped her build a loyal group of fans, ones that follow what she does and get behind her promotions for every book release.
What can you build to engage and maintain your readership base?
You can find the first book in her series here: A Diamond in My Heart
Here’s a link to her blog: Lorena Angell’s blog