Reader Magnets

What is Reader Magnets?

Reader Magnets hosts a free book, or tracks one you already give away somewhere else. To host it here, attach the file and share the link. You can see who signed up and who downloaded it. To track a magnet on BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, or your own site, log the magnet, where it lives, and how many readers have claimed it.

Getting started with Reader Magnets

Reader Magnets is for the free books and ARCs you give away to grow your readership. You can use it in two ways: - Host it here: Author's Toolbox gives you a sign-up page. Readers enter their name and email, get an email with a private download link, and you see who signed up and downloaded. - Track another platform: if you already deliver through BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, Prolific Works, BookSirens, your own website or something else, you can log your download numbers here and watch them grow. Host a free book here 1. In the left sidebar, click Reader Magnets. 2. Click + Add Book. 3. Choose the Book from your Book Library, and a Pen name if you use them. 4. Leave Platform set to Author's Toolbox, and choose the Type: Reader Magnet, ARC or Freebie. 5. Under the sign-up page, choose Make a new sign-up page (a simple form asking for first name and email), or use a form you've already made in Form Builder. 6. Click Add Book. After a short pause, the book's own page opens. 7. On the File Delivery tab, add your book file, choose the email readers get, and click Save changes. 8. Click Send me a test to check the email and download. 9. Click Publish, then Copy link and share it. The "How do I host a free book" article walks through each part in more detail. Track downloads from another platform 1. Click + Add Book, choose the book, and set Platform to where you deliver it. 2. Add the Landing Page URL if you have one, then click Add Book. 3. Click Log Stats whenever you check your numbers, or import a CSV export. The summary cards At the top you'll see Total Downloads, Active Books, This Month and Platforms. Use the Pen name and language filters to narrow the list, and Show archived to see books you've archived. Tip: click How do I use this tool? under the page title for a guided tour.

How do I host a free book and send it to readers?

When Author's Toolbox hosts your reader magnet, readers sign up on your page and receive an email with a private link to download the book. The email is sent from your own connected email account. Before you start - Add the book to your Book Library. - Connect an email account for the pen name in Settings. The delivery email is sent through your own Gmail or email (SMTP) connection. 1. Create the reader magnet 1. In the left sidebar, click Reader Magnets, then + Add Book. 2. Choose the Book, the Pen name and the Type, and keep Platform set to Author's Toolbox. 3. Choose Make a new sign-up page, or pick a form you already made. If that form is currently published, you'll be asked to confirm, and it will be unpublished until you publish the reader magnet. If it has no email field, one is added. 4. Click Add Book. The reader magnet's page opens on the File Delivery tab. 2. Add your files - Click Upload a file to add an EPUB, PDF, MOBI or AZW3 file, up to 200 MB each. Uploaded files are also saved in Storage, in a "Reader Magnets" folder, so you can reuse them. - Or click Choose from Storage to use a file you've already uploaded. You can add more than one file, for example an EPUB and a PDF. Change the label readers see next to each file if you like. Readers get a link to every file. 3. Set up the email readers get 1. Choose the pen name to Send as. 2. Pick one of the 10 email designs. 3. Optionally write a Subject and an Intro line. You can use placeholders such as {{firstName}}, {{penName}} and {{bookTitle}}. 4. Click Preview to see it. 5. Click Save changes, then Send me a test. The test goes to the address in Send the test to. The button only works once your changes are saved and an email account is connected. 4. Choose your protection settings See "How do I protect my reader magnet from being shared?" for the confirmation, link expiry, download limit and stamping options. Click Save changes when you're done. 5. Optional: add readers to your mailing list Under Add readers to my mailing list, tick Offer readers a tick box to join my mailing list, choose Which list (from the lists you've connected in Newsletter Analytics), and optionally a Tag. Click Save list connection, then Test with my email to check it works. Your encryption key must be unlocked, and your list key must be allowed to add subscribers. The tick box is never pre-ticked for readers. 6. Publish and share Click Publish. If something is still missing, a yellow note lists what to fix first, such as adding a file, adding an email field, or sending yourself a test email. Once it's live, click Copy link, or open the Sign-up page tab to get a short link and QR code. What readers experience 1. They fill in your sign-up page. 2. They get your email with their own download link. If you require confirmation, they confirm their email first. 3. The download page shows their files, how long the link works, and tips for reading on Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, Android or as a PDF. 4. If they haven't downloaded after an hour, they get one reminder email. If a reader signs up again with the same email, they get a fresh link. Their old link keeps working and their download count carries over.

How do I protect my reader magnet from being shared?

Every reader gets their own private download link. These settings, in the Delivery Protection section of the File Delivery tab, control how that link can be used. Click Save changes after changing them. Confirm email first Tick Readers must confirm their email before they can download. Readers must click a link in their email before the download works. This stops people signing up with someone else's address. How long the link works Link works for (days) can be from 1 to 365 days. It counts from when the reader signs up, or from when they confirm if confirmation is on. After that, the reader sees that the link has expired and can sign up again for a new one. Downloads per file Downloads per file can be from 1 to 50. It's per reader and per file. When a reader uses them all up, the page says they've reached the limit. Tell me when a link looks shared Tick Tell me when a link looks shared. If one reader's link is used from two or more different networks, you get a notification in the app and an email. This is a warning only. Sharing prevention Sharing prevention decides what happens when a link is used from many networks: - Never, only tell me: the link keeps working. - 3, 4 or 5 different networks: the link switches off once it's used from that many networks. The default is 3. A switched-off reader shows as "Switched off: shared" on the Readers tab. Someone downloading at home, at work and on their phone may use two or three networks, so a very low limit can catch honest readers. Stamp each reader's copy Tick Stamp each reader's copy with their name to add a visible line to each reader's copy, such as "Prepared for Sam". - Works for PDF and EPUB files up to 50 MB. - What the stamp says can be up to 160 characters and can use {{name}}, {{email}} and {{date}}. The default is "Prepared for {{name}}". - How visible can be Light, Medium or Strong. Send yourself a test to see the stamp on a real copy. Test downloads are stamped too.

How do I see who signed up and where they came from?

Open a hosted reader magnet by clicking Readers on its card in Reader Magnets. The Readers tab The numbers at the top show how many people Signed up, Confirmed email, Downloaded and Joined your list. Each reader has a status, such as: - Downloaded - Ready, not downloaded - Waiting to confirm (they haven't confirmed their email yet) - Link expired - Access removed (you removed it) - Switched off: shared (their link was used from too many networks) Test sign-ups you make yourself are marked as tests and aren't counted. Help or remove a reader Open a reader's actions to: - Send a fresh link: emails them a new download link. - Remove access: their link stops working. Use Restore access to undo this. A reader whose access you removed stays removed even if they sign up again. - Delete this reader: removes them from the list. Export your readers Click Export CSV to download a spreadsheet with each reader's email, first name, sign-up date, source, confirmation, downloads, first download, whether they joined your list, and the answers to any extra questions on your form. Track where sign-ups come from On the Sign-up page tab, under referral links, you can make a separate link for each place you share the book, such as your newsletter, Threads or a promo. 1. Type a name (up to 60 characters) and click Add link. 2. Copy that link and use it in the matching place. Each link shows its Clicks, Page views, Sign-ups and Downloaded. Clicks and page views can take up to five minutes to appear. You can rename a link or pause it. A paused link shows a "paused" page instead of your sign-up page and keeps its counts. Links can't be deleted, so an old post never sends readers to someone else's page. Short link and QR code On the Sign-up page tab, choose Get a short link and QR code to get a shorter link and a QR code you can print on bookmarks or show at events.

How do I track downloads from BookFunnel, StoryOrigin or my website?

If you deliver a free book somewhere other than Author's Toolbox, you can still track its downloads here. Add the book 1. In the left sidebar, click Reader Magnets, then + Add Book. 2. Choose the Book, then set Platform to BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, Prolific Works, BookSirens, Own Website or Other. 3. Choose the Type and add the Landing Page URL if you have one. 4. Click Add Book. Log your numbers by hand 1. Click Log Stats at the top of the page, or on the book's card. 2. Choose the Book and the Date. 3. Enter Total Downloads (cumulative): the all-time total your platform shows, not just the new ones. 4. Optionally enter New This Period. This is what the This Month card adds up. 5. Add any notes and save. Click View History on a card to see a chart of your logged totals. Import a CSV 1. Click Import CSV. 2. Choose the platform the file came from and follow the instructions shown. For BookFunnel, export from BookFunnel's reports and download the CSV. 3. Choose the file. The preview shows how many downloads were found for each book. 4. Click Import. Each row in the file counts as one download, grouped by book title. The total for each book is set to the number of rows in that file, so import a file that covers all time rather than just recent weeks. Book titles in the file should match your Book Library titles. Count downloads from your own website For books with Platform set to Own Website: 1. Click the webhook icon on the book's card. 2. Click Generate Webhook URL and copy it. 3. Set your website, download button or automation tool to send a POST request to that link each time someone downloads the book. Each request adds one download to today's count. Nothing in the request is read, so no reader details are sent. Up to 2,000 downloads a day can be counted per book. If the link has leaked, use Regenerate URL to get a new one. The old link stops working.

Troubleshooting Reader Magnets

I can't publish A yellow note on the reader magnet's page lists what's missing. The most common ones: - Add at least one file: upload a file or choose one from Storage on the File Delivery tab. - Add an email field to the form: the sign-up page needs an email field, because that's where the book is sent. Edit the page design and add one. - Connect an email in Settings first: the delivery email is sent from your own account. Connect Gmail or an email (SMTP) account in Settings. - Send yourself a test email first: click Send me a test on the File Delivery tab. - Finish the mailing list setup, or turn it off: either choose a list and click Save list connection, or untick the mailing list option. - Your mailing list key could not add a test subscriber: the key you used in Newsletter Analytics can only read. Create a key that can add subscribers and update the connection. Send me a test is greyed out Save your changes first; the button is disabled while you have unsaved changes. It also needs a connected email account for the Send as pen name. If you see "Too many tests. Wait a minute.", wait and try again. I can't open a hosted reader magnet If you're a collaborator, opening a hosted reader magnet needs access to Form Builder as well as Reader Magnets. Ask the account owner to check your role. A reader says their link doesn't work Check their status on the Readers tab: - Waiting to confirm: they need to click the confirmation link in their email. Ask them to check spam. - Link expired: click Send a fresh link, or they can sign up again. - Access removed: click Restore access if you want them to have it. - Switched off: shared: their link was used from more networks than your Sharing prevention setting allows. - If they've used all their downloads, the page says the limit was reached. "We could not prepare your copy right now" This appears when a reader's stamped copy couldn't be made. Ask them to try again in a few minutes. Stamping only works for PDF and EPUB files up to 50 MB. A reader can't open the book on Kindle The download page suggests using Send to Kindle with the EPUB file. Offer an EPUB if you only have MOBI. My CSV import numbers look wrong Each row counts as one download, and the total is set to the number of rows in that file. A file covering only recent weeks will lower the total. Import an all-time export instead, and check that the titles in the file match your Book Library titles. My website webhook stopped counting The link may have been regenerated, which turns off the old one. Copy the current link from the webhook window. Counting also stops for the day after 2,000 downloads.