List-building
How reader magnets and ARC pages build an author email list
A reader magnet is a file a stranger asked for. An ARC page is a short reading window for a specific book. Both can put an email address on your list, and they train different expectations. ReaderMagnet gives you a landing page for each job, delivers the file, and can pass the address to the email tool you already pay for.
What a reader magnet is
A reader magnet is a free story, sample chapter, bonus scene, or short guide you offer in exchange for an email. The reader wanted that file. They were not doing you a favor, and they were not joining a swap. The landing page should say what the file is, who it is for, and what happens after they type an address. On ReaderMagnet that page is a magnet URL. The reader enters a name and email when the magnet requires an email, then gets the download when the file is attached.
The magnet can stay up on a Tuesday in March, long after launch week. That is the point. A back-of-book link, a social post, and a retailer author page can all point at the same URL. You can change the headline and the call to action. The dashboard includes a way to test headline and call-to-action variants on a magnet and see which line got the download. That test tells you which sentence produced a signup. It does not tell you whether the reader will open the next letter you send.
Write the magnet like a book, not like a terms page. Name the genre. Say how long the file is. If it is a prequel, say which series it belongs to. If it is a sample that stops, say that it stops. A reader who expected a full novel and received a chapter will not treat the next email as a gift.
How an ARC page is different from a magnet
An ARC is time-boxed. It is usually tied to a launch or a relaunch. The reader might leave an honest review if they finish and want to. The copy is access. It is not payment for a star rating. A magnet is the evergreen extra. Mixing the two is how you end up with a free-book page that is actually an expired ARC file.
On ReaderMagnet those are different objects on purpose. The ARC campaign has its own page, its own file, and its own claim list. The magnet has its own landing page and its own file. You can run both for the same pen name. You should not use one URL to mean both things at once. If the ARC window closes, change the public copy or take the public claim down. Leave the private download links alone for people still reading.
A newsletter swap is a third activity. You recommend another author's book to your list, and they recommend yours to theirs. The reader wanted the other author's mail, not necessarily yours. ReaderMagnet does not run that marketplace and does not match swap partners. If you use a swap board somewhere else, you can still deliver your own magnet and your own ARC on ReaderMagnet. The tools are allowed to sit next to each other.
How the signup actually works
On an ARC page, the reader claims the book with an email. ReaderMagnet sends a private access link to that address. The link is for that reader. It is easier to support than a public Drive folder, and it is easier to stop if a link is forwarded. On a magnet page, the reader submits the form and receives the file on the page when a download is ready, or a note that the author will send the copy.
You can see the claims. You can export them. From the ARC manager you can export a campaign's readers as a CSV. From the integrations screen you can export a subscriber CSV of magnet and ARC signups collected on ReaderMagnet. That export is your copy of addresses gathered here. It does not pull a BookFunnel or StoryOrigin list into this dashboard.
A public claim is optional. Share the private campaign URL with readers you can name. Turn on discovery at Free Books only when you can answer mail if a download fails. A public page left open after you have moved on is how a broken download becomes a one-star review. Coming soon is the right state when the page should exist and the file should not move yet.
Where the email address goes
The address lands on the campaign or the magnet first. If you connect an email provider, new readers who claim a copy or download a magnet can be added to the list you already run. The dashboard lists MailerLite, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, AWeber, SendFox, EmailOctopus, GetResponse, Brevo, Beehiiv, and Flodesk. Help pages also describe Resend, MailerLite, and SMTP. You still write the mail in the tool you chose. ReaderMagnet does not become your newsletter.
Connect the provider before you promise a weekly letter. A page that collects mail you never send is how you get spam complaints. If you do not have a provider yet, you can still run the ARC page and download the CSV later. Confirm you can send from that tool before you invite a few hundred readers.
Pen names can share an author account. Starter, the entry plan after open beta, includes unlimited pen names. You do not need a separate ReaderMagnet login for each name. Keep the magnet and the ARC copy in the voice of the name on the book. Readers joined for that name.
Why a dedicated page beats a public folder
A public folder link pasted into a Facebook thread is hard to revoke, hard to update, and hard to explain when the file is the wrong edition. A dedicated page lets you swap the EPUB or PDF in one place, tell people who already downloaded, and stop new claims without deleting the book from the readers who have it. The page can also say the review rules in your own words, next to the download, instead of in a comment thread that disappears.
Device support still matters. Upload an EPUB and a PDF when you can. Tell Kindle readers how to sideload, and point everyone else at ARC Support if the app rejects the file. A watermark, if you use one, does not stop a leak. A stamp across every page mostly makes the book harder to read. Assume a forwarded link can leak. Revoke the campaign if you have to, tell the readers who were mid-book, and keep writing.
The page is also the thing you can put in the back of the book. One URL. One sentence about the free story or the next ARC. When that URL stays stable, you do not have to update the ebook every time you change an email provider.
What a magnet page will not do
A magnet will not invent fans. It will collect the address of someone who wanted that file. If the file is thin, the list will be thin in a worse way: people who feel tricked. If you email them every day about books they did not ask for, they will leave. The useful version is boring. Deliver the file once. Send a short welcome that matches the promise on the page. Later, tell them when the next book is real.
A magnet will not guarantee reviews, sales, or a particular open rate. ReaderMagnet will not invent those numbers for you. It will give you the page, the delivery path, and a way to drop the address into the email tool you already pay for. During open beta that author path is free through November 1, 2026, with no credit card. After that date the public prices are Starter at $9/month, Pro at $19/month, and Publisher at $49/month.
If you are comparing this job with BookFunnel's magnet delivery or StoryOrigin's list tools, use the category comparison. If you are opening a launch window, use how to run an ARC campaign. The longer magnet-versus-swap article on the blog is reader magnet vs newsletter swap.
Questions authors ask
What is a reader magnet for an indie author?
A free story, sample, or bonus you offer in exchange for an email. The reader wanted that file. On ReaderMagnet it is a landing page with its own URL, separate from a time-boxed ARC campaign.
How does an ARC page help build a list?
Readers enter an email to claim the advance copy. That address is a person who asked for that book. You can export a CSV and, if you connect a provider, add them to the email list you already run.
Can I use the same page for a magnet and an ARC?
Use two pages. The ARC page is the launch window. The magnet page is the file that stays up. If one short story has to do both jobs, change the copy when the review window ends so new readers are not promised an ARC.
Does ReaderMagnet send my newsletter?
No. ReaderMagnet collects the signup and can pass it to MailerLite, Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or another provider you connect. You still write the mail in that tool.
Will a reader magnet guarantee reviews or sales?
No. It delivers a file to someone who asked. Reviews on an ARC are optional and unpaid. Sales depend on the book and the mail you send later.