How Authors Can Grow Their Newsletter Subscriber List
Also check out a book review of Unsicker Road: The Wrack and Ruin Series, my 2025 reading list so far and some Indie Reads
When you’re an author — whether indie, traditionally published, or somewhere in between — your newsletter isn’t just a tool. It’s your direct line to readers who want to hear from you.
But growing that list? That can feel like shouting into the void. Or worse — like begging.
Let’s change that.
This isn’t about shady tactics or clickbait subject lines. This is about building trust, offering value, and creating a list of subscribers who look forward to hearing from you.
1. Start with a Solid Lead Magnet
A reader won’t hand over their email just because you ask nicely. You need to give them a compelling reason. That’s where a lead magnet comes in.
Great lead magnet ideas for authors:
A free short story, novella, or deleted scene
A character dossier or map from your fictional world
A behind-the-scenes writing journal
A sample chapter or “sneak peek” of your next book
The key: Make sure it’s specific to your genre and tone. A romance reader might not care about your sci-fi backstory. Make the magnet feel like a reward crafted just for them.
2. Add Your Signup Link in All the Right Places
Visibility matters. If your signup form is hiding on the back page of your website, it’s not doing you any favors. Here’s where to place it:
Your website homepage (above the fold!)
Your author bio on guest posts or interviews
Your social media bios
The back of your books (print and digital)
Your email signature
Linktree or other link-in-bio tools
Bonus Tip: Turn your lead magnet into a landing page. Tools like MailerLite, ConvertKit, or Beehiiv make this easy — no tech headaches required.
3. Use Your Books as Discovery Tools
Your book is your best marketing asset. Use it!
At the end of your eBook or paperback, include a call-to-action like:
“Love this story? Grab the bonus epilogue by subscribing to my newsletter here: [your link].”
Readers who finish your book are the warmest leads you’ll ever get. Don’t let them slip away.
4. Get Personal on Social Media
People subscribe to people — not sales pitches. Use social media to tell stories, share your writing journey, or talk directly to your ideal reader.
Then, every few posts, remind them why your newsletter matters.
Instead of “Sign up for my newsletter,” try:
“Want to read the scene I cut from the final draft? It’s in this week’s email.”
“Subscribers just got a sneak peek of the next cover — want in?”
“I send out monthly book recs and write life updates. No spam, just good stuff.”
Make your newsletter feel like an exclusive club, not another piece of inbox clutter.
5. Run a Reader Magnet Swap
Partner with an author in your genre and swap mentions. You promote their newsletter to your readers, and they promote yours.
This works best when:
You write in the same or complementary genres
Your lead magnets are equally enticing
You genuinely like and trust each other’s work
It’s a win-win, and it helps you tap into a warm audience that’s already interested in your type of storytelling.
6. Give Subscribers a Reason to Stay
Getting subscribers is only half the battle — keeping them is the real game.
Send consistent emails (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly — pick what’s sustainable)
Offer exclusive content or early news
Include a personal note or insight in every email (not just promos)
Think of your newsletter as a conversation, not a broadcast. Your readers want to feel like they’re part of something — not just another number on your list.
Growing your newsletter list takes time, creativity, and consistency. But it’s also one of the most powerful tools in your author career.
Don’t chase numbers for the sake of vanity. Chase connection. Chase loyalty. Chase readers who’ll stick with you through series and standalone books alike.
Because in the world of writing, a strong newsletter list isn’t just a marketing tool — it’s your home team.
Book Review
What is Unsicker Road: A Wrack and Ruin Book Series about?
When the red rains ended the world, the undead weren’t the only monsters left behind.
Zoe McCallister and her found family have built a fragile refuge in the well-stocked farmhouse of Benson Meyer, a man as enigmatic as the plague consuming the world outside. But as Zoe and Oliver begin to unravel the truth about Ben, they realize he’s hiding more than they ever imagined.
Meanwhile, in River City, a new threat is gathering. A gang of violent ex-convicts sets its sights on Unsicker Road, seeing the farmhouse as their kingdom and Zoe’s people as nothing more than an obstacle in their path.
As if the living weren’t enough to fear, the infected are changing — evolving into something far worse. And when an old enemy, one they thought dead and gone, returns — not as a mindless monster, but as something far more terrifying — the battle for Unsicker Road becomes a fight against something bullets can’t stop.
With secrets surfacing and danger closing in from all sides, Zoe and the others must uncover the truth about the parasite before the past — and the dead — consume them all.
My Review:
I love this series more than you know. Why? Because I am a huge zombie fan and apparently of apocalyptic stories in general and not only does this series hit those marks, but it throws in deep attachments to the characters, moments that leave me on the edge of my seat, and the want for another book in the series. And like every other book in the series, I finished it in just a few days.
We find Oliver, Zoe, Jurnee, and Louie have managed to escape the church that was overtaken by zombies. Taking a chance, they knock on the door of a secure home belonging to a mean rich man living in town on Unsicker Road. The man offers them only a few nights rest in his home but what Oliver, Zoe and the rest the other four members of the church group who escaped don’t know is that something is coming for them and even the bulletproof glass and brick walls of the rich man’s home can’t save them.
I enjoyed how this book expanded and brought in new characters, even if some were unfavorable. It allowed the storyline to show the rest of the world beyond what the reader sees with Oliver and Zoe. In addition to this, the additional group members that came with them from the church slowly helped Oliver and Zoe to form a new kind of family.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out as the way it ended opened the story up to seeing what else is beyond Oliver and Zoe’s small cluster of towns and to expand on the new version of the world.
I give this book a 5-star review.
You can get the series here: The Wrack and Ruin Series
2025 Reading List So Far
Add Unsicker Road to my 2025 reading list so far and that makes 9 books I’ve read a review this year.
I make sure to leave a review for each book I read on the platform I got it from, Goodreads, Bookbub, StoryGraph, and across my platform. Why? Because even just one book review can make a difference in how well a book does.
So please, after reading your next book, take the time to leave a review.
To see my other book reviews, you can see Goodreads or my blog:
Indie Reads
Coastal Wilmington, North Carolina, stands in the crosshairs. The economy struggles. A flu pandemic spreads. Authorities assert crazies popping up all over town are on the newest zombie drug. But everyone’s saying they’re straight-up zombies—the kind that runs. Suspicion grows that the drug is a government cover story for something much worse.
For former Staff Sergeant Peter Sullivan, it’s a good thing. War is what he does best. Life is what he sucks at. But for doctoral candidate Phebe Marcelino, it’s a descent into kill-or-be-killed.
Combat veteran US Army Rangers and Marines-turned-cops band together. The combat is like nothing they have seen before. And their own military never tried to kill them. Only their training and teamwork can save them.
For Phebe, her survival instinct and intelligence are all she’s got. You never know what you’re made of until tested.
A character-driven, dark humor, thrilling apocalypse story influenced by the events of 2012’s ‘Bath Salts Zombie Apocalypse.’
Ava Morgahn arrives in Nashville, a city transformed by music and gripped by rising crime—a serial killer on the loose. All she has to her name is a dream and an unshakable determination to make it in country music.
With a rough plan in mind, Ava has a place to stay and takes a job waiting tables at a local hot and trendy bar, hoping for a chance to perform on their stage. Then she meets Owen Layne, a rising country star battling his own demons in the cutthroat music scene. Their connection is instantaneous and undeniable, but Owen’s past has left him wary of love.
When Ava suddenly stops communicating, Owen is left questioning if what they shared was real or just a fleeting moment. Meanwhile, the city is haunted by the killer’s trail. Is Ava just avoiding Owen, or has she unknowingly become the killer’s next target?
Dusty Wilder is Nashville and country music’s latest heartthrob. But when his label realizes his music isn’t hitting the charts like they need it to, they hit him with an ultimatum: Star on the new reality TV show Heart Strings to find love and a new partner to tour with, or leave country music altogether. Dusty has never agreed with the label’s decisions, but now he’s got nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Baylor Sommerfeld always thought a degree in public relations would lead to bigger and better careers than reality TV. All she wants is to lay low and grind her way to Capitol Hill. But the night before filming is set to begin, a drunken mistake causes a video to go viral, and the only way for her to keep her job is to join Heart Strings as a contestant vying for Dusty Wilder’s heart.
Neither Dusty nor Baylor want this. After all, love is just a performance to them both. But when lines blur and real feelings can no longer be ignored, it becomes hard to separate reality from reality TV.
With their careers on the line, what are they willing to risk? Can they dig into the deepest parts of their hearts together, or will this game they’re playing cost them everything?