How to Build an Email List as a New Author

Of all the marketing assets an author can build, an email list is one of the few you fully own. Social media followers exist on platforms whose algorithms, policies, and even existence can change without notice; an email list is a direct line to people who've chosen to hear from you, that you can take with you regardless of what happens to any given platform.

For a new author with no existing audience, the idea of "building a list" can feel like a chicken-and-egg problem: you need readers to build a list, but you're trying to build a list to find readers. This guide walks through how to start from zero, what to offer to encourage sign-ups, what to actually send once you have subscribers, and how the list compounds in value over your career.

Why an email list matters, especially early

Direct communication with interested readers: every subscriber has chosen to hear from you, which makes email a fundamentally warmer channel than, for example, a social media post that might be seen by a fraction of your followers depending on platform algorithms.

You own it: your list is a file you can export and take with you to any email service, unaffected by platform policy changes, algorithm shifts, or account issues that can affect social media presences overnight.

It compounds: a list built starting with your first book continues to grow (slowly at first, faster as your backlist grows) and becomes one of the most valuable assets for every future launch, the people most likely to buy your next book on release day, write an early review, and tell others about it are often the people already on your list.

It's introvert-friendly: as discussed in our guide on marketing for introverted authors, email is asynchronous and one-directional in tone, which makes it one of the most comfortable marketing channels for many authors.

Choosing an email service

Several services are designed specifically for (or commonly used by) authors:

General-purpose email marketing services: services like Mailchimp, MailerLite, and ConvertKit offer free tiers for small lists, with paid tiers as your list grows. These provide the core functionality, sign-up forms, automated welcome sequences, broadcast emails, and analytics, that most authors need.

Author-specific tools: some services are built specifically for authors, with features like reader magnet delivery (sending a free ebook automatically when someone signs up) and integrations with author platforms. These can simplify some author-specific workflows compared to general-purpose tools.

What to look for as a new author:

• A free tier sufficient for a small list (most services offer free tiers up to a few hundred or a couple thousand subscribers, more than enough to start)
• Automated welcome emails and the ability to deliver a file (your reader magnet, discussed below) automatically upon sign-up
• Simple sign-up forms you can link to or embed
• Straightforward unsubscribe handling (a legal requirement in most jurisdictions, and standard in all reputable email services)

Avoid overthinking this choice initially: any reputable service with a workable free tier is a reasonable starting point. Switching services later, while not entirely effortless, is possible (most services support exporting and importing subscriber lists), so the choice doesn't need to be permanent.

The reader magnet: what to offer for a sign-up

A "reader magnet" is something you offer in exchange for an email address, most commonly a free piece of writing.

Common reader magnet formats:

• A free short story or novella set in the same world or genre as your book, giving readers a sample of your writing and, for fiction with a series or shared world, a taste of that world before committing to a full book.
• A prequel or bonus chapter connected to your main book, often offered to readers who've finished the book and want more, placed as a call-to-action in your back matter.
• For nonfiction: a useful resource connected to your book's topic, a checklist, template, or short guide that complements the book's content without giving away its core value.
• Bonus content: deleted scenes, character profiles, or behind-the-scenes material that appeals to readers who enjoyed your book and want more.

What makes a good reader magnet: something genuinely appealing to your target readers (not just "free" for its own sake), reasonably quick to produce (a reader magnet that takes as long to write as your actual book delays your launch for a marginal benefit), and ideally connected enough to your published work that subscribers are pre-qualified as people interested in what you write.

You don't need a reader magnet to start: while a reader magnet increases sign-up rates, it's not a strict requirement. A simple "join my newsletter for updates on new releases" sign-up can work too, particularly for readers who've just finished your book and are specifically interested in knowing when the next one is available.

Where to place sign-up opportunities

Back matter of your book: the single most effective placement for most authors. A reader who just finished your book and enjoyed it is, at that moment, more receptive to "want to hear about my next book?" than at almost any other point. Include a clear, simple call-to-action with a link (and for ebooks, a clickable link; for print, a short URL or QR code) to your sign-up page. See our guide on front matter and back matter for how this fits into your book's overall back matter structure.

Your website (if you have one): a simple sign-up form, ideally with your reader magnet offer, placed prominently.

Social media bios and posts: a link to your sign-up page in your social media profile, and occasional posts mentioning your reader magnet or newsletter, for followers who haven't yet subscribed.

Reader magnet promotion sites: some sites and services exist specifically to help authors promote reader magnets to readers actively looking for free books in specific genres, which can provide an initial boost to a brand-new list, though the quality and long-term engagement of subscribers acquired this way can vary, and it's worth weighing against simply growing organically through your own books and content.

What to send once you have subscribers

A common worry for new authors is "I don't have anything to say yet." In practice, there's more to share than it might seem, and readers who've subscribed are generally interested in hearing from the author whose work they enjoyed, even about relatively modest updates.

Welcome email: an automated email sent immediately upon sign-up, delivering your reader magnet (if offered) and introducing yourself briefly, what you write, what subscribers can expect to hear about, and how often.

New release announcements: the core, non-negotiable email type, when you publish a new book, your list hears about it first (or among the first). This is, for many authors, the single most valuable use of an email list: a direct channel to notify people most likely to buy on release day, which in turn can affect early sales momentum and visibility on retail platforms.

Progress updates: brief notes on what you're working on, without needing to reveal everything, can keep subscribers engaged between releases (which, especially early in a career, can be many months apart) and build anticipation for what's next.

Behind-the-scenes content: research you did, inspiration for a character or setting, or your writing process, content many readers find genuinely interesting and that doesn't require any particular marketing skill to write, just description of your own work.

Recommendations: books you've read and enjoyed (including other authors' books), which provides value to subscribers independent of your own releases and can build goodwill with other authors whose books you mention.

Promotions and sales: if you run a price promotion on your book (discussed in our guide on pricing strategy), your list is a direct channel to let interested readers know.

How often to send

There's no single correct frequency, but some general guidance:

Consistency matters more than frequency: a monthly email sent reliably is more valuable than a weekly email that fizzles out after a month. Choose a frequency you can sustain.

Minimum viable frequency: even an email every few months (alongside release announcements) keeps your list "warm", subscribers remember who you are and continue opening your emails, rather than forgetting they subscribed and marking future emails as spam.

Release announcements are non-negotiable: regardless of your regular sending frequency, a new release always warrants an email, this is the highest-value use of your list and shouldn't be skipped even if your regular newsletter has gone quiet.

Avoid over-sending early: a new subscriber who immediately receives several emails in their first week, especially if those emails feel promotional rather than valuable, is more likely to unsubscribe. A reasonable pace, particularly for non-release content, helps build a relationship rather than feeling like a sales pitch.

Email deliverability basics

Deliverability, whether your emails actually reach subscribers' inboxes rather than spam folders, is mostly handled by your email service, but a few habits help:

Confirmed opt-in: many services use a "double opt-in" process, where new subscribers confirm their email address via a confirmation link before being added to your list. This improves deliverability (confirmed addresses are real and engaged) and is sometimes required by law in certain jurisdictions for commercial email.

Consistent sending: a list that receives no emails for a year and then suddenly gets several emails in a short period can trigger spam filters more readily than a list that receives emails at a steady, if infrequent, pace. This is another reason consistency matters even at a low frequency.

Clean subject lines and content: avoiding spam-trigger words (excessive capitalization, certain promotional phrases) in subject lines, and including a clear unsubscribe link (required by law and standard in all reputable services), both support deliverability.

Watching engagement metrics: most services show open and click rates. A declining open rate over time can indicate deliverability issues (or simply a list that's grown stale), worth investigating if it drops significantly from your typical range.

Re-engaging a list after a long gap

It's common for authors to go quiet for extended periods, between books, during a busy season, or simply due to life. If you're returning to a list after months or longer of silence, a re-engagement email can help: acknowledge the gap briefly and honestly, share what's new (a finished book, progress on one, or simply "I'm back"), and avoid launching straight into a sales pitch in your first email back. Subscribers who've forgotten about you are more likely to re-engage with a genuine, low-pressure note than with an immediate promotional push, and some services let you identify and specifically re-engage long-inactive subscribers with a targeted "are you still interested?" message before resuming regular sends to your full list.

Growing your list over time

Every book is a list-building opportunity: each new book's back matter is a new chance for readers to discover and join your list, which means your list naturally grows alongside your backlist, one of the compounding effects mentioned earlier.

Cross-promotion with other authors: as discussed in our guide on marketing for introverts, newsletter swaps and shared promotions with other authors in your genre can introduce your list to new, relevant readers.

Don't buy email lists: purchased email lists almost always perform poorly (the people on them didn't choose to hear from you specifically) and can violate the terms of service of email providers, potentially getting your account suspended. Organic growth, slower but built on genuine interest, is the only sustainable approach.

List size isn't everything: a smaller list of genuinely engaged subscribers (people who open your emails and buy your books) is more valuable than a much larger list of disengaged subscribers. Some email services' pricing is based on list size, which can create pressure to "clean" inactive subscribers periodically, a reasonable practice that keeps your list meaningful and your costs proportionate to actual engagement.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an email list before I publish my first book?

It helps but isn't required. Many authors start their list at the same time as (or shortly after) their first publication, using the book's back matter as the primary sign-up source. Starting before publication (if you have any existing audience, even a small one) gives you a head start, but a list of zero on launch day isn't a barrier to starting one.

How big does my list need to be to matter?

Even a modest list (a few dozen to a few hundred engaged subscribers) can meaningfully affect a launch, particularly for an indie author whose overall sales volume is itself modest early on. The relative impact of a direct notification to genuinely interested readers doesn't require a huge list to be valuable.

What if I have nothing to say between releases?

This is common, especially early on. Behind-the-scenes content, what you're working on, research, recommendations, fills this gap without requiring news. Some authors also use a lower-frequency approach (quarterly updates) specifically to avoid the pressure of finding content for more frequent emails.

Should I segment my list (fiction readers vs. nonfiction readers, for example)?

For authors writing in a single genre or category, segmentation usually isn't necessary early on. If you write across distinctly different genres or audiences, segmenting (so readers only hear about releases relevant to them) can improve engagement, though it adds complexity that's often not worth managing until your list and catalog are larger.

Is it okay to ask existing email contacts (friends, family) to subscribe when starting out?

Yes, this is a common and reasonable way to seed an initial list, provided people are genuinely interested (not subscribed without consent, which can cause deliverability issues and isn't in the spirit of a list anyone wants to be on). A small initial list of genuinely interested people is a fine starting point.

The bottom line

An email list is one of the few marketing assets an author fully owns, and one that compounds in value with every book you publish. Starting is straightforward: choose a service with a workable free tier, decide on a reader magnet (or skip it and rely on a simple "hear about new releases" offer), place sign-up opportunities in your book's back matter and anywhere else readers encounter you, and send emails consistently, even if infrequently, with release announcements as the non-negotiable core.

For the back matter placement that's often your list's most effective growth channel, see our guide on front matter and back matter every book needs. To finish and format the book whose back matter will introduce readers to your list, get started in LiberScript.