Hamsterra
English

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D1 · Grow your audience

Create a reader magnet

For authorsVoice-over · English subtitles

Give away a free book that grows your reader list.

Go to written steps

Before you start

  • Publish your author profile.
  • Choose the book you want to offer, or have its details ready to create it.
  • Have an EPUB, a PDF or both ready to use.

Watch the walkthrough

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English voice-over and subtitles; use the player’s captions control to adjust subtitles. The video is embedded from YouTube.

Chapters

  1. Open Reader magnets.Current chapter
  2. Choose the book and its files.
  3. Check the public page.
  4. Check the watermark and the page preview.
  5. Save and publish.
  6. Share the page link.
  7. What readers see.
  8. The reader confirms by email.
  9. The reader downloads a personal copy.
  10. Read the analytics.
  11. Check a copy.
  12. Pause or end the magnet.

Transcript

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  1. A reader magnet is a free book that helps you grow your audience.
  2. Hamsterra emails readers a download link.
  3. Open Reader magnets in the sidebar, then select Create magnet.
  4. In Book and files, choose the book to give away.
  5. A bonus story can be a book of its own, kept as a draft.
  6. Under Delivery files, choose the book's files, or upload new ones here.
  7. Under Public page, the title follows the book.
  8. Add a short description for the free book page.
  9. Then check the page address.
  10. You can change it until you publish; after that it's fixed, because it's in readers' links.
  11. Every reader gets a personal copy marked with their email and a Copy ID.
  12. On the right, you can see a preview of the page.
  13. Select Save draft.
  14. When you're ready, select Publish.
  15. Your author profile must be published first, because the free book page shows it to readers.
  16. Back in Reader magnets, copy the page link and share it wherever readers find you.
  17. The card shows the last seven days at a glance.
  18. On Free, one reader magnet can be open at a time.
  19. This is what readers see.
  20. They enter their email and, if they like, a first name.
  21. The two boxes, for your ARC invitations and your reader list, are optional: readers get the book either way.
  22. They accept the terms and select Email me the book.
  23. Hamsterra emails a private link.
  24. Opening it confirms the address.
  25. Only then are the reader's choices recorded, so a reader who ticked a box joins your contacts after confirming.
  26. Hamsterra makes the reader's personal copy.
  27. The link keeps working, so they can download the book again later.
  28. They can also delete their request and its data from this page.
  29. Back in your author area, select Analytics.
  30. You see anonymous counts only: page views, requests, confirmed addresses and downloads, and the share of confirmed readers who ticked each box.
  31. If you find your book shared online, select Check a copy.
  32. Upload the file or enter its Copy ID to see which copy it is.
  33. A match doesn't prove who shared the file.
  34. Pause stops new requests until you select Resume.
  35. End is final: the page says the book is no longer available.
  36. Download links already sent keep working.
  37. Next, join other authors in a group giveaway.

Written steps (text version of this video)

This walkthrough shows how to create and publish a reader magnet, what readers see from the request form to the download, and how to read its anonymous analytics and check a copy.

  1. Open Reader magnets.

    Open Reader magnets in the sidebar and select Create magnet.

    0:11 Reader magnets →

  2. Choose the book and its files.

    In Book and files, choose the book. A bonus story or novella can be a book of its own: select Create a book for this magnet and keep the book as a draft. Readers do not see drafts. Choose the Delivery files: EPUB, PDF or both. To add files, choose Upload new EPUB/PDF files. Each file is checked before readers can get it.

    0:23 Reader magnet editor →

  3. Check the public page.

    Under Public page, check the title and add a description of up to 300 characters. Check the page address. It's suggested from the book title and is fixed after publishing.

    0:37 Reader magnet editor →

  4. Check the watermark and the page preview.

    Every reader gets a personal copy marked with their email and a Copy ID. The page preview shows what readers see.

    0:58 Reader magnet editor →

  5. Save and publish.

    Select Save draft, then Publish. Your author profile must be published first.

    1:07 Reader magnets →

  6. Share the page link.

    Copy the page link from Reader magnets and share it.

    1:23 Reader magnets →

  7. What readers see.

    Readers enter their email and, optionally, a first name. Both opt-ins, ARC invitations and your reader list, are optional: readers get the book either way.

    1:41 Reader magnets →

  8. The reader confirms by email.

    Hamsterra emails a private link. Opening it confirms the address and records the reader's choices.

    2:03

  9. The reader downloads a personal copy.

    Hamsterra makes a personal copy with the reader's email and a Copy ID. The link keeps working.

    2:23 Reader magnets →

  10. Read the analytics.

    Select Analytics to see anonymous counts: page views, requests, confirmed addresses, downloads and opt-ins.

    2:36 Reader magnets →

  11. Check a copy.

    Select Check a copy to match a file or a Copy ID to an issued copy. A match does not prove who shared the file.

    2:51 Reader magnets →

  12. Pause or end the magnet.

    Pause stops new requests until you select Resume. End is final: the page says the book is no longer available. Download links already sent keep working. On Free, one reader magnet can be open at a time; end or delete it to start another.

    3:07 Reader magnets →

Check you’re done

  • Your reader magnet is published and shows Live.
  • Your public page has the title, description and address you chose.
  • You have copied the page link, ready to share.

Common questions

Must readers join my list to get the book?

No. ARC invitations and your reader list are both optional. Readers get the book either way.

Can I change the page address after publishing?

No. You can change the address before publishing, but it is fixed afterwards.

Does a Copy ID match prove who shared the file?

No. Check a copy can match a file or Copy ID to an issued copy, but the match does not prove who shared it.

C1 · 3:40

Your reader contacts

See where your contacts come from, tag them, export your reader list and block addresses.

E1 · 2:51

Read your analytics

See how readers find your books, ask for copies and download them.

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