Email list building for authors
Build your reader list at readings, signings, festivals, and on podcasts, with a free chapter readers get by text.
14-day free trial. Every feature on every plan.
- CHAPTER
- Hi! What’s your email? I’ll send you the first chapter of the next book.
- maria@example.com
- Sent. Happy reading, and you’ll hear first when it launches.
Readers show up, buy the book, and go home anonymous.
The sale belongs to the store
Forty people buy the book at your signing, and the customer records stay at the bookstore’s register.
Clipboards don’t work
A sign-up sheet on the table gets a dozen handwritten emails, a third of them unreadable.
Podcast listeners vanish
An interview puts you in front of thousands of listeners, and you never learn who any of them were.
How authors use Textiful
A free chapter at the signing table
Put a sign on the table: “Text CHAPTER to 33777 for the first chapter of the next book.” Readers text while they wait in line, and the chapter arrives by email before they reach you.
- CHAPTER
- Thanks for coming! What email should I send chapter one to?
- maria@example.com
- Sent. Happy reading.
A keyword listeners remember from the car
On a podcast there’s nothing to scan, so the keyword does the work. Pick one that’s easy to spell when people only hear it, say it twice, and ask the host to put it in the show notes.
- BONUS
- Thanks for listening! What’s your email for the bonus epilogue?
- james@example.com
A QR code in the back of the book
The back matter reaches every reader, including people who borrowed the book or bought it secondhand. The flow behind the code lives in your account, so you can change the offer for the next book without reprinting. It works for as long as your account is active.
- Scanned the QR code on the last page
- You made it to the end! Want the deleted chapter? Reply with your email.
Win a signed copy
At a festival or a library talk, a giveaway brings the room in. Each reader enters once by text, and you draw the winner on screen at the end.
- SIGNED
- You’re entered to win a signed copy! We’ll draw the winner at 3:00.
The features authors use most
- Capture data via text
Email, name, company, location, or any custom field, asked one question at a time. Start from a template and change the wording to sound like you.
- Handouts
Upload your slides, guide, or recording once. Textiful sends it by text or email the moment someone finishes, and tracks every download.
- Giveaways
People enter by text, once each. Draw winners at random, reveal them on a live page, and text them how to claim the prize.
- QR codes
Free, unlimited QR codes that open a pre-filled text. Print them on banners, slides, and table tents, and see how many people scanned each one.
Set up before your next event
- 1
Upload the chapter
Add the PDF to Handouts and start from “Give away a download.”
- 2
Connect your list
Kit, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign are built in. Tag each reader with the event or the show.
- 3
Print the sign
A free QR code and one keyword on the table sign, the bookmark, and the slide.
Before and after
| Sign-up sheet and “find me online” | With Textiful | |
|---|---|---|
| After a signing | A dozen handwritten emails | Every reader who wanted the chapter |
| Podcast listeners | Anonymous | On your list, tagged with the show |
| The bonus | Typed up and emailed later | In their inbox while they’re in line |
| The next launch | Starts from your social following | Starts from readers who asked to hear from you |
Who it’s for
Fiction and nonfiction authors in the US who do readings, signings, festivals, library visits, or podcast interviews, and self-published authors who sell at markets and conventions.
Who should skip it
Authors who do no events or interviews: a sign-up link in the book and on your website may be enough. Readers outside the US can’t text the short codes.
Solutions for authors
How to grow a podcast email list with a spoken keyword
To grow a podcast email list, give listeners one word to text. Say a keyword like NOTES and the number 33777 twice on the show. Listeners text it when they can, Textiful asks for their email, sends the show notes or bonus you promised, and adds them to your email tool tagged with the episode.
ReadHow to grow your reader email list at a book signing
To grow your reader email list at a book signing, put a sign on the table with a QR code and a keyword, like "Text CHAPTER to 33777 for the first chapter of the next book." Readers text while they wait in line, Textiful asks for their email, emails the chapter, and adds them to Kit or Mailchimp tagged with the event.
ReadHow to put a QR code in your book
To put a QR code in your book, place it in the back matter next to a specific offer, such as a bonus chapter or a reading guide, with a keyword printed beside it. A Textiful QR code opens a text to 33777 or 55444; the reader gives an email, gets the bonus, and joins your list. You can change the flow behind it without reprinting, and it works for as long as your Textiful account is active.
ReadHow to send slides to your audience after a presentation
The cleanest way to send slides to your audience after a presentation is to tell them at the start that they'll get the deck, then end with one instruction: scan this QR code or text DEMO to 55444. Textiful asks for their email and sends the deck as a tracked download link the moment they finish, and the address lands in Mailchimp, Kit, or ActiveCampaign.
ReadQuestions people ask
Offer something a reader wants that's only a text away, such as the first chapter of the next book or a reading guide, and put a QR code and keyword on the table sign. Readers text in, give their email, and the file arrives by email while they're still in line.
Something that keeps them reading: a free chapter, a bonus scene or epilogue, a book club guide, or an entry to win a signed copy. For nonfiction, the worksheet or checklist that goes with the book works well.
Yes. A Textiful QR code opens a text to 33777 or 55444, and the flow behind it can be edited any time, so the code printed in the back matter keeps working when you change the offer. It works for as long as your Textiful account is active.
Yes. Say the keyword and the number clearly, twice: "Text CHAPTER to 33777 for the first chapter free." Listeners can text it from the car without remembering a website.
Yes. Kit, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and HubSpot are built in, and each reader arrives tagged with the event, so your launch sequence can thank the people from the Portland signing differently from the podcast listeners.
Keep exploring
Event lead capture: a playbook for live audiences
How to turn a room into contacts you can follow up with: what to offer, how to ask from the stage or the booth, what to ask for, and what to do in the 24 hours after.
ReadLead magnet
A lead magnet is something useful offered for free in exchange for a person's contact details, usually an email address. Common examples are slide decks, checklists, guides, templates, recordings, and discount codes.
ReadText-to-join
Text-to-join is a way to sign up by text: a person texts a keyword to a short code, or scans a QR code that opens a pre-filled text, and answers a question or two to join a list, get a download, or register for something.
ReadQR code to SMS
A QR code to SMS is a QR code that, when scanned, opens the phone's texting app with the recipient number and message already filled in, so the person only has to tap send. It turns a camera scan into a text without typing a number or keyword.
ReadSend your slides and get feedback on every talk
For a professional speaker, the talk is the product. Textiful handles the two jobs around it: the audience texts a keyword or scans a QR code to get your slide deck on their phone, and rates the talk by text before they leave, so you and the organizer get a report for every session. The people who ask for the deck join your list along the way.
ReadGrow your audience list from the show, on podcasts and the radio
Podcasts and radio shows reach people whose hands are full, so the call to action has to be one word and one number. Listeners text a keyword to 33777 to vote in a live poll you read on air, get the show notes or a bonus, or enter an on-air contest, and every one of them can join your email list.
ReadUse public speaking to grow your coaching business
Coaches give free talks, workshops, and webinars to find clients, but a talk only grows the business if you leave with the audience's contact details. Put a QR code and a keyword on your last slide, trade a worksheet for an email, ask one question about what they're working on, and send your booking link while they're still in their seats.
ReadReady for your next event?
Try Textiful free for 14 days. Set up a QR code or keyword in minutes and see who shows up.