How to Convert Free Serial Readers into Paid Subscribers
Cereal Team
05/24/2024
In this Article
Why should readers subscribe to you?
There are millions of serial fiction stories available on the web and knowing what makes you stand out is a vital step, especially if you’re looking to convert your free readers into paid subscribers.
For many indie authors, this means offering additional incentives. It’s not necessary for success, but it often helps push a free reader from a ‘maybe’ mindset into a ‘yes, please’ one.
There are several popular incentives used, but some of the most common are:
Offering subscribers early access to your writing is one of the most popular benefits used by serial authors. Subscribers can read your content before the general public, and they’re the first to hear about new releases or author updates. This works great for readers who can’t get enough and need immediate relief from a cliffhanger on a free-to-read site!
The specific number of early access chapters you offer is up to you, but you want to make sure your readers feel the price is worth the amount of additional content they’re getting.
For a basic $5/month tier, here’s a general guide we found works best:
| Average word count per chapter | 1,000 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 4,000 | 5,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recommended number of early access chapters | 18+ | 9+ | 6+ | 5+ | 4+ |
*This gives the average reader 1 hour’s worth of early-access content
Not only is this a strong incentive to subscribe, but it gives readers a reason to stick around! If they unsubscribe, it’ll take a while for them to receive new content on the free sites.
For most authors, behind-the-scenes content is a low-effort benefit that readers love.
There are no limits to what you can provide, but we commonly see this content come in the form of pictures, rough drafts, mood boards, or sources of inspiration.
Readers enjoy seeing the magic behind their favorite stories, and since it’s work that’s already being done, it doesn’t increase an author’s workload. It is important, however, to be mindful that your subscribers are enjoying the content provided. Some readers may love seeing your grandma's favorite cookie recipe, but others may only want to see things relating to your serial works.
As long as you’re touching base with what your readers want to see, providing behind-the-scenes content can be a powerful incentive to get free readers to subscribe.
Offering subscribers the option to vote is a great way to make them feel valued and involved with your serial book.
Here are some items we’ve found readers love to vote on:
Many authors choose to execute voting by putting out polls, allowing their readers to choose from a number of pre-selected options.
Allowing readers to create a character is something that can be done as a group through voting, or it can be a benefit for individual subscribers.
If going with the latter, you can collect character preferences from subscribers through a form (such as a Google form) or by contacting them directly.
Not only does this give readers something to look forward to upon subscribing, but they’ll stay subscribed to see their character in action. If they like what you do with their character, they may even want to help create more!
One shots are short stories, usually between 1 and 5 chapters long. Many authors provide them in addition to main serial story, and they can be a great way to diversify your subscription content.
You can test different genres and writing styles through this method, but we’d recommend not straying too far from your main content. Readers subscribe because they like your current work, and they may not be enticed by vastly different content.
One shots can easily be combined with voting rights and character creation benefits (should you choose to use those) or can be used to test new book ideas.
If your subscribers enjoy it, you can expand on the storyline and turn it into your next serial book!
Exclusive content is another popular tool used by serial authors. By subscribing to you, readers gain access to content that is not, nor will be, available anywhere else.
Serial authors commonly provide exclusive content through either character art or bonus chapters.
Character art can be drawn by either the author themselves, or it can be commissioned through sites like Fiverr. Depending on the artist and complexity of the work, commissioning through Fiverr can run you anywhere from $75-$200.
As long as you have a detailed description of the characters and scene you’d like created, you should be able to have something drawn up.
Alternatively, AI sites like ChatGPT4 are getting good at creating images through detailed prompts. You’ll have to pay for an AI subscription, but this could be a good option if you’re looking to provide several images.
If you’re not looking to provide character art, bonus chapters are another great way to give your subscribers exclusive content. They’re commonly seen as epilogues, prologues, or alternative chapters, and they give readers an inside look into their favorite characters and books.
It’s also a great way to monetize and drive readers to completed serial books. Once they finish reading, you can prompt them to subscribe for more.
This benefit may have more upfront costs, but it can have some of the most significant impacts. Physical products can be anything from printed copies of your books to merch items such as stickers, clothing, or mugs.
Sites like Patreon allow you to streamline this step and will automatically send out your merch items after three months of subscription, but some authors choose to manage their merch themselves and send packages to readers directly.
You have less control when you outsource merch management through Patreon, but it’s an excellent way to provide this benefit without adding to your workload. On the flip side, managing merch yourself allows you more control over the quality of products sent.
There’s no right or wrong option, and successful subscription authors use both options.
Audio is another benefit that may require some upfront work, but it can have a huge payoff. Readers may not always have time to sit down and read, and this option allows them to enjoy your content on the go.
Similar to character art, this is something that can be completed either through technology or human creation. Voice actors will create higher-quality audio files, and it’s recommended to go this route if you have the time and disposable income, but using a virtual voice can be a good option for those who don’t.
If you decide to provide an audio benefit, it’s essential to be upfront with subscribers on which audio style you use. Readers who are expecting human-created audio files will be disappointed if they learn only after subscribing that they are receiving virtual files.
One of the many amazing things about serial fiction are the communities. People love to discuss the books they’re reading, hypothesizing about the direction they think a book will take and sharing their emotions about the parts they’ve already read.
Offering subscribers access to a private discord channel is a great way to build a community. It promotes discussion among readers and gives them something, beyond your stories, to look forward to between updates.