Reviews of StoryOrigin
I use StoryOrigin's Goal Tracker feature every day. Being able to update my word count allows me to measure my progress in a meaningful way, which enables me to set reasonable goals and expectations for myself. It also helps me better estimate my publishing schedule. With StoryOrigin, I can say, "The book is coming out this summer." with greater certainty. StoryOrigin is a vital tool for my career as an author. I highly recommend it for authors who prioritize a steady daily output. StoryOrigin will help you get there.
David HopkinsUsing the word count tracker feature on StoryOrigin has been game changer for me. One, this tool keeps me on track for deadlines. And two, having the ability to track my word count for each writing session and to witness my overall count grow is a huge encouragement to keep going. Tracking has turned out to be more valuable than I ever imagined.
I love using the Beta Reader feature on StoryOrigin! This has made the process so much easier for my beta readers. Now my readers can give me specific input directly in the text and in the comment area at the end of each chapter. I especially like how the readers comments are displayed all together, enabling me to compare input between readers. This gives me a much better overall assessment of my book. And it's so easy to use!
Dineen MillerIt's important to have a target goal for your books but also keep track of your efficiency. StoryOrigin can help you monitor your daily progress, which is great when the old procrastination and distraction monsters come out to play! I used this feature last year to push myself and nearly hit 700,000 words written! That's a record for me! My next goal is 1,000,000!
Mailing lists are critical to an author business because they are your steady lifeline for pre-order sales, launches, reviews, feedback, and more. You can poll subscribers if, say, you have ideas and want to know what they're most interested in reading next. They become your street team and help spread the word about your books to their friends, book clubs, and libraries. I can't think of a reason not to have one. Mailing lists are worth the minimal time and financial investment. Your books are worth it too. It's easy and fast to build a mailing list with StoryOrigin. Don't wait! Put your books in the spotlight, and get a mailing list set up. Then join StoryOrigin to grow that list today! I added over 1,000 subscribers to one list, and over 3,000 to another since I've joined. I struggled to grow lists before StoryOrigin came along. It is one of the best decisions I've ever made for my author business!
Review teams are essential for getting a new book launched with credibility. Having reviews roll in on day one of publication really helps sell the new title. Plus, if you have an old book with few reviews and you want to give it fresh life, set up a review copy and get some new feedback posted on your stores' author pages. Sales will start coming in more frequently with more reviews.
Newsletter swaps and group promos are a great way to find other similar authors and pool your subscribers. When you swap books with another comparable author, you're inviting new readers to your work through a sort of "warm connection." Subscribers of a list are familiar with the regular content and that author's books. So when that author shares your related title, they're more likely to be comfortable and interested in the offer and give it a try. That will be your book! Plus, you're offering variety to your readers with that author's book. It's really a win-win. And group promos are just great because lots of authors are sending all their readers to the same promo. So that means tons of potential new subscribers or customers depending on the promo type. You can leverage these swaps and promos to help you launch new books if you schedule lots of swaps and promos around your launch day. This helped me rocket a brand new title to number 1 on Amazon and make triple digit sales in one day, my first ever time doing that! It was such a great feeling! I know I couldn't have done it without StoryOrigin!
Elysia StrifeBefore I joined StoryOrigin in 2021, I was struggling to make any sales at all. I'd get a little burst of sales right after I released something new, and I might sell a few copies of older books as well as the new one. But the sales would peter out within a matter of days, and wouldn't pick back up until the next new release. There was only so much I could do to promote my books on social media without looking like a little kid jumping up and down screaming "buy my books, buy my books, buy my books." I had over twenty books listed, but had weeks and months go by without a single sale.
In May of 2021 I discovered StoryOrigin through a newsletter swap column in a private Facebook group dedicated to helping indie authors become profitable and make a living with their writing. I signed up, and in short order was accepted for my first group promotion bundle. My sales began to grow, and I have had only one zero-income month since that (right when the convention circuit reopened, the day job went on the road again, and I hadn't yet learned the tricks of getting newsletters out while working a busy convention). 2022 and 2023 have seen steady increases in my income, and I'm on track to have the best year ever this year.
Participating in newsletter swaps and group promos have also helped me get serious about my newsletters. In the past I'd been haphazard about them, but once I started making an effort to line up swaps and group promos every week, I now had a strong motivation to get those newsletters out to keep my promises to my fellow authors. With giveaway promos, I've been steadily building my subscriber base, and I love being able to talk about my colleagues' exciting new projects, instead of just Me, Me, Me all the time. I've also made some great friends in the indie author community and look forward to their newsletter swaps and group promos, and have even created several group promos of my own.
I would strongly recommend any indie author with at least one book released (and ideally a smaller related work to use as a reader magnet in list-building) to join StoryOrigin and become an active participant in newsletter swaps and group promos.
Leigh KimmelI now have a list of 45+ books that have met their publishing deadlines due to StoryOrigin's word count tracker, representing a total of over 3 million words on paper. StoryOrigin is always open in my browser!
Cherie MitchellI started using this feature in November of 2023. After all the negative news that came out with Nanowrimo I wanted to track my word count elsewhere and I realized StoryOrigin had this feature. I started using it right away and realized it was extremely easy to set up and use. My excitement built daily when I saw my word count soar in the graphs attached to my account. While I didn't make the goal I set for myself in November I continued using this feature to track my word count. I found it motivated me to write on the days that I felt lazy because I didn't want to see another empty slot on my graph. It also helped me realize how productive I was being or not being, which helped me plan out my deadline for my current book. All in all I would definitely recommend using the Goal Tracker feature in StoryOrigin.
J.L. SanchezStoryOrigin has made gathering feedback for my novel The Void Beyond the Walls, as well as other shorter stories, a breeze. The author may divide the manuscript in chapters or scenes. It allows readers to highlight sections of the text and provide specific comments that are only visible to the author and reader. Once I have compiled sufficient feedback, I can decide whether to mark any comments as something I will work on, and I can upload the updated chapter without having to re-upload the entire manuscript.
Relvin GonzalezI use over fifty marketing tools; but if I had to choose just one, it would be StoryOrigin.
StoryOrigin is the third beta reader feedback service I've tried. I think it's perfect. I have no plans to use any other service, ever.
I've also used StoryOrigin for building my mailing list. I've been a member for just over a year and have a 9,000+ subscriber list. More than half my readers joined my newsletter via a StoryOrigin reader magnet.
Kate DarrochI used the beta copy option for the first time last fall. All of my beta readers loved the setup because they could comment in text and leave longer comments at the end of each section. I loved it because I could go into one document and see everyone's comments, but they could only see theirs. Overall, it proved far easier for all of us compared to sharing documents separately as I did in the past.
Althea DamgaardI love so many of the features but the beta reader one has been my favorite! I love large beta teams, gathering the data, seeing how to make my book more marketable, and since switching my beta reader process over to StoryOrigin I have seen both the number of people who complete the beta process and the quality of feedback increase.
Jamie DaltonWhen I signed up for StoryOrigin, my monthly newsletter had just twenty-four subscribers. By finding reader magnet newsletter swaps that fit my genre, I was able to grow my list to over 1200 subscribers in just 18 newsletter issues. I have found that StoryOrigin has more authors offering reader magnets in my genre, by far, than other more expensive companies offering similar services. Having a healthy newsletter with good open and click numbers is important not only for sales, but also if there are issues with social media or sales channels, I can still reach my readers.
Len M. RuthI participate in about 2 newsletter builders per month. I gather about 100 subscribers per month. Before I gathered them through another service, which was more expensive and had about the same results for me.
It's easy to sign up for the right promotions. I like I can add search words (romance) and exclude others (clean, sweet) so I hit the right target audience.
Most of my reviewers come through my newsletter but each new release I get 2-5 new ARC readers through StoryOrigin. It's easy to add a new review copy and StoryOrigin is way cheaper than similar services.
My books in promos and newsletter swaps combined are clicked about 30-50 times per month. The ones I don't promote less than 10 times. I run two monthly sales promos on average and post them weekly in my newsletter.
My website (books.karennappa.com) built with StoryOrigin is super easy to maintain and I love I now can choose my own colors.
Karen NappaI started arranging newsletter swaps with other authors four months ago. I mention two or three books in my monthly newsletter and my books get introduced to two or three new audiences every month. I'm a bit picky and only accept swaps with authors in my genre or related genres with similar topics. I also only swap with authors who have a professional-looking cover and a great-sounding blurb. I don't mind smaller list sizes if the book or author is the right fit for my readers. Every author has to start somewhere, and smaller lists can sometimes be more engaging.
This has worked very well for me. I've been steadily gaining newsletter subscribers, between 30 and 60 every month from StoryOrigin newsletter swaps alone. I get very few unsubscribes after and have found loyal fans with this cross-promotional method.
On top of that, I've gotten to know other authors in my genre who write similar books to mine. Now, I'm reading their books too, finding comps, and learning what works in my genre and what doesn't. It's a win-win situation all around.
Felicity GreenStoryOrigin has helped me build my mailing list from 0 to over 4k by signing up with group and author swaps by using StoryOrigin's Reader Magnets feature.
Nearly every cross-promo either with Newsletter Swaps or Group Promos increases my sales, noteworthy by a clear spike on that day.
I haven't used StoryOrigin's Direct Downloads feature very often, but when I do, the readers assure me it's a smooth and easy process.
I was very intimidated using StoryOrigin at first, but Evan was available for any questions. The site is easy to navigate and it didn't take me long at all to utilize its features.
Bella BlairI have not used a lot of the features of StoryOrigin, but the ones I have increased my sales, especially over the last two months. Occasional problems I had were quickly sorted out by Evan and he has been patient with slow learners!
Michele McGrathMy favorite thing about StoryOrigin is the organization involved. The ability to find authors of similar genres and connect to their audiences, and actually track clicks and connections, is the best audience growth multiplier I've found. I'm recommending it to all of my author friends. Seriously, the ability to see and track campaigns and shares, find what works and grow your lists and sales… simply fantastic.
Steven J. MorrisI built an author website within minutes on StoryOrigin. I'm so useless with technology, so if I can do it, anyone can. I've got my reader magnet right at the top, and I've received over a hundred subscribers from a short-running Facebook ad campaign. My current series is in KU, but the next one will be wide, and I'm looking forward to selling it on my author website with the new Lemon Squeezy integration. That was also easy to set up. Thanks to Evan and his team for all their innovations and support.
Carole MarplesI have gained 120 reviews, and haven't had to remind a single reviewer to post. StoryOrigin does that for me. I can see emails of all reviewers, links to places where they reviewed, and a preview of what each person said. I created a website page called Review Team, and display a cover of each available book, linked to its review page on StoryOrigin. After I set it up, it required no maintenance, and no one to run the program. It's all automatic. I have a link to my review team on every book page on my website, in the sidebar, and in nearly every issue of my newsletter. It takes no additional work to run the review team. A bonus is that I can tell by comparing reviewer emails to my subscription list that many reviewers become subscribers.
I've gained 2065 subscribers from various events. I write science fiction, fantasy, science fiction romance, and gay romance. The majority of signups are for romance events, with an open rate of 72.2% and a click rate of 9.8%. Signups for my science fiction books average an open rate of 71.4%, with a click rate of 9.2%. The subscribers who open expanded epilogues (linked at the end of my books) have an open rate of 76.2% and an click rate of 12.14%.
In 2023, I completed newsletter swaps with 20 authors. Less than 3 months into 2024, I've scheduled or completed 9 swaps.
In 2023, I completed 16 group promos, and so far in 2024 have scheduled or completed 11 promos. While I do schedule some swaps using another service, any promos I schedule are on StoryOrigin. It's easier to set up and track, plus any promo I create is live the day I create it, and it does not have an automatic end date. Authors can remove their books at any time, but those who leave their books up often get clicks long after the event is over. To me, this is one of the best features of StoryOrigin.
Kayelle AllenI love the StoryOrigin beta-read feature. The functionality is simple and easy to use for both writers and readers. Highly recommended!
Lynne Basham TagawaI've been swapping newsletters through StoryOrigin for 4 years! It's quick, it's easy to find a matchup, I can view how many subscribers the other newsletter author has, and I can choose the books that fit my brand easier! It's quick, it's easy, I've increased my subscribers, and I've increased the people buying my books through this system! Thanks, StoryOrigin!
Jilleen DolbeareI love the simplicity of setting up my author website with StoryOrigin. It's quick, looks great, and is easy to modify.
Steve RuskinI absolutely love how easy StoryOrigin is to use. Planning newsletter swaps and group promos takes less time than brewing a pot of coffee, and it definitely helps bring in more readers from other authors' newsletter lists. I love how simple it is to keep track of clicks on custom links and to create Universal Book Links, which simplify the process for a reader to choose a retailer to purchase from. Sending an ebook to my ARC readers is just as simple; I just give them the link, and my job is done! Creating my author website with custom links took less than 20 minutes (and most of that was spent on choosing the color scheme I wanted on it!).
Finley K. JamesI have thoroughly enjoyed StoryOrigin and recommend it to any authors I meet. Here are two features I love:
Selling Direct: I have been searching for a way to sell my ebooks directly from my website, and StoryOrigin fits the bill perfectly. With the upsell feature built in, I couldn't ask for a smoother process or easier solution. Why limit yourself to small royalties when your readers can support you directly?
Cross-promoting with Newsletter Swaps on StoryOrigin: I always hesitated starting a newsletter, because how was I supposed to get subscribers? With StoryOrigin's newsletter swap feature, I have been consistently growing my subscriber list every month while helping other authors do the same. It's a win-win!
Marcus WilliamsStoryOrigin makes cross-promoting with other authors via Newsletter Swaps both easy and perfectly targeted. You can search Newsletter Swap opportunities by Genre, Sub-Genre, and Distribution Type (Amazon-based or not), then see if the author you want to swap with has an active, engaged audience! I've been using this function to do 2-3 swaps per newsletter, which brings me up to 36 brand-new audiences numbering in the hundreds to thousands to view my work every year.
Michael AngelI absolutely love the beta reader feature. Its suggestions and customization has helped prompt my readers to give me more in-depth feedback. Super easy to use!
S. T. SanchezStoryOrigin has been a real blessing for new independent authors like me. I joined StoryOrigin in December, 2023 when I had 4 people on my mailing list. I have only used StoryOrigin since then for mailing list growth. StoryOrigin has helped me grow my mailing list from 4 to 160 in about 3 months by joining author promotions and newsletter swaps.
Ian D. FeldmanDuring the month I participated in a newsletter swap, I sold THREE times more books (across all titles, not just the book I swapped).
I use Direct Downloads all the time to deliver reader magnets, which has helped build my mailing list. I enjoy how easy it is to set up. My readers enjoy the ease of downloading their ebook.
Joan RaymondWhile there are several reasons I love StoryOrigin, the feature that really sold it for me is the Review Copies. The user interface is straightforward to upload the manuscript and set up the ARC. I appreciate the notifications when reviewers apply AND again when they post their reviews. I've used this feature twice in the past two months and had 4 reviewers for the first book with 2 reviews posted. I just set up my second ARC the other day and already have two applicants!
Briana BassI'm a huge fan of the reviews feature. I use this for my ARC readers and send out a link to my newsletter list for applicants with the hope/understanding they'll post the review within the first 7-10 days of publication. On my Ebooks, that's worked incredibly well. I typically have a great response: 43 requests with 34 reviews, 46 requests with 28 reviews, and 53 request with 32 reviews. Each time gets better as I know who reviewed, and whether to accept them on the team in the future. I've also used this for audiobooks reviews, but I have fewer on my audiobook list) but with an equal percentage of success. Now I won't release a book without using StoryOrigin for my ARC readers!
Amy ShojaiI love how the beta copies feature makes it easy for me to approve readers, collect all the beta feedback in one place, upload new versions for review or new readers, and track how I approach my edits. I don't know why someone hasn't made this before!
Going from zero readers to many mailing list subscribers with reader magnets in a short time is such a great feeling. It's a great way to share or swap stories to get more interested readers.
The best thing about the review copies feature is the ability to see what your reviewers typically say before you select them. Tracking is practically automatic. It's like I click a button and I have a review.
Newsletter swaps are easy to find, set up, and track. It's the fastest method I've used to grow my newsletter list so far.
Ingrid MoonStoryOrigin has been such a big part of my success story, and I never hesitate to recommend it to authors when they ask for advice.
For the past three years, StoryOrigin has been an integral part of my success strategy for new releases, as well as for boosting visibility on existing series. I've found swaps are as effective as any other aspect of promotional stacking and they are free. I stack my newsletter swaps for upcoming releases during release week to reach new audiences, boost Amazon's algorithm and create buzz around a new series or book. I average 200+ clicks during release week from StoryOrigin newsletter swaps, helping to boost my visibility and make each release more successful.
L.A. McGinnisMy newsletter took off!
Originally, I used three newsletter builder services. The other two were basically the same, but StoryOrigin has morphed into so much more. It's a MUST HAVE for indie authors with so many cool features! I enjoy their emails because there is always helpful advice or something awesome coming! Don't even get me started on all of the exciting new features of this last year!
Wish I could give StoryOrigin more than five stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Kim CormackI've been using StoryOrigin's Newsletter swap feature since the website was founded! I send out a newsletter every week with up to four other science fiction and fantasy books from other authors. StoryOrigin makes it so easy to connect with other authors and build a readership. Almost every week I have a full set of books to recommend to my readers, and I get a lot of exposure for my books too!
William C. TracyI use a lot of features on StoryOrigin, but perhaps the most helpful is delivering an ebook. StoryOrigin's Direct Downloads feature is a time lifesaver. The landing page is beautiful and the download is seamless for readers. Set it and forget it! (And then move on to the thousand other things you need to do as an author).
Jessica JamesOne of the biggest challenges as an indie author is providing your readers with a seamless ebook delivery experience to rival the likes of Amazon. StoryOrigin provides that. You can send your readers a link to a StoryOrigin landing page with options to download the book in any format they like. And it comes with instructions on how to upload the book to their e-reader. I've never had a reader complain about the process, which is a testament to how good this feature is.
Richie BillingI wouldn't have a mailing list if it weren't for StoryOrigin's reader magnet feature. Two years ago, I began with about 400 people from raffle promos. Now I have over 3,000 names from people who read my reader magnets. And I think readers who have sampled my writing are more likely to purchase books than names from raffle promos.
Suzanne Rudd HamiltonI'm loving the sequence used to ensure that I have everything setup just as needed to connect and grow my readership! It's so helpful to be able to check off each item as I go through my main goal for each month, such as building my newsletter list. Making that my goal and then following the checklist provided by StoryOrigin not only reminds me of which steps need to be done, but there's always several step-by-step videos that show me how to do each one - talk about a win-win!
I was weary about trying to find beta and ARC readers for my next novel, after trying (and failing) to get the quality betas and readers that I needed. Though now with StoryOrigin, I feel more in control of the selection process and am excited to give this try!
K. McCoyMy mailing list has 11,703 subscribers. Last year, I added a StoryOrigin segment to start tracking what emails came in from StoryOrigin since I started getting serious about my author career. Since I added the segment, I have 1195 subscribers, that came in from 3 reader magnets, and the other individual swaps and group promos I've joined.
CJ Ives LopezStoryOrigin's Reader Magnets feature has helped me build my mailing list from about 3k subscribers to over 12k in a little more than a year, and it is still growing. It is very easy to use and exactly what I was looking for!
Newsletter Swaps on StoryOrigin is one of the best and biggest tools in my indie publishing journey. It has helped me grow my readership to more than three times its size.
M.C. FrankI'm new to StoryOrigin with a tiny subscriber list but the first three group promos I applied for I was accepted. This is a green flag for me as it shows that I am in a supportive community of fellow writers.
T.C. RobertsThe Audiobook Review Copies feature is one of my favorite features of StoryOrigin. I've given out quite a few codes over the years. Not everybody follows through, but it's nice to see the stats on that. If you see someone with 0/64 followthrough on requests, you can make an informed decision on whether or not you wish to give them one of your codes.
I've had people discover other of my books through this.
It's a lot easier to see UK reviews. I may occasionally check for my US ones by browsing the title, but I like the convenience of having small snippets of various reviews and a link to the original location.
Aeris Legends 1-3 5/8 gave reviews. 4 5-star reviews and 1 4-star review. 1 recently given out code.
Anotech Chronicles 1-3 5/6 gave reviews (4 pending; codes only given out 2 weeks ago. This is a 30+ hr book collection.) 3 5-star reviews and 2 4-star reviews.
Devya's Children 1-4 4/4 gave reviews (3 pending) all 5-star reviews for the story (some 4-star for narrator).
River's Edge Ransom 16/23 reviewed; positive reviews, though one was 3 stars.
Julie C GilbertI had been using StoryOrigin for some years with success so when I decided to write books in a new genre using a pen name, it was only natural I also decided to use StoryOrigin to build my mailing list from scratch using a reader magnet as an intro to my new cozy mystery series. It was a good call because my list went from zero in December 2023 to over 1000 engaged subscribers in March 2024. Thank you Evan and StoryOrigin.
Stephen BentleyStoryOrigin is a platform designed to assist authors, publishers and marketers in connecting with readers and building communities. Authors can use reader magnets as a tool to build their mailing lists. One effective strategy for authors looking to gain more visibility is to participate in or arrange group giveaway campaigns with fellow writers in the same genre. During the promotion, readers need to subscribe to the authors' mailing lists in order to receive the reader magnet. Another effective method for expanding mailing lists is through reader magnet exchange. In this scenario, authors mutually promote each other's reader magnets to reap mutual benefits.
Three years ago, I joined StoryOrigin with an email list of 1. Now my subscriber base stands at 2,998, and is continually growing. StoryOrigin is my main platform for building lists, but I also use other platforms to expand my list through giveaway promotions. StoryOrigin provides an easy user interface and is highly recommended for new authors to get their journey underway with. Running giveaways, creating reader magnets, and supporting communities make StoryOrigin an ideal platform to build author platforms and expand readership.
Dr Andrew C S KohMy mailing list has been built using StoryOrigin, with over 1300 readers who have signed up using the Reader Magnet feature. It was so easy and integrated seamlessly with ConvertKit.
My newsletter swaps with other authors in my genre on StoryOrigin have become one of my main marketing strategies. My readers love that I share new books by other authors for them to grab, especially between my own book launches.
Group Promos with StoryOrigin are great and super easy to either create or participate in. It's one of my go-to marketing strategies. Every week, there are various promotions to participate in, and I get to pick and choose which ones best suit my genre. The page is easy to customise and find the perfect group promos for me.
Joan De La HayeI came to StoryOrigin as a novice, with no prior experience in self-publishing. It's easy to get totally overwhelmed by all the many steps that have to be learned, many of them quite intimidatingly technical. What I greatly appreciated about StoryOrigin when I first started (and still do) are the tutorials which take you step-by-step in real time through all the features offered. They're all suitable for beginners. You can hit pause, complete the step, and then continue. Whenever I run into any difficulties that I can't solve with the tutorials and Help FAQs, I fill in a 'contact support' form and experience the most impressive customer service, with a quick response time and a bullet point list of instructions to follow. To find such personal and responsive customer service is very rare now, and so refreshing.
I had never even heard of a reader magnet and had no idea what it involved. I also had never had a mailing list. I watched the tutorial videos a few times over, created a free account with Mailerlite, then signed up for a couple of newsletter swaps and then decided to have a go at creating a reader magnet of my own, so that I could apply for the 'free giveaway' group promos. I didn't seriously think anyone would download it. As if by magic, the downloads started coming in and my subscriber list grew. I was amazed! I am now about to write a second reader magnet for a new series in a different genre. Without this feature in StoryOrigin, I would have wasted hours of time trying to find and consolidate all the necessary information.
Elise BakerI have StoryOrigin to thank for helping boost my mailing list from the free Reader's Magnets feature. During a period in 2023, I had around 250 newsletter subscribers. Through clicks on my free reader magnet, (including newsletter swaps and group promos), I noticed subscriber gains of 20+ people a month for several months in a row. My 2024 subscribers number close to 400. That's a big boost for a small author.
My monthly newsletters benefit greatly by utilizing StoryOrigin's newsletter swaps with other authors and being a part of group promotions. I can see a boost on people clicking my books from other authors' newsletters, and my readers enjoy the fact that I'm sponsoring other indie authors. Although I have used similar swap mechanisms on other sites, I feel that StoryOrigin's dashboard is above the rest of the competition. The interface is more user-friendly and gives me lots of data in an easy, accessible format. The process is easy to set up and easy to utilize.
Douglas Van Dyke JrI thought word count tracking was the dumbest idea ever until I used StoryOrigin's Goal Trackers feature. 3 books and over 200,000 words later, I'm counting the words I need to eat, too.
The reader magnet function made the seemingly impossible possible. Starting with just 20 friends and family, and depending on back matter, I reckoned it'd take a few lifetimes to build a mailing list. With StoryOrigin and the reader magnet feature, I built a list of over 6,000 subscribers. With some pruning I now have over 2500 subscribers who read my newsletters over 50% of the time.
Not only have I acquired new subscribers from group promos, I've made some new author friends, too.
Bill & Mia BelewI especially love the group promos section of StoryOrigin. I doubled the size of my mailing list by entering my reader magnet in 3 promos!
J. M. AshmoreI love the Goal Tracker feature! It helps me stay on track with my WIP and helps me see how many words I need to write to reach my goal by my deadline. Using this tool, I've completed stories in anywhere from months to a few weeks. When I don't use the tracker, I tend to procrastinate, often taking 2-4 times as long to complete a project. I like to motivate myself with a tangible reward such as a piece of chocolate or an episode of a TV show for reaching my daily word count that the Goal Tracker gives me.
Stats: I used the Goal Tracker to track the progress of my novel A Favorable Impression. I completed the entire novel of 60,000 words in only 3 months.
By and large, the Reader Magnets feature is the single most valuable feature on StoryOrigin. Using the Reader Magnets feature, I grew my email list from 0 to over 1000 subscribers in the first year, and continued to multiply every year after that. Why is this so valuable? Because since then, over 90% of sales and preorders on every new release have come from readers on my email list above all other advertising avenues. The power of the reader magnet is undeniable in consistently drawing new subscribers who are not only interested in freebies, but who become paying customers for the type of books you write.
Stats: Over 4,400 total downloads of my reader magnets from 2020-2024, with a current list of 5600 subscribers. Given that some readers unsubscribed, I have concluded that roughly 50% of my current list came from reader magnet signups, and the other 50% from Facebook ads and organic sources such as my website landing page.
A note on Facebook ads: I actually use the same reader magnet freebie in my ads that I give away in other promos, but instead of linking to the reader magnet page on StoryOrigin (Facebook doesn't like that), I use Facebook's lead capture form, and include a link to my Direct Download page on StoryOrigin for that story in my welcome email. It's kind of a backdoor way to link to your magnet and be able to advertise it on channels such as Facebook, and it also provides a second outlet for readers who signed up via the Reader Magnet landing page to download the book they were promised, in case they missed the book delivery email from StoryOrigin or it went to their spam folder, etc. If I have multiple magnets, it's also a great way to make sure new readers don't miss out on any of the freebies I'm offering, because if they sign up via one Reader Magnet landing page, then when their welcome email comes, they can get all the other magnets too. :-)
Amanda KaiWith its Newsletter Swaps and Group Promos features, StoryOrigin helps me get my books in front of audiences I might never have been able to reach myself. With several different types of group promotions available in a myriad of genres, authors ought to quickly be able to "find their tribe." Organizers of group promos have been especially accommodating to authors with small audiences and those just beginning to build one. And authors likely won't have to wait long for kindred spirits to approach them for a newsletter swap--I know I didn't!
Mark J. EngelsStoryOrigin has been a gamechanger for me. I'm incredibly happy that I chose to try it out. As a new author, I was lost about what steps to take after I finished my book. But since I started using the program, I've followed the strategy which StoryOrigin has laid out for building up my mailing list. The integrations with my Wix website and Mailerlite work seamlessly. I find it easy to stay on task, and I absolutely love the reader magnet and beta reader tools, both are user friendly and make me look like a professional! (That's the feedback I've had from beta readers and those who have read my reader magnet.) Readers are benefiting from me using StoryOrigin as well. They tell me it is so much easier to access the stories now. I proudly recommend StoryOrigin to other authors.
K.M. KrenikI cross-promote bi-weekly with the Newsletter Swaps feature in StoryOrigin because it's so easy to use! I can collaborate with other authors for newsletter swaps and not have to worry about tracking everything because StoryOrigin does it for you and provides stats on how many clicks you receive on your book.
I also do word count tracking with StoryOrigin, which is a must-have for authors who need to track their word count progress, especially if there is a publication date deadline.
Linny LawlessStoryOrigin's Direct Downloads transformed my journey as a new author, offering a secure way for my newsletter subscribers to access my content. I'm so grateful for the convenience it provided.
Sheridan LeeOne of my favorite features of StoryOrigin is the newsletter swaps. I use it every week. I also like the feature that other people can search you out on the calendar and ask to do a swap with you. It's very helpful to be able to see other authors stats.
I'm also a fan of having my review copy available on StoryOrigin. I've gotten a few reviews with it so far, and you can also ask other authors to newsletter swap a review copy to their subscriber list.
I look forward to using StoryOrigin in my author business for many years to come. It's a great author's tool!
Noel LamarI recommend StoryOrigin to every writer I meet. It's proven to be the best way to grow my susbscriber list and ensure I get better quality sign-ups than with other offerings. My subscriber list has increased by 14% in the past 12 months and I put that down to the excellent, professional and secure attributes offered by StoryOrigin.
I'm only just starting with audiobooks but will be using the great reviewers on StoryOrigin for this too. Other ebook reviewers are a better caliber and more insightful in their reviews than from other sites I've used over the years. They understand how authors live or die based on the ratings and reviews from readers and deliver well written and well thought-our comments in their reviews which I really appreciate. It's help boost my profile and ratings on Amazon to attract more readers so I very much appreciate this aspect of StoryOrigin.
Universal book links are a MUST for any author. Apart from reducing the number of links etc in newsletters or email comms to readers, the universal links knows exactly where the closest store in the territory of the reader and automatically redirects them to the USA if they are American and UK if based there. It's been a boon for me down under in New Zealand where universal links sent to my majority of readers in the USA (77%) and readers here down-under get auto redirected to the Australian store. Swift, clean and efficient. In fact that's the mantra for the StoryOrigin business. It's always a few steps ahead, anticipating the bottlenecks and frustrations of readers and writers and delivering brilliant solutions.
Nicky WebberI have never liked marketing but StoryOrigin makes it fun and quick! My favourite features are: Group Promos, Review Copies, and Universal Book Link that leads readers to your book page on the specific Amazon store accessible to them.
Francesca AniballiJoining StoryOrigin was one of the best decisions I made for my writing! I've especially benefited from building my mailing list. StoryOrigin enabled me to easily upload a Reader Magnet and a Giveaway prize without having to figure out how and where to make them available. And, if that wasn't enough, it provided me with access to Newsletter Swaps and Group Promos. All four aspects were practically out of my reach without StoryOrigin.
I subscribed to StoryOrigin in January 2024. At the time I had 60 odd Substack subscribers. In one month (14 February to date) I gained 183 new subscribers through the Freebie and around 50+ more through the Giveaway. A handful unsubscribed as soon as they got the freebie and giveaway result. It happens, but I now have 284 subscribers (see screenshot below). Not bad for one month's effort. Thank you for opening so many doors for me.
Caroline ScirihaStoryOrigin's Reader Magnets feature is a critical component of building my readership as an indie author. I've garnered over 2,000 new subscribers for my monthly newsletter—readers I would never have gotten if not for this amazing feature.
Plus, the beta reader feature has been a game-changer for me in getting centralized feedback for the books in my series. I would have gone crazy managing this with Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
Beta readers have helped me uncover everything from scene inconsistencies to poor word choices to issues with pacing and flow.
With StoryOrigin's Beta Copies feature, I've streamlined the beta reading process for 9 books in my YA epic fantasy series by providing my beta readers with a single “hub” for them to provide comments and feedback for each book. This was especially crucial for the first book in my series because I had fourteen beta readers.
To manage fourteen manuscripts with fourteen sets of notes would have been overwhelming. But with the Beta Copies feature in StoryOrigin, the process was a snap. My beta readers worked off a single “manuscript,” giving me one place to view comments and suggested changes. The feature also allowed me to update chapters for my beta readers to review and confirm the changes worked to their expectations.
Steve PantazisI'm a relative newcomer to StoryOrigin (six months or so) but now use it daily. But the promotions and swaps aside, the single best feature I've used is StoryOrigin's beta-reader management system
Beta readers give me intelligent views of my books from the outside. They have no reason to pull punches and every reason to focus carefully and identify problems of plot, pacing and character development.
For my new novel The Final Heist, fourth and final in my Paris-based series that began with Treasure of Saint-Lazare, I chose two dozen beta readers from the members of my mailing list who responded to my call for volunteers. The valuable StoryOrigin tool forced each of them to look at the same section at roughly the same time and helped me keep track of their progress.
As you can imagine, some of their insights were more valuable than others, but none was worthless. The exercise confirmed my view that every book I write in the future will take advantage of the StoryOrigin system.
John PearceI use many of the features on StoryOrigin, and they just keep expanding. For years, I've distributed reader magnets through the app, and then StoryOrigin sends the subscriber's email address to my mail server. Depending on the magnet, I can choose which list StoryOrigin sends the subscriber's info to. It works seamlessly, and I don't have to worry about it. Uploading the free download for the reader magnet is super easy, too.
I also love the ease of distributing advanced review copies (ARCs) using StoryOrigin. I can approve applications and choose where I want the reviews left. It even sends out a reminder on book release day to my ARC readers with links to all the places to leave a review of my book.
Sydney Jane BailyThe Beta reader feature for authors on StoryOrigin is second to none. Readers have to leave comments to unlock the next chapter of the manuscript, so no one can simply read your book without giving any feedback. The readers enjoy the process, too, knowing they're really an integral part of making the story better.
Jane McBayStoryOrigin's Direct Sale Ebooks feature has been a game-changer for me. Since Lemon Squeezy is listed as the seller of record, they handle all the VAT and sales tax, which makes my life so much easier!
StoryOrigin's Audiobook Review Copies feature easily gets me around 20 reviews per book I post. It's easy to check the potential reviewer's stats and decide if you want to send them a review code or not.
Carrie PulkinenMy email list has gone from 40 at Thanksgiving to over 400 by St Patricks Day by using Reader Magnets and promos. I have participated in email swaps and joined multiple promotions with others of similar genre. I like that you have filters so I can hone in on promos and genres that I want and search by similar genres and key words. In the last 30 days, I have had 148 downloads of my free reader magnets.
Raymond KeithStoryOrigin is the best place to host your website if you're an author, no question. If you struggle with DNS, SSL and all the rest of the tech stuff, save yourself a lot of hassle and head straight for StoryOrigin.
Everything from the user interface to the clean layout to integration from other sites/newsletters etc is perfect!
10/10 would recommend!
Phoenix RoseI love StoryOrigin. I've used other sites for promotions and newsletter swaps but this one is easier and more author-focused. Highly recommend for new or serious authors.
Gina KincadeThis service makes newsletter swaps between individual authors SO MUCH EASIER than doing them manually on your own. They are no longer a time suck! And there are so many other features to StoryOrigin that make it worth your time. Try it out, let SO do some of the heavy lifting, and you'll soon find much more time to write!
Traci LovelotI love StoryOrigin! It's easy to manage. I'm always able to find great group promos. The newsletter swap features are nice too. I can see how many people clicked on my book. Not to mention I'm able to use my affiliate links. Thanks for this wonderful tool. It's a must in my author life.
Posey ParksAn easy interface, a plethora of author tools, and highly-available customer service. What's not to like!
John C. CampbellStoryOrigin is absolutely the must-have author tool. You can build your newsletter list with interested people, sell your books, find newsletter swaps, get reviews, and more, and Evan, the creator (who is just amazing), is constantly updating and adding new features. I've recommended it to dozens of authors wondering "How do I . . .?" on various Facebook groups and will do so again. Without it, you're truly missing out.
Katherine GilbertStoryOrigin is an excellent resource for writers and readers! I've joined promotions and newsletter swaps and created some of my own. I've gained subscribers and reviews and networked with other authors. Everything you need as an author is right there in one spot. I love it!
Krissy BaccaroStoryOrigin is an awesome site for authors who need to share and promote their work. I used to use several different sites but StoryOrigin has it all - pages for free book downloads, reader magnets, group promotions and newsletter shares. A large community of writers, and SO tracks all of your share data in one place. New features keep being added. I could not recommend SO more highly.
Jack MassaOf all the group promotional and newsletter swapping services, StoryOrigin is by far and above the best one. We have grown our newsletter by 2,500 subscribers through the service. The ease of use, mailing list integration, and constant new features are just a few of the reasons we highly recommend StoryOrigin as a tool that every author, indie or traditionally published, needs to invest in.
Paul J. BennettIt really is a one-stop shop. The universal book link is worth money on its own, and it's free! You can link to your Amazon book to anyone, and it will take them directly to their country's Amazon... including ALL of your Amazon Associates codes. You can also make a direct download, reader magnet, and run group promos. I think this company will keep growing and add new features, too!
Mica Scotti KoleIt is so much easier to do newsletter swaps with StoryOrigin! I love the simple interface and having everything all in one spot, as opposed to having to track swaps via emails or FB posts. Group promos are easy to find and join, too. I also use StoryOrigin to post books for review, and to find subscribers with a reader magnet. Before StoryOrigin, I would send out newsletters once a month, if that, and any promos I ran were ineffective. Now, I send out weekly newsletters and have a real connection with my list - I was able to get 21 reviews for my ARC just through my newsletter alone! And I love getting emails from my subscribers, they encourage me when I'm down and help me when I post about problems I'm having. My whole newsletter experience has been night and day. And the sales - I now have regular purchases because of the swaps, group promos, and reader magnets. I couldn't recommend this service more! For me, it's up there with Vellum in terms of making my author life easier.
Kat StilesI've been using StoryOrigin for a while now and, compared to a lot of similar sites designed to help authors, StoryOrigin has the best UI, the most features and a great community of authors. Never mind that Evan, who operates the site, is patient, attentive and does his best to always be improving the experience and taking notes from authors.
Dave WalshI love using StoryOrigin. It makes tracking newsletter swaps with other authors so easy and breezy. I highly recommend it!
Kelly WoodI love StoryOrigin's usability, and the fact I can have both review copies, and universal links, and participate in various promos and newsletters!
Alexa WhitewolfI joined recently and I'm still learning but I'm impressed with the site. The interface is slick and well designed and the parts I've used so far work well. It's much easier to use than similar sites and I'm enjoying more success with StoryOrigin than I've experienced elsewhere.
Kent SilverhillStoryOrigin is a godsend in helping me build up my network. I got over 400 subscribers in one month. It's really easy to join giveaways, set up newsletter swaps, and announce your book sales. You can even create your own giveaways, with lots of fellow authors happy to join and spread the word. If you want to grow your subscriber count or just get your book out to more people, I heartily suggest trying StoryOrigin.
Ellen MintI used to use several sites and groups to facilitate things like newsletter swaps, multi-author book promos, reader magnets, and reviews, but I can do it all and better on StoryOrigin. It's a real timesaver and I recommend it to any author.
A. F. StewartIs there a 5 star rating system on this? Because StoryOrigin is at least 6 stars. At least! I've used the other platforms like Prolific Works, Promo Cave, etc, and none of them approach the flexibility and power of StoryOrigin.
W.H. LockA very useful and user-friendly site for authors to build lists and manage newsletter campaigns and more! The site makes keeping track of everything super easy. With informative tutorials, case studies, and more improvements being done every day by a very hands-on and knowledgeable founder. 👌
Sara Bellcamp-BreakerI love using Storyorigin to plan newsletter swaps with other authors! Their easy to use dashboard is extremely valuable to me in that it saves me a great deal of time by making it easy to connect with authors in the same or similar genres. I can cross promote and keep track of everything in one convenient place. And anytime I have an issue I am able to contact them and they actually address my concerns in real time. Awesome site. Highly recommend.
Christine GorriI really love the audiobook distribution feature of StoryOrigin. It sends out emails on my behalf, tracks who has left a review, warns me if I try to reuse a code, and provides a one-stop location for all listeners to find my audiobooks. I know of no other series that all authors to set up swaps to distribute these codes.
Cinnamon WorthGreat platform, that's easy to use. I've seen a marked increase in my mailing list size (using book magnets) since I've started using it.
Assaph MehrOne month ago, I didn't know what an author newsletter was. Now I've got real live subscribers (i.e., interested readers, not my family members). 89% of my subscribers came from StoryOrigin. And there are so many more features to learn. StoryOrigin is an author paradise.
Jenn WatkinsA great service for authors. Easy setup, user friendly, and excellent tracking. Email list swaps are one of the best ways to build your audience, and StoryOrigin makes it super simple and efficient to do.
Thomas WebbDefinitely a great choice for authors who want to grow their mailing lists, connect with other authors in their genres and ultimately grow their sales! I LOVE IT!
Devonnie AsherIt's a very handy and comprehensive place where to keep tracks of ARCs, newsletters, and writing progress.
PJ MannAmazingly easy platform to help authors connect to help promote each other. Highly recommended.
Jerry HanelExcellent method of connecting with other authors and sharing newsletters. Great network of authors helping each other reach greater audiences. Highly recommended.
Wayne MeyersThis is a great tool and resource for writers. Great options and customer service!
Deirdre Riordan HallGreat resource for authors, easy to understand, and the creator is always finding new ways to help authors grow. Great community.
Rosie ZayneFantastic app for authors! It's a great way to connect with other authors for newsletter swaps, group promotions, or just to have a place to distribute your book to readers. Plus, you can track your progress there, too. Highly recommended!
Angel Leya
Sherry SouleI've been doing a lot of newsletter swaps with storyoriginapp which has definitely increased my sales! I also like the goal tracker for new projects. When my newest release comes out, I'll definitely be putting up some review copies.
Victoria JayneStoryOrigin was developed by someone who understands what an author needs and wants in a collaboration site. The layout is easy to understand and there are all sorts of features that make collaboration less laborious. I'm very thankful someone told me about it!
A.E. WalnoferStoryOrigin is great for authors and just keeps getting better every day. I started using it for newsletter swaps, but they've since added so many other features, including tools for distributing both audio and ebook review copies, newsletter campaign planners (all integrated with my email newsletter provider), and writing goal trackers. It's nice to be able to do so much in one place.
Janell E. RobischStoryOrigin offers a flexible platform with powerful features: newsletter swaps, giveaways, sharing multiple books per newsletter, etc. And a great way to find more authors in similar genres to crosspromote. Highly recommended.
Chris TurnerI'm so glad I discovered StoryOrigin. It has helped build my email list, network with other authors, increase KU reads and organize my marketing strategy. I'm obsessed! Been on it every day since 🙂
Tara SeptemberFinally an app that makes the grunt work of being a small-time author less of a chore! Thanks!
Olivia Wylie
Anna SantosStoryOrigin is out there breaking boundaries again! Attention, authors!!!
*****Things StoryOrigin already had*****
-NL swaps and promos with an awesome calendar to keep them all straight and organized,
-Goal/Word Count tracker
-Reader Magnets (freebies that sign them up for your newsletter—like Bookfunnel)
-Universal Book Links (like Books2Read, etc.)
-ARC copies
-Beta reader copies
-Direct downloads of books that don't need a NL signup
-Universal and ARC audio links & codes
-Collections where you can make a page with multiple books on it
So like... already a go-to author tool.
*****BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!*****
StoryOrigin now also has a feature that makes me much happier with my purchase of a domain for my website.
Why?
Because with StoryOrigin you can now create a very clean, one-page website that displays your books. (It ties to your domain, which is why you need one to utilize this, but it makes it feel much more worth it to have a domain in the first place!)
***I'll pop mine in the comments so you can see it in action better than just with the second screenshot below, which tbh doesn't show much lol.***
I was very scared of the technical requirements to set this up, but I managed to successfully follow the directions and it was pretty painless, thank heavens! And now it will be practically EFFORTLESS to keep updated for the rest of my career!!! Which is HUGE for me and how pressed for time I always am!
*****
ALSO, you can create custom links. For ANYTHING. (First screenshot)
My Goodreads link was too long for Vellum to include in print versions, which was obnoxious to me. Now? It's just books.authorkatiecherry.com/goodreads
All of the links are like that. Your page link with /whatevertheheckyouwant. Clean up ANY of your links, not just your StoryOrigin links! Everything will be so easy for you AND your readers to remember!
**********
IN SUMMARY...
If you have your own domain, get StoryOrigin and replace: BookFunnel, Books2Read, (StoryOrigin will likely replace LinkTree/SleekBio soon as well), replace your ARC provider, ditch Google docs for betas that take an ETERNITY to load and get CHAPTER BY CHAPTER feedback instead (honestly, this is the BOMB), and get an excellent progress tracker, all for the cost of just BookFunnel.
(I ditched BF for StoryOrigin in the beginning, and now the value just keeps growing!)
*****
You may have questions, like...
Am I getting paid to share this with you? No, as awesome as that would be lol.
Will I make a video walking you through my entire StoryOrigin account and everything I do on it if you request one? Sure, I live for sharing life-improving stuff! You'll just need to wait for me to have a day where I have a spare half-hour or so 😉 But request away if you want an inside look and I'll add it to my to-do list!
Or, you know, just get it yourself and run around the site like a kid in a candy store and PM me if you have any questions. 🙂 (There's also a FB group you can go to if you have any issues or suggestions to add to the site!)
Katie CherryStoryOrigin has proven one of my strongest options for list-building, which is even more impressive considering how young the service is. Integration, the universal link feature, and hunting down group giveaways are all seamless and simple to use. I've got some more freebies planned, and I can't wait to put them all up on the site. Here's hoping it grows even bigger and brighter 🌟
Nazri Noor
Marlene RiggsStoryOrigin is one of the pillars of my email list building strategy. I've participated in group promos as well as organized a few myself, on StoryOrigin. For ease of use and features, StoryOrigin is the best. And it's developer continues to release upgrades and new features at a rapid pace. As a result, the platform just seems more responsive and personable than other platforms in the category.
Dusty SharpWith video tutorials and a user-friendly interface, StoryOrigin makes it easy for authors to set up landing pages and giveaways, swap newsletter mentions with other authors, and join in on group sales and giveaways. StoryOrigin is an amazing platform for indie authors looking to network and reach new readers.
Lynsey FarnsworthA great and fun way to share your story, grow your email list, and meet other writers!
David Mark BrownStoryOrigin is a resource for authors that retains the personal connection. My readership has grown so much since I started using all the tools that are available for authors.
Jennie GoutetI have used Group Promos on Story Origin to build my newsletter email list. The integration process transfers sign-ups from the Reader Magnets on Story Origin to my MailerLIte site and keeps the sign-ups in their particular group (Reader Magnet). I then can write campaigns for my newsletters. I send my newsletter to all group subscribers. I have had excellent stats on my newsletters, or I think so. For Feb. 28th 2024. Recipients 72. Opened 55.56%. Clicked 29.17%. CTR 52.5%.
Jane E. RuthIf you only need one site for all must-have tools for authors, StoryOrigin is the one.
Tatenda CreedThe website interface is so user-friendly- you can upload your book links, plan newsletter swaps and join giveaways easily and effectively. I've been able to grow my newsletter, gain some book sales and add some great title to my TBR list!
Claire BussMy favorite cross-promo service - I've tripled my subscriber list since starting with StoryOrigin!
Stacy SowersIf you are an author, why aren't you using this?
I could not be happier with the results I have gotten. I'm a new author, so I'm just trying to build an email list right now. When I started, I had 6 subscribers 6 months ago. Now I'm pushing 400 almost exclusively through the Group Promos feature and I haven't even signed up for every one I could have (trying to manage subscriber experience).
There are many more features to StoryOrigin, so even if building up your list isn't your main focus, this is something every author should look into.
Phoenix HaysI love the calendar section that helps you keep track of what swaps and promotions you've joined. It's worth the little bit of work to set up your universal links and newsletter campaign dates ahead of time to be so well organised! Nice job preparing such a well rounded and useful app for authors!
Lilly RaymanStoryOrigin changed my life, and it's the BEST tool that actually works with increasing sales, subscribers, and reaching new readers. For me, it works better than most paid sites. It's a unique concept to help authors, with many different cool features developing all the time. Thank you so much for building this platform, Evan Gow. You're a miracle worker!
Anca-Melinda ColioluSo, I've been a part of some Beta testing of new features on StoryOrigin the past couple of weeks, and ya'll. I'm not even kidding when I say I LOVE THESE NEW FEATURES! Read on to find out why I love this stuff and how it makes my life so much easier!
So, the new feature is actually quite a few things, and I'm in love with all of them. Basically, you're creating a personalized subdomain that links to StoryOrigin and features ALL of your books on one handy-dandy page. It's an awesome feature for us authors who have a ton of books, and still incredible for those that are growing. Readers can see everything on one, convenient page.
Want to check out my page?
https://books.melonyannauthor.com
I have also included the clickable link in my bio.
But that's not all. You can also create universal links specific and customized to you, which is seriously my favorite thing ever. The links are customized to the subdomain. An example?
https://books.melonyannauthor.com/LovingYou
The link is mine. It isn't from a third party site. It belongs to me and the subdomain I own. It's just one more tiny thing that makes me feel more independent.
If you're not familiar with StoryOrigin, it's a website I highly recommend to help you not only grow your newsletter, but to also gain more ARC readers. There are so many resources for authors in one convenient place, and the support you get if you mess up and need to fix something is seriously second to none.
And now, with this feature added, I seriously can't say enough. Even for technologically disadvantaged people like me, this feature wasn't difficult to set up. If you follow directions. 😂 Truthfully, if I can figure it out, anyone can!
Okay, enough of me talking. I just wanted to let everyone know about this, though. This is an incredible tool for us. And in light of everything going on with pirating and Amazon, this was welcomed good news that I think we all can benefit from.
Melony AnnSeriously, the possibilities are endless with this new Custom Links feature!!! Here are a few things that I've started with.😊
We all know that the less readers have to click in order to get to your buy pages the better chance you have for them to actually purchase. The website I created with the ‘Redirect to Different Site' option from ‘Create Custom Link', does exactly that for my readers.
This past week I tested this theory with my newsletter by having https://books.authorbritneybell.com/ in the header buttons rather than my usual home page to my main website. The results did have a positive impact on the sales generated.
Let's talk about my main website vs StoryOrigin's Custom Links website I created.
-Main website - It took me about 1 year to create it fully and to get it to where I was actually generating sales. This site is also very complex and takes a lot of time to maintain.
-StoryOrigin's website - It literally only took me a few minutes to set it up, and the simplicity of the layout had sales generating as soon as it was in my readers' hands. This site is super simple to maintain since I already have the universal links set up for my books in StoryOrigin for Swaps, Group Promos and Collections. I set it up once, and leave it.
Anyone spend hours on formatting backmatter and re-uploading so your books all have the most current backlist information for sale through? Well, I have over 25 books published, and it takes A LOT OF HOURS to maintain all those book links at the back of the book and re-upload them to the different platforms. With the new website I created from this feature, I now have 1 link that's marked with ‘See all Britney's books here…'. Then I simply list the books below in their prospective series and sub-genres without linking each and everyone. By doing this, the reader will be able to click on that link and have the most current list of all my books on the market… even if I haven't been able to get around to updating the backmatter for over a year. 😱
The new feature with creating short links, I use those all over! Whether it's a reader magnet to share in a Facebook Group Author Takeover to track the clicks, or my Amazon page under my name on my email signature, or just a nice short link to track social media posts clicks. Having the stats available for these short links is huge and can tell me what posts are working and what aren't.
I hope you love this new feature as much as I already do! Thank you, Evan Gow!!!
Britney BellIf you've been hesitating to build a website, Evan Gow over at StoryOrigin has just made life SO easy for you! If you own a domain name, but haven't built a site yet, or even if you do have a site and want a great-looking landing page with all your books, BEHOLD the latest and greatest author tool on StoryOrigin.
It literally took me less than 30 minutes to set up (I discovered a book that wasn't uploaded to SO yet), and it looks great and professional.
You know what else? When someone clicks on your reader magnet to download, it will integrate them right into your subscriber list on most platforms.
Hurray for Fast, Easy, and Professional. Thanks, Evan!
Scarlett Braden MossThis is the best platform for finding newsletter swaps with other authors and for hosting and joining group promos. I love with the newsletter swaps you can filter by 'swap opportunity' which shows you the book covers of the other authors - such a time saver in finding authors writing in the same genre! Would definitely recommend StoryOrigin.
Sarah BeggI can't say enough about how much I love StoryOrigin. I started using it more than two years ago when I was just starting out as an author and I use it for everything! It's the main reason I started out from zero newsletter subscribers to 2,000 now. I use it for reviews, the goal tracker--it's awesome!
Tara TafferaI really love storyorigin. I find it really user friendly, great tutorials, and great support. For the longest time my email list hovered around 400. Using the tools in StoryOrigin I was able to double my list in a couple of months.
Cindy SamulAfter throwing away a bunch of money at failed Facebook ads, I was skeptical that this would work BUT 2 weeks into my first newsletter swaps and I already have my first 160 legitimate subscribers!
K.L. WildeI love Storyorigin and it's definitely a must for authors to get their work known.
Steven P AitchisonWhether a new or established author, or just new to marketing yourself, StoryOrigin will help you grow your brand.
Peter J. FooteStoryOrigin is wonderful. Their help tutorials are thorough and easy to understand. If you run into trouble, you can email them and KNOW you'll receive a response that solves your problem. I love the ease of setting up newsletter swaps, and joining group promos. Best of all, they send me welcome reminders to do what I need to do. I love, love, love StoryOrigin.
Lucia KuhlI LOVE StoryOrigin. So easy to use and full of great tools for authors. I've barely scratched the surface and I can't wait to try everything and utilize its full potential.
Tonya BrooksStoryOrigin has been a lifesaver for me! It's a great way to manage your email lists, cross promotions and campaigns with your email marketing program (such as Mailchimp). Once you familiarize yourself with the process, it streamlines your promotions into a one-stop-shop where you can manage newsletter swaps, book review copies, and reader magnets (to build your mailing list).
William Joseph Hill
John ChampaignIt's hands-down in my top 5 Author Tools. Easy to use, and one-stop shopping. My list has grown from 8 to >600 in months, even though I unsubscribe people after 6 non-opens.
Chloe HolidayStoryOrigin has given my newsletter a much-needed boost, as well as the group promos being an excellent method of getting books in front of new readers. Highly recommend!
L. AnnStoryOrigin has really helped me build my author platform. It is easy to use, and I've made some great relationships with other authors. I would definitely recommend it.
AJ CampbellThey have done a great job of bringing together a lot of writers' tools for book promotion. Elegant. Very simple and easy to use interface. Tracking your daily word count is also a pretty nice feature.
John ThibaultStoryorigin has assisted me in growing my newsletter list and introducing myself and my products to a wider range of people. I love many features of this app and use it for goal tracking - reader magnets - reviews and more. Also, the developer is author friendly and always working on enhancements.
Lyra AdamsI love StoryOrigin! The content and functionality are great tools for me as an author. The interface is intuitive and the tutorials are helpful if you have questions on things. Plus the customer support is fantastic.
Diana DawnAmazing tool for growing your newsletter and promoting your work! Highly recommend.
Sierra BraveI'm really happy with StoryOrigin. I've participated in quite a few multi-author promotions for gaining book reviews and newsletter subscribers. Both have worked out very well for me. This site is fantastic!
Marilyn PeakeI've been pleasantly surprised by the number of review requests I've gotten as a first time author in my genre. I love the way a similar site is set up, but I've received double the review requests on StoryOrigin. Can't wait to see how many follow through, and see the process through to the end!
ER WhyteStoryOrigin is a great tool for authors to find ways of boosting their subscribers and also for networking with other authors who write in similar genres. I've had some lovely chats with other authors. Highly Recommend.
Emma C BuenenI love StoryOrigin's layout, efficiency, and especially their services! With StoryOrigin's help, I was able to grow my newsletter subscribers from nothing to quite a few in a matter of weeks! They get an A+ from me!
Kish KnightStoryOrigin was the first site I started using to build my newsletter mailing list. Of my options I currently use, it's definitely the most user friendly, and the customer service of the site is very responsive when you reach out. It's a good experience.
Sara MaycesAmazing site. Boosted my subscriber list from a low base and continues to do so. Great tool for authors.
Blair DenholmGreat resource for authors of all levels. I recommend it over and over.
Rory MoultonIt is a fantastic site for writers who want to increase their visbility.
Alex MahonI'm loving StoryOrigin and I think I've only scratched the surface of what this author platform can do.
Anne ShilloloStoryOrigin is a great resource to build your newsletter and use to send out ARCs and a lot more. I highly recommend checking out StoryOrigin out!
Jodi ArtzbergerI loved how StoryOrigin had open up much more exposure to my books and I am seeing more sales and reviews of my books than before I joined. I truly recommend StoryOrigin for this reason to all authors.
Anna del C. DyeStoryOrigin has helped me grow my email list and increase my sales/page reads. I am a huge fan!
Ron L. Lahr⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's really great for book swaps (and keeping track of how many clicks it gets). And the universal link as well. I really enjoy it. Five stars!
Jessie CalI highly recommend StoryOrigin. I use this platform for newsletter swaps and joining promotions for sales and building my subscriber base. StoryOrigin offers a lot of great tools to authors.
Cassia-Briar
Rachel WindsorAbsolutely brilliant.
I signed up last year but didn't do much with it until three days ago. Last night, I increased my subscribers by 20%!! And that is just the beginning.
Chris JohnsonI had an email list of 50 people from my blog when I started on StoryOrigin, and it grew to 350 through them in less than a month.
This start of 350, is now 2300 through my blog and 2 giveaways, but StoryOrigin started it all.
Thank you StoryOrigin
Sherif GuirguisStoryOrigin is great. Having both group promotions and newsletter swaps in the same service is really helpful. The audio review codes integration with Findaway Voices is a great feature. The site also has very good ease of use.
John AkersIn two weeks, I've gone from 8 subscriber to a 130, thanks to putting up a free 16K reader magnet prequel and doing lots of newsletter swaps with other Sci-Fi and fantasy authors.
Rayner YeEvery author and reader should stop what they're doing and sign up for StoryOrigin RIGHT NOW! Tons of books and a wonderful community. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Jo MichaelsAwesome site - so useful for authors trying to build a following.
Debbie Manber KupferThe ability to set up quick book giveaways with precision to the right people and with the right people. Results are always nice.
John PirilloTo any and all authors out there with a story to tell. StoryOrigin is an awesome platform for giving my readers a place to discover cool new books and authors. I highly recommend this service.
Devin McCameyThis site is amazing. Painless newsletter swaps, mailing list integrations, tons of promos to get readers or sales or whatever you're after. I have SO to thank for so much, and I'm only using a sliver of the features it offers. Amazing!
Levi Jacobs
Andrea CrossStoryOrigin is an excellent service, connecting writers and readers in the most direct and elegant way. I love the platform's ease of use, its trustworthiness, and its efficiency.
Borut LesjakFab selection of genres, great customer - is helping me grow my mailing list - whats not to like??
Halima KhatunStoryOrigin is the absolute best platform I've found for cross promoting with other authors and building a newsletter list. The tracking system is excellent, and the creator goes out of his way to ensure quick, solid support.
Anne Francis ScottWonderful free promotion tool with many options. Easily connect with fellow authors.
Patrice Williams MarksI love using StoryOrigin. It is easy to use, efficient, and it always sends out reminders so you never miss a swap or promo. It has some incredible features, and support is always quick to respond to any queries.
Toni CoxVery helpful with plenty of advice and opportunities to expand your brand and books.
Dave WickendenIf you're an indie author (or any author) and you want to a.) expand your reach, b.) work alongside other authors, c.) hone your skills in marketing, and d.) increase your engagement with your readers, StoryOrigin is for YOU!
My newsletter grew from 20 subscribers to 150 in just two months! I meet new authors every day and have developed friendships with some of them. My readers tell me they enjoy reading my newsletters because it helps them connect with me on a personal level (making them more likely to keep reading my books)!
Seriously, check StoryOrigin out! It takes some fumbling before you really get it down, but it's worth the try!
Jessaca WillisA fantastic site with features for everything the up and coming author could want or need, highly recommended!
Ross HughesThe team behind StoryOrigin is always quick to respond to queries and goes out of the way to help you. They're also constantly adding new features and improving the already great product.
Tallulah LucyThis is one of the best sites you can use as an author! I use it to grow my newsletter and garner sales. Highly recommended!
Caleb FastStoryOrigin is wonderful for giving me a way to network with other authors to grow my readership. I love being a self-published author, but it does often feel like a pay-to-play environment: if you want your book seen, you have to pony up the funds to third-party services that promote your book, and it gets expensive. With StoryOrigin, I have several ways of promoting my books that don't cost money. Also, I like the way the group promo system works; it seems like it's providing a valuable service to readers, not just authors. I'm always afraid with advertising that it can feel overbearing and intrusive, but I don't think the group promotions have that problem.
Karen MeadHighly recommend StoryOrigin! I work with several bestselling authors, always refer them to use StoryOrigin.
Margaret A. Daly
Ian PatrickAbsolute game-changer! This has been one of the most enjoyable and easy to use tools I've encountered as an author!
Yuri Jean-BaptisteIt makes swaps and promotions so easy, and they keep on adding features that help authors. They are an invaluable resource!
Michelle Deerwester-DalrympleStoryOrigin has made my life so much easier with easy to set up universal links and giveaways. Highly recommended.
Yolandie HorakI absolutely love StoryOrigin. It's a great product with outstanding service. It's a fantastic way to get your books out there while building up your mailing list. I highly recommend it!
John BoxStoryOrigin has helped me tremendously with sales! I cannot think of a better cross-platform group out there! It is easy to use, great for marketing and any authors MUST STOP THERE point if they are serious about marketing
Sian B. ClavenA great platform for authors to check out. I've had a few very successful swaps and giveaways!
Jenn NixonStoryOrigin is a fun and supportive community, and I've been able to build my email list a lot faster than I thought I could through group promos. LOVE this site!
K. Kris LoomisStoryOrigin is fast becoming my go-to place when I'm looking to increase the size of my mailing list. Which as it happens is always. 😃
Thomas J EyreI LOVE StoryOrigin!
Finally a site that has everything you need all in one place to grow your subscribers, find newsletter swaps, AND it is super user friendly! (Unlike so many other sites I've used, GRRR....)
Also the developer really cares about the user's opinion. He's constantly making updates that make an already great site even better!
I HIGHLY recommend StoryOrigin!
K. A. ParkinsonI've been looking for something like this FOREVER, so I'm very glad to have stumbled upon StoryOrigin. Super easy to use. Very intuitive! And if you have any questions, just shoot Evan an email, and he responds promptly! Definitely recommend it to authors.
Kelly BlanchardStoryOrigin is a great resource for writers to connect with each other and build awareness.
Dan PetrosiniIf you are looking to learn about the skills and tricks of book sales, here you are!
Colin DevonshireStoryOrigin has a full array of valuable marketing services for indie writers. The site is easy to use, and Evan is very response to issues and questions, and with helpful tips. Definitely a tool I'm using and would recommend to any author looking to improve their books discoverability.
David DeLeeStoryOrigin is a pretty much a one stop shop for indie authors. I have been using it for a while, and the number of features have grown and grown. I now use it for giveaways, hosting books for people to download, and newsletter swaps, and it even has a calendar which keeps track of everything I'm doing. StoryOrigin is really easy to use as well, plus there is a thriving community of authors using it. Also, and most importantly, it works. I have doubled my email list since joining, and StoryOrigin has helped me promote one of my books to no. 1 in the Amazon free list in its category.
Martin SwinfordGreat website. Easy to use and has really helped me with my newsletter subscribers. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Taylor Aston WhiteI've participated in many Story Origin reader magnet events, and always get a nice boost to my newsletter subscribers. I'm learning to stack Story Origin's awesome list of very useful features to maximize my book launches by coordinating newsletter swaps, reader magnets, review copies and group promos to make a powerful impression and attract new readers.
Morgan Brice