This is Part Four in a multi-part series on finding clients as a book coach. Read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three — and check out Part Four with 10 great examples of lead magnets for book coaches below.

10 Great Lead Magnet Examples

1. A Genre Guide

Coach: Lidija Hilje

Lead Magnet: Genre Guide for Women's Fiction Writers: Literary, Upmarket, Commercial, Women's Fiction

Price: Free when you give your email

Lidija specializes in Upmarket and Literary Women’s fiction. Her clients have recently landed some big book deals and she herself is writing in the genre she coaches. Her guide, which you can watch as a video and also download as a PDF, answers one of the big challenges in this genre, which is understanding what exactly it IS, and why are there so many sub-genres to sort out. Writers ask these questions both at the start of their projects and when they’re pitching, and Lidija offers them clarity in a beautifully designed package.

The Invitation. The invitation at the end of Lidija’s guide is to get in touch with her to learn more about her services or to sign up for her newsletter.

2. Helping Writers Get Started

Coach: Marni Seneker

Lead Magnet: Quick-Start Book Plan Giveaway

Price: Free. Marni runs this promotion on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook as an occasional giveaway.

Marni specializes in helping nonfiction writers capture their big idea and pin it to the page. A pain point for her ideal clients is that they may not be sure if their idea is landing with their audience. They live and breathe their material, but is their message clear to someone who is coming to it fresh? Marni’s Quick Start Book Plan is framed as a kind of a test – a clever offering for nonfiction writers who tend not to have as many opportunities for writing groups and conferences as fiction and memoir writers do. For this offer, you work on your Quick Start Book Plan for two weeks, receive feedback, and then hop on a strategy call with Marni.

The Invitation: After doing the Quick Start Book Plan, your next step is to work with Marni to flesh out a complete book proposal.

3. Writing with Care

Coach: Amy Koerner

Lead Magnet: LGBTQ+ Story-Writing Guide: 12 Tips for Writing LGBTQ+ Fiction for Children or Young Adults

Price: Free when you sign up for her newsletter.

Amy specializes in LGBTQ+ fiction for children and young adults. In the safe space she creates for her writers, she encourages them to explore their creative ideas and unravel the story they need to tell. Her LGBTQ+ Story-Writing Guide is a 19-page PDF. For each of the 12 tips, Amy offers examples of books from the picture book, middle grade, and young adult categories that exhibit the idea she is showcasing in the tip. The writers she is targeting may be new to writing in this space, and Amy’s guide welcomes them with her friendly graphics, an open-hearted voice, and a wide range of examples. Her mission is to get more LGBTQ+ stories into the world and her approach positions her as a subject-area expert who is ready, willing, and able to help. 

The Invitation: Amy invites readers of her guide straight back to her website, where she offers a range of book coaching services.

4. Get Pitch Ready

Coach: Julie Artz

Lead Magnet: Critique Partner Meet Cute

Price: Free for those who register; help three times a year. 

Julie’s Zone of Genius is helping fiction writers who have already written rough drafts. She helps them revise their stories and get them into pitchable shape. Julie was a former Pitch Wars mentor in the Middle Grade category and her mentees met with big success. In order to help writers get ready to become her clients, she holds the Critique Partner Meet Cute event, where she matches like-minded writers to help each other get to “the end.” 

The invitation: Writers who have a finished manuscript are invited to sign up for a Manuscript/Pitch Audit where Julie will evaluate the first 50 pages of the manuscript, the synopsis, and the query letter.

5. Gain Confidence in Writing Nonfiction

Coach: Sabrina Estudillo Butler

Lead Magnet: 60 Minute Coaching Session

Price: $350

Sabrina, who had a former career as an architect, specializes in helping people new to writing manage the complexities of a nonfiction book project. She provides a writer-first sanctuary for BIPOC high-achievers and creatives in need of guidance, encouragement, and accountability while they write the book they need to write. She knows that her ideal clients may feel a little unsure of themselves in this new territory, so she offers an initial coaching session as a lead magnet, which includes a 1:1 60-minute Zoom call, where you can analyze a section of your book proposal, create a revision plan, or get your most pressing questions about the book writing process answered. The goal is confidence, clarity, and an actionable plan for writing forward.

The Invitation: After the initial coaching session, clients are invited to sign up for one of three levels of ongoing coaching.

6. Write Believable Historical Fiction

Lead Magnet: Researching America, a mini course

Price: $47

Dee Buckingham, who has been a librarian for more than 30 years and who is a specialist in World War II research, developed this course to help writers of historical fiction know how to find what they need to write believable stories. Historical fiction writers often struggle with their research — how much to do, how to do it, how to make sure it’s accurate. Dee’s course includes 48 videos, PDF downloads, quizzes, screenshots, and a curated list of reference websites.  Dee is knowledgeable, wise, funny, and this course WAY over delivers for the price.

The Invitation: After you take the course, the invitation is to join one of Dee’s group coaching programs— she has a course for new writers of historical fiction and another for memoir (who have to do research into a different kind of history). 

7. Find Your Book’s Red Flags

Coach: Libby Baker

Lead Magnet: Fast Track Story Map  

Price: $47

Libby Baker’s first career was in the entertainment industry — as an actor, writer, screenplay consultant, and children’s theater instructor. She has a deep understanding of story structure — and the mistakes that novelists tend to make. If you are stuck, not getting traction, not seeing the results you want, she can tell you why. Her Fast Track Story Map offers a first step in diagnosing the problem. It includes a workbook, video lesson, and the story map-making module.

The Invitation: After taking the mini-course, you are invited to sign up for a one-on-one coaching call to review your story map or a developmental edit of your pages. Choose a level between 5 pages or a chapter to an entire manuscript or script.

8. Write Dazzling Dialogue

Coach: Heather Davis

Lead Magnet: Dynamic Dialogue mini course

Price: $97

Heather — who has a PhD in molecular and cellular biology — specializes in helping speculative fiction writers who value diverse characters (LGBTQIA, neurodiverse, disabled, BIPOC, etc.) and want to help change the world through their stories. She knows that one of the things that makes a story really connect with the reader is good dialogue – and it’s a skill many novelists struggle to master. She created a mini-course on dialogue to help writers learn how to create rich, effective, natural-sounding dialogue that’s full of all the juicy stuff readers and agents are hungry for!

The Invitation: After taking her course on dialogue, you are invited into Heather’s monthly coaching program, where you will continue to focus on issues of craft as you write forward.

9. Brainstorming for Christian Writers

Coach: Susan Soesbe

Lead Magnet: The Mini Blueprint Strategy Session

Price: $199

Susan’s mission is to help Christian writers create excellent, life-giving works of literary fiction that tell the truth. She targets creators of contemporary fiction and fantasy who are writing for middle-grade, young-adult, or adult audiences and helps them think through and plan their book before beginning their first draft. The Mini Blueprint Session helps this kind of writer take the first step. It includes two strategy calls, as well as feedback on the Mini Blueprint answer sheet. 

The Invitation: This offering perfectly dovetails with Susan’s coaching packages. Once someone finished the Mini Blueprint, they move into a 6- or 12-week planning process that includes character, plot, and worldbuilding help.

10. Refine Your Expert Ideas

Coach: Barbara Boyd

Lead Magnet: Mini Blueprint Strategy Session

Price: $300

Barbara is a nonfiction book coach who helps experts decide which book to write and then helps them structure and refine their ideas, and complete their manuscripts. She is my book coach and has worked on more than 200 titles. She knows that experts often have too many ideas swirling around in their minds and that clarity around the idea is the most important first step in writing a good book. Her Mini Blueprint Strategy Session offers feedback on a Mini Blueprint (a powerful tool designed to help you get the foundation of your book as solid as possible) and a 50-minute strategy call.

The Invitation: Once a client is clear on their idea, they are invited to move into 1:1 coaching to flesh out their book idea or choose an intensive coaching session with Barbara in Italy.

Want to find the perfect book coach for your writing project?

Browse our directory of nearly 200 certified book coaches. Refine your results by genre, coaching style, social justice focuses, reader age category, religious topics, services, LGBTQ+ topics, and more. Click here or click the button below to get the password to our directory and start your book coach search!