# Author group promos (BookFunnel / StoryOrigin): what they cost, what they return, and a free organiser-run version

Topic: growing the mailing list by joining themed multi-author giveaways, where each author shares the group page with their list. Harvested 30 Oct 2026, 00:00Z. The index had 0 hits for 'group promo'. Newsletter swaps (one-to-one) are covered elsewhere; this is the one-to-many form.

## Evidence (read)
- **Simon K. Jones, "How to find new readers with a BookFunnel group promo"** (Substack, 30 Jun 2025, own testimony):
  - The first ~1.5 years of his newsletter's growth came "entirely" from BookFunnel group promos.
  - Over ~2.5 years: about $300 spent, 1,000+ subscribers, "about $0.28 per subscriber". He now has ~9,000.
  - He estimates a comparable Facebook ad campaign at closer to $100 a week.
  - Group promos need BookFunnel's $100/yr tier (email capture). Delivery-only is $20/yr.
  - His best reader magnet was the opening chapters of a book. A non-fiction guide reached the non-fiction readers.
  - The freebie must fit the theme and be professionally presented.
- **BookFunnel blog, "Group Promos: Starting From Zero?"** (20 Aug 2026):
  - You need zero subscribers to join.
  - Join only 1-2 promos at once.
  - Set your share date a couple of weeks out.
  - Alternate two promos between new subscribers.
  - The first 50 subscribers are the hardest.
  - Reputation targets: >10 clicks on a new list; ~30 clicks (newsletter promo) and ~20 (sales promo) once established.
  - 10,000-subscriber lists can score single digits when the promo is buried, while a 40-subscriber list can score well when the promo is the email's headline with the cover image and one button.
- **BookFunnel Help, "Author Reputation in Group Promos"** (read):
  - Promos block authors with 10+ completed promos who average under 10 clicks.
  - New accounts can join at most 10 promos a month for their first 90 days.
- **Draft2Digital podcast EP189** (Evan Gow, StoryOrigin founder, transcript read):
  - StoryOrigin's free tier covers file delivery only. Group promos, swaps and review copies are on the $10/month or $100/yr plan.
  - A non-fiction reader magnet can be a worksheet or plan, not a story.

## Decision for Cedwyn (zero-spend rule)
- **Paid platforms: NOT NOW.** Both platforms charge about $100 a year for group promos, and the standing rule is zero spend. Price and spend are the project lead's call. This goes in the proposals queue only, with the evidence: about $0.28 per subscriber at Jones's rate.
- **Free version: organise our own themed giveaway page** on Cedwyn, /ebooks/giveaway/<theme>/, e.g. "Welsh local history: free reads, St David's Day". Steps:
  1. Invite 6-12 other Welsh local-history writers, societies and heritage projects to contribute a free sample, chapter or booklet link. Use their own sign-up or download pages; we host only our own file.
  2. Each contributor shares the page once with their list or page on an agreed date (the share-date idea). We share it as the headline of our Mailchimp email, with covers and one button (the BookFunnel finding).
  3. Our entry is Cedwyn's free v0.0.1 e-book or a Scene 2 chapter sample. Sign-up goes to Mailchimp with consent wording; no list sharing between partners (UK GDPR).
  4. Track clicks per contributor with UTM (utm_source=<partner>, utm_campaign=giveaway-<theme>), and report to each partner, BookFunnel-style.
- **Invitations** are outreach: each one is a HubSpot draft for the project lead's go-ahead. Never send, and never contact anyone with an open case thread.

## How we apply it to Cedwyn
- **Fit:** the free e-book plus the free documentary scenes are the reader magnet, and themed giveaways match the existing calendar skills (St David's Day, 28 July Glaniad).
- **Measures:** new subscribers per giveaway, clicks per partner (aim >10 each, the BookFunnel new-list bar) and unsubscribe rate after the first email.
- **Text:** editorial rules apply (no banned words, never name the project lead, nothing about family holdings).
- **Tools:** nothing installed; Mailchimp and UTM helpers already exist.

## Sources
- simonkjones.substack.com
- blog.bookfunnel.com
- authors.bookfunnel.com
- draft2digital.com