Emma Boyer, Head of Operations & Author Relations at Written Word Media, joins Alexa to break down how email promotions like Freebooksy and Bargain Booksy drive real results—downloads, sales, read-through, and reviews. They dig into launch-week tactics, genre alignment, growing an owned audience, and common pitfalls authors can avoid.

Emma Boyer is Head of Operations and Author Relations at Written Word Media, where she oversees customer success and helps authors leverage email promos, launch-week packages, and list growth tools. With 15+ years across academic and traditional publishing, PR, and indie consulting, Emma specializes in strategies at the intersection of tech and books.

Learn more here:
https://womeninpublishingsummit.com/writtenwordmedia

Full transcript:

Alexa: Welcome back to the podcast. Today I’m pleased to have Emma Boyer from Written Word Media. They’ve sponsored our conference for years and our in-person event this year—so I finally met Emma and the team! Emma has worked across PR, marketing, consulting, and serial fiction for over 15 years. She’s passionate about the intersection of tech and publishing and helping authors find audiences. She oversees operations and customer service at Written Word Media.

Emma: Thanks for having me! We love your events—virtual and in-person—and we’re glad to be part of what you do.

Alexa: I’m a huge fan of Written Word Media. Before we get into your services, what’s your origin story?

Emma: I’ve been with Written Word Media almost four years. After grad school I knew I loved books, but I wasn’t a writer. I discovered academic publishing and started at Duke University Press doing marketing and PR. Then I worked in traditional publishing at Algonquin Books. After I had my daughter, I worked from home—indie PR and consulting—which was my first time working with indie authors. I realized how innovative indies are and also how each side can learn from the other.

I worked at Smith Publicity too. Eventually I met Ricky (Written Word Media’s founder). We stayed in touch, and when an opening came up, the fit was great. Now I lead operations and author relations, so if you’ve emailed support, you’ve likely heard from my team.

Alexa: Your support team is excellent. For those new to Written Word Media, what do you do?

Emma: We’re a digital marketing company for authors, best known for email promotions. An email promo is an ad unit in an email sent to readers, featuring your book for one day at a specific price. Our flagship newsletters are Freebooksy (free ebooks) and Bargain Booksy (ebooks under $5).

Readers subscribe by genre and device preference (e.g., free fantasy on Kindle). Authors choose a date and price. That match produces high-intent clicks, driving downloads and sales, boosting rankings and series read-through, and increasing reviews. Email promos are an integral part of a successful author’s marketing strategy.

Alexa: I’ve run multiple free days for my novels. I typically see 1,250–2,000 downloads per promo. With a series, I noticed a clear uptick in page reads and more reviews—even months later.

Before we shift to general email marketing, tell us about your pre-launch options.

Emma: You can include preorder links in most promos, but our audience is conditioned for immediate gratification, so preorder performance can be lower. For launches we offer New and Books, a package designed to launch new titles. It combines promo placements across the week, Facebook/Amazon ads (depending on package), SEO listicles, an author interview, and done-for-you social posts. It’s a one-stop shop for authors who don’t have a rinse-and-repeat system yet—and it leverages our audience multiple times in the same week.

Alexa: That’s fantastic. I emphasize pre-launch in my programs because the week around publication is crucial. This makes it plug-and-play and cost-effective.

Let’s talk email marketing more broadly. Why is it still so relevant?

Emma: It’s more relevant than ever. With AI-generated content everywhere, people crave authentic connection. Email lets authors build that directly. Readers trust us because we deliver consistently—education, curation, and results. Authors should certainly leverage others’ lists (like ours) but also build their own. Everything else is rented reach.

We launched Subscriber Surge Giveaways to help authors build lists: readers opt in by genre to win book bundles, and authors gain a few hundred new subscribers over ~60 days. Also, include clear list CTAs in your back matter and on your site.

Alexa: Exactly—platforms change or go down; your email list is the portable asset. With so many genres, how do you tailor marketing effectively?

Emma: There’s no one-size-fits-all. The main rule: genre alignment. If you’re promoting a book as fantasy, it must look and feel like fantasy—cover, copy, keywords. A simple test: would your book fit on the shelf next to others in that genre? Use genre-specific language in descriptions. Save the cross-genre nuance for when readers are already hooked—don’t try to communicate it in the promo moment.

Alexa: Well said. What email promos tend to work best?

Emma: If you’re early or need momentum, start with a free feature (e.g., Freebooksy) or a free promo stack with our partners (e.g., Fuzzy Librarian, eReader News Today, Retire Hub, Fangoria, Book Clubs). If you won’t go free, $0.99 consistently outperforms higher bargain prices for clicks and sales.

Alexa: I A/B tested free vs $0.99 on the same title: nearly 2,000 free downloads vs a fraction of sales at $0.99. Free removes friction.

Emma: Exactly. Free trials are everywhere in commerce. It’s a sound marketing strategy.

Alexa: Biggest mistakes you see?

Emma: Operational issues: price not set correctly; links not updated; cover/metadata changes not pushed to all retailers. My team reviews every submission and will flag misalignments, but ensure your price, links, and metadata are correct before your slot.

Alexa: Final takeaways to improve email marketing?

Emma: Momentum. It’s easier to keep it than start it. Don’t run a single promo in isolation. If you need a rule of thumb, run a Freebooksy about every 90 days. You’ll see delayed benefits as readers work through their TBRs—more reviews and read-through.

Alexa: Perfect. Quick note—membership?

Emma: We have Gold and Platinum memberships. It’s the only way to get discounts (10% up to an annual cap), plus member-only placements (e.g., Limelight emails), trainings, longer-run ad options, and early access to inventory (great for holiday slots).

Alexa: I finally joined—saving 10% adds up. Emma, thanks for all the insight.

Emma: Thanks for having me! Find us at writtenwordmedia.com or [email protected].

Alexa: Thanks for listening—see you next time.