Posted on Apr 19, 2021
BookFunnel Review: Should You Use It to Deliver Your Ebooks?
BookFunnel is an all-in-one tool for indie authors who want to distribute their own ebooks and audiobooks â whether in the form of ARCs, reader magnets, or even direct sales. BookFunnel allows authors to control their ebook downloads from a single hub, but also customize their approach to different types of readers.
Whether or not you should use BookFunnel depends on your goals as an author. Are you happy to distribute your ebook only through third-party retailers like Amazon, or would you prefer a more independent approach â perhaps one that helps grow your mailing list in the process? With BookFunnel, you have the option to provide professionally formatted free ebooks on your own terms, without involving Bezos & Co.
Sound intriguing? Read on to find out exactly what BookFunnel has to offer, our thoughts on its various features, and ratings to help you decide.

3 pricing plans for different author levels
Letâs first address a crucial question for authors â how much does BookFunnel cost? As listed on their pricing page, there are three plans available:
- The âFirst-Time Authorâ plan costs $20/year and includes 500 ebook downloads/month, custom landing pages, direct sales delivery, and group promos, though all without email address collection.
- The âMid-List Authorâ plan costs $100/year and includes 5,000 ebook downloads/month, MP3 distribution, secure ARC delivery, and group promos, with email address collection.
- The âBestsellerâ plan costs $250/year and includes everything on the Mid-List plan, plus unlimited ebook downloads and priority support.
If all you want is to provide easy downloads, or to try your luck with a group promotion (more on this later), you can start with the First-Time Author plan. Even if you exceed the 500-download limit â a good problem to have, at any rate! â BookFunnel wonât cut you off, youâll just be charged a $5 overage fee for every additional 1,000 downloads.
The most notable drawback of the basic plan isnât the download limit, but the fact that you canât collect email addresses. For this, youâll need the Mid-List plan, which offers a landing page to record each readerâs email and deliver your book straight to them. However, youâll need to pay extra for direct integration with your author mailing list (again, more on this in a bit).
Finally, thereâs the Bestseller plan, which may be worth the $250 price tag if youâre getting 7,500+ downloads/month (the threshold where the Mid-List plan + overage fees become more expensive than simply getting the Bestseller plan). This plan also offers priority support for authors, but since BookFunnel is so easy to use, you probably wonât need it.
In summary: the First-Time Author plan is a good jumping-off point, but serious authors will require the Mid-List plan to grow their mailing lists, plus the Integration feature once theyâre getting a steady stream of new subscribers. As for the Bestseller plan, you should only pay up once you need those unlimited downloads â again, a good problem to have.
And now that you know what BookFunnel costs, letâs take a closer look at its features! The rest of this review will cover whatâs available through the Mid-List plan, as itâs the best choice for the majority of authors.
User-friendly landing pages

If you want to give your ebook away without involving a retailer, youâll send readers to a BookFunnel landing page. These pages come in two flavors (click each link to view a sample):
- The download page, where readers simply click âGet My Bookâ and select whichever device they want to download it on. If your main goal is to maximize downloads rather than collect readersâ emails â or if youâre looking to share your book with people already on your mailing list â this is the way to go.
- The giveaway page, perfect for reader magnets, asks each reader to enter their email address in order to receive your book. If youâre using BookFunnel primarily to gain mailing list subscribers, this is the landing page youâll want! Again, the giveaway page is the jewel of this Mid-List plan, as it allows you to gather subscribers without having to build your own signup form.
You can change the colors and text on these pages, but thereâs a reason BookFunnel doesnât let you do much beyond minor aesthetic edits: theyâre meant to be clean and user-friendly. The âGet My Bookâ button is smack in the middle of the page, and if anything goes awry, readers can click âNeed Help?â in the upper right corner to troubleshoot with the BookFunnel team. When it comes to giveaways and reader magnets, it doesnât get much smoother than this.
đ Landing pages rating: 5/5
Optional mailing list integration
On BookFunnel, readersâ email addresses are saved as a CSV file that you can export and upload to your mailing list provider of choice. However, this process can get pretty tedious â and risky, as you may lose momentum with readers who download your book, then donât hear from you for weeks because youâve forgotten to add them to your weekly email blasts.
The good news is that BookFunnelâs direct integration feature automatically adds every new email address to your mailing list, so youâll never have to wrestle with a CSV again! This feature allows you to connect with new readers ASAP, so that you can start sending them interesting, valuable content that will ensure they stick around.
The not-so-good news is that direct integration does not come with the standard Mid-List plan â it costs an extra $50. So for BookFunnelâs âmost popularâ Mid-List + Integration package, youâll pay a total of $150/year. Of course, if youâre gathering hundreds of readersâ emails per week, this feature is worth the price. But if your subscribers are trickling in at a manageable rate, thereâs probably no need to fork out the extra cash.
Note: BookFunnel has integrations with all the main email marketing providers, but if you use a service not listed at the link above, drop the support team a line and theyâll probably be able to add it for you.
đ Mailing list integration: 4/5
Efficient ebook delivery

Lightning-fast ebook delivery is one of BookFunnelâs key promises, and it doesnât disappoint. Whether a reader picks up your free ebook or buys it from your store, theyâll receive an email like the one above almost instantly. From there, itâs only a few clicks to acquire the actual book.
Not only is this ebook delivery fast, itâs also tailored to each reader â as youâll see if you click âGet My Bookâ on the sample download page. Once each person selects their e-reading device, BookFunnel will generate a code for a file that works specifically with that type of device. And if they donât have an e-reader and just want to read on their phone or computer, no problem; all they have to do is download the free BookFunnel app to access your book immediately.
Certified Mail delivery for ARCs
BookFunnel doesnât offer a full mailing list service, but its Certified Mail feature â accessible through your author dashboard â works very well for distributing your ARCs. You can use Certified Mail to send one-time (i.e. not shareable) download links to up to 500 people per month. Whatâs more, the pages of each ARC will be watermarked with each individual personâs email address, Scarlet Letter-style, to discourage piracy.
Certified Mail also allows authors to send reminder emails to readers who havenât yet downloaded your book. If they have, you can hit them with a follow-up email asking them to review it. Additionally, when the campaign finishes, youâll receive stats to help you for next time.
The only snag to BookFunnelâs ARC delivery system is that the site has no existing database of ARC readers and reviewers for you to contact â again, itâs an author tool, not a reader platform. If youâre looking for a site where you can find new ARC readers, you might try Booksprout or BookSweeps, or Reedsy Discovery for a guaranteed review on your launch day.
But if you already have a solid list of people to help you launch with reviews, go ahead and use Certified Mail to deliver your ARCs.
đ Standard ebook delivery: 5/5
đ Certified Mail delivery for ARCs: 4/5
Group promos worth trying

In addition to promoting your book in a singular fashion, you can also use BookFunnel to join group promotions and run your own. BookFunnel supports two types of group promos:
- Newsletter promos for free ebooks, which require readersâ emails for downloads and are geared toward growing your mailing list.
- Sales promos for purchasable ebooks, which do not require readersâ emails. These promo pages simply link out to each ebook wherever itâs available for purchase (including mainstream retailers like Amazon).
Every group promo gets a BookFunnel landing page like the one above. Each participating author then shares the page with their own readers, so that all participants gain exposure by the end of the promotion. And because each group promo must fall into a certain genre, and is often themed even more specifically around a subject â for example, âdomestic thrillersâ or âalien booksâ â itâs easy for readers to discover books that are right up their alley, and increases the chances of them downloading your book.
That said, itâs not a perfect system. BookFunnel doesnât advertise books to its own audience like, say, Reedsy Discovery, so youâre relying heavily on the other authors in your promotion, which can lead to inconsistent results. But at least itâs easy to create or join a group promo from your author dashboard⊠and unlike mailing list integration, this feature doesnât cost any extra money (itâs even available through the basic First-Time Author plan!).
So while you probably wouldnât get BookFunnel exclusively for the group promotions, theyâre a nice bonus, and fun to try out if youâre already using BookFunnel for ebook distribution anyway. Just keep in mind youâll have to hustle a bit â and if youâre the one spearheading the promo, be prepared to chase up your fellow authors if they arenât pulling their weight.
đ Group promotions: 3.5/5
Learn more about promoting your book through Reedsy Discovery, where you'll receive exposure to thousands of readers!
Awesome tech support
BookFunnelâs talented, responsive tech support team is arguably its greatest asset. Whether readers need help getting your ebook on their device or locating the correct download link in the first place, BookFunnel support will take care of them. (To quote from the ever-diplomatic BookFunnel homepage: âWe are especially skilled with older readers and we know more about sideloading ebooks than we are comfortable sharing.â)
As an author, all you need to do is get out of their way â and make their support super-accessible to readers. Most will have no trouble finding the âNeed Help?â option on your landing pages, but adding a quick line below the âGet My Bookâ button could set your mind at ease: âIf you have any trouble downloading this ebook, just click âNeed Help?â in the upper right corner.â And if you ever get an email from a confused reader, simply direct them to the BookFunnel help page or the support email address instead.
Other than that, once youâve set up your landing pages, you should be able to sit back and enjoy the ride! BookFunnel support will corral the passengers as needed.
đ Tech support: 5/5
The verdict: Should you use BookFunnel?
BookFunnel is an excellent, efficient tool for sharing your ebooks and building your mailing list. The only real drawback is the pricing; again, if you want to use BookFunnel in the long term, youâll need to invest in the Mid-List + Integration package for $150/year. For many authors, this is a small sacrifice for attractive, easy-to-use landing pages, speedy ebook delivery, secure ARCs, and the ability to gather and instantly import readersâ emails into your mailing list.
Those seeking a less expensive alternative might want to check out StoryOrigin, which offers a âStandard Planâ similar to BookFunnelâs Mid-List + Integration option. Or you can submit your book to Reedsy Discovery for a professional landing page with universal links to all retailers, on top of exposure to thousands of readers and reviewers â all for just $50!
Still, if youâre happy to pay for an advanced, reliable book distribution tool, especially if mailing list growth and reader support are important to you, BookFunnel could very well be your perfect match.