Connect your mailing list

Your mailing list is what you bring to a book swap: other authors feature your book to their readers, and you feature theirs to yours. Connecting it takes one API key, or for AWeber a quick login. This article covers adding your provider, activating a list for swaps, and what to do when the connection stops working.

Before you start

• BookSparker connects to MailerLite, Mailchimp, Kit, EmailOctopus, Flodesk and AWeber. If you use another provider, choose My provider isn't listed in the form and tell us which one, so we can look into supporting it.
• You need an author name to link the integration to. You can create one inside the form.
• The free plan includes one integration. Growing Author includes four and Pro Author eight.

Add your provider

Open Mailing Lists in the dashboard and choose Add Integration. The form asks for three things.

1. Email Marketing Service: pick your provider. A help box appears with a link to that provider's own guide to finding the key.
2. API Key: paste a key from your provider account. Kit needs a v4 key, which starts with kit_: in Kit's developer settings, choose Add a new key under V4 Keys. EmailOctopus needs an API v2 key, which starts with eo_. Flodesk API keys need a paid Flodesk plan; the free trial doesn't include them. The key is stored securely and used only for the operations you authorize.
3. Author: the author name this integration belongs to. Each integration is linked to exactly one author, and its lists can only be used for that author's books, landing pages and promos.

When you choose Add Integration, BookSparker tests the key straight away and pulls in your lists. If the test fails, the message tells you what your provider said. Check the key and try again.

AWeber has no API key field. Pick AWeber and your author, then choose Connect with AWeber. You log in to AWeber, approve BookSparker and come straight back to Activate your list with your AWeber lists loaded. BookSparker never sees your AWeber password.

Activate a list for swaps

As soon as the connection works, the form moves on to Activate your list. Your lists are shown largest first, with the largest already selected.

Go to Activation opens that list's swap settings, where you set the days and swap types you offer. Saving those settings is what activates the list. I'll do this later closes the form; the lists stay connected, and you can activate any of them from the Mailing Lists page whenever you like.

Connected is not the same as live

A connected list is not yet visible to other authors. Each list on the Mailing Lists page shows where it stands.

• Setup needed means the list has no swap settings yet. It is invisible in swap search. Choose Activate Swaps to set them up.
• Live means the list has swap settings and is switched on. Other authors can find it and send you requests. Swap Settings takes you back to change the days, types or booking window.
• Paused means the toggle is off. The settings are kept, but the list is hidden from search until you switch it back on.

Both conditions are needed: saved swap settings and the toggle on. Until at least one list is live, the page shows a reminder at the top with an Activate Swaps button that takes you to the largest list still waiting.

Keep the connection healthy

BookSparker syncs your lists every hour. Refresh, above the list table, runs the same sync on demand: use it after you create or rename a list at your provider.

Common questions

Why are no lists showing?

Either the provider account has no lists yet, or the first sync has not run. Create a list at your provider, then press Refresh.

Why was my Kit key rejected?

BookSparker works with Kit v4 keys only. Kit's developer settings show your V3 key already filled in, and that key and the V3 API secret are refused. On that page, choose Add a new key under V4 Keys, name it BookSparker, and copy it straight away: Kit shows it only once. It starts with kit_.

Which Kit list should I activate?

Kit has no separate lists: your subscribers are one list, and forms and tags are parts of it. BookSparker shows All subscribers, your whole Kit list, plus each form and tag with the subscribers in it. If you email everyone, activate All subscribers so other authors see your full list size. Open and click rates come from the emails you sent to that list in Kit over the last 90 days. They appear after the next hourly sync once the list is live; a tag or form you have not emailed on its own shows none.

Where do I find my Flodesk API key?

In Flodesk, go to My Account, then Integrations, then API keys, and choose Create API key. Copy the key straight away: Flodesk shows it only once. API keys need a paid Flodesk plan; the free trial and the Free plan don't include them.

Which Flodesk list should I activate?

In Flodesk your lists are segments. BookSparker shows All subscribers, everyone on your Flodesk list, plus each segment you created. Rule-based segments aren't shown, because Flodesk doesn't report their size. If you email everyone, activate All subscribers so other authors see your full list size. Flodesk doesn't share open or click rates with other apps, so your Flodesk lists show none. Readers who sign up on your BookSparker pages are added to the segment you pick once they confirm their email.

Why don't new AWeber readers show in my list size straight away?

By default, AWeber asks readers added by another app to confirm by email. A reader who signs up on your BookSparker pages is added to your AWeber list at once, but counts toward your list size, and gets your emails, only after clicking that confirmation email.

Where do my AWeber open and click rates come from?

From the broadcasts you sent to the whole list in AWeber over the last 90 days; broadcasts sent to a segment don't count. A list needs at least 25 delivered emails in that time before rates appear. They show after the next hourly sync once the list is live.

How do I disconnect AWeber?

Choose Edit, then Delete Integration. BookSparker deletes its access and asks AWeber to withdraw it. If you remove BookSparker from the apps connected to your AWeber account instead, the integration turns red until you reconnect or delete it.

Why can't I switch a list off?

A list cannot be paused while it has active swaps, group promo applications or calendar events. Finish, cancel or wait for those to complete first; the message lists what is blocking it.

Can I change which author an integration belongs to?

Yes, with Edit. Be careful: landing pages and group promo applications that use this integration's lists belong to the author, so changing it can affect them.

How do I remove an integration?

Choose Edit, then Delete Integration. Removal is blocked while its lists are used by active swaps or promos, and it cannot be undone.