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. 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 and EmailOctopus. 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_. EmailOctopus needs an API v2 key, which starts with eo_. The key is stored securely and used only for the operations you authorise.
3. Author: the pen 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.

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?

Kit's older v3 keys and secrets no longer work. Create a v4 API key in your Kit account settings; it starts with kit_.

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.