Blogger: Mary Keeley
I often encourage writers to add a newsletter to their audience-building plan because publishers have come to realize the email list they generate is a more authentic indicator of genuine readers than social media numbers, which can be artificially inflated. It’s a convincing argument, but it’s one more to-do item and learning curve to master on their already long list. I just want to write my book. But a monthly email newsletter doesn’t have to consume a lot of time, and the benefits are worth the effort.
LET’S START WITH THE BENEFITS TO YOU, THE WRITER
Besides the email list that is developed, a newsletter provides:
- A personal connection with subscribers that will grow loyal readers. Subscribers would be delighted to receive a follow-up email response to their comment or question regarding the content. The relationship building opportunities are innumerable.
- Growth of a community truly interested in what you write. Your newsletter content must be written in your author voice and relate somehow to the books you write to give you the most ongoing benefit for your effort. Invite subscribers to pass the word around to others.
- A way to identify influencers. As you grow author-reader relationships organically through responses to your content, you’ll see which subscribers interact consistently. They’re your most promising influencers.
SHOW YOUR SUBSCRIBERS THAT YOU APPRECIATE THEM.
Because subscribers are giving you their email address and obliging you by adding your email address to their address books to prevent your newsletters from going to their spam folders, you’re going to want to give them something back in every newsletter. In other words, you’re going to want to offer them value for signing up.
- Include an interview with an author, available only to your subscribers.
- Share news about a common interest or cause related to your brand and what you write in some way.
- Write a short story and gift it to your subscribers.
- Offer regular contests and giveaways.
- Give short updates on your next book. Insert photos of your research trips and interesting facts about the topic or setting.
- Maintain an archive of your newsletters that subscribers can access. It multiplies the value for them.
HERE’S HOW TO GO ABOUT IT.
These tips will help you:
- Make signing up as easy as possible. Offer the opportunity on each page of your website and on social media. Email marketing software such as Mail Chimp or Constant Contact has a signup form that not only makes it easy for you and subscribers, but it also gives a professional appearance. MailChimp offers “Best Practices” tips for building an email list here.
- NEVER add people to your newsletter mailing list without their permission.
- Use a confirmed opt-in process for subscribers to verify they want to subscribe.
- Create a designed template that reinforces your brand.
- Always deliver content that has value for subscribers. Keep a file of interesting ideas during the month and make necessary arrangements for guest interviews a month in advance.
- Send your newsletter at the same time every month.
- Include a privacy statement assuring subscribers that email responses shared individually will be kept private.
What is your experience with your email newsletter? What type of content generates the most interaction or new subscribers? As a subscriber to another author’s newsletter, what type of content would interest you most?
TWEETABLES:
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Kristen Joy Wilks
Well, I have very little experience with my newsletter. I am bumbling into being able to create and send it. I have sent 3 whole newsletters to date. But I think the Lord’s sense of humor is apparent in this whole “make an author newsletter” thing because the Bible Camp where we live and my husband works just had a talented intern move on and drop the camp newsletter in our laps. And oh look, I know how to write a newsletter now and my husband is way too crazy busy. So perhaps it is being used for good, even if no one is really reading my author newsletters yet.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
The best newsletter I ever saw was Andrew Greeley’s “Mailbox parish” in the late 1980s. He talked about upcoming books, and about the spiritual arcs that drove his stories. That he had the credentials to do so, as a Catholic priest who had done parish work, helped a lot in giving the content value.
* Some thoughts of what I as a reader would like to see in a newsletter:
– For writers of historical fiction, then and now pictures and descriptions of setting. Historical recipes would also be good; I mean, what did people eat back then?
– For SF, some exposition of the science behind the fiction. Arthur Clarke did this in some of his non-fiction books, collections of essays that functioned as a de facto newsletter.
– “The Reader’s Voice” – in each month feature a reader who has the chance to write about how she/he would react to a situation a protagonist faces in one of the author’s books (or to any similarly-themed question).
– Always include something fun; a joke, a puzzle, something like that.
– For nonfiction, expanded footnotes are a possibility. There is usually a lot of information that has to be cut for lack of space, and some of it is fascinating, easily worth the price of the book itself (for an example of really compelling footnotes, see Parshall and Tully’s “Shattered Sword”).
* As a caveat, don’t get too personal about your life, and particularly never include pictures of your home or kids. and learn to Photoshop your own pictures so that you’re not instantly recognizable from your author headshot. Once your newsletter is sent, it can go literally anywhere.
Jeanne Takenaka
Andrew, these are fabulous ideas. Thank you for sharing them. 🙂
Carol Ashby
I really like that idea of including how a reader would react to a particular situation in the novel. That would be a great blog topic for generating comments as well.
*Photoshop my author headshot? I guess I could add a handlebar mustache or maybe erase all the wrinkles to look 40 again. Even Photoshop can’t get me back to 20.
Amber Schamel
Great ideas, Andrew. Thanks for sharing.
Jaime Jo Wright
This is the area of marketing I struggle with the most. You’d think as a writer, content wouldn’t be an issue. But I find myself straining to find content. And then I delete and never send. I haven’t developed a newsletter routine, but I do have a good start on subscribers. Are there any good resources anyone would recommend to give content ideas?
Amber Schamel
Ditto what Jaime is saying here. Not only the content issue, but also the time it takes to compile it and send it.
Richard Mabry
Mary, good advice. Let me echo what you’ve said about never adding someone to your mailing list without their permission. Not only is a privacy statement mandated, so is an “unsubscribe” function. I get several newsletters a year for which I haven’t signed up and with no unsubscribe option.
Jeanne Takenaka
Good reminder Richard. I’ve gotten a few of those too.
Iola
I call those “spam”. And changed my email address so I don’t even see them any more.
Meghan Carver
Good morning, Mary! This is something I’ve been contemplating recently. As you know, I blog regularly. I have many email subscribers to my blog. I’ve wondered (hoped!) if I’m accomplishing two things there by sending a blog post directly to the inbox of email subscribers and also updating my website online for anyone to see. Or do you recommend a newsletter in addition to blogging? Obviously, my blog posts are not always specific to a book as a newsletter would be. But when there is book news, I do put it on my blog. Thanks for any advice you can share.
Jenny R
Good post – I agree. I was on the fence about a newsletter for years, but I sent my first one last August and haven’t looked back. I spent time thinking about what I wanted it to be: How much time did I want to spend? How often did I want to send it? How could I make it substantive and not spammy? I also signed up for a bunch and studied them to see what I liked and didn’t. It’s a fantastic way to stay connected with readers. For anyone still debating, here is another nudge.
Jeanne Takenaka
Mary, I so appreciate this post. I’ve contemplated starting a newsletter for months now. I’ve thought about things I can give (mostly photographs I’ve taken) to subscribers. The thing that’s been stopping me (besides figuring out where to carve out the time to create and send) is content. I know different authors share their own, unique content. I guess I need to really define my brand so I can begin determining good ideas for my content.
*Thanks for sharing your suggestions today. They are immensely helpful.
*Oh, I have a number of email subscribers to my blog. How would I go about getting their permission to send them my newsletter (when I begin one)?
Jeanne Takenaka
Oh, one more question…. 🙂 Is sending a quarterly newsletter frequent enough communication with readers?
Shelli Littleton
Is this something you recommend mostly for published authors? Those with a larger following? Or for those like me, still working on climbing the ladder? 🙂
Amber Schamel
Thanks for the run down, Mary. I’ve started building my subscriber list and it’s encouraging to read this perspective.
Question, I’ve seen lots of authors that don’t send a newsletter regularly, only when they have news to share. Do you recommend that it is sent regularly, even if you don’t have much to share?
Thanks again,
Amber Schamel
Shirlee Abbott
It is easy to click a subscribe button and sign up for a newsletter. Clicking the delete button is just as easy. Actually reading a newsletter is a function of how much time I have and how many emails await my attention. Even the best of content sometimes winds up in my cyber trash. I probably read one of every three or four.
* I unsubscribe only when I actually read a newsletter and think “this is a total waste of my time.”
* If I’m a “most-promising influencer,” the promise is a bit shaky.
* Am I the odd one out here? Or do others do the same?
Shelli Littleton
You know, Shirlee, I read very little email. That’s the thing. I don’t like email much anymore. And I have to remind myself to check it. It has to be a pretty important email from someone important to me for me to open it. I use Facebook to message friends.
Carol Ashby
I’m the opposite, Shelli. I only go to Facebook when an email notice tells me there is something there from someone whose posts I really want to see, like my kids.
I like to get an email notice of something I want to read. When I’m traveling, I like the whole thing to appear in email as long as it is moderate length. I’m often where access to web is slow to nonexistent, but email displays on my phone.
Linda K. Rodante
Shelli and Shirlee, i feel much the same as you both. I don’t read much of it even when I sign up, and I use fb much more now. My sons and daughter-in-law (in their 30’s) hardly ever use their email. So this has me wondering about a newsletter although I’ve heard–just like here–that we should have one.
Teri Lynne Underwood
I love my email people!! i do include more personal information and lots of behind the scenes kind of stuff. Also I use my emails to ask questions that help me develop blog posts. I try to create plenty of “freebies” also. While my email lists are not huge, they are very warm (meaning strong interaction). Email is much higher priority to me than social media because algorithms don’t impact to my email list. With social media, having 10% actual reach, I am much more excited about writing emails that are guaranteed to get into people’s inboxes.