I'm certain we're all familiar with popping onto a website and getting a 'Hey sign up' form in our face. Its become the first line of drawing in new readers and visitors to our websites. A way for those with a product or service to connect with prospective leads.
Those subscription boxes which we all have a love/hate relationship with are the first line in an author's battle to attract new followers, readers, reviewers, and fans. Without an active list of followers, it becomes even harder to sell our work. Our books get lost in the ever-deepening sea of other releases and can be forgotten. So how can we as an author generate the leads, and grow our following?
Newsletters are one of the easiest and most cost-effective methods. You can start one for nothing, build your list and expand with relative ease. Growing your list is like anything else one begins...it takes dedication, determination, and time. Once you decide to start one, there are a few things one needs to know to begin.
Firstly, consistency is the best advice I can offer. Regardless if you have one subscriber or a thousand, posting the newsletter on a clear schedule, creates a sense of expectancy from your followers. Perhaps, you're thinking, I haven't got that much to say for a newsletter. Even if you don't have anything pertaining to your work, there are other ways in which to fill the newsletter. You can spotlight other authors, cover artists, a publisher, even a character. You could engage the reader with other tidbits such a recipe, seasonal information, or something about your likes or hobbies. Doing this engages the reader on a deeper level than "Buy my Book". Its a way for your reader to connect with you on a personal level, and makes them feel more important.
Secondly, when you're looking at doing up a newsletter, don't be easily discouraged. You won't have thousands of followers immediately, but you can build your list using newsletter swaps, cross-promotion, and offering 'sneak peaks' on social media. It's about engagement and visibility, I believe; and focusing on informing your followers and attracting new ones. Be prepared to put out a number of newsletters with little response, or no opens or clicks. This is, in all honesty, normal and once you are more established you will learn what your readers want to read in your newsletter. Personally, I put out my newsletters with the mindset I've got tons of readers, even if I don't. Keeping a positive attitude helps.
Thirdly is finding the right program for you. There are a lot of newsletter programs out which range from free to expensive. In this post, I'll touch on the ones I've used in the past and continue to do so. Let's start with the easiest and cheapest.
Email: If you have a sign-up sheet or something similar you've amassed, you can do a basic email newsletter with ease. It is in my experience a basic, clean look with only the limitations of your provider to act as a guide.
Newsletter Programs: Depending on what you use for a website there are built-ins features that can create a beautiful email campaign. Free, quick, easy. and readily accessible. There is no coding required,
Myself, I use Mailchimp. It offers me the development I want/need and has various levels of service ranging from free to full service depending on the number of subscribers you have. The free one has some limits and you can have up to 2000 subscribers, but if you're just starting it is an excellent program to use.
Regardless of how you do a newsletter, the value is putting one out. The return on investment for your time and energy is ultimately going to be invaluable when you have readers who wait for the next book to come out to snap it up...and thus tell others who can potentially become followers and fans.
My Newsletter
Elise Whyles Newsletter
No comments:
Post a Comment