Lots of people are talking these days about using email marketing, and I know exactly why, as I explained earlier this week.
Email is the best way I know of for authors to engage with their fans and truly get the most from their published books. And for many nonfiction authors, it represents the possibility to build a stable business or writing career independent of gatekeepers, bosses, and 9-to-5 jobs.
Email Newsletters
Probably the best vehicle for most authors to use for their email marketing is the email newsletter.
Email newsletters are very flexible and can work for all kinds of authors. They can be fancy or plain, long or short, chatty or journalistic, it’s really up to you.
What’s great about email newsletters is how people look forward to them when you get aligned with your readers.
I asked some very successful authors who use email newsletters how important they were. Here’s what they had to say, first from Hope Clark:
“A newsletter is a more universal tool that can reach across ages, experiences, and backgrounds of readers. It doesn’t take a reader, software, or audio. Everyone has email. Readers also can hit reply and feel they touch a person, not a program. It’s more personable, and if used consistently, I’ve learned that a newsletter can become habit to readers. FundsforWriters has gone out for every Friday for 16 years, short of two weeks I was out of country. Readers tell me all the time that they look forward to Friday nights when they can read their “delivery” whether they print it off or read it online. I’ve tried blogs and podcasts but have learned that a newsletter is more complete in its reach and simplest for both the deliverer and the recipient. It’s simple, and I’m not amazed that its popularity is coming back around.”—C. Hope Clark, Founder FundsforWriters.com. Chosen by Writer’s Digest for its 101 Best Websites for Writers for the past 15 years.
Hope has one of the most interesting and useful email newsletters I know, and it’s obviously working quite well for her.
I also asked Joan Stewart, author and publicity expert about her email newsletter:
“Major benefit: Ka-ching, ka-ching. Why: I email 3 publicity tips and a link to one funny dog video twice a week–every Tuesday and Saturday, to 5,000 subscribers. I’ve been emailing these tips consistently for more than 13 years. This newsletter is my most profitable marketing tool, by far. It, along with a separate list of 8,000 people in my shopping cart, has made me hundreds of thousands of dollars in product sales, consulting assignments, speaking engagements and affiliate commission. You can opt in from the box in the upper left corner of my Publicity Hound website. I’ve also compiled a handy cheat sheet for authors on “10 Profitable Ways to Use Email to Create SuperFans Who Help You Sell Books.”—Joan Stewart, PublicityHound.com
Learn How to Do Your Own
The results that authors like Hope and Joan are getting with their email newsletters is why I’m particularly excited to be offering this webinar on Monday with Dan Blank.
Dan mails his newsletter every week on Friday, and it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.
But Dan is also someone who really knows how to help authors. He teaches, consults, motivates, and guides authors, both traditionally published and indie.
He’s been called on by publishers like Random House and Hachette to help get their authors up to speed with social media engagement.
Dan has a clear and engaging teaching style, and this webinar will be packed with stuff you can use right away. We’ll cover topic like:
- How to grow the audience for your books via email newsletters.
- How to turn casual readers into true fans who create word of mouth marketing.
- How to encourage more book sales.
- How to leverage story and voice to create a killer newsletter.
- How to ensure your newsletter becomes an always-on engine for your next book launch!
Webinar Info
Date: Monday, June 1, 2015
Time: 1:00 p.m. Pacific, 4:00 p.m. Eastern
Length: 1 hour
Registration: Click here to get your seat now: How to Grow Your Audience and Sell More Books with an Email Newsletter
Replay: Yes, there will be a replay available, so register even if you can’t make the live event
Q&A: Sure, bring your questions
If you’ve been wondering exactly how email can work for you, don’t miss this live event with Dan.
Here’s that link one more time: How to Grow Your Audience and Sell More Books with an Email Newsletter
On Monday, grab your favorite beverage, clear your calendar, and tune in. I’ll see you on the webinar!
Photo credit: Mailboxes in ivy via photopin (license)
