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Post by beaker on Sept 22, 2018 2:57:11 GMT
I getting ready to create my first newsletter ever to let my ten subscribers know that one of my books will be free soon.
Does anyone have any tips you can share? What do you put in your newsletters? Is it OK to talk about personal stuff, or will that sound unprofessional? And some of the subscribers have asked me when the next book will be ready. Should I tell them I'm trying out a different genre (horror), and then I might go back to that series if sales pick up, or does that sound awful? I'm not going to include any sample stories because I don't have any. But what do you talk about in your newsletters? Personal or strictly book talk? Any answers are appreciated 
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Sept 22, 2018 3:20:10 GMT
My advice is to sign up for the newsletters of your favorite authors in your genre(s), and see how they do it. You can be as conversational and personal as you feel comfortable being. Some authors like to keep a distance and remain professional - just the facts, please. While others talk about their personal lives and their writing journeys. Different readers will prefer different formats, and sometimes you may have to try out different things before you figure out what works best with your audience. I don't think this is something you can do right or wrong. It's just do what feels best. And definitely check out what your fellow authors are also doing for ideas. I tried having one for Audra Black, but I just didn't want to do it. My heart wasn't in it, so I took the sign up form off my site and forgot about it. I do think having one is a good idea, and I know it can help with sales, but I also feel that my time is precious. I only get one life and I don't want to waste it doing things I hate, even if they could be beneficial. But that's just me! One day, when I figure out TUOK, I will have an email list for that, and I think I'll enjoy it. It will be a way for me to share behind-the-scenes worldbuilding stuff. Explain about how all of the different series connect. I might share deleted scenes, like they have on DVDs/Blurays. And I'll just share what's going on in TUOK and what things my readers need to know to stay informed and hopefully stay excited. |
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Sept 22, 2018 3:55:31 GMT
My advice is to sign up for the newsletters of your favorite authors in your genre(s), and see how they do it. You can be as conversational and personal as you feel comfortable being. Some authors like to keep a distance and remain professional - just the facts, please. While others talk about their personal lives and their writing journeys. Different readers will prefer different formats, and sometimes you may have to try out different things before you figure out what works best with your audience. I don't think this is something you can do right or wrong. It's just do what feels best. And definitely check out what your fellow authors are also doing for ideas. I tried having one for Audra Black, but I just didn't want to do it. My heart wasn't in it, so I took the sign up form off my site and forgot about it. I do think having one is a good idea, and I know it can help with sales, but I also feel that my time is precious. I only get one life and I don't want to waste it doing things I hate, even if they could be beneficial. But that's just me! One day, when I figure out TUOK, I will have an email list for that, and I think I'll enjoy it. It will be a way for me to share behind-the-scenes worldbuilding stuff. Explain about how all of the different series connect. I might share deleted scenes, like they have on DVDs/Blurays. And I'll just share what's going on in TUOK and what things my readers need to know to stay informed and hopefully stay excited.
This is good advice.
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Post by beaker on Sept 22, 2018 16:25:57 GMT
Yes, that is good advice. Thanks K'Sennia.
I don't know why I didn't think to sign up for people's newsletters myself. Duh! But it's too late for this time because I need to get it done soon. I don't hate doing it, but it definitely eats up a lot of time. I've been working on it for hours this morning, and it's still not done. The writing part was actually easy. I ended up with about 500 words just about the books without going into any personal stuff. But the layout took forever. Now the mailing part is intimidating me. I don't have mail chimp or anything like that since I only have ten subscribers.
I don't know what TUOK is. I looked it up online and only found people named Tuok :/
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Sept 22, 2018 16:57:47 GMT
Yes, that is good advice. Thanks K'Sennia. I don't know why I didn't think to sign up for people's newsletters myself. Duh! But it's too late for this time because I need to get it done soon. I don't hate doing it, but it definitely eats up a lot of time. I've been working on it for hours this morning, and it's still not done. The writing part was actually easy. I ended up with about 500 words just about the books without going into any personal stuff. But the layout took forever. Now the mailing part is intimidating me. I don't have mail chimp or anything like that since I only have ten subscribers. I don't know what TUOK is. I looked it up online and only found people named Tuok :/ You really should get yourself an autoresponder like mailchimp. Even if you only have 10 subscribers, they give you a free account up to a certain amount, and you will be a lot safer since they do double opt-in for you and make handling unsubscribes much easier. Plus, once you do get more and need to move to an autoresponder you will likely lose a bunch of subscribers when they have to opt-in again, so it's better to get set up now. And they have lots of really helpful tutorial videos to help explain how to set everything up. TUOK is a code name for my Futuristic Fantasy Multiverse Series. |
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Post by beaker on Sept 22, 2018 17:52:51 GMT
You really should get yourself an autoresponder like mailchimp. Even if you only have 10 subscribers, they give you a free account up to a certain amount, and you will be a lot safer since they do double opt-in for you and make handling unsubscribes much easier. Plus, once you do get more and need to move to an autoresponder you will likely lose a bunch of subscribers when they have to opt-in again, so it's better to get set up now. And they have lots of really helpful tutorial videos to help explain how to set everything up. Me: Phew! Finally done. Next time, mailchimp! TUOK is a code name for my Futuristic Fantasy Multiverse Series. That explains why I couldn't find it. |
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Sept 23, 2018 0:34:26 GMT
I use TinyLetter for my newsletter. It's a part of the Mailchimp empire, but it has a lot less functionality. That's by design; the point of it is to be easy and simple for those (like me) who just want to mail stuff and aren't interested in the rest of the rigmarole. Also, the ceiling for "free" is higher than the regular Mailchimp at 5000 subscribers, so you've got more time before you have to start shelling out bucks.
Another piece of advice: give your newsletter a cool name. That'll make it more fun for the readers when they see it in their inboxes. At least, that's my theory. lol
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Post by beaker on Sept 23, 2018 16:58:11 GMT
I use TinyLetter for my newsletter. It's a part of the Mailchimp empire, but it has a lot less functionality. That's by design; the point of it is to be easy and simple for those (like me) who just want to mail stuff and aren't interested in the rest of the rigmarole. Also, the ceiling for "free" is higher than the regular Mailchimp at 5000 subscribers, so you've got more time before you have to start shelling out bucks.
Another piece of advice: give your newsletter a cool name. That'll make it more fun for the readers when they see it in their inboxes. At least, that's my theory. lol
Thanks for the great advice, Jeff.
I'll try TinyLetter. Simple is better for me also. Maybe I'll be able to send my newsletter more frequently if it's easier.
I'm not worried about going over 5000 subscribers. That seems like an impossible number at the rate I'm getting organic sign-ups. I know there are mail list builders, but I don't know if I'd get people who are as into the books as the people who read them and then sign up. Would I end up with a big, unwieldy list of people who might never read my books?
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Post by Jeff Tanyard on Sept 23, 2018 20:15:41 GMT
I use TinyLetter for my newsletter. It's a part of the Mailchimp empire, but it has a lot less functionality. That's by design; the point of it is to be easy and simple for those (like me) who just want to mail stuff and aren't interested in the rest of the rigmarole. Also, the ceiling for "free" is higher than the regular Mailchimp at 5000 subscribers, so you've got more time before you have to start shelling out bucks.
Another piece of advice: give your newsletter a cool name. That'll make it more fun for the readers when they see it in their inboxes. At least, that's my theory. lol
Thanks for the great advice, Jeff.
I'll try TinyLetter. Simple is better for me also. Maybe I'll be able to send my newsletter more frequently if it's easier.
I'm not worried about going over 5000 subscribers. That seems like an impossible number at the rate I'm getting organic sign-ups. I know there are mail list builders, but I don't know if I'd get people who are as into the books as the people who read them and then sign up. Would I end up with a big, unwieldy list of people who might never read my books?
I had the same concern, and I've been very cagey with my newsletter signup link. I want subscribers who are going to put money in my pocket, not people just looking for freebies. The downside to that strategy is that I don't have many subscribers. I'm currently doing a newsletter builder thing at My Book Cave, but none of those folks who downloaded my story have signed up for the newsletter. *shrug* This newsletter signup stuff is obviously not my strong point as a professional author. Marketing in general isn't my strong point. lol Still exploring my options, basically. Joe Vasicek says he's managed to turn freebie-seekers into paying readers, so maybe I'll be more liberal in the future when it comes to my signup link. I reserve the right to change my mind about anything at any time. 
Hope that helps. |
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Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Sept 23, 2018 22:36:15 GMT
A few ideas I have for when I have something to market is that if you make it so that they have to double-opt-in before you send the download link to the book, they will have to sign up and at least check it once. I don't think there is anything you can do about freebie seekers, you offer stuff for free, freebie seekers will come running. But I've noticed that some guys like the SPP guys offer a lot of stuff for free in the beginning. Possibly, one idea, is to offer exclusives that peeps can only get from being on your email list, and send them out periodically so that they don't know when they're coming. They don't have to be free books every time. Could be first notice of one-day sales, special bonus material. Bonus short stories written entirely from the pov of a very popular side character. AMA style zoom calls, etc. I'm sure it takes time to build your 1000 (2,000?) raving fans, but those are the peeps you want on your newsletter, and the others don't really matter. You could always purge anyone who doesn't open an email or click a link within a certain time frame so that you aren't paying for those who aren't fully invested. Oh, and one thing with using the free book sites where they handle the delivery is a lot of times they are automatically opting peeps into their email list, and you either aren't allowed to opt them into yours, or you have to jump through hoops to get them signed up. You may be better off uploading the freebie(s) to a cloud site (dropbox, gdrive, mediafire) and then having your autoresponder send the download link in the welcome email which you schedule to go out to everyone once they have confirmed that they want to be on your list. This might be a slower way to get signups but at least you're developing your brand and not someone else's. You can use your permafree/all your published books to drive peeps to your opt-in page, plus your social media accounts/author site, and you can even do Facebook Ads for your opt-in bribe. The last one is the most expensive and requires learning Facebook Ads, so not for everyone, obviously. But it is an option. I wonder if anyone has ever tried this - you permafree book one in your series, stick up book two for pre-order, and then you write an exclusive book 1.5 (novella length, maybe) which is not required to be read to understand book 2, but it adds substance and makes it all that much sweeter. And this book you only offer to your newsletter subscribers. No one else. I might try this one, if I can write enough content.  |
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Post by beaker on Sept 24, 2018 19:13:13 GMT
Thanks everyone who replied with great info and advice. I think I'll start slow and see how it goes.
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