A mailing list is an important marketing tool because it helps you build a following. It doesn't have to be fancy, long, frequent oranything majorly time consuming but if you're serious about turning your hobby into something more, then you absolutely must have it. Why?
- You own it. Like your website, your list is yours. Facebookcould delete your page tomorrow, Twitter could kick you off their site, Amazoncould change their algorithms or terms and conditions and effectively renderyou invisible. Your email list is your back-up plan; a direct line ofcommunication with your readers that you control.
- It's an affordable yet effective way to communicatewith your readers without having to invest heavily in promotion. All you do issend an email and your readers get it. Everyone has an email address even thosewho hate social media.
- It's an excellent way to keep in touch with yourreaders in between books and make sure that they don't forget you. Theconversation is personal, direct and private which encourages feedback fromyour readers.
- There's a reason why people say that the money is in thelist. The larger your email list, the better sales you'll have when you releaseyour books. The better sales you have, the better you'll rank on retail sites.The better your rank, the more people (who aren't on your list) who'll see yourbook and buy it. The more new people who buy it, the more potential subscribersyou'll have. As you can see it's a happy circle.
To start your own mailing list:
STEP 1: DO YOUR RESEARCH
Before you start a mailing list, you need to know what other authors are doing and how they're growing their lists. Subscribe to the mailing lists of the superstars in your niche and evaluate;
- what they offer readers in exchange for signing up.
- the design and content of the sign-up forms andconfirmation emails.
- the subject lines of emails. Which ones were youmost tempted to click on? Why? What was the wording?
- the design and copy of the newsletter. How does it look? Whatdoes it say? What was the tone i.e. was it conversational or salesy? Did theemail require you to do something? What was it and were you tempted to do it?
STEP 2: BUILD YOUR WEBSITE
If you skipped the previous chapter (Build a Website), go back and handle that step. Your sign-up formwill be hosted on your website. If you don't have a site, a blog will work too. However, please plan to have an official website.
STEP 3: GET A PROFESSIONAL EMAIL ADDRESS
If you're lazy or money-conscious like me, you could just go with a gmail or yahoo address that has your author name. However, the pros say that you should get a more professional website that is directly related to your site for instance linda(at)lindaverji.com. Most domain registrars offer you one or more email addresses that are attached to your URL for an additional cost of $3-$5 per month. I think Zoho.com offers email addresses for free, but I haven't really looked into it.
STEP 4: CREATE A COMPELLING OPT-IN GIFT
This is one of those steps that I know I should do but haven't. Either way, don't follow my bad example. Offer your readers an incentive to sign up for your mailing list. Most writers will just offer a free book i.e. sign up for my list and get this free book. Your book is what most readers want, and it is a perfect way for them to judge whether they want to readmore from you.
YOU ARE READING
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