Trying to do Marketing all by Yourself Pt.3

Welcome back, everybody. Today we’ll talk about the care and feeding of your email list. But before we do that, let’s get something controversial out of the way.

Blogging.

Blogging became a really popular activity about fifteen years ago. In 2005 there were 50 million blogs on the internet. That number tripled by 2010. Clearly the arena for blogs is oversaturated. If you have a dedicated blog readership, or you enjoy blogging, then blog. If not, there are better ways to build your brand.

The care and maintenance of your email list.

Think of your regular emails to your email list as a sort of blog. But instead of the pressure of weekly or bi-monthly blog posts, you’re sending these out monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. (Consistency is important here. However often you decide to write these newsletters, stick to it so you build trust with your reader.) It’s also important to really polish these things up. A blog post can be about an interesting thought or musing, while a newsletter should look more like a magazine article.

You want to create a relationship with your email list. By creating engaging content that your list members don’t have to purchase, you are building trust. You’re telling your fans “I care about you and want you to go on this amazing literary journey with me.” When your fans realize they’re getting free content, they’ll be more inclined to stay on your list and tell their friends.

So what kind of content should you create? Well, raffles with prizes are always nice, but let’s build up to that. Right now, let’s on content you can create for free with very little time. Something you’re pretty sure your list would like and is easy for you to create.

Here’s an example.

I write historical fiction. My debut novel takes place in late 16^th century Tudor Ireland. I am in the process of writing monthly newsletters to my email list about Tudor Ireland. Here are some of my topics:

• The importance of the pole-arm in 16^th century combat
• Why Irish chiefs participated in Henry VIII’s Surrender and Regrant
• What the fashionable middle class Irish woman wore

My email list eats this stuff up. I write these once a month along with maps and paintings (that I give full attribution to), and then send it off. This is easy for me because I have a degree in this stuff and I still have the books from college.  

Let’s say you write science fiction. You could write a simple newsletter with links to interesting articles you read in OMNI or National Geographic. If you write romance you could find articles about the setting you’ve chosen, or the profession of your protagonists. Maybe your heroine is a woman in the FBI. I’m sure your email list would eat up an article about the number of women in the FBI.

People love free stories. A small, 2-4k word story written every month and sent to your email list can do wonders for your relationship with them. In fact, it can also help grow your list as word of mouth spreads about your freebies. You can write an epilogue to your romance novel describing their happily ever after. You could clear up what that minor character was doing when they were off screen during the climax of your book. You could even write origin stories for villains, sidekicks, and other minor characters.

If this is all too much for you, then you can simply let your list members have a glimpse into your life. My wife runs an accounting and tax prep business. Her emails usually explain a new tax law or IRS policy, but sometimes she’ll relate a horror story about what not to do on your taxes. But after Oct. 15^th, (the final filling deadline,) she usually sends a quaint story about the trick-or-treaters we get at our house for Halloween along with pictures of them at our door. For Thanksgiving, she’ll take pictures of me cooking the turkey or she’ll take a picture of everyone around the table as the meal starts. Sending these posts around the holidays makes her clients feel like their part of the family.

Do you have a pet? Most people LOVE photos of your pets. The more exotic the better. Stories of how they ate your manuscript or inspired your recent book are cool. Are you appearing at a book store to sign books? Teaching at a writer’s conference or comic book convention? Announce it on your email list.

The point of all these measures if for you to give more than you receive. If you do that consistently, over a period of time, you will build trust with your email list. They will no longer see you as an author hawking your books, but as a friend who is sharing their passion for stories with them.

Frequency

So when do you get to announce book releases? Any time you want! Just make sure there is other content your list members get for free so they don’t feel taken advantage of. While I would just make a separate announcement, outside of the newsletter schedule, you could replace a regularly scheduled post with a book release or short story publication announcement. That’s up to you.

What’s up next?

This was supposed to be a three part series, but I am extending it to four. Next month I’ll have some specific advice for Independent writer-publishers, a ton of reading suggestions, as well as a look at my own calendar for 2021. Have a great Halloween, everybody, and I’ll see you next month.