Establishing an author newsletter is a great way to connect with readers and promote your book. With the right combination of content, design, and promotion techniques, you can create an engaging newsletter that helps you find more readers and spread the word about your work
Choose an Email Service Provider
Before you start building your newsletter, you need an email service provider. An email service provider stores your contact information and helps you send emails to large groups of people. Popular providers include MailerLite, MailChimp, ActiveCampaign and ConvertKit. If you have a smaller list or are just getting started, MailerLite offers a free plan that is versitile and provides all the tools you need. If you have a larger list, want more advanced analytics, or wanting to create complex automations, we recommend ActiveCampaign or ConvertKit.
Design a Compelling Sign-up Form
Your sign-up form is one of the most important aspects of your newsletter. It’s the first impression readers will have of your brand, so you need to make it count! Make sure that your form is attractive and easy to fill out, and feel free to showcase your personality! Here are a few of our favorite newsletter sign up forms:
Consider offering a small incentive, like a free ebook or early access to exclusive content, to encourage new readers to subscribe.
Collect and Segment Subscribers
Keep track of your subscribers – how many sign-ups are you getting each day? Are they new readers or coming from an existing list? Segmenting your subscriber convert is imperative, so you can tailor future messages and newsletters to their interests. This way, you’ll be able to offer relevant offers and content, increase engagement, and boost sales.
Write Engaging Newsletters
Engaging newsletters should be personal, informative, and entertaining. Since readers subscribe for exclusive offers, behind-the-scenes looks at your work, or sneak previews of upcoming titles and new book releases, make sure to include some or all of these in every newsletter. Offer something special that isn’t available anywhere else – like sneak peeks and exclusive discounts to new readers – so each person feels those benefits right away.
Want timely resources, prompts, and social media content delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Book PR Report, a twice-monthly newsletter that highlights what’s working and what’s no longer working when it comes to book promotion.
Review Your Metrics to Assess What’s Working (and What’s Not!)
After you’ve been sending out your newsletters for a while, it’s important to periodically review the metrics of your email campaign. This can help you assess what content and topics have performed well so that you can focus more on them in your future newsletters. It can also be useful when creating new content for readers; take note of which topics are resonating with subscribers and create more content about those same themes. This practice will also help ensure that each newsletter isn’t replicating too much of what is already being sent out.
A strong author newsletter is one of the most powerful tools in an author’s tool belt. By growing your email list, sending engaging content, and frequently assessing what’s working and what’s not, you will cultivate a community of readers who will always buy your latest book.
