To join or learn more, visit allianceindependentauthors.org/join. Email lists give you direct access to communicate with your fans, readers, and/or subscribers, which allows you to build a relationship of trust and value. Quality, not quantity. Want a 100% free LitRPG novella? Again, I’ve found I have hardly any unsubscribes, so subscribers are happy with the process.”, English historical novelist Piers Alexander shares the secrets of the success of his award-winning self-published…, Your email address will not be published. ALLi is also pleased to present a discounted ticket rate for its members. Then put a signup wall between the user and getting the audio, and that built the mailing list very quickly. 1. The non-fiction one has a focus on writing and marketing. 13. … Once that happens, you don’t have to persuade them to buy. Writing a new book takes months, or years. Finally, was there a "catch fire" moment for you? When the time comes, it is just a matter of sending an email or other message about the book and where to purchase. Convert giveaway subscribers into a loyal fanbase, 6. This is Derek’s tactic: “I made an email list of maybe 500 book bloggers in my genre and all the ‘BookTubers’ who talk about and review YA books on YouTube… those are influencers, who have the traffic and platforms already, so I email all them about the contest”. Reedsy is more than just a blog. For example “Thanks for joining my list to hear more about my upcoming releases.”. When we talk about offering readers “value”, that doesn’t mean giving away lots of free content but that what you provide is compelling to that kind of reader. This blog is going on my "must read list," particularly now because I'm launching the third book in my espionage series, Black Mesa: The Final Report. I started a really simple WordPress page and made the music MP3s available as the download. We’ve re-styled it so that it’s a lot less formal than it was and so it feels less pushy. Sure you do. And again, it must have real value, be carefully crafted to align with your attractor content, and further hook the right readers. “The nice thing about giveaways is that other people share for you. “Most authors are probably not using the mailing list right. The general advice is to not email your readers more than once a week but everyone’s mileage will vary. When creating your autoresponders, especially the first emails, remind your readers how/why they signed up for your list. The Writer’s Guide to Building an Email List. You’re asking your readers to spend their money or their time in reading and reviewing your book. If you’re a writer, you’re a hero to people. Who doesn’t love free things? There are ways to slowly introduce them to that idea, and it’s not by selling them my book.” – Derek Murphy. I’ll show you how to set up your email list and signup form on your website so you can start to build a list of readers, develop a relationship with them over time, and sell more books! Reviews are essential for the successful marketing of a book. There are three pieces of software which are suitable for these purposes: KingSumo,  RaffleCopter, and Gleam. Are you trying to promote your book but all the regular tricks aren't working? If you want readers to open your emails then your emails must delight and excite. That’s why it’s best if your social media and email updates can also move your books forward. What’s at play underneath that statement, usually, is fear of publishing. You cannot achieve this if you start charging for your book too early as a first-time author. ACCESSS stands for: Selling books to this group then becomes easy, and there’s nothing salesy about it. When I started my list I made the rookie mistake of only posting when I had a new book out, thinking this would be less annoying. And the best way to do this is to build a huge and devoted fan base that you can reach through email. It’s just a matter of sending an email or other message to readers who already know, like and trust you  and your work. No, no, no. at the bottom, it’s eye-catching, it will summarize the content and they’ll go, oh yeah, I can leave a review. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. A well-built, carefully curated email list is, in fact, one of the most potent author platforms it is possible to build. If the only reason you ever email them is to ask them to hand over their time, money or attention, you can quickly wear out your welcome. Give a brief review of each one and an Amazon link where they can buy the book. With this positive relationship in place you can also offer followers other premium products and services as well as books (See ten business models for authors). Create a Compelling Optin Gift for Your Readers. However much time you have, your emailing schedule must fit around your real job (no, not your day job, your real job as an author or published poet is writing books). So, if you’ve got 30 seconds, just click here. For the welcome series, you want to make friends, cultivate fans, so don’t sell anything. Books and emails  both contain your carefully crafted words and both provide that individual and intimate imaginative relationship. Exactly.) I now email more regularly and this has helped with unsubscribes and my subscriber numbers are climbing. In the early stages of building the author mailing list, do not give away your own work. One of their best features will allow you to see who has opened your newsletter and clicked on the links (such as "Buy now!"). In general, any prizes that are specific to your genre are useful. I now email more regularly and this has helped with unsubscribes and my subscriber numbers are climbing. For example, when someone joins your mailing list, you might have a welcome email, and then a week later a “get to know me” email, a few days after that an invitation to join your Facebook group, and another few days later something about your story world or ideas or inspirations. Mailing lists are for the most devoted fans. It provides a variety of ways in which a contestant can bid for prizes including referring friends for extra entries or asking contestants to write a blog post on why they want to enter the competition, which in turn can be shared. “Choosing between wounds and scars” is how she describes sorting out which poems would go into her collection. BONUS: Add books to the corresponding BOOK FAIR for FREE to sell during the event! First of all, how much time do you really have? Continue with smaller campaigns, particularly using Gleam or Rafflecopter that link to your author blog and websites which subscribers can read if they want to. Averages 500-3000 reader emails. Bad book reviews — they happen to all authors! In business terms, it’s also described as a “gift for prospects”. Login to your MailChimp account and navigate to the Lists tab: From there, click “Create List” in the upper right-hand corner: You can then name your list, set the default 'from email address' and name (this will be the address and name shown in your fan’s email inbox), and create a description … Let us know about your experiences, or ask Derek any question, in the comments below! In ACCESSS marketing terms, this is called “an ask”. Our books contain hundreds of notated examples, people wanted to hear what those sound like so it’s not just dots on a piece of paper. You can also target people who like those books or authors specifically. The guide has lots of ideas and tips for creating content and deciding the topics you might want to talk to your readers about in your emails. Then after that, you should definitely be using a personal greeting. A good tactic would be to encourage a large-scale giveaway using KingSumo and then later using a smaller contest with Rafflecopter to get contestants to look at your blog and social media platforms. Nothing is more powerful than your own mailing list. If you do a shared competition promoting both of your products, you are pooling the contacts you both have, doubling the potential for subscribers. Are you a part-time or full-time author? My unsubscribe rate would go up. | FAQ | SEE LIVE EVENT In fact, it’s the only way to get in touch with some people. They can share the competition giving you access to a whole new audience. Behind the scenes look at inspirations for your book, Free books (earlier book in a series, for example), Podcasts and articles you love, you’re interviewed on or that have inspired your story, Unboxing videos, photos or write-ups, documenting you opening a parcel of your books, Videos (or adding videos to already established blog posts), Ask your readers to leave reviews on your latest book or back catalog, Ask if your subscribers want to be on your street team (in other words, help spread the word for your upcoming launch), Ask if anyone is interested in being an advanced reader or help spot typos/proof before launch, Ask for subscribers to help spread the word about your new book. Reedsy vets every professional – so you'll only ever work with the best in the business. Check out our tips and download our free book launch checklist! Derek, for example, has been giving away book shaped reading lamps! In order to avoid that, you should ask your readers to whitelist your email. But also, you are “making friends” with other authors in your genre, and we all know how vital author collaboration can be. Thank you for your time. The purpose of the autoresponder sequence is to “warm” your new subscribers to you and your work, and build on the all important knowing, liking, trusting. One of the main questions that torment debuting authors is: how do I build an audience for my first book before I release it? That’s a manageable routine for writers who want to integrate the seven elements of ACCESSS marketing into their weekly routine. As well as offering it on social, it can also be given out at the end of talks or events, and  you might even want to carry a physical copy around with you to hand to strangers who ask what you do. With deep thanks to all of our members who took the time to respond and special thanks to Heide Goody, Joseph Alexander, and … Again, there are other providers with more functionalities like ConvertKit—which ALLi uses—or ActiveCampaign. Others might offer a short story, or a character guide for an ongoing series. ... Part 1 –Mailing lists. These guys have become the most efficient way to give away books and build your list of subscribers. But all subscribers need to be brought into your author world, made to feel special. For all these reasons, email marketing is the core communication recommended in ALLi’s ACCESS marketing, a marketing method which we’ll be explaining in more detail in an upcoming post. A lead magnet is a special gift or incentive that people who sign up to your mailing list receive. We’ve got a three email welcome series. At BookFunnel, we have the author’s needs in mind. Step 1: Make an Unforgettable First Impression. Build a relationship with them first. That said, down to business. “One of the easiest ways to get a lot of sign ups quickly is to offer free giveaways. If somebody’s come onto your mailing list in week one, you can let them know about the fact that book two is available, and you can do it as a big launch, ‘book two’s out now’. It’s the creative discomfort that always accompanies a genuine attempt to communicate and go deep. For ALLi campaigns, benefits, refund & membership policies, see the main website, 2021 SELF-PUBLISHING ADVICE | THE ALLIANCE OF INDEPENDENT AUTHORS | c/o The Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Rd London EC1R 3GA United Kingdom, The Ultimate Guide to Mailing Lists for Authors Part 1: Mailing List Strategy. a month leads to the highest engagement and the lowest fatigue. Some authors give away a full book to email subscribers, or even an entire box set. This usually involves telling your readers about a book in the same genre that you think they’d be interested in reading. KingSumo is preferable for collecting a large amount of email signups quickly. Too often, the author will say no. Remember the dictum of the great Maya Angelou, as true to email as to any other aspect of life: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”, Once these ACCESS marketing steps are completed, selling to this group becomes easy. So, that relationship building can happen really quickly, quite easily, and automated to build a relationship. Did Derek's strategy change as the numbers grew, and at what point did the change take place (how many emails added to the list)? Email is, says Written Word Media a company that has built a business on the tool, simply “the most effective marketing tool out there” for authors, allowing us to reach a wide group of readers in a meaningful way. Let’s begin with a quote from our latest guidebook, by ML Ronn in his 150 Self-Publishing Questions Answered: “A mailing list is still pretty important these days. Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially if you haven’t published anything yet. Maybe I missed it, but I'd love to take Derek back in time to have him think through his effort to gain the first 10 people (not family or friends) for his email list, the next 20, 50, 100. And all the research shows that the closest connection we can have with the reader is by email. Shouldn’t they have a way to find out when you have a new release? See part two here: Growing a Reader Mailing List. There are other platforms you can promote your giveaway on such as StumbleUpon’s Paid Discovery, Reddit’s advertising platform and promoted posts on Twitter. Marketing Tips for Indie Authors – Making a Mailing List. There are four paradigm shifts. That makes these prime time for Indie authors to push their books on to the big bestseller lists. Are there any tips or tricks authors really ought to (or not to) put into the autoresponder series? If you write with music on, you could share the playlist with readers so they can listen to it while reading your book. Over 500,000 authors trust the professionals on Reedsy, come meet them. There is some criticism of building an author mailing list through giveaways. Use a service like MailChimp or Mailerlite to manage your mailing list. Among these 35 popular book genres, there's bound to be one that fits your book like a glove — so let's find it! Before you dive into your mailing list creation there are a few things to consider. Bring them into the coolest aspects of being a writer (spare them your headaches, challenges and down days, unless you can make this amusing or otherwise entertaining). KingSumo, RaffleCopter and Gleam are the three softwares you can use to organize giveaways. Many authors use MailChimp because it has a free tier for up to 2000 subscribers. Like, who writes a book? Maintain a single list of all your subscribers and segment it according to particular interest groups. In a three-part series starting today, the Alliance of Independent Authors #AskALLi team does a deep dive into author mailing lists: how to set them up, how to grow them, manage them and, in each step, use them to build and sustain great relationships with your readers. There’s one thing we haven’t mentioned yet: costs. What mindset shift do you wish writers would make when it comes to their mailing list and utilizing it to the best extent possible? There are also services such as InstaFreebie (now Prolific works), Book Funnel and the newer Story Origin that all help build list numbers. Then you’ve got the pre-header, which just sits slightly below the subject line and will elaborate on the more click-baity subject line. You can customise this form, share it on your author website, or any social media platforms you have. Our mission is to help you succeed and feel confident in self-publishing, marketing your ebook, and connecting with readers using all the tools you can dream of, from landing pages to ebook delivery. Below is a summarized transcript. This is also one of the techniques that allowed indie author ML Banner to reach #1 on Amazon with his first fiction book. If I can give away a thousand copies of my book [to his mail list] and I give them a reason to go download it and review it I can probably get a couple hundred reviews in the first couple days of my launch”. The only way to truly keep your Internet contacts is by having a solid mailing list. The other part of delivery satisfaction is keeping your promises. Their money or their time in reading past, but we re-booted year. Same genre that you think they ’ d be interested in reading and reviewing your book feel intimate! S reviews, books, samples and press clippings accompany a short story or... 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