Authors, Are You Building a Mailing List?
In this blog post, we are going to cover what is probably the most important part of any author’s marketing plan – building a mailing list.
Build Your List – What Does That Mean?
You may have heard the term, “Build Your List,” used by entrepreneurs or marketers. Capturing the email address of the readers who land on your website is highly important to your marketing plan and probably even more so as an author. With all the emails a person receives, when they give permission to add their email address to your list, that’s a great endorsement of trust in your author brand. They want more of your books!
Subscription boxes are usually added in a highly visible place on your website and blog, most of the time near the top right. If you offer some type of feature, like free chapters, e-books, video, or audio, people are usually more willing to add their email to your list in exchange for a freebie.
The key to building a mailing list is so you can assemble a loyal group of readers interested in updates about your latest release. This is pretty crucial to future sales.
Get Permission!
Never just add email addresses to your list without permission. You don’t want to be labeled a spammer. Don’t worry all of us probably learned this mistake the hard way. Probably back in the day (or you may be doing this now), you saved anyone who emailed you in your contacts list. Then, when you wanted to send an email, you did the dreaded CC of all the email addresses.
If you’re still doing this, please stop! You want to make sure the email addresses you are capturing are via a double opt-in process that allows the subscriber to confirm their subscription via email.
Select a Mailing List Provider
Now to get started, here are some popular mailing list platforms:
Of course, after you build your list, you want to plan to keep in touch with the subscribers. Many authors do monthly or quarterly newsletters. Your mailing list provides an opportunity for you to share your personal side with your readers. You can also direct readers back to your website for new information they missed.
Tyora Moody is the author of Soul-Searching Mysteries, which includes cozy mystery, women sleuth mystery, and mystery romance under the Christian Fiction genre. Her books include the Eugeena Patterson Mysteries, Serena Manchester Mysteries, Reed Family Mysteries, and the Victory Gospel Family Series.
When Tyora isn’t working for a literary client, she’s either loving on her cats, listening to an audiobook or podcast, binge-watching crime shows or Marvel movies, and of course, thinking about the next book. To contact Tyora about reviewing her books or book club discussions, visit her at TyoraMoody.com.
