I've been talking a lot lately about newsletters, because I started one last month. And although I'm a firm believer that e-mail marketing is a fantastic (and cheap) way for businesses to boost client revenues and client referrals, how can a newsletter possibly help an AUTHOR?

Well, the real value is in the mailing list. A mailing list can be a GOLDMINE for authors, whether they write non-fiction or not. A lot of people are starting to realize this, especially musicians, who regularly use a "SIGN-UP" button on their wesbites to announce concerts, events, new releases, etc.

You see where this is going, right?

Marketing newsletters should be short, to the point, and they should be in plain English. You can create your own marketing newsletter simply by signing up with Constant Contact or iContact (or any of the other email services). I wouldn't never send a newsletter out using postage/paper-- it's expensive and they would get thrown away as junk mail. Forget that! We're trying to save money and the environment, right? 

I signed up for a newsletter service last month to launch my tax marketing newsletter (aimed at tax pros, not the general public) and it was easy. You know why I did that? Because the majority of my readers are accounting and tax professionals. 

This marketing tool can work for anyone-- fiction or non-fiction. You just need to build up a readership base and a mailing list, which isn't as hard as it seems-- it just takes time. 

I signed up for Constant Contact. The only thing I didn't like was that the "sign up" HTML that goes on my websites cannot be personalized to a target audience as much as I'd like. It costs about $15 per month for the service, which is way less than I would pay if I was paying for postage on a old fashioned paper newsletter. 

The real value of the newsletter is the mailing list-- the conventional wisdom behind this marketing tactic is that you can presumably contact hundreds of people QUICKLY with a single e-mail about important news, such as a new book release. 

And there's always the added plus that your e-mail newsletter will be forwarded (by the client) to a family member or a friend, and then you have an instant referral. 

For example, in the last newsletter, we included a little blurb about our enrolled agent exam study guides, which generated lots of web traffic to thePassKey Publications website. It was an easy way to get the "message" out there without being intrusive or using aggressive sales tactics. You can do this, too-- in your own newsletter, by including links to your website and list of book offerings. And if you offer services, like book design or editing, even better! You can advertise your services in the newsletter in a way that makes it non-intrusive. 

Just make sure your newsletter is timely, well-written, and not overly "salesman-ish"--- people don't like a hard sell.
Add Comment