Why Every Indie Author Needs a Newsletter
Building your author platform is all about building a community of your readers.
Having your own author newsletter is a great way to do this!
Reading is incredibly personal. So is having a newsletter. It is all about building a relationship (i.e., readership) with your community. Humans, especially romance readers, are usually reading because of the relationships they are experiencing among the characters YOU created. A newsletter is a prime opportunity to take this a step further and to build a relationship with your readers.
Here, we’ll explore what goes into writing and sending out a regular newsletter to continue to grow your platform and to build your relationship with those who support YOU!
Your Newsletter is Integral to Building Your Author Platform
What is a newsletter?
Your author newsletter is a series of emails that you send to your subscribers.
Your subscribers are likely already readers, or at the very least, are interested in you and your books. They are invested in your success!
Even if they are not readers YET, by creating regular content, you are letting your readers know they can depend on you, and they will come to look forward to the arrival of your newsletters in their inbox.
It’s the least expensive, yet most direct way to market your books!
Why is having a newsletter important?
Your email list subscribers will likely be your biggest fans 🥳
They subscribed because they want to keep in touch with you and to support you! They are readers at the ready, clamoring to read your newest release, to receive an ARC, and to shout your name from the rooftops.
Your devoted subscribers (i.e., readers) want to help you! Their mighty pens are poised to write reviews and to post about your books on Amazon and social media. UGC, anyone?
Through your newsletter, you’re building relationships with readers and other stakeholders. You’re able to communicate directly with your readers and to develop a long-term relationship.
Plus, your newsletter and your subscribers are not subjected to the fickle nature of social media and its mysterious algorithms. If something were to happen to your Instagram, for example, all of your followers would be gone 💨! With your newsletter, your subscribers are YOURS and so is all of the content you took the time to create!
More Benefits:
Builds more hype
Provides exclusive content to your subscribers
Can sell directly
Can tap into your email list when need an ARC team, etc.
Easy to outsource to an author personal assistant (PA)
What do I put in the newsletters?
Creating a newsletter taps into your field of genius: writing! People are insatiably curious, and your readers are insatiably curious about YOU!
Whether you choose to send a newsletter weekly, every two weeks or monthly, it’s important to choose a frequency that you can be consistent with. That way, you’re at the top of your readers’ mind and can build a relationship with them.
Although it might feel odd at first, remember that your readers have signed up to hear about YOU and YOUR books! Share things like your writing process, how you come up with ideas, and about your journey to becoming an author. Anything you’d like to share, your readers will enjoy!
Use a friendly tone, be brief, and consider using a P.S. at the end to showcase what is most relevant at the moment. In addition to showcasing your books, also feature the most recent relevant graphics, character and cover art.
More Ideas:
Discounts
Upcoming events
Character art
ARC applications
Street team applications
Preorders
Release date
Cover reveal
Vision boards
Your pets!
Novels you’re reading
Your WIP
Projects
Contests
Behind the scenes
Book swaps with other authors in your genre (Not only are you building a relationship with another author, you’re also building a relationship with their already established audience.)
Add a P.S. to a specific point to have it stand out, and be sure to include any relevant links:
Here’s a link to my new book!
Have you left a review?
How do people to sign up for my newsletter?
Offer an incentive/free product for joining your newsletter, such as a short story, novella, chapter excerpt, or such that is exclusive to signing up for your newsletter and not available anywhere else!
Post the link to sign up to your newsletter on your:
Website
Link in bio
All your socials
Signings and events
How do I send out the newsletters?
Use an Email Service Provider (ESP). This allows you to store email addresses, creates and schedules the newsletters, and provides analytics to see how each newsletter performs (i.e., open rate). These analytics are helpful in seeing WHERE your subscribers are coming from (website, events, etc.), so you can determine where to allocate future efforts.
Integrating the newsletter software into your website is straightforward. Many ESPs offer free plans up to a certain number of subscribers, which is enough to get you going. You can always upgrade to a paid plan as you grow and want additional features.
Take a look at the following popular options, and decide which works best for you:
How do I link my books in my newsletters?
Consider using Universal Book Links for your book. Draft2Digital allows you to create a single link that directs readers to each of the retailers selling your book.
Specifically for Amazon:
When a link to your book on Amazon is shared with a simple copy and paste, it is not only very long, it also contains lots of information. These long links contain identifying details, like shopping preferences and such, that simply don’t need to be shared across platforms.
Instead, consider creating a “clean” link to your book on Amazon:
Step 1: Scroll down to product details
Step 2: Copy and paste the ASIN, which is assigned by Amazon when your book is listed for sale or for pre-order.
For print books whose ISBN starts with 978, use the ISBN-10, which is the same as the ASIN.
For all ebooks and for print books whose ISBN starts with 979, this is the ASIN.
Step 3: Make sure your clean link follows this format:
amazon.com/dp/XXXXXXXXXX
Taking the time to grow your email list and your newsletter provides a powerful marketing strategy that leads to increased book sales.
Again, the creation and nurturing of your community of readers is at the heart of successfully marketing your books.
If finding, building and managing your newsletter feels like just one more thing on the never-ending to do list, Mint Copy Services is happy to take that off of your plate!
If you’re not sure you’re ready to hire an author personal assistant (PA), or if you’d like more information on what needs to be considered when hiring a PA, download:
It’s free and provides detailed, actionable steps to finding and hiring your dream PA!
When you’re ready, check out my PA services to learn more about how I can help get your books into readers’ hands!
Not sure what’s next? Let’s plot together!
In the meantime, know that your readers and your newsletter subscribers appreciate you and are so grateful to you for sharing your stories with us! ❤️
Your supportive side character,
Lisa