Recommendations ~ Newsletter Ninja Book by Tammi Labrecque

Today we're talking newsletters.
Newsletters? Yep. We want to deliver a strong, vibrant newsletter to our actively involved list. The bad news is that so does everyone else who sends out a newsletter.  So how do you stand out in the “inbox crowd”?
Well, I’ve been to countless seminars, webinars and read endless books on the subject.  But recently I purchased a book that resonated so strongly with me that I decided to share my secret weapon with you and post about it.

Newsletter Ninja: How To Become An Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi Labrecque.
It’s a quick read because it's interesting and informative, and I encourage you to highlight passages you find intriguing. THEN take the time to go back and reread the parts you’ve highlighted. For me, that was a slew of pages, and I know that’s where my answers will found.
It was nice to see that according to her thinking, I was doing many things correctly, and a few things not so right.  Again, this book is a guide, not a strict recipe for success because it may not tick all your boxes.  There were a few items she suggested that made me wince, but I’m going to reread them because wincing means either I should do this and don’t want to, like cull your mailing list !!, or I’m just not comfortable with that specific idea. 

And that’s okay.
That means I can take the idea or philosophy as Tammi calls it, and make it work for me another way, or not.  And isn’t that what we want, a guidebook to help us see new things in new ways?
Here are a few of lines that grabbed me:
“First, you are not selling what you think you are. Second, if all you’re using your list for is selling, you’re doing everything wrong.”
WOW. I read on and realized I’m not doing everything wrong, but I was using my mailing list for selling.  I admit this publicly.
“Do not make business decisions based on your own consumer behavior.”
Another wow.  
“You are not your reader.”
I agree, but had not seen it put forth in the context she used.
“But you are a Rockstar.”
Really?  Okay, maybe I can buy into that. Watch out Elton John, your high heels got nothing on mine