Newsletters for the Reluctant Author
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve mentioned here before that I was slow to start sending out a newsletter. What really made me finally commit to sending them (in 2013) was that readers were getting irritated. They wanted me to send out a newsletter to let them know when I had a new release. I had been a published author since 2009, so I was 4 years late to the party.
So I finally followed through. I realized that, for the readers who wanted to sign up for my newsletter, they expected me to notify them of releases. That’s how I started out and how I still handle my newsletters today.
I use MailChimp which is free for up to 2,000 subscribers. I do have more than that, so I have to pay to send out my newsletters. Since I only send out newsletters when I have a release, I send out only 3 or 4 emails a year and decided to choose the pay-as-you-go plan (they also have a monthly plan). More on costs here.
Most of the writers I know send out newsletters a lot more frequently than I do and it works out really well for them. But I can’t seem to be persuaded to change what I’m doing. I feel as if I have a sort of pact with my readers now…that they’ll only hear from me in their email inbox when I have a book out. Besides, there are only so many hours in the day. I don’t want to be coming up with newsletters on a monthly or (God forbid) weekly basis.
What’s more, I can’t handle merely announcing the release in the newsletter because it just feels spammy to me. I tried to think of all the value-added things that I could to make the newsletter less like advertising and more useful and personal.
My extras:
Easy recipes (recipes are frequently in the backs of cozy mysteries).
Notes on books I’ve recently read and enjoyed (these aren’t promo tradeoffs with other authors but books I’ve come across myself).
Pictures of my pets (because corgis and cats are adorable) and a quick update on my own life.
Elements that I was specifically asked to include in my newsletters by readers:
The price for the book in different formats and buy-links to the most popular retailers (Amazon for ebook and print, Nook, Kobo, Apple). I also have a link for international readers that takes them to links for their home country (using free UBLs from Draft2Digital).
A full list of all my books, hyperlinked with buy-links.
Where they can find my audiobooks and which titles are available (not all of my books are in audio since it’s a time consuming process).
Upcoming releases (what I’m working on now) and when to expect them (here I tend to be a little vague since the release will be months away).
My email address.
Creating a similar newsletter is pretty easy. Announce your releases. Think about what your readers are interested in and provide it. And make it easy on yourself, too. Set up a template on MailChimp or whatever your newsletter distributor is, and then adjust it depending on the release.
To see an example of my newsletter, click here.
Do you send out newsletters? What sorts of things do you include in yours?
Newsletter Tips for the Reluctant Author:
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