How to Get Readers Onto Your Mailing List... And Keep Them!

By Dave Chesson, @DaveChesson

Part of The Indie Authors Series 

JH: A mailing list helps authors connect to their readers, and keeps them updated on their books. Dave Chesson shares how to encourage readers to sign up for your list. 

Dave Chesson is the founder of Kindlepreneur.com and creator of Publisher Rocket, a software that helps authors market their books more effectively.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Take it away Dave…

Connecting with your readers is an important part of being an author, whether you’re independently published or traditionally published. Why? Because staying in touch with past readers gives you the chance to tell them about future books! 

Things That Happen When You Stop Chasing Social Media

By Aly Brown, @AlyConnerBrown

Part of The Writer’s Life Series 

JH: Social media is both a blessing and a curse, and no writer should feel pressured to engage if they don't want to. Aly Brown kicks off the New Year with thoughts and tips on what happens when you don't let social media rule your life. 

Aly Brown is a newspaper editor and author represented by BookEnds LLC. She recently inked a deal with Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan for a nonfiction middle grade book on Alvin Submersible called The Last Unexplored Place on Earth. Release date 2023.

Website | Twitter | Grammar Chicken

Take it away Aly...

Cleaning Up Your Mailing List: The Why and the How

By Marcy Kennedy, @MarcyKennedy
 
Part of the Indie Author Series

A key tool that we have as indie authors for keeping in touch with our readers is our newsletter or mailing list. Building and maintaining a mailing list is considered foundational to a strong author business for good reason.

Unlike social media sites—or even our website—email is a direct means of communication. We’re not hoping they come to our site or hoping that our status update shows up in their social media feed. We’re also in control of our list so that, if a particular social media sites dies a dramatic death, our list doesn’t go with it.

But mailing lists still require maintenance. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been doing my regular “clean up” on my mailing list, which made me think this might be a good time to write about it as well.

Building a Mailing List through Reader Magnets

By Marcy Kennedy, @MarcyKennedy

Part of the Indie Author Series

One of the almost universal pieces of advice we hear as indie authors is that we need to build a newsletter mailing list. A mailing list allows us to keep in touch with readers and let them know when our next book releases. Theoretically, they’ll be excited to buy our book, sending it up in the rankings.

The tricky part is how do we convince people to give us their email addresses?

One solution is the reader magnet.

Service Spotlight: Instafreebie as Lead Generator

By Angela Quarles, @AngelaQuarles

Part of the Indie Author Series

Earlier this year, I talked about using Instafreebie in my post Finding Your Audience Part Two - Think Long Term & Build Relationships and I thought I'd expand a little bit on this as I've started using it again. I also reached out to a couple of fellow authors so that I can share a broader experience than just mine.

Finding Your Audience Part Two - Think Long Term & Build Relationships

By Angela Quarles, @AngelaQuarles

Part of the Indie Author Series

In last month's post, I talked about the pre-release steps you can take to find your audience. Today, I'm tackling finding your audience after your book's launch.

Lessons to learn from non-fiction writers

As you've probably already noticed, it's easier to find articles on this topic for non-fiction writers because their book's subject helps direct them on where to find their audience. Plus, there are clear strategies one can take to build a platform. The challenge is slightly different for us, but I think it'll be helpful to understand a little why it's easier (not easy, but relatively easier) for them so that we can find the right approach.