By now, you know that you need a newsletter as an author. It is one of the most important tools in your marketing toolkit, and especially in a day and age where we aren't really certain about where social media is going, what's going to be involved, and the security that is found within social media. So how do you actually market your book?
Well, your newsletter is one of the best ways for you to actually do that. I get a lot of questions from authors asking how do I actually promote my book on my newsletter? How do I increase sales and utilize the power of a newsletter without being demanding or too pushy? So today we're going to talk about how you can best use your newsletter to promote your book.
When it comes to actually seeing the power behind an author newsletter, one of the things that really plays a key role in its success is being consistent. I've talked to so many authors throughout the years who mainly only use their newsletter when they know that they have a book coming out. They only use it to promote and that is not where we find the power of newsletters.
The first thing that you need to do is be consistent. Consistency is key. Now, this doesn't mean that you have to bombard your newsletter subscribers with emails every day (please don't do that), or even every week. When it comes to consistency, this means what is realistic in order for you to actually be consistent with your newsletter. So if you are really busy and you can't really see yourself being able to send out a newsletter once a week, go with once a month or twice a month, look at your schedule and see what is realistic for you.
When you show up consistently in your subscribers email, they are going to keep you at the front of their mind and it's going to really provide that friendship and that relationship that takes time to develop. If you only show up in their inbox when you have an ask for them, like if you want to ask them to buy your book or ask them to attend a speech that you're giving, it's not going to be as powerful because you are only showing up when you need them. You're not being consistent enough. So that is one of the most important things that I would really encourage you to do is to stay consistent with sending out your newsletters.
Then the second tip is to adopt the “give, give, ask” model. So what does this mean? This means that you focus on giving. Whether it be great stories or it's giving them a behind the scenes look at your writing process or there's so many different things that you can give your readers to let them behind the veil; let them get to know you and your writing, your characters, your business, anything that you're offering more.
Think about how you can best serve your audience. That's a give. So doing one week, a give, the second week give, and then an ask. So when you focus on giving first and then having an ask meaning asking them to buy your book, asking them to leave a review or asking them to take part in something that you need some feedback on, they are going to be more likely to take part because you have focused on giving first and then asking.
So if you do a weekly newsletter, do the first week “give,” second week “give,” a d then have an “ask.” But if you do a monthly newsletter, you can do the every other month model. So you can give for one month and then the next month you can have an ask. It's really about keeping a good balance. You're not wanting to only focus on giving, and then not asking and you're not wanting to just constantly promote. You need to have a good balance in there. So the “give, give, ask” model is a good way to do that.
And then the third tip is to tap into the P.S. So here's what I mean by that: in most cases, when people look at a newsletter, they are just scanning it. And so this is also a reason why you want to keep your newsletter rather short. It's not going to be something where they're going to take the time to read in great detail a huge, very long email. So when they skim it, they might get a few points that you want to get across them, but the P.S. is something that really stands out.
If you have your newsletter where you're talking about your book or about something that's going on, you can add a P.S. at the end where you say, “Hey, just a quick reminder, my book is for sale on Amazon. Click the link here to grab your copy.” Or it might be a “P.S. If you haven't left a review for my book and you've read it, be sure to head on over to Amazon and leave your review.”
And this is something that you can throw in just at the end. It's not going to be the focus of the email. It can be something where it's just a quick ask at the end where it's not as pushy or as invasive. It's much more casual, but you're also giving them that call to action as the very last thing that they see in the email.
So let's recap. So the first thing that you want to do is to be consistent. Second, adopt the “give, give, ask” model. And then the third is to tap into the piece at the end of your newsletter.
I know that many of you have said that you are overwhelmed with everything that it takes to set up your newsletter and everything that it takes to add that to your overall strategy. I've heard you and I've created something specifically for you to help you with this. It's called the “Newsletter Starter Kit for Authors.” It's everything that you need to get your newsletter set up, whether that be the technical side of things or just getting a framework in place all the way to what you actually include in your newsletters. I have created templates. I've created over 52 topics that you can use for your newsletter, aplanner, and so much more. So click the link in the show notes or head on over to this media dot com to register.
And as a little P.S., thank you all for checking in to make sure that we're okay. I know we've been on hiatus with the podcast and with our YouTube channel. We have finally moved into our new space. Life has gotten a little less chaotic and so we're so happy to be back here with you.
