Let me blow on these bagpipes to share 5 fabulous reasons for sending a regular author newsletter, plus some amazing statistics to help show you their secret superpowers…
So exactly what is an author’s newsletter?
Do you remember those dear-parent-school newsletters filled with stuff that never involved you or your kid, that never got read? Seriously, can you remember any? Except for that time your son/daughter – or you – had a photo for winning the three-legged race.
What about the corporate newsletters? Yeah, right. Unless I’m a shareholder gaining gazillions in dividends, I don’t give a flying empty pepperoni pizza box about what it says.
But an author newsletter is different.
Because it’s written by you.
And an author newsletter is a regularly sent email that shares the latest news and updates relating to your books. It is what it says – news + letter written by an amazing aspiring author. You.
But it’s also about trying to build a long-term relationship with a random group of strangers called readers.
A regular author newsletter is about building relationships with random groups of strangers called readers. Right? Share on X
THE NOT-SO-SCARY EMAIL STATS:
To show you how powerful sending a regular author newsletter can be, I’m flipping open that pizza box filled with piping hot pepperoni pizza and lashes of melted cheese (because who doesn’t love cheese), to tuck into the not-so-scary list of statistics:
1. Did you know that the average person scores around 121 emails per day?
2. Statista predicts that half of the world’s population will use email by 2025, with billions of emails sent daily.
3. Over 80% of readers check their private emails first before they look at any of their social media accounts. Which is usually first thing in the morning over a piping hot coffee and a slice of cold pizza 🍕.
4. Over 50% of readers will buy directly from an author’s email. Yes!!!!!!!
5. You get an 80% retention rate when you provide a regular email to your readers. That’s 80% of your readers sticking with you, to allow you to land in their inbox, so you can ask them to BUY YOUR BOOK! Compare that to the 20%, or less, from social media.
5 FABULOUS REASONS FOR RUNNING A REGULAR AUTHOR NEWSLETTER ARE:
Now that I’ve shown you the fun facts about emails, here are the 5 fabulous reasons for running a regular author newsletter free from any cheese-dust fluff:
5 fabulous reasons for running a regular author newsletter free from any cheese-dust fluff... Share on X
1. Your author newsletter doesn’t have to fight with any social media algorithms.
When you join a social media platform, like Twitter, you are a guest who is subject to their Terms & Conditions. It’s borrowed land where, as many authors learned the hard way, they can hide your stuff as they do on Facebook. Or they got locked out, banned, blocked, and… you get the idea. You don’t own social media, you’re just a guest at their online global cocktail party.
2. Your email list is a valuable asset
As a valuable asset, keeping an engaged email list is a big part of building a successful author platform. It’s an asset because you own it. You. You don’t own your social media followers, but you do own that list of readers who dared to share their email address with you. (Can you see me nodding over here?!?!)
But wait there’s more.
Did you know that for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect a $44 ROI (return on investment) which works out to be 4400%—for real! This makes it a gazillion times more profitable than wrestling with Facebook advertising, which is currently between 9-10% ROI. And dropping faster than a microphone after the band breaks up.
3. A regular author newsletter is one of the best ways to build a relationship with your readers
Running a regular author newsletter has been proven to be far more intimate. Not quite like a leggy-blonde sidling up to you in a dark bar at cocktail hour, but when you use the reader’s name in one of your newsletters, it boosts open rates. And you want them to open your emails, right?
Emailing directly to your reader, it’s just between you and them and not some never-ending scroll shared to billions on a small screen.
It’s also the exclusivity they love, so if you have a special offer or the cover reveal for your next book – share it with your email list first.
Running a regular author newsletter is all about nurturing the relationship you have with your readers who’ll be the first in line to buy your book. It’s also a great place to run surveys, create an arc team for reviews, and get feedback for valuable insights into how to sell your books so much betterer. 😛
And guess what? 89% of readers will stay loyal to that author because you’d bothered to build a relationship with them via your author newsletter. *and a chorus of angels begins to sing*
4. You can make money out of your regular newsletters!
Of course, the obvious is by sharing not only your book links, don’t forget to include your affiliate links. $$
Yet you can take it one step further by creating exclusive author newsletter subscriptions for those who want insights into your work!
You can also sell advertising space to other authors, sell merchandise and so much more.
5. Your reader dictates when they can read it!
Being able to land in their inbox on a regular basis, allows your reader to read it when they’re ready. Not when social media says so, when your reader says so. Like that mom waiting in the car while little Johnny finishes soccer practice, or when that reader is seated in the waiting room trying to ignore the sounds of the patient screaming over the drill in the dentist’s office.
Oh, hey, even if that reader doesn’t open your regular author newsletter, they’ll still see your name in their inbox, which will become familiar to them. This is what marketers call brand awareness. How it works is that when your reader is scrolling through Amazon trying to decide what book to read, and your name shows up on a book cover—it’ll trigger a memory (if you’ve branded yourself right) and they’ll feel like they know you and tap to buy your book. *gives an all-knowing nod and wink*
And the biggest bonus is…
When you polish up your crystal ball to predict your publishing schedule, you can create an entire year’s worth of author newsletters in one day! I’m not kidding.
Oh, and to build your email list to run those regular newsletters is FREE!
This entire process is called email marketing, and it’s been around for forty years. A lot longer than some social media platforms, and it’s still going strong.
Can you see why running a regular author newsletter, full of fabulous readers dying to buy your next book, is pure platinum?!?!
It’s why it’s so important to add build world’s greatest email list to your to-do list as part of your author platform.
Not sure where to start? Check out this book>>>
