16 Comments

  1. Thanks Sandra for another great article. My main struggle with email lists and the whole funnel thing is that despite regular, good downloads of my permafree book, the first of the series, that links to my landing page, something is blocking the expected clicks on that page – people can get the second book in the series for free, having read the first one as permafree, yet I’m not getting subscribers. It’s not a technical issue (I’ve checked) so I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. I’m looking for ways to get help for this!

    1. To make sure I understand: People get the first book free via Amazon or elsewhere. In that book, you offer a second free book if they click through on the link provided and sign up for your newsletter?

      Sandy

      1. Thats right! I know the books are good because they have great reviews, including 5 stars from Readers Favorite. I suspect I haven’t found my audience though, that’s probably the issue.

        1. I’m not a big fan of using a book as a lead magnet, so I’d encourage you to create something else that’s short and relevant — a character guide, a map of fictional region for a series, etc. It’s an opportunity to be creative.

          Sandy

          1. Here’s another thought, Alan: People who downloaded the book because it’s free might not have even read it. I have quite a few downloads on my Kindle that I haven’t read yet, and I’m not unique. These are books I intend to read, but others also download something just because it’s free, even if it’s not the type they usually read, etc.

            You really want to be driving readers to your opt-in page in other ways — not just through your perma-free book. If you aren’t doing that already, give that a try before abandoning what you have now.

            Sandy

  2. I haven’t published yet, but I plan to use email marketing to announce new releases. I signed up for Pinterest to use it as a fan site and Instagram to document my progress. I haven’t planned on using social media as marketing, just for interaction and providing content to readers. I do plan on doing email marketing once I really get started. I don’t know if it’ll work for me but I think mailing lists are great sales tools.

    1. It’s never too soon to start collecting email addresses, Ashley! If you start now, you’ll have a list to email when you can announce the first book. Your thoughts?

      Sandy

  3. I happen to have sent out an email to my list just before reading your message linking to this review. My open rates are decent (and super high when I send to a subset of beta readers or launch team members). But I’d like to grow my list and find ways to make subscribing more valuable for my readers.

    It’s too bad that the book focuses only on fiction, but it still sounds useful.

    1. Everything in the book applies to both nonfiction and fiction — it’s just that all the examples are for fiction. I read it as a nonfiction author and can reassure you that it’s directly relevant to my work. And honestly, I think it’s easier for nonfiction authors to provide useful newsletter content than it is for novelists, so you’ve got that going for you!

      Sandy

  4. Thank you, Sandra (and the universe) for this book resource. I started an email list a few months ago by offering a 10-lesson writing ecourse I had created for a platform. But I’ve been agonizing over what to send out on a regular basis. The pressure is mounting as the weeks and months go by. Aghhh. I want to provide value to people because as someone said to me recently, it’s not a list it’s an audience of people.

    1. “It’s an audience of people” is brilliant! Thank you for sharing that.

      I just visited your website to see what you write about. Why don’t you pretend you’re one of your clients and offer content advice to yourself? I know that might sound silly, but I’m serious. If a client was paying you for advice about what content to put in a regular newsletter, what would you suggest they do? Also, I think regular how-to tips might be a good fit for you. And if you don’t already, subscribe to your competitors’ newsletters and see what they send people. Subscribe to A LOT of newsletters to see what they send people!

      And I love that you offer your subscribers an e-course. What a great idea!

      Sandy

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