Tag Archives: mailing list

The Platform Building Step You're Probably Missing

The Platform Building Step You’re Probably Missing

Marketing, , ,

The Platform Building Step You're Probably Missing

You’ve gotten your author platform started. You have a great website, you’ve started a mailing list, and you’ve even come up with something to offer in exchange for signing up for that mailing list that your target audience can’t resist. That’s all you need, right?

But still you’re discovering that maybe it’s not quite true that if you build it, they will come. You’re at the point where it seems like your platform’s growth has come to a standstill.

What’s missing? In this article, let’s explore the one last step you need to take to make your platform grow. Continue reading The Platform Building Step You’re Probably Missing →

Five Ways to Grow Your Author Platform

Marketing, , ,

Five Ways to Grow Your Author Platform

Recently, I showed you how to set up an author platform strategy that has the potential to really take off and grow. But, of course, there’s always a period of time once it’s set up while you wait for things to kick into high gear. And waiting isn’t fun. While you wait, you start to second guess if this strategy is actually working, and you kind of start to squirm in your chair as weeks pass without any real indicator that your strategy is a good one.

The good news is that you don’t have to just sit there squirming. There are things you can do while you wait, and some of them can even help your strategy get off and running. Here are five things you can do right now. Continue reading Five Ways to Grow Your Author Platform →

How to Write a Fantastic Author Newsletter

Marketing, , , ,

How to Write a Fantastic Author Newsletter

It’s surprising to me how many authors have been convinced that one of the best ways they can build a platform is simply starting a blog. Nobody tells them what to blog about; just blog about something on a regular (usually weekly) basis and if you build it, they will come.

What doesn’t surprise me at all is how many authors I know who have started the whole weekly blogging thing, then petered off as they realize that they will quickly run out of things to talk about if they write solely about themselves, and that most of their normal readers don’t care about another blog full of writing tips.

And so, my question to you authors is this: Are you happy blogging?

Ralphie
“Are you happy wearing that?”

If you feel like Ralphie, read on. Today, I’ll show you how to get out of the bunny suit blogging trap. Continue reading How to Write a Fantastic Author Newsletter →

The Number One Way to Build Your Author Mailing List

Marketing, , , ,

If you’re like me, you’ve read dozens of blog posts promising to tell you the best strategy for how to “grow your author platform.” You’ve probably seen several online courses that promise to show you how to generate more sales for your book if you’ll only shell out enough cash for the course.

And if you’re like me, you’re tired of it. You want to improve your sales. You want to build your author platform. But you haven’t found anything that really works and you’re starting to feel like you’ll never figure it out until you buy someone’s expensive course.

The reason I’m starting this post with this dim picture is because I’m about to tell you about a strategy that has the potential to grow your author platform by leaps and bounds, which in turn has the potential to increase your sales. But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea: This article isn’t going to turn into a sales pitch. This strategy is something every indie or self-published author should know about, and I’m going to tell you about it with no strings attached. Continue reading The Number One Way to Build Your Author Mailing List →

Show ‘Em Around: The Author’s Guide to Welcome E-mails

Marketing, ,

Welcome Series Image

Last time, we looked at how to onboard new subscribers to your mailing list by sending out a welcome e-mail. This technique helps new people understand what you’ll be sending and reduces the amount of unsubscribes. Today, let’s take this one step further with the idea of sending a series of welcome e-mails. Continue reading Show ‘Em Around: The Author’s Guide to Welcome E-mails →

Invite ‘Em In: Onboarding for Authors

Marketing,

Welcome Mat

Do you know what onboarding is? It’s a term marketing folks throw around a lot, but not many authors I meet seem to be familiar with it. That’s a shame, since onboarding is usually the difference between losing e-mail sign-ups and keeping them.

While the term onboarding may be new to you, it’s not a difficult concept to master. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re already familiar with it. So let’s start by defining it, then jump into how you can make onboarding work for you. Continue reading Invite ‘Em In: Onboarding for Authors →

Ideas for Building Your Author Mailing List

Marketing,

Ideas for Building Your Author Mailing List

Last time, we looked at the “holy grail” of author marketing: the mailing list. This incredible tool gives you the potential to reach lots of people in one fell swoop every time you launch a new book. It’s like having a built-in line of folks waiting to come purchase the new books you’ve released.

Sounds really great, but you might be wondering exactly how you’re supposed to build up your author mailing list. After all, if you just started one since reading my post a couple weeks ago, you’re probably looking at the number of subscribers and thinking, “Big line of people? This list is so small it’s not worth sending anything to!” And as you start out, that’s how it feels. So today, let’s look at some ways you can build that list into something you feel accomplished about every time to send out an e-mail. Continue reading Ideas for Building Your Author Mailing List →

Does an Author Really Need a Mailing List?

Marketing, ,

Author Mailing List Image

So far in this series about what “things” an author really needs, we’ve looked at websites and blogs. Today, let’s finish out the triumvirate of oft-recommended author site things with a look at the mailing list.

An author mailing list, in my humble opinion, is one of the most essential tools for both building your audience and selling your work. In fact, I would even rank it above an author website if you had to choose between the two. To be perfectly clear: yes, you do need a mailing list.

Let’s look at why, shall we? Continue reading Does an Author Really Need a Mailing List? →