One of the rules of thumb in marketing is to stay on the radar screen of your reader. A good way to do this is by starting an email newsletter or ezine. At Author Marketing Experts (http://www.authormarketingexperts.com) we've had our newsletter for nearly six years and it's been very successful for us. Certainly it's a lot of work but it's worth it, both to keep us top of mind with our target audience and also to share helpful marketing information with our readers.
If you've been a subscriber to our ezine for a while you know that while we use it as a promotional tool, it's 90% helpful advice. But what if you're in between book releases, and you've got nothing current to sell? This time, probably more than any other, is when it's important for you to keep your message out there. When you're promoting a new release it's a no- brainer that the word of your book will be getting out there but when you're knee-deep in writing the new one it's more crucial than ever for you not to lose the momentum you gathered through your last campaign.
Many of you probably already get these from a variety of sources. These days, Ezines have almost replaced magazines with topics ranging from how to publish your book, to building an effective Web site or decorating your home. There are Ezines for everything and just about every topic. So, if the pond is so full, why would you start one? Well, in today's busy business climate, people are inundated with messages and advertisements all the time. On average we're exposed to over 100,000 ads each day. With ads becoming diluted, an e-mail newsletter is a good alternative to this noise.
An e-mail newsletter, sent once or twice a month with information, tips, and helpful advice keeps you on your reader's radar screen and keeps your message in front of them, week after week, month after month.
So, let's say you decided to start an e-mail newsletter, what on earth would you write about? Well, if your book is nonfiction the topic should be fairly simple. Write about your area of expertise. You can pull chapters from your book to use as articles in the newsletter and offer current, relevant hints to your readers. A newsletter doesn't have to be long, in fact, given the amount of reading most of us already do online I suggest keeping it short and simple. Five to seven pages should be your target; you can even go less if you want. It's entirely up to you, you're the boss and you decide what works and what doesn't for your readership. If your book is fiction, then your newsletter might excerpt chapters for your upcoming not-yet-released blockbuster novel, an updated listing of where your readers can find you doing a signing or a talk and possibly, even some writing tips for those readers who aspire to finish their own novel someday. You can also use your newsletter to involve your readers with contests and surveys, or ask them to share their own writing, publishing, or marketing stories.
There are a number of ways you can get subscribers. If you're doing an event, talk, or book signing, bring a sign-up sheet with you so people can subscribe to your Ezine. Friends and family are always great supporters and might even pass an issue or two along to someone they know might be interested in your product, topic, or service. And finally, if you have a Web site make sure you have a place for people to sign up if they want to subscribe to your Ezine.
If you're e-mail list is small, you can send your Ezine by hand through your own e-mail program but as your list expands, consider getting a service like Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com), Graphic Mail (www.graphicmail.com), or Kickstart Cart (www.kickstartcart.com). For a nominal monthly fee, these services will help you manage your ever increasing list of newsletter subscribers and send out your newsletter on the date and time you specify.
Once you've established your newsletter and run through a few issues, you might want to think about expanding your audience reach by posting your newsletter at various Ezine directory sites. You can submit your Ezine to the directories listed below. Read the submission instructions at each site first before you start the submission process.
Directories: E-ZineZ - a searchable Ezine Directory (www.e- zinez.com) EzineSeek - categorized and searchable directory of Ezines (www.ezineseek.com) eZINESearch - (www.ezinesearch.com) Tile Net - a project of Lyris Technologies, Inc. (http://tile.net/lists/) Get Published - (www.published.com/add/) New List - a series of mailing lists that provides more than 6,000 subscribers updates on new Ezines. You can even add your own newsletter to the list. (www.new-list.com/instructions/)
E-mail newsletters are a great to keep your message active and stay in contact with your audience, customers, or future readers. Done correctly, word about an Ezine will spread like wildfire. Offer an incentive to your readers if they pass one of your newsletters on to a friend or offer them the opportunity to run an ad in your newsletter announcing the release of their book.
Enroll and engage your readers in your message, get them actively involved in your newsletter by allowing others to contribute articles or other forms of content. Build a loyal reader base and you'll find not only valued customers, but messengers willing to spread the word about you and your book!
These days, it seems you have to do more than just launch a website to attract potential readers, customers, and devotees. As technology progresses and allows the Internet to become more interactive, website owners strive to keep up with the times. Browse your favorite websites today, and you will definitely notice the changes since you first visited them a few years ago.
You may find now a favorite website offers an RSS feed, so you can subscribe to certain articles or news. Some sites might release a regular podcast of information. A music group, for example, can now provide entire songs for listening enjoyment rather than ten-second clips. Message boards, chat rooms, and social networking options allow for more interactivity with site visitors. Yet for a site that does not require so many bells and whistles there is still a way to keep in touch and remain effective in marketing. A well-designed, opt-in e-mail newsletter is just the ticket for the small business, book author, or consultant who seeks to expand reach.
If you enjoy writing, then creating a monthly or twice-monthly newsletter to send to regular visitors will provide you with a strong creative outlet for your skills. More than that, it enhances a personal voice that may not always be detected on your website. There are many advantages to offering visitors to opt-in to regular e-mail correspondence:
E-Mail Newsletters Are Fun! Like writing a lively letter to your grandmother, or addressing a multitude of admirers, the e-mail newsletter allows you to create an endearing persona for the purpose of marketing your books, music, or products. Fill your newsletter with personal anecdotes about your business or writing, brief histories of how you came up with your best ideas, or inspirational vignettes for your readers to live by.
If your website sells cookies, share a recipe. If you are a novelist, talk about a recent book signing or write about another author you admire. If you are a consultant, talk about what motivates you to help others. Taking the time to write one newsletter a month of quality content can work wonders for your site's traffic.
E-Mail Newsletter Are Inexpensive! Unlike hardcopy newsletters, which can become costly with production and postage expenses, the e-mail newsletter takes only the time to write, edit, and distribute. Whether you wish to create one in text or using an HTML template, you can find a suitable text editor like Notepad or HTML editor freeware to create your masterpiece. Distribution is a snap, too, when you utilize a third party site specializing in such communications. Yahoo Groups, for example, allows users to set newsletter options, so you can collect e-mails and send your newsletters out with one click of the mouse. If you are looking for something more professional to suit a business, a quick Internet search will lead you to helpful freeware or shareware designed to handle bulk mailings. The simple act of setting up a script on your website (and tutorials for this sort of thing are available online) to allow visitors to opt into an e-mail newsletter can be a boon for your Web enterprise.
E-Mail Newsletters sell! The personal touch and genial quality of a newsletter can enhance your products, books, and services. Let the content you create for site visitors draw them into the finer, unique attributes of what you have to offer. A consultant may wish to include stories of how his/her expertise led to great success for clients, while a book author can share fan mail from readers about how his/her book was an inspiration. What is so special about your book, your music, your products that people have to have them? Flesh out the finer points for copy that not only entertains, but sells, too.
In addition to your own items, offering a newsletter increases your opportunity to earn income in other ways. If you are familiar with Internet affiliate programs, you will know that many companies that affiliate offer creative and affiliate links designed especially for e-mail marketing.
Let's say you write a monthly newsletter about your mystery novels. By joining affiliate programs of national bookstore chains, you can advertise your book for sale through these outlets and provide readers with the affiliated URLs. As readers buy your books after clicking through these links, you get the royalty AND the affiliate fee associated with the link. But it doesn't have to stop there. Say your mystery novels are centered around a particular theme, perhaps your sleuth is a pastry chef. You can join affiliated programs associated with products your sleuth might use. Mix up the links with some compelling content and your simple newsletter is a potential moneymaker!
Yet, it doesn't happen overnight. To win readers, you have to dedicate yourself to writing the content and enticing first-time subscribers to become regular customers. More importantly, have fun with the newsletter. Make readers feel at home with your style, and they will want to keep coming to see what more you have to say.
Both Penny Sansevieri & Kathryn Lively are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Penny Sansevieri has sinced written about articles on various topics from Build Online Business, Politics and Writing. Penny C. Sansevieri is a who turns authors into success stories. Get her free author marketing newsletter and insider tips at. Penny Sansevieri's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
Kathryn Lively has sinced written about articles on various topics from Lose Weight, Laptops and Advertising Guide. writes for , a Virginia Beach website design company.. Kathryn Lively's top article generates over 673000 views. to your Favourites.