Posts Tagged Newsletter
Author Newsletters?
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Computers & Technical, Promotion, Resources on December 28, 2024
It appears to be a truth universally acknowledged that an author should have an email list, to which they regularly send a newsletter detailing their writing exploits.
There are, apparently, good reasons for this:
- Social media platforms bob in and out of popularity (X/Twitter is a good example). When a platform wanes or goes out of business, authors lose followers. However, a list of email addresses is yours to keep.
- Email is a more personal way to communicate with readers rather than ‘shouting’ to all and sundry via social media. Plus, the reader can hit ‘reply’ and open a genuine conversation with you.
- Keep readers engaged in between books coming out.
- Have a look at the Book Cave website for many more compelling reasons.
I have such an email list (you can signup here) but send out pitifully few newsletters and therefore I’m not properly connecting with all those wonderful people who have bought my books and been kind enough to trust me with their email address. (I use the Mailchimp platform to manage my newsletter and all the email addresses are securely held there and comply with GDPR rules). So, I was pleased to attend a Zoom seminar by Rebecca Fearnley about how she manages her author newsletter.
Rebecca uses the Mailerlite platform and regularly curates her subscribers in order to only keep those who are actually interested in her and her books. She offers a freebie to encourage signups but people who don’t open emails after they’ve received the free offer are eventually culled. This enable Rebecca to keep her subscribers below 1,000 and thus she can stick with the free version of Mailerlite. She uses BookFunnel to distribute her free e-book offer but this is a paid-for tool. Within Mailerlite, Rebecca has set up various email onboarding logic flows so that she can tell who has signed up from where and automatically send out different messages and measure their responses to gauge whether they are a worthwhile subscriber. At the end of each book she puts her newsletter signup link and the associated QR code. Rebecca sends out weekly newsletters – which really impressed me, it’s something I wouldn’t have the time, or the content, to do!
Going forward into 2025, I’m hoping to make more of my newsletter, possibly sending one every couple of months. It’s aimed at readers (this blog will continue because it’s aimed more at writers – but I hope you’re all readers as well!) and it usually contains information about books and TV programs I’ve enjoyed, how my my writing is going and a little bit about life in general. You’d be most welcome to find out how I get on.
In the meantime, I’d love to know your feelings on author newsletters:
Are you signed up to any? What keeps you opening and reading them? Do they encourage you to buy books? When/why do you unsubscribe?
Please let me know in the comments.
Sorting Out the Admin
Posted by Sally Jenkins in Lifestyle, Non-writing, Resources on June 21, 2024
Being a writer isn’t just about the writing. Being a writer is like a running a small business, which is why all the big name authors employ assistants to help them. Those of us without the financial resources to do that, have to do it all ourselves! I’m currently taking a break from getting the words down while I wait for an editorial decision from my publisher and I’m using that time to get some of that admin done.
Firstly I’ve checked that all editions of my books are registered with the UK’s Public Lending Right. This is done via the British Library and ensures that authors receive a small amount of money every time their book is borrowed from a library. I’d like to say that this money is payable every time a book is borrowed from ANY UK library but the payments only apply if the books are borrowed from a sample of libraries across the UK. This sample changes from year to year and you can see which libraries are included this year and next on the website and scrolling down to the bottom of the page. Unfortunately for me, Birmingham Libraries (where I know there are several copies of my books and they do get borrowed!) is not in any of the recent samples. But maybe a library elsewhere has copies too!
I’ve also made sure that all editions of my paperback books are registered with ALCS. One of the reasons for doing this is to ensure I receive a small royalty if any of my books are sold secondhand via the World of Books website. More details about how this works can be found on the Society of Authors website. In the future it’s hoped that more secondhand booksellers will join the scheme. Fingers crossed!
I’m also going to be running a free prize draw in the next edition of my newsletter to win a signed (or unsigned if you prefer!) copy of The Promise. At the moment brand new paperback copies of The Promise are only available exclusively from me (there are a couple of secondhand copies on World of Books!) and it is also available on Kindle with an updated cover. If you’d like to be in with a chance, please sign up for my newsletter ASAP and before 26/6/2024. My newsletter is published less frequently than this blog and contains more general content for readers rather than specifically for writers. I’d love to have you on board!
Sally Jenkins 