Five Ways to Build Your Author Email List (and One Way Not To)

By Iola Goulton

Over the last year, Australasian Christian Writers has had several posts on author platform and marketing. We’ve had posts on the importance of building your author brand and platform. We’ve had high-level how-to lists on building your author brand and website, or building your author platform.

And we’ve posted on the importance of having a website (a must-have), a blog (a maybe), and an email list.

But is an email list a must-have or a maybe?

I think it’s a must-have, as I explained in Do Authors Need an Email List? And all the book marketing experts I follow agree. Chris Syme says:

And that leads to the subject of today’s post: How does an author build their list?

First, Don't Do This:

Don't add people you know to a list on Word or Excel or Gmail or Hotmail, then email them. 

I’ve received these emails. I even saw it recommended in a marketing book a few years ago, that authors “add people you know to your opt-in list”. Yes, this author was ahead of the times in actually having a newsletter list, but did she not understand the meaning of the words “opt in”?

Adding people to your list without their permission is against the law.

You can only email people who have given you permission to email them (which is where Seth Godin’s phrase ‘permission marketing’ comes from). And you must give people the option to unsubscribe.

As I’ve said before, the best way to ensure your email list complies with relevant laws is to use one of the major email list providers, such as Aweber Email Marketing, MadMimi, MailChimp or MailerLite.

Instead:

1. Email and Ask

Email friends you think would be interested in joining your newsletter list, and ask if they’ll sign up. You don’t have to rely on email. You could also send a text message or Facebook DM, Tweet them … even talk to them. The point is that you’re asking for permission.

And they can sign up though the link you provide (which you’ll get from your mailing list provider), or you can add them directly into your mailing list. But only with their permission.

2. Ask at Events

Ask for newsletter sign-ups if you’re speaking at an event, such as a writer’s conference or retreat, or a book launch. The less technical among us have a physical sign-up sheet, then add people to the list manually. A more technical person could have a QR code on a bookmark, or a PC/tablet so people can enter their own data.

3. Ask Online

Use a plugin such as Bloom or SumoMe to prompt website visitors to sign up for your email list. Pin a post on Twitter. Add a sign up button to your Facebook page. Include a link to your signup form in the bio you use for guest posts.

Friends, family and colleagues may well agree to sign up for your newsletter just because you asked them. But strangers are unlikely to give you their email address unless there’s something in it for them.

That ‘something’ is a giveaway of some kind—my subscriptions did increase when I started offering new subscribers a gift (I offer a list of Christian publishers for my Christian Editing Services list, and a list of my favourite Christian authors for my Author list).

4. Host a Giveaway

A lot of blogs host giveaways, but most are of the ‘leave a comment to be in the draw to win’ variety. That isn’t helpful for collecting email addresses—no one wants to leave their real email address in a blog comment. But authors can use tools such as Rafflecopter or KingSumo to run giveaways where they collect email addresses in exchange for an entry.

But I’ve found having a giveaway isn’t enough. It has to be promoted. And that’s where my final suggestion comes in:

5. Join a Cross-Promotion

A cross-promotion is where you join forces with other authors to host a giveaway. There is generally some cost involved in this, as setting up and hosting the giveaway takes time, effort, and technical know-how. But the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, as it means it’s not just you promoting your giveaway—all the other authors involved will be promoting it as well, which means you’ll get in front of a lot more people.

Today is the last day of my first-ever cross-promotion, joining 17 other authors in an Instafreebie promotion of non-fiction books for writers.

I’m thrilled with the results. 

I started the promotion with 142 people on my Christian Editing Services list, and I’d doubled that within the first two days of the promotion. And that’s with my hyper-niche title. A couple of authors, whose books had broader appeal, added over 1,000 people to their lists.

At the time of writing, 355 people had downloaded my free ebook, and I’d added 325 to my newsletter list. Some people downloaded the book and immediately unsubscribed. That’s okay—I’m on MailChimp’s paid plan, which means I pay more to have more subscribers. I don’t want to be paying for people who don’t want to hear from me.

Click here if you’d like to sign up to my newsletter list. Or click here to see the 18 books in the cross-promotion. But be quick: it finishes today (well, it actually finishes at midnight Sunday, But I’m not sure in what time zone).

I’ll be back next week to talk more about giveaways and cross promotions.

Meanwhile, do you have an email list? What mailing list provider do you use? What’s the most successful way you’ve found of building your email list?

About Iola Goulton

I am a freelance editor specialising in Christian fiction. Visit my website at www.christianediting.co.nz to download a comprehensive list of publishers of Christian fiction. 

I also write contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist—find out more atwww.iolagoulton.com.

You can also find me on:
Facebook (Author)
Facebook (Editing)
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

10 Steps to Creating Your Brand & Website

By Emily Cobb

In an image-saturated, digital world, creating a brand and website is important. As a Christian, I always feel it is a fine line between increasing your viewership and sales through creating a clear brand, and chasing man’s approval. Yet, as we write, we want people to read what we are writing, meaning we want to make it accessible.

Aside from writing my blog, I run a web design and branding business and so want to share a few tips with you as you think about developing your ‘brand’.

1.    Who is your Target Market?

Being clear about your audience is an essential place to start. What women like to view is different to what men like, which differs again to what interests children.

Like many women, I like things that are pretty. Blogs that I follow and continue to read are enjoyable to read because they combine attractive visuals with great writing.

2.    What is your Budget?

When considering your budget, it is important to note that a poor website presence is thought to be worse than having no website at all. Website design trends change every 2-3 years, and so your website needs to be updated during these times. A good designer can ensure your branding is clear and you can have the ability to integrate extra functionality such as an e-commerce store.

If you want to create your website yourself, some self-maintenance platforms include Wordpress, Blogger or Wix. Wordpress is the platform I build on and there are some great templates and tutorials to step you through how to set this up for yourself.

As a designer, in addition to my maintenance packages, I build sites that are able to be self-maintained so that a client is able to reduce ongoing costs once the initial build is setup.

3.    Keep Your Site and Image Clutter-Free

Often people get excited about including as much information as possible however when it comes to websites, people can tend to go over-the-top. Current trends are fairly minimalistic in order to be easy to navigate. Jackie French (www.jackiefrench.com.au) has a very clear site that is easy to navigate. She also has a slider that adds some excitement and movement to her page.

4.    Pay for a Great Headshot

If you are working out what to pay for and what not to, having a great headshot is important. As an author, you are your brand, so it is important to have an image that is friendly yet professional.

5.    Integrate Social Media

Having social media integrated into your site is important and vice-versa. Barriers between an author and their fans have been broken down with social media and this is a key part of developing your brand. Make sure though that you don’t spread yourself too thin- choosing one or two social media platforms is better than all as they need to be kept current.

Websites can also integrate social media feeds and have users ‘subscribe’ to a newsletter.

6.    Be Consistent with Your Design

It is important to be consistent with your layout and design. This means choosing a clear colour scheme. It also means choosing one or two and sticking with them throughout your site. Naomi Reed has recently had her site redesigned, keeping her signature purple a key colour of her site. She has also had a logo designed and has incorporated e-commerce into her site with an online shop.

7.    Buy a Domain and Keep It Simple

A Domain is the address a person enters to get to your site. Purchasing a domain that is easy to remember is really important. This is essentially your ‘Storefront’ and people need to remember the name. Hyphens and elongated names make things confusing, so my advice is to steer clear of them. While sites like Wix or Weebly may seem like a great option, there is nothing worse than them using your site to advertise. Be careful with your footers and domains as nothing screams unprofessional louder than www.iamanauthor.wix.com or “This is a Free Site Created on Weebly”

Spend the extra money and purchase an e-mail address with your domain. To create a professional image, means communicating this image through everything you do, even through your e-mail.

Depending on what website building platform you choose to use will depend on if you need hosting, so make sure you either ask your designer about this or research it before committing to anything.

8.     8.  Make Sure Your Site Is Mobile-Optimized

There is something very frustrating about going to a website on your mobile phone and being unable to read the writing. Nowadays, the majorities of mobile phone users now use Smart Phones, which means that are accessing websites from their mobiles. If this isn’t enough to convince you of the need for your website to be able to be accessed from mobile phones, Google also have come out to say that how mobile responsive a site is will factor in their searches. It is therefore vital that your site is able to be clearly viewed from a variety of devices- mobile phones, IPads, laptops or desktops.

9.    Be Personal Yet Professional

People want to feel connected with those whom they follow. It is important to share aspects of yourself in order to connect with your audience. You want to communicate you are friendly, humble and accessible yet also want to present in a professional way. Purchasing an e-mail address (that you or someone else monitors) is important.

10. Have Fun!

Building your brand and website can be a fun process. Think about what connects with you, what you enjoy and what style you like- if you have a clear style, then your branding will too. Pinterest is a great resource for ideas and working out what you like and what you don’t like.

For the months of November and December, I am offering a special design package for authors. Branding +Website Design for $500 or with e-commerce $700. 

Emily Cobb is a follower of Jesus, a wife and a mother. She blogs at www.PursuitsofGod.com and runs a web design and branding business, EmilyKate Designs www.emilykate.com.au. For more information or to take advantage of Emily’s ‘Author’s Special’, contact her directly at hello@emilykate.com.au