Author Newsletter – Meh or Hell Yeah?

According to Wikipedia, “a newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of interest to its recipients.”

Author newsletters serve an important purpose. Both established and aspiring authors can promote themselves and their books, and also mentor others in the process. Through a newsletter, an author can nurture relationships with their fan base and target audience. Aspiring authors can build an audience which will help to sell their book even before publication. Excerpts from the author’s book or the aspiring author’s WIP can be spotlighted in each edition to spark interest. As the release date nears, readers will be hooked and if they haven’t secured a pre-purchase already, they’ll probably lean toward a purchase.

Moving beyond the promotional benefits for authors and writers, each newsletter issue also serves as a tool to share beneficial information to subscribers as it relates to publishing, writing, book must-haves, and even the basic mechanics of grammar, story structure, and plot. What better way to engage an audience, promote oneself, and drive traffic to your website and other social media and writing platforms than to directly hit someone’s inbox?

So, yes, newsletters appear to be making a comeback. Think about it my darlings, the digital market is saturated with all kinds of content. In addition, social media algorithms dictate what subject matter gets through to whom. This sets up an obstacle for your specific messages to succeed in being dispersed as you might like. Newsletters are a tried-and-true method of digital communication that have spanned decades and remain a staple transmission to exchange ideas.

Quirky And In A Class By Itself – Strive for something novel that isn’t exactly out there. Make it completely your own with your unique style and voice. Woot! Woot!

Cool Email Newsletter Template – Find one that you dig and use it like a mad libs fill-in-the-blanks every time you put out a new edition. Stick with it!

Font Size And Style – Stick with time-tested fonts and styles, the ones that easily render across different devices – Ariel, Courier New, Times New Roman, etc. You don’t want readers saying, “What fresh hell is this?”

Catchy Newsletter Title – Think outside the writing box. Brainstorm and shuffle possible titles around until you land on the one that makes you sing. Ta-da!

You Had Me At Hello - Craft an enticing opener that relates to your brand and generates repeatable familiarity like a rerun of a favorite TV show. Give your readers a comfortable and relaxed feel while keeping them all in and wanting to read more. Wave hello and keep on waving!

Content – Streamline your subject matter. Stay on topic and in your niche to easily promote your brand. If you’re a romance writer, you may want to focus your newsletter on everything romancey. This can include things like how to write romance, romantasy, dark romance, paranormal romance, book reviews, and anything related to hearts and flowers, breakups, and triangles. Get it? Got it? Good!

Greetings And Solicitations - Role out the welcome mat. Make new readers a part of your family. Hand out that piece of personal touch, the one that let’s new subscribers know they’re important to you and you’re happy they’ve decided to let you land in their inbox. Dole out all the bells and whistles your newsletter offers, so they know what to expect. When will they receive their first and subsequent newsletters? What topics can they look forward to? Where can they find you elsewhere on social media? Give them the VIP treatment!

Feature Subscribers – Keeping with the romance newsletter example, use what you’ve got within your new network of subscribers. Share their content with permission, spotlight other authors and their books, spotlight a writer of romantic poetry. You get the picture!

Newsletter Issues – Figure out your timeframe and stay on trend. Once a week? Once a month? It’s all up to you. Stick the landing by always emailing your newsletter the same day each month or week. If the first of the month is your jam, more power to ya. If alternating Wednesdays speak to you, by all means make it happen. But, whatever you decide, keep your content fresh and on point. Keep your eyes and ears open for the latest and greatest and tailor your content toward those popular topics but add your own special twists. Darn tooting!

Tease and Seize – Seize on the opportunity to tease bits and pieces of your social media content in your newsletter. Unless you’re some kind of jingle guru, coming up with buzz lines for tweets or Instagram posts takes time and effort. Cooking up videos sprinkled with that aha moment, that indiscernible sassy or snarky something that hits the mark and resonates isn’t always easy-peasy. Don’t let that good stuff go to waste. Repurpose it to tantalize readers into clicking on your content elsewhere. Let readers follow you everywhere you roam digitally. The more the merrier!

Catch A Subscriber And Reel Them In – Blah just won’t cut it. Grab your reader’s attention from the get-go with a blockbuster subject line that compels them to open the hot, new edition of your prodigious newsletter. Keep it simple with readable content that’s concise, clear, and easy on the brain. Readers don’t want to have to stop and figure out what the heck you’re trying to say. Break things up with photos or quick videos to hold their interest. Reading long portions of text is tedious, so pepper the paragraphs with relevant and eye-catching images. Drop in a groovy GIF now and then. Your readers will thank you and keep coming back. And for goodness sake, don’t forget that all important call to action at the end. Send readers to your website or ask them to follow you on social media. Lead them to share, tag, and hashtag your marvelous stuff. Write on!

Throw In A Bone Now And Then – Everyone loves a freebie! What can you offer? Maybe a contest with small prizes for answering a question correctly or coming up with the best new character name. Think outside the contest box. Ask readers what content they’d like to read about. Ask them to share three words that describe their WIP best, then pick the one you feel has the most potential and why. Offer to critique the opening line of their WIP. Share your merch. Choose the best in each category and give the contestant an E-reader edition of your book, a mailed and signed paperback copy, or other items with your logo or book title, like a mug or magnet, tote bag, or notepad. Sticking with the romance newsletter, call all readers to submit a love poem, the best three get a $10 Dunkin gift card. Things like this may help keep readers focused on your newsletter. Yay, I love free stuff!

Are you on board? Terrific! Good luck and have fun building your newsletter!

Not convinced? No worries! Mull it over and do what’s best for you and your brand!