The
other day I found myself unsubscribing to dozens of email message
peddlers. Gone went nearly daily emails
from Best Buy, Staples, Lord & Taylor, and seemingly every store I’ve shopped
at in the past decade. Gone went emails
from those I never read, or use, like Groupon, MLB.com, Stock Photo, and Book
Baby. It was long overdue as I almost never unsubscribe. I just delete, delete, delete but the
constant barrage of solicitations has gotten to be overwhelming. There’s a lesson in all of this for book
publishers and authors. What will you to
do get people to subscribe to a blog, newsletter, or email -- and what will lead
them to opt out?
The
major reasons people will subscribe are they:
1.
They Perceive value will come from it.
2.
Like the voice or brand that’s represented.
3.
Did so in order to take advantage of a discount or special offer.
4.
Want to monitor your messages.
5.
Think it’s more convenient than to have to sign in to your blog or click on your
website for updates.
But
there are many, many more reasons why people will unsubscribe, including these:
1.
They
simply found someone more interesting in your space to follow.
2.
You
failed to deliver what was promised or what they expected.
3.
You
offended them with your views, language, or content.
4.
You
gave incorrect information.
5.
You
gave lousy advice or made a poor recommendation.
6.
You
went off of your message, perhaps delving into sensitive areas – religion,
politics, sex, ethics.
7.
Your
information seems old, boring, or flat.
8.
You
send them too much stuff, too often.
9.
You
became repetitive and uninteresting.
10.
People
are fickle and they experiment – no rhyme or reason.
So
what can you do to win people over – and retain them? Follow the do’s and don’ts. Keep your content fresh and diverse but make
sure it fills the original needs that drew people to you. Don’t take them for
granted – treasure your readers and connections.
Don’t
use your blog as a bully pulpit for unrelated matters – romance novelists
talking about gun control or business authors discussing the police shooting black people who are unarmed would not make sense. If you write parenting books, no one needs to
read how you like sex and health authors have no business writing about
Trump’s economic policies.
Be
in tune with who reads your stuff and what keeps them coming back for
more. Survey and reward them. Value their support and express your
appreciation. Most of all, deliver
quality, targeted content on a regular but not too frequent basis, and think
like your reader. What’s going on in his
or her mind? What are their needs or
desires? Provide answers to their
questions and they’ll come back for more.
DON't MISS!
Could the media think your pitch about
your book is bullshit?
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promote their books?
What does it really take to land on a best-seller list?
Can you sell 10 copies of your book every day?
Great book PR lessons from kids, clergy, women, contractors &
sportscasters
How do authors get on TV?
Here’s the 2017 Author Book PR & Marketing Toolkit
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