How Authors Grow An Email List

 

Authors, to develop loyal readers and get people to subscribe to something that allows them to update and solicit people, will need to develop an email list. It’s a process that remains continuous: Build a list and then regularly seek to expand and update it. Here’s how you do it:

 

1.      Family Members 

Start listing your family members. Think about whom they know and ask family members to provide information on people that they know who could be interested in being on your mail list. 

 

2.      Friends

Do the same as above. Ask them to bring you family and friends who would be open to being on your mailing list. 

3. Group Affiliations

Think of what you are a member of - alumni association, a volunteer group, a trade association, a temple or church, sports league, neighborhood association, fan club, political organization, mastermind group, or any group. List them all and contact people to get them to be on your list.

 

4.      Work Colleagues

Try current and former work associates.

5. Neighbors

Connect with your neighbors. 

6.      Online World

For people in your LinkedIn or Facebook groups - or those you’re connected to on your social media platforms - seek to get them on your email list. 

7.      Fellow Writers

Yes, your competitors are also your biggest supporters.

8. Solicit Strangers

Reach out to strangers, especially if you are able to access their email addresses. 

 

Send out an offer to all of these people - and ask them to share it with others. Your offer is that you are giving people something in exchange for their permission to sign up to be on your mailing list. What could you offer that will make them want to give their name and email address to you, knowing you will harass or sell to them?

 

Offer them something FREE that costs you little or nothing to create. Something that is digital and easy to automatically send to your sign-ups. If it’s something that sounds good enough to get their contact info for, it better actually be that good. No one wants a bait and switch or something that falls short of its promise. They will ask to be removed from your list if your freebie turns out to be a disappointment. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. 

 

Whatever you offer, make sure that you:

 

·         State it clearly and accurately 

·         Deliver what you promise 

·         Provide something of perceived value

·         Believe it fills a want, serves a need, or fulfills a desire

·         Touch an emotional nerve

·         Provide a positive result or outcome

·         Make them feel special, unique, and appreciated

·         Sound like you understand them  

Your offer must be specific -- are you giving away a book, music, a video, or something else? Are you providing a discount or deal on something? Can you assign a dollar value to your offer?  

Most freebies or lead magnets (legal bribes) will have a catchy headline, perhaps in the form of a question, such as: Are you tired of being overweight and feeling out of control? Or, it will make a statement to get your attention: 50% of all marriages end in divorce - but it doesn’t have to end that way for you. Or, it leads with a result: How To Make One Million Dollars This Year. or, it dangles benefits: Finally, A Handbook For Parents That Provides Tips For Raising Healthy, Smart & Successful Kids. Many offers will lead with a number - 6 steps to this, 5 ways to that. 10 reasons to do this, and 7 proven ways to achieve something.   

Get to it - grow your mailing list now!  

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.