The Mailing List
In the previous blog we discussed the necessary preparation and steps required prior to commencing your marketing campaign. (if you missed it, you can read it or any previous issues here.) This month we’ll be looking at arguably one of the most important components of your marketing campaign.
If you’ve been doing research on book marketing, you may have come across the term ‘mailing list’. It’s important to understand now that if you are planning to be a serious author/publisher (and I’m assuming you are because you’re reading this) you will need to build a mailing list.
So, I’ll be using my mailing list to sell books, right? Well no … sort of, but …. It may sound contradictory seeing as we’re discussing book marketing but the aim of your list isn’t to sell, its main purpose is to give, not take. Of course, there is method in the madness, which is, the more you give your audience, the more they will support you; help build your brand and … buy your books.
‘What’s a mailing list?’ You might be asking. A mailing list is a group of readers (potential book buyers) who have willingly given you their contact details. This is a priceless tool for the serious author because it means you can build, contact and engage with your audience through your list.
But there are a few steps you’ll need to take first before you create your list and start attracting subscribers, and a few things to consider. Firstly, how are you going to find potential subscribers? Why will they want to join your list? How will you keep them engaged? Will they buy your books?
Preparation is the key element. Your potential subscribers are your target audience. These are the people who will fall in love with your books, but more importantly fall in love with your brand, you!
So you first need to build the platform on which to create, maintain and engage with your list. The idea is to build as big a list as possible, 10, 20, 50 thousand subscribers, the sky’s the limit. Imagine having an audience of this size eagerly awaiting your next release then having them jump online to buy it as soon as it hits the stores.
‘But wait. How does it work?’ Surely I can’t be expected to send emails or newsletters to that number of people?’ Well you don’t have to worry because there are Email Marketing Service (EMS) providers who will take care of this for you. There are lots of them out there but below is a short list of the better ones for you to Google. Be aware that there is some cost involved but most of them are free to start up, with fees added as your list grows.
The beauty of this system is that it’s fully automated. You simply write your email/newsletter, then send it once and it goes to every subscriber on your list. It’s that easy. You can even have them pre-written and schedule them to go at different times, say once a month. This works in the exact same way you are receiving and reading this newsletter. You’re a subscriber to the Publicious mailing list that you signed up for, and for which I thank you very much.
So, we’ve learned the importance of creating a mailing list. In the next blog, we’ll be discussing how to get subscribers to join your list and how to keep them there so that they continue to purchase your books for years to come.
Until then
Write on …
Andy
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