Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Writer Wednesday: Email Marketing

Today I thought I'd share something I learned about marketing recently. I've heard in the past that email marketing is so important. I thought that just meant expanding your mailing list. While that's very important, it's not ALL email marketing is. Think about this. When your book is chosen for the Kindle Daily Deal, Amazon emails LOADS of people to tell them about your book being on sale. And from that, your ranking gets amazingly good. Why? Email marketing.

So I took that theory and started focusing my efforts on sites that have huge email newsletter lists. I'm talking 70,000+ people. You can advertise your sales in their newsletters for very small fees, which I've found are totally worth it. Why? Because so many people are hearing about your book when they open their email. And these are people who sign up for these emails because they are looking for good sales on books. They are your target audience.

So research some sites that have newsletters like this and consider trying this marketing technique. I'd love to hear if your experience is as good as mine.

28 comments:

  1. Great topic and post. I have recently been thinking about marketing even though I don’t have a published book yet. I’ve been trying to stay ‘one ahead’ with my writing. Learning the next step while working on what needs to be done now.

    Thanks for the email marketing tip.

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    1. You're welcome. Staying one step ahead is a good plan.

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  2. Leandra's been telling me about newsletters and I'm so excited to look into them. I'd honestly never known how much they can help with the marketing. They also look like a fun way to show more sides of yourself to readers. My brain is on marketing overload and I'm loving it--always wanted to dig into this side of things :)

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    1. I wish I had your enthusiasm for marketing. LOL It's my least favorite part of this industry.

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  3. I would just caution as a reminder that newsletters and email lists aren't always as they appear. If you place yourself on one list, make sure there aren't any marked check boxes that you didn't check yourself. There are some unscrupulous sign up forms out there that try to opt you into other subscriptions for which you didn't ask.

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    1. I haven't come across any of these yet, but that's a good morning, Diane. Thank you.

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  4. It can be difficult to research which has the most successful list for your target audience, but I agree (when you find the right one) they can really help boost your book's visibility.

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  5. I like that approach. I've started looking at Bookbub. but they're pretty expensive.

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    1. Yes, they are. I've heard it takes several tries to get approved there too.

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  6. I really want to try this some day. Since my newsletter is kind of new-ish and still gaining subscribers, I'd like to reach more people somehow via email.

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    1. I find it's a lot more effective than my personal newsletters.

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  7. I've heard that MailChimp is a low cost, effective email tool. Haven't tried it personally, but I know people who have and love it.

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    1. I use MailChimp for my newsletter. I don't pay a thing. I'm not sure which services the newsletters I've been using for promo use though. I should find out.

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  8. You got a really useful blog I have been here reading for about an hour. I am a newbie and your success is very much an inspiration for me.

    snap pack & Direct Mail Snap Pack

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  9. When I was at a one day writer's conference run by Writer's Digest, Chuck Sambuchino (sp?) mentioned that email is a huge way to reach ppl these days. It's kind of circling back around to that again.

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    1. That reminds me that I saw text messages, like mass ones, are supposed to be really successful. I've never tried it though.

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  10. Thanks for the idea. I think I'll try it. My books could use some help. :)

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  11. Well, I have to disagree.

    The thought of doing email marketing makes me want to run away screaming. I don't like receiving tons of emails from people trying to sell me something. I rarely sign up for an email list just for a friend's blog, never mind a newsletter.

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    1. That's not what this is. These emails are specifically for readers who are looking for deals. They are who sign up, and they want to receive the emails. Plus, the books are together instead of being in a ton of different emails.

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  12. It's not so much about your own email list, it is about distribution. Companies buy those lists. Most readers probably get sick of writer's flogging their books, we have to stay innovative.

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    1. I haven't had great luck with my own email list, but the others I've found have yielded great results.

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  13. I'm hope it works for you, Kelly. When it comes to marketing I still feel lost. I'm perpetually recovering from the zillions of calls I get even though we were on the government do-not-call list, and have signed off of mailing lists when we could. I would have hoped publishers would have dedicated staff to take this on *the right way,* only because we amateurs are likely, despite our obvious passion and dedication, to make many faux-pas that would irritate our potential readers.
    I would love to hear what you have learned.

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    1. That's why I love this marketing method. Readers have to signup, so there is no spamming and the people who see your book are people looking for good deals. It's a win for everyone.

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