By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I was very late to hop on the newsletter bandwagon. I’ve finally started sending them. Of course, before I start anything, I have to try to find out as much as possible about best practices…because, sadly, I’m neurotic that way. So I spent several days researching best practices and the various newsletter services before sending my first newsletter. The newsletter itself took a fraction of the time to create.
I heard over and over that successful newsletters have one thing in common—it’s all about what we could do for the reader instead of what the reader could do for us.
I somehow feel remarkably apologetic when I do send out newsletters. I have to remind myself that these readers signed up—on purpose. Without even being asked. With no contest or giveaway if they signed up. They just clicked on the link and entered their address.
Ultimately, that’s what you need—readers who sign up for your newsletter because they’re interested in learning about new releases, etc. These folks don’t need a hard sell because they already want your books.
Here’s what I learned from my research and from my short experience with newsletters:
Mention your newsletter in your site’s sidebar or in your email tagline. I use MailChimp, which is free (at least, it’s free for the number of subscribers that I have—as long as you have 2,000 or fewer subscribers, you’re good) and they have a plug-in that you add if you’re a WordPress user. It makes adding a newsletter signup to your site very simple. Writer Molly Greene has a nice overview of MailChimp in her post, “How To Use MailChimp – From Sign-Up To ‘Send!’”
Newsletters with interesting or useful content are opened and read more frequently. Consider using a rule of thumb like the popular 80/20 rule…80% useful/helpful content and 20% marketing. Or consider using even less marketing, if you can.
Offer an easy way to unsubscribe/opt out.
Use a short, explanatory subject line and start out the newsletter with a short teaser of what the newsletter includes (and what value the content has for our readers).
We shouldn’t send newsletters too often or too infrequently. Most newsletters seem to be sent quarterly unless there’s something special, like a release, to announce.
Understand our readers and what they like. Who are they and what interests them? How can we provide that?
Offer extras and giveaways and other special content that only newsletter subscribers receive: exclusive excerpts, short stories with our characters, coupons for book discounts, other freebies.
We should never add someone to our newsletter mailing list… they should add themselves. Our list should only go out to subscribers.
Provide a means for readers to learn more about our books and to contact us online.
Do you send out newsletters? Any tips regarding interesting content? What’s your experience been like?
I do two newsletters a month, both with Mailchimp. I simply list what books have come out since the last newsletter and list all the links to my blog posts.
I offered incentives to sign-up recently, such as a free ESL book and a free short story collection. Weren’t that many takers. I just don’t worry about it that much.
Greg–I think short and sweet is likely the way to go with newsletters, for sure.
Elizabeth – You know, I hadn’t thought about sending out newsletters before. I’ve heard that they can be helpful tools, and I do subscribe to a few myself. But I hadn’t really thought it over as to whether I should do one too. Your post is giving me a lot to think about, so thanks.
Margot–It took me forever to start sending them out. But the readers seem responsive.
When I took a poll using SurveyMonkey* my readers voted overwhelmingly for a weekly newsletter which would include links to my blog posts for the week. After it gores out each week, traffic spikes as all the folks who use it as a trigger to read my content show up at the blog.
First Friday of each month that newsletter includes special content I don’t include at the blog.
It also has links to my primary coaching service and my primary book on writing, done at the bottom.
My newsletter sign up is prominent at my website, as is yours, and I also use MailChimp*. As a web geek from way back who has written entire books about customer service, I’m impressed with them on all fronts.
* Way back when, there was a web coding community site called Webmonkey. The founder of SurveyMonkey was a participant. Dunno about the folks from MailChimp.
I love the new commenting tool, but I wish the default was to get replies to my comments, rather than the no notice option. I should go code that.
Joel–Or a way for it to remember that your preference is to get responses to your comments…something like that. Yes, write that. :) Wish I could code, darn it.
Weekly, huh? See, I’m always surprised to hear that. I think many of us worry that once a month might be too much.
But like others have said, if they sign up for it, they want it. Many newsletters I receive I just open, scan quickly, and delete. I know from using the MailChimp reports that most do the same to mine.
In that regard not getting an unsubscribe can almost be as thrilling as getting a new sign-up :)
I’ve been doing weeklies for years. It started that way because I’m fascinated by the sound of my own voice, but over time, my fans have come to expect regular touches. I did the poll as a sanity check, and was actually surprised at the results.
I think most authors are too shy about their newsletter. These are not random strangers, folks, these are FANS. Great googlymooglies why would you ignore your fans for 3 months? They should hear from you all the time. Every month, at least. They ASKED to hear from you. Unless your newsletter specifically says “I’ll only email once a quarter” these folks are probably expecting something more frequent. If you’re not sure, ask them.
When *I* get an unsubscribe, I do a little dance. I wrote this post a while back for my philosophy site, but it applies to any newsletter I’ve ever sent:
http://www.findingwhy.com/thank-you-for-unsubscribing/
Here’s an excerpt that explains my position:
Your honest appraisal is important to me. Whether you signed up on a whim and have changed your mind, or whether I’ve gone a different path that’s not your cup o’ tea, you no longer need the information I’m sharing. Understood completely. I unsubscribe from a newsletter almost every week for similar reasons.
What a waste it would be for you to keep deleting my newsletter, unread. Waste of your time, not mine. That’s important to me, because I’ll gladly spend my own time, but abhor wasting others’ time.
Joel–I’ll admit to being shy about my newsletter. Apologetic even. And you’re so right–they signed up *all on their own*! They weren’t asked to, they didn’t do it to win a contest. They wanted info on my books. And I love your unsubscribe philosophy. Very nice!
Greg–Oh gosh, I hate seeing those unsubscribes. Then I obsess over how I could possibly have offended…ugh.
Joel–I think it makes sense with non-fiction/coaching to post more frequently…you’re providing especially useful content.
Yes, what’s the deal with all the monkeys in this business?! :) But I’m with you–MailChimp seems like a very solid service to use. Haven’t heard anything negative about them, either.
I’ve had great success with my newsletters, and I’ve been awarded Constant Contact All Star status every year for about ten years. I send them out when I have a new release or I am beginning a new book tour, to let people know where I’ll be and when. One key to my success: I never add anyone to my newsletter. I ask them to sign up for it themselves. That way I am not sending emails to people who don’t want them (which gets you labeled as a spammer very quickly) and there is always an opt-out.
Trish–That’s terrific! Congrats on those awards. And you’re absolutely right–we want enthusiastic and receptive readers who sign themselves up.
I used to send one out for my series. It was monthly and I had fun putting it together. I discontinued it a year after my series ended and haven’t started another one.
Diane–Might work really well for you now, though, right? With your non-fic and your speaking?
I might start one for the IWSG some day. One for myself though? What on earth would I say?
Alex–Oh, you’d have movie reviews, reviews of cool shows you recommend on TV, and snippets from your upcoming book. It would be awesome–you should consider it. I bet it would be a lot better than mine is.
I have a mailing list at MailChimp, too. My major problem with it is that I write so many different kinds of things, and I don’t know which kinds of books are getting the subscribers (or if it’s just my blog).
I think, when I’m getting close to publishing this summer’s projects, I’ll have to do a survey.
Camille–A survey sounds like a good idea! Or you could do a quarterly wrap-up of what you’ve released in your different subgenres. I list the releases from different series since, like you, I don’t know which series the readers are following.
Great post and timely too.
I’ve just recently begun emailing my blog post links. I’m experimenting with frequency and keeing an eye on new-signups versus dropouts. So far, I’ve had no drops and several sign ups but when I do more than 2 per month, I see far fewer “opens” and “click throughs”. That tells me: 1-week is too much, 1 per month is too little. But I’m still not at a statistical level of data.
Peace, Seeley
Seeley–Sounds like a successful newsletter to me! I’ve seen one to two unsubscribes every newsletter, but my open rate is really good. I think they want my recipes… :)
Great tips! Another post bookmarked for me :) One of these days I’m going to use all of your posts I’ve bookmarked! :)
Jemi–Looking forward to reading your book!
Elizabeth, thanks so much for the mention and the link to my blog! I agree w/ the comment above about using our weekly blog post send as a mini-newsletter. That’s exactly why I moved to MailChimp, because it gave me the ability to add other news and links and good stuff without overwhelming my subscribers. One drawback is that MC has changed their campaign editor and although it’s increased their functionality, it’s more of a challenge now to set up an initial campaign. Arrrghh!
Molly–MailChimp is a great service, isn’t it? I did have to tinker around with the initial campaign, I remember. But it wasn’t too bad.
I keep hearing that this is the thing to do, yet I haven’t done it! I have a MailChimp account but haven’t used it. I should take the plunge. I really should.
Julie–It’s very easy…and you can’t beat free. :)
I’ve never been quite sure about newsletters. Does it really add anything else beyond other social media like Twitter or Facebook? If the people on your mailing list follow you on Twitter, for example, isn’t it just the same to post a link there and send them directly to your blog? The other thing is getting people to sign up to receive it. I’ve got a link on my blog to receive updates by email but very few people take it up. Or am I not promoting properly?
Your newsletter must, in the long run, be more than links to your blog. My weekly newsletter is just that, because it’s what my readers asked for.
But once a month (today, in fact) I write something that only goes in the newsletter. And if I have something free to give away, it goes in the newsletter for those folks who’ve extended trust, and not on my blog.
Think of your blog as meeting folks for coffee at the coffee shop.
Your newsletter is inviting them to your home. Or, perhaps, allowing them to invite you to their place for coffee. It’s the next step of engagement, friendship, relationship.
If folks understand the value of your newsletter, they’ll sign up. But first, YOU have to know why your newsletter is valuable to them.
Joel–Perfectly put!
It’s all about value.
GS–No, not unless we add something special of value to make it worth their while. That’s where knowing our readers really well comes in. So my readers are frequently older ladies from sort of traditional backgrounds. I’m pretty sure they’re opening my newsletters because I’ve got fairly decadent but easy to cook Southern recipes included. But hey–I also mention that I’ve got a new book out. It keeps me on their radar in their busy lives.
I think an important factor is properly setting expectations up-front on whatever you plan to do. Whether that’s frequency or the kind of stuff you’ll be sharing, your readers will be happier.
Even the word “newsletter” comes with its own expectations. Typically it means regular updates on the stuff you’re working on, right? But I know some authors who simply use their email lists as a way for readers to be updated once a new story is published. And that’s fine too, the author is relieved of the pressure of producing something regularly and gets the benefit of notifying interested readers when something is ready to be published.
Jason–It’s nice that newsletters can be made to fit the needs of individual writers, for sure. I like your thoughts on sharing the regularity of the newsletters so that readers know what they’re getting into.
Just got this from Tim Grahl, a master of book promotion, who says your email list is your single greatest marketing tool:
http://outthinkgroup.com/tips/is-your-book-marketing-not-working-heres-why
This is why you should have a newsletter. (This is the guy who makes Dan Pink and authors of that ilk sell. He is the goods.)
Joel–“Direct channel” to our readers…exactly. It’s not as ephemeral as an update on Facebook and Twitter–it’s directly reaching readers with unique content.
Hi Elizabeth,
Just wanted to say how much I love your blog. I’m in the final stages of getting my debut book ready and have been starting the social media and website thing. It is a lot to learn but fun.
Regarding mailchimp, do you retain the list of emails and is this transferable if you want to change providers? Also, I gather, you need a plugin of sorts to allow people to sign in. Is this hard to figure out and which do you use?
The idea of getting weekly newsletters for anything seems like a lot but I find it hard to keep up with what we get already. I think it would depend on the topic, fiction vs. non, and of course the content.
Joel, I’ll be looking yours up. I’m interested in what you’ve described above and it must work for you to have done it so long. Thanks for your comments.
Thanks Elizabeth.
Silas–Thanks! And good luck with your debut. Social media can definitely be a lot of fun, as long as we don’t burn out on it!
You can export the entire Mail Chimp list or only portions of it, depending on your need at the time. It exports to a .csv, which can apparently be imported by other services. More info on that here.
I see you’re on WordPress, so I can confirm that installation and management of the plug-in are easy. The address for the plug-in I use (and I use the free version), if you want to take a look, is here.
H’ray!
MailChimp’s code works just fine, even without a plugin for WordPress. Their support is world class, even for free accounts.
Thanks Elizabeth and Joel,
I checked out those links and will certainly give it a try.
I do love the lending-an-experienced-hand that is found in the indi-publishing world.
Silas–Me too. :)