Laura’s Blog

By Melissa K. Norris
Guest Contributor

If you’re an author your e-mail list is the most important thing you own. Because it’s the one list of contacts of potential customers you do own. If Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger crash, you’ve just lost all your contacts.

To invite people to subscribe to your author e-newsletter, you need to offer a sign up form on your website. Best placement is at the top so it’s the first thing visitors see without having to scroll down. Make sure they know what they are signing up for.

Also consider the following 6 tips:

1.  How often will you be sending them an e-newsletter?

Mine is bi-monthly, but you could choose monthly or quarterly. Whichever you choose, make sure you can be consistent.

2.  Tell your readers what value they’ll gain by signing up for your newsletter.

Will you have articles, book reviews, author interviews, and how to articles besides just your book news? Readers can choose points of interest when they sign up for mine, allowing me to cater to their wants and needs.

3.  Make sure you follow spam laws.

Do not sign up anyone who hasn’t requested to receive your e-newsletter. You must include the option to unsubscribe in the body of your newsletter. I use MailChimp, a free on-line marketing company that includes it for me. They also allow me to customize my newsletter and track the opens and click throughs for up to 2000 subscribers with no coding skills necessary.

4.  Provide something of value.

The number one rule for marketing includes e-newsletters. You can run a contest exclusively to your subscribers, allowing them to be part of your e-newsletter. Think of something fun that relates to your book/product. To see my current contest visit my website at www.melissaknorris.com

5.  Post links on your blog posts, Facebook page, and Twitter pointing readers to your e-newsletter.

Remember to point out they must sign up through your website.

6.  Ask other people in your industry to provide articles for your newsletter.

This is a great way to cross-market. You don’t have to come up with every single article, the other person gains exposure, plus people help promote something they’re featured in.

I’d love to hear any tips you might have for e-newsletters or email marketing.

Melissa K. Norris is an inspirational romance author. She loves to chat with folks on her Facebook page.