SPA Girls Podcast – EP145 – Newsletter Ninja Tammi Labrecque
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This week we’re joined by the Newsletter Ninja, Tammi Labrecque, who talks to us about creating an amazing author newsletter that will help amp up your writing career.
She talks about why every author needs a newsletter, and how to turn the people who sign up for your list into super-fans who will buy every book you write.
Tammi also gives us a whole heap of tips on what kind of content to put into your newsletter, how to find the perfect subscribers for your books, and when to cut subscribers from your list.
It’s another tip-packed episode that you’ll want to listen to carefully. I know Shar took heaps of notes (She even broke out the shorthand…) and you will too!
It’s never too early to start your newsletter. Even if you only have a mailing list of friends and no book to promote, you can play around with whichever program you chose and find out how to make and send a newsletter long before you need to.
Before you jump in, give some thought about the person who might represent your main subscriber. This is called an avatar. What do they like to read? What is their demographic – age, location etc?
Now, decide on a program – mailer lite, MailChimp, and active campaign have free usage to a certain level. (There are loads more.)
Consider the look of your newsletter and how often you will send it. There will be templates to help on each platform. Pay attention to the welcome sequence and auto-responders to make your life easier!
Once you have a few subscribers, it’s a good idea to split them into lists and send the newsletter out over a period of a few days, especially around a release. This ensures that you have a steadier stream of sales which we know Amazon looks more favorably on.
Organic growth is still the best from links in the back of your books and from your website/Facebook etc. However, sites like Ryan Zee’s, or Melissa Storm’s Litring, can help to build your list faster. Just be careful and choose sites that have integrity and don’t overuse them otherwise you will be targeting the same people.
What should I put in my newsletter?
- Make sure when you do send them that you have a Give to Ask ratio. Meaning – don’t only ask your subscribers to buy your book, but what you can give them.
- Giveaways should be relevant and aimed at your loyal subscribers.
- A free book.
- A sample of your work.
- A short story.
- A snippet of your life.
- Animal pictures
- A cover reveal
- A sale on your or another author’s book.
- A competition
- Recommend other authors in the same genre you like to read.
Cross-promote with other like-minded authors paying attention to genre, heat level and style of writing. You can do this with authors you know or find some on Bookfunnel or from groups you can join on Facebook.
Try sending your newsletter once a month for sales and then you could send another mid-way in the month with the freebies or giveaways.
The time to ramp up the selling should be when you have a new release.
Links
Tammi’s upcoming course comes highly recommended by many in the industry: Mailing List Expert
Her book Newsletter Ninja: How To Become An Author Mailing List Expert is out August 12, 2018
Find Tammi at www.indiepubintensive.com
