by Dan Walsh, @DanWalshAuthor
In last month’s column, I talked about the critical importance of setting up and maintaining an effective newsletter mailing list. If you missed that, I suggest you click on this link and read it (everything I share in this column anticipates you’ve read the first one). (CLICK ON LINK HERE)
We ran out of time to share any practical tips on this topic, so that’s what this month’s column is all about.
“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…” (Zech 4:10, NLT)
TIP # 1 – Don’t be Discouraged If Your New at This
Having taught this at some writers workshops, I’m aware of how this idea can seem overwhelming at first. Especially if you are a newish writer with a fairly small following. You may even be thinking, “What’s the point? I don’t have enough fans or followers to start a mailing list.”
Still, start one anyway. Everyone starts off small. I remember when I reached a hundred names on my list. I wanted to throw a party. But then I wanted to reach 500. Then 1000. Back at the 100-mark, these seemed like impossible goals. Now —a few years laster— my list is more than double those earlier goals.
Even the Bible encourages us to: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…” (Zech 4:10, NLT)
TIP # 2 – The Quality of Your List Means More than its Size
When growing your mailing list, bigger is not always better. At one point, my list had grown to over four thousand names. Sadly, I soon learned that more than half of them were duds. After over a year of being on my list, these duds hadn’t opened a single newsletter I’d sent. That’s because most of them had only signed up to get some kind of special prize my publisher offered (if they signed up for my list).
And because my list had grown to such a size, I was paying extra to the Mailing List service to send Newsletters to everyone on my list (most of these companies set their pricing by how many people you have).
With this particular Mailing company, if I got rid of all the duds my list would shrink to a point where I could send out as many newsletters as I wanted for free. So, that’s what I did. After that, although my list was way smaller (too small to be tempted to brag about), I knew that everyone on the list was a fan and really wanted to be there.
Which brings me to my third tip.
TIP # 3 – Only Do Contests & Giveaways Where Your Book is the Prize
People love to get free stuff. That’s pretty much a universal rule. I like to get free stuff, too. But as I’ve said, it’s not smart to grow your mailing list doing contests that have nothing to do with your books (or at least the genre of books you write in).
If you do a giveaway where the prize is one of your books, you can rest assured that a reader who signs up to your list is the kind of reader you really want to reach (and not a dud). And assuming you’ve written a great book, after they’re done reading the free one you used to get them to sign up (and because you’ve used your Back Pages effectively), they’ll click on the links you’ve provided to pay for and start reading one of your other books next.
Which means, this tip not only grows your mailing list with “good stock,” it increases your book sales.
Tip # 4 – Give People a Chance to Sign-up Right on Your Website Homepage.
This last tip, of course, assumes you already have an Author Website created. If so, create an opportunity for Readers to Sign up on your Website right there on your Homepage. I’ve created a nice box for this right below the Welcome paragraph (and also again on the sidebar of every web page). Let’s face it, if someone is already checking out your website, they’re an excellent candidate for becoming a part of your “newsletter family.”
A Follow-up Idea to this is…Create an Opt-in Incentive to get more people to sign-up. Like, giving away one of your Books for Free. I’ve recently done something like this on my Homepage. You can check it out by click here: www.danwalshbooks.com . Again, people love free stuff. So, I’m mentioning the Free Book Offer right there at the top of my Menu options. When they click on it, a Box pops up explaining how they can download one of my bestselling books for Free, just by signing up to the Newsletter.
Brand new 2nd Edition — Finalist RT Book Reviews’ Inspirational Novel of the Year Rick Denton lives his life on his terms. He works hard, plays hard and answers to no one. So when his mother calls on Thanks-giving weekend begging him to come home after his stepfather has a stroke, Rick is reluctant. He’s never liked Art, despite the fact his own father abandoned them when Rick was twelve. Rick’s attitude sours even more when a couple of days helping at the family bookstore turns into weeks of cashing out old ladies and running off the homeless man who keeps hanging about, Slowly but surely, the little bookstore and its quirky patrons—as well as the lovely young woman who works at his side each day—work their magic on him, revealing to Rick the truth about his family, his own life, and the true meaning of Christmas.
Dan Walsh is the bestselling author of 20 novels including The Unfinished Gift, The ReunionandWhen Night Comes. He has won 3 Carol Awards (finalist 6 times), 4 Selah Awards (finalist 5 times), and 4of his books have been finalists for RT Review’s Inspirational Book of the Year. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers(ACFW) and Word Weavers International, Dan writes fulltime in the Daytona Beach area. He and his wife Cindi have been married 42 years, have 2 childrenand 4 grandchildren. You can find out more about Dan’s books or follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or Pinterest from his website at http://www.danwalshbooks.com.