by Tari Faris, @FarisTari
Welcome back to Making Your Newsletter Work for You series. It is so great to share with you how I shifted my feelings about writing newsletters from dread to joy and at the same time grew my subscriber list from 300 to 7000 in three years. If you missed them, make sure you take time to read PART 1, PART 2, and PART 3 and PART 4.
Now let’s dive in because today we are talking about a crucial part of the newsletter: the giveaways.
In PART 4, I talked about giving away P.S. Goodbye for signups or giving away books in a group giveaway to get signups, but that is not what I am talking about here.
I am talking about doing a giveaway in every newsletter you send out.
Every single one? But If I am sending out 12, then that is a lot of free books. Let me do the math for you. It is 12. If you are spending $30-$100 a month to send out that newsletter, isn’t it worth the investment to make sure they open it?
I think so. In every newsletter, I give my subscribers an opportunity to enter for a free book. The simpler the action I request, the more entries I get. The simplest giveaway I have had was when I asked them to simply click a button that said “enter me.” (I wasn’t feeling overly creative that day.) My email program records who clicks that button and they were entered.
One time, the giveaway was a survey that was actually delivering the following information:
Did you know that one way to really help authors is to request their books at your local library? And it is usually easy. All you need is: TITLE: Since You’ve Been Gone ISBN: 978-0800736491 Publisher: Baker Publishing Group Publishing Date: 9/7/2021
Have you requested Since You’ve Been Gone at your Library?
- Yes – of course!
- No – But I will today!
- No – But I will soon!
- Sadly, no.
It was a survey that provided information about an upcoming release. And it also encouraged them to complete an action. They may or may not follow up but at least I put the idea in their heads.
This is also a great place to promote a giveaway you are a part of. If they click to view the giveaway, then they are entered.
Totally sneaky way to add in a little promotion. And, to be honest, this is the primary place I mention my books unless they are a part of a joy or struggle story.
Get creative and remember the cost is an investment in getting people to open the email.
Along those lines, when they sign up, I tell them I do a giveaway in almost every email so they know to go looking for it. And the end result is I average 35-40% open rate. Not the best but above average.
Do you have any creative giveaways you have done in your newsletter?
Join us on September 8th as we wrap up the series with a few last tips and tricks, along with how to handle subscribers who never open your emails.
Leah Williams is back in the quaint town of Heritage, Michigan, and ready to try again to make her business a success. But blank slates are hard to come by, and a piece of her past is waiting for her there. Heir to the Heritage Fruits company, Jonathan Kensington is the guy who not only made Leah’s past difficult, he also seems determined to complicate her present as well.
Jon is trying to prove to the Heritage Fruits board that he, not his manipulative uncle, should be running the business. The board insists Jon find a new owner for the building that will house Leah’s business. To avoid forcing a buyout of Leah’s part of the building, Jon strikes a compromise with Leah, and the two go into business together. With her vision and his know-how, it might work. And Leah might realize he’s loved her since high school. If only he didn’t keep on shooting himself in the foot by boxing her out of important decisions.
Sparks fly in this romantic story of two people who must learn to trust both each other and the one who called them to this journey.
Available now for preorder! And visit linktr.ee/tarifaris to sign up for preorder rewards!
Tari Faris has been writing fiction for fifteen years but has been creating fiction in her head as long as she can remember. She is represented by Wendy Lawton at Books & Such Literary Management and is a member of ACFW and My Book Therapy. She was the 2017 Genesis winner, 2016 Genesis finalist, and 2014 Genesis finalist. In addition to her writing, she also works for My Book Therapy as a special project manager and writes for LearnHowToWriteANovel.com . When she is not writing or working, she spends time with her amazing husband and kids. In her free time, she loves coffee, rockhounding with her husband and kids, and distracting herself from housework. You can connect with her at www.tarifaris.com