Why Email Newsletters? To Become an Enthusiastic Respite in the Lives of Your Readers
By Dan Blank | January 23, 2015 |
- Email is a less crowded channel
- Email is a communication channel people actually check, and they’ve given you permission to communicate
- Email is a proven sales tool
That post prompted some great questions in the comments, and I wanted to revisit the topic, adding another layer of detail.
SKEPTICAL ABOUT EMAIL? YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Some people worry that email is too crowded a channel — recalling their frustration of waking up each day to an overflowing inbox, a reminder of all the things in life that we “fail” to manage effectively. Others argue that younger people don’t even use email these days.
It’s easy to be skeptical, not just about email but about social media, websites/blogs, and yes, even books. There are more books published today than ever. I remember a few years ago when people I know began admitting they could no longer keep up with blogs they love, just as they sheepishly admitted to recycling a pile of unread newspapers at the end of the week. Nowadays, I hear similar comments with regard to Twitter, which to many feels like a virtual fire hose.
This is exactly why I focus so much on a direct connection with your true fans. And email is one way to do so. It is a way to reduce the flow of of media out there and engage in meaningful communication.
Email, in its most basic form, is a letter from one person to another. Whether you write to a list of 10 people or 100,000, each person reads it alone, and reads your letter as if you wrote it just for them.
WHAT TO SHARE? YOUR ENTHUSIASM
Some who commented on my post asked what they should share in a newsletter. Their concerns seemed two-fold. The first was not wanting to market themselves again and again – essentially becoming a spammer. The other was that they simply didn’t have the time to write a separate missive each week — they already struggle to find time to write their books.
I encourage people to share what they are enthusiastic about. It can be whittled down to a simple prompt: “What were you excited about this week?”
The output could indeed be a long post, but it could also be a link, a photo, a sentence. At it’s core, it should communicate why you love what you do as a writer.
Email newsletters don’t have to be long or complicated. The simple route is often the most effective. It is also the most honest.
An author I was speaking with recently had gone three months between newsletters, and just couldn’t figure out what was worthy of sharing. I told her to just be honest about what she was enthusiastic about. She ended up sharing an email about how hard she was working on her book, and reiterated why this writing meant so much to her.
It turned out that 70% of the people on her list opened her email, and were reminded not just what she was working on, but why it mattered so much.
Another trick I myself sometime use is to write a draft addressed to a specific friend. This ensure I don’t feel I am “sending to a list,” but writing a letter that feels 100% personal both to me and the reader. The trick here: remembering to remove their name before I actually send it!
WHEN AND HOW OFTEN TO SHARE?
Someone else in the post comments asked “How soon is too soon?” to begin sending an email newsletter. This writer’s book was not yet finished, so they wondered if anyone would want to hear from a ‘not-quite-yet-an-author’.
To me, the answer is always “now.” People want to become part of a journey, and a newsletter list is one of the best ways to connect with people who hear about your work and would like to be a part of the journey.
I recently read Amanda Palmer’s book, The Art of Asking. In the book, she details how she jumped on email early in her career, and how it became the linchpin to connecting with fans she met one at a time. This is one of the biggest regrets that I tend to hear from successful authors — that they wish they had begun connecting with people before they were successful. So many small connections fell through the cracks.
I tend to recommend a weekly newsletter because it is often enough to share something small and meaningful, yet not so infrequent whereby if someone misses a newsletter, they don’t go months before hearing from you again.
The real answer: Send one often enough to be a respite.
If you share what you are enthusiastic about with like minds, they will ideally be looking forward to that moment of connection — where in the middle of their busy day, their busy week, you are a breath of fresh air.
TOO BUSY TO SEND A NEWSLETTER? I GET THAT
Every single person reading this can justifiably say they are too busy to send an email newsletter. I know that it can be a daily struggle to find time to write your books amidst personal and professional responsibilities.
I tend to find newsletters to be a great tool for breaking up the loneliness of being a writer. I am constantly hearing from writers that a note they sent to their email list received a response that was deeply meaningful to them. In this process, they learned what resonates with their biggest fans, and got a small amount of the validation they hope to receive from their work. It’s the best kind of boost – to know that you have been heard, that your writing affected the life of someone.
Yes, of course your books are the primary way to do that – the craft of your writing is always first and foremost.
But I suppose I look at an email newsletter the same way I look at a reading at a bookstore. The book itself is the goal, but when you are there in a physical location, with chairs lined up and sitting empty, the thing you desire most is for people to show up. And a newsletter is just one way to help encourage that habit.
Even more than asking readers to show up, newsletters are a practice in how to talk to them. I have seen many authors at those signings sheepishly sign the book, desperately looking to the person asking for the signature to ask a question, or create a meaningful moment. This is the first time they are face to face with a reader, and are not sure what will resonate. Email is research and practice for that moment – of knowing who your readers are, and what they truly want to talk about.
DO YOU NEED TO HAVE AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER? NOPE
Are email newsletters a requirement for the modern author? Nope! You can absolutely skip this, just as you have the choice to skip so many other potential actions you can take as a professional. Beyond the writing, you are often asked to become an expert at finding partners in the business side of publishing (agents, publishers, distributors, retailers.) Oftentimes this means reshaping your vision based on their feedback (edits, cover design, marketing language). You become involved in when and how the book is shared with the world, and the many decisions around publicity and marketing — and so much else.
I don’t bring up the topic of email newsletters as a way to topple this tenuous pile of responsibilities. I offer it as a small way to feel a direct connection to those who you care most about: readers.
What I love most about the options the modern author has is the very fact that they have options.
If you do have questions about how you can develop or improve your email newsletter, please ask below. Happy to be of service if you like, or to get out of your way if you prefer to skip this.
Thanks!
-Dan
Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia, where he helps writers share their stories and connect with readers. He has helped hundreds of authors via online courses, events, consulting, and workshops, and worked with amazing publishing houses and organizations who support writers such as Random House, Workman Publishing, Abrams Books, Writers House, The Kenyon Review, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, and many others.
I like this idea of sending out an email newsletter – writing to a single person and telling what I am enthusiastic about. I have a blog to support my book series, but I haven’t updated it in a while. I want the blog to serve as a reference point and add supplementary material for the stories, but it has become secondary to finishing the third book in the series.
This week I am finishing up the final polish, and I’ll give the book one last read-through before publishing. It is exciting to be a writer at the time when all of these tools are available to both express my vision of stories and to connect with others.
Sharing an email newsletter is a good idea for me. I enjoy writing letters. They are easier for me to draft than encyclopedia articles (blog posts) for my stories.
Thanks again for this suggested tool to add to my kit. I’m going to try it out and see if it fits my needs.
Thank you so much Tarl!
Dan,
You’ve managed once again to open a door in my brain. What did it this time was your notion of allowing potential readers to share the journey. I was lucky to have participated in a recent discussion with you where you talked about really connecting with readers, rather than bopping them over the head with promotions and noise, which made me see promotion in an entirely different light. Once again, you’ve changed my perspective, and I thank you.
Thank you Susan!
Great stuff. Thank you!
Thanks Katrina!
Wow. I never thought I’d even consider sending an email newsletter but now I’m going to get one going! Thanks!
Thanks Cat!
Dan, I’ll need to think about this. I’ve been sending a Christmas letter and photos for years now. Last year, I was sick and the cards didn’t get made so I made a photo collage and Christmas Eve I banged out the letter … and sent it out to family, friends and some writer buddies and colleagues as an attachment. At the very end, I mentioned the new book that’s hatching … next week!
I am already a letter-writer. My sister and a couple of close friends and I exchange several letters in a week … the others infrequently (every 3-6 mo) Doing a quarterly short newsletter sounds like a great way to keep in touch with folks.
Thanks Vijaya!
Email is pretty much the most effective online marketing tool available.
Thanks Anabelle!
Thank you for emphasizing something that should be obvious: that communication and trust is the lifeblood of all human endeavor. But then as Sherlock Holmes said “There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact”.
Also for pointing out that, in this day of a hundred ways to ‘communicate’, email is the most direct and personal. And for answering the questions what (whatever inspires you), when (go with your comfort level), and why (to meaningfully communicate with readers).
I loved your idea of viewing the newsletter as practice for the time when you meet your readers face to face. This may seem simplistic (I personally do not know the time commitment required to create these wonderful novels, and stand in awe of the authors who write them), but can we also view the email newsletter as a practice in writing?
Thank you Anjali! As for treating email newsletters as a practice for writing, I have heard some writers say that they firmly believes it does help them, but I think that is very much a personal thing. I wouldn’t pretend that writing a newsletter is similar to writing a novel!
:)
-Dan
Hmmm….I don’t have very much published, but I do have a small blog following…perhaps it would be fun to do short newsletters. I wonder if people would be interested.
What a fun idea!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on how this can help writers.
Thank YOU!
-Dan
Dan,
You know I’m a fan. You inspired me to start my weekly newsletter 16-months ago. It works well for me most of the time because in my heart I always imagined myself being a newspaper columnist, which I was for a few years. The newsletter is great because you do hear back from people. When I wrote for the paper I loved when people would mention they enjoyed the column, but those times were few and far between.
To be honest, I have had several times when I felt overwhelmed and considered stopping the newsletter or reducing frequency. Every time I’ve had doubts, the very next week I heard from people saying they loved the newsletter. The weekly commitment takes discipline, time, effort and requires vulnerability. It is not easy. But when I get signs from the universe, I listen. :)
Thanks, Dan, for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate you viewpoint and insights.
Thank you so much Mary – it is so helpful to hear your experiences.
-Dan
My partner and I started an experiment last August. We’re delivering an urban fantasy novel, one chapter at a time, via newsletter. At the end of each year, we’ll compile and self pub a volume. At the beginning and end of each novel, there will be a link to subscribe to the weekly story chapters. It’s still young and growing, but I see the newsetter as the ultimate tool in finding and growing your readership. Subscriptions will be painfully slow for a long time, but these things have a snowball effect. The key is that your newsletter subscribers are your biggest fans and the only thing you can truly own. Amazon and publishers don’t share lists. Make your own as a guarantee of futures sales. Nick Stephenson is probably the best at this. His book, “Supercharge your Kindle Sales” is a great primer for how to build a newsletter list.
Thank you Ron!!!
-Dan
Hey, Dan!
You know I’m a fan and read your newsletter faithfully. My favorite part is watching Owen grow in the weekly pictures.
Thank you Marilyn!
-Dan
Hi Dan,
Thanks for this morning’s inspiration! I’m not planning to start a newsletter right now, but you’ve opened my mind to a fresh way of looking at my blog.
Thanks Linda!
Hi, Dan. This is a great encouraging nudge, especially to those of us who are hungry for communication with readers. Thank you for that. I have a question: Much of the advice I have read and heard about starting an email newsletter suggests that you give away something free to encourage readers to sign up. Some authors say that if you have multiple e-books, for example, make the first one free. I wonder how essential the freebie is, and whether it encourages someone to subscribe just for the freebie.
Barbara,
Great question. I have done it both ways, and continue to see people I respect do it with and without a freebie. I really like the idea, it is definitely a generous act. Will some folks sign up JUST for the freebie, then unsubscribe. Yep! But… in the process, you have a chance to keep them and others. Sometimes, what you need to offer as a freebie does NOT need to be huge or complicated. Something simple, but meaningful works.
Thanks.
-Dan
Your Post is very Used full thanks for Shearing I am really enjoyed this post.
Thanks Angel!
-Dan
Hi Dan. I quite like your idea of a newsletter but I was just wondering what it’s relationship should be to a blog? I have neither at the moment (nor a finished book) but had thought I should probably start a blog one day soonish. Would a newsletter be instead or as well as a blog? And should the content be exactly the same, completely different, or an extension of the blog?
Cheers, Mary Ann
Hi! I would start a newsletter even before I started a blog (in most cases.) The content can indeed be exactly the same, or perhaps a recap.
Thanks!
-Dan
Great tips for bloggers, too!
Hi Dan,
I was the editor of an online magazine for a few years. The magazine went defunct and my partners and I divided up the assets. I ended up with the list.
I thought it would be easy to transfer them to my personal blog—after all I was content curator and wrote much of what they’d been reading. I also gave them plenty of warning and time to unsubscribe.
I got such a flurry of unsubs for so many weeks it was demoralizing. I spoke to a few fans and asked their opinion. It was, send only monthly. Weekly cluttered their inbox and they couldn’t read that fast.
I’m monthly now but feel unconnected from the list. Less people are unsubscribing and the open rate is higher but… Would love your professional opinion.
Greta,
You went through an enormous transitionary time there. You said something powerful here: “I feel unconnected.” Listen to that. Maybe the answer is not just MORE MORE MORE, but exploring WITH the group what it means to be connected. What do they value from this relationship with you? What would thrill them?
Yes, I do tend to feel that showing up weekly is part of that, but that may not be the first (or only) step.
-Dan