OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
Blending internet marketing and tech-phobic authors can be a challenge, but on this blog I aim to bring the two together. One of the key concepts for internet marketers is growing a targeted email list. You will frequently hear “the money is in the list” and this is as true for authors as it is for internet entrepreneurs.
What is list-building?
You offer something of value for free in exchange for an email address. You can set up auto-responders which are automatic emails that go out directing the person to more useful information.
This is permission marketing. You have given something to the person and in exchange asked permission to send them more useful information.
List building is NOT list-buying. It's the growth of your own list over time in exchange for something of value.
What is the point of having a list?
If you have people's email addresses, and you are a trusted provider of useful information, people will open and read your emails. This means you can use the email list to market your books (if the list has been set up for that purpose).
Imagine how powerful it is to have a list of 10,000 people and to send an email saying “My book is available now. Click here to buy”. This is the basis of all the Amazon bestseller campaigns which generally use other people's lists. If you build one yourself, you have a much more targeted list and you are a trusted provider to those people. Remember, if people know, like and trust you, they are more likely to buy your book.
How do you build a list?
You need to have something to give away for free that is:
- Valuable and useful to people
- Related to your product/book
Once you have that, you set up an email signup box like the one for the Author 2.0 Blueprint (top right). People enter their email and then get the free product.
It is very important to use a reputable service that:
- manages this all for you automatically and is scalable (yes, you could have 50,000+ subscribers within a few years!)
- lets people to unsubscribe easily (mandated by anti-spam laws)
- enables you to send out broadcasts when you like as well as setting up auto-responders
- enables you to manage and download your list
- enables you to set up multiple lists from one account
I use Aweber (affiliate) which is one of the best and most highly reputable services. It is very simple to set up forms. No programming needed! It has a scalable monthly fee depending on how many names you store. If you sign up in the top right hand corner for the Author 2.0 Blueprint, this will take you through how the service works from a user point of view.
After you have set up the mechanism for sign-up and a great free offer, you then drive people to the list using the usual traffic building activities like blogging, social networking etc.
What free giveaway can you use?
As authors, we are uniquely placed to offer some great free giveaways as we produce quality information relatively easily. It is also very important that you giveaway something that is related to what you are selling. There's no point in giving away an ebook on finance if you want to sell romantic fiction on your blog.
So I give away the Author 2.0 Blueprint, as I am selling Author 2.0 online courses. When I start list-building for the launch of my novel, I will give away the first few chapters.
Here are some ideas for your free giveaway:
- First 3 chapters of your book, or a short story, or the first novella in a series of 3
- Top 10 tips for <insert your niche here> e.g. Top 10 tips for growing organic tomatoes/ Top 10 tips for writing fantasy
- Audio of you reading your work, or talking about the subject you are writing about
- Blueprint or manual for a product
- For fiction authors, check this post for more ideas.
The most important thing to remember is…
You want to be a valuable resource to people, either for information or entertainment. You do not want to be seen as a spammer. So give away great information, offer quality on a regular basis for free and people will be happy to buy from you when you have something they are interested in. Don't send unrelated offers. Don't abuse the list or they will unsubscribe. It's all about respect.
Image: Flickr CC Ebby
Greenwich "Author" says
I think another free website to use to build a website if called weebly and you can create a form to build a mailing list through there.
LKWatts says
Hi Joanna,
This is the best blog by far I have ever read on this subject. Before I didn’t really have a clue what a mailing list was but that’s no longer an issue. Now I have a better idea of how to set one up. Thanks so much!
Joanna Penn says
Thanks LK and definitely get that list sorted 🙂
Rich Amooi says
Hi Joanna,
This is great. I haven’t published anything yet. I have many short stories, but I am currently working on a novel. I have been building a platform over the last six months. Right now, I only have a sign-up on my blog so people can follow my blog. If I am reading this correctly, I should have a newsletter sign-up instead of the blog sign-up? And then, I can just publish my blog postings within that newsletter, correct? I guess it is overkill to have an opt-in to follow the blog and an opt-in to get the newsletter?
Will they really sign-up for the newsletter just to get a free short story?
Joanna Penn says
Hi Rich – the problem with just the blog signup is that it means you don’t get people’s emails and you can’t talk to them directly, only write a blog post. You can have a blog RSS feed through a email signup like Aweber or Mailchimp so you can send broadcasts in addition to blog posts – that’s something lots of people do – although I keep mine separate – so you can sign up for the blog RSS feed and when you sign up for Author 2.0 you get my newsletter.
On my fiction site, I don’t give anything away for free – at the back of my books and on my http://www.JFPenn.com site, I just say ‘sign up here to be notified of pre-release specials and the next books in the series’. I get sign ups for that every day 🙂
You never know what people may be interested in.
Thanks, Joanna
Helmut says
Hi Joanna,
I am just working through your Author 2.0 Blueprint, as I have an upcoming book. Very nice e-book you have put together. Thanks a lot!
Regarding the Blog Sign Up as a free alternative to Aweber:
You do get the email address of people who subscribe to your Blog, if you use WordPress together with their free JetPack plugin (made by the same guys who make WordPress) .
(The signup form can be seen on my Blog, see address above).
The email subscribers are shown directly in WordPress under Jetpack->Sitestats. Click on Blog in the section Subscriptions and you get all email addresses who have subscribed.
Advantages:
* WordPress is respectable and their opt-in mail looks good to me.
* It is free and easy to setup.
* You can build an email list.
* People automatically subscribe to your Blog and get all new posts automatically in their inbox.
The main downsides are:
* There is no additional field where you can ask for people’s names, so you only get the email address.
* You have to manage the list yourself, that is, if you promise free giveaways, you have to go through your list and send them out.
All in all, IMO a free and easy start for people who don’t have the Budget for Aweber and don’t want to sign up with any additional list provider.
All the best
Joanna Penn says
Thanks Helmut, that sounds great – I have heard of Jetpack but haven’t installed it myself. Can you export the list? i.e. do you “own” it?
Helmut says
Hi Joanna,
You can export it as a csv file (link is on the same page as the mailing list).
You can also copy and paste it from the page.
Jetpack works by creating a connection between your self-hosted Blog and a free wordpress.com account. Easy to create a account at wordpress.com though. (No Blog needed) Jetpack walks you through it.
It also features nice statistics and additional additional widgets.
However, after someone has unsubscribed, he is just gone from your list. No further stats.
Of course, this Blog sign up can’t compete with the mailing list features of Aweber.
But it might get someone started who doesn’t have a big budget with a few clicks.
Ron Herron says
Joanna –
I’ve been blogging about indie writing for a while, and if you’ve seen my blog called “Painting With light” (www.ronherron.wordpress.com) you might notice I’ve been talking about building email lists too. I’m also working on a giveaway about creating believable characters. My blog has respectable numbers, but I know how valuable it is to be able to talk directly to folks who are already interested in what you’re doing.
In fact, I was just about ready to get started (probably with MailChimp), when I saw this post. I hadn’t heard about Aweber, so I’ve got another choice to look at before I decide.
Thanks for your great advice. Please keep it coming!
Best Regards,
Ron
Cristina Sierra says
Hi Joanna,
I am not an author but clicked to your blog through Twitter and found your article very helpful for newbies. I have an online service and definitely want to start building lists and collecting information via simple forms. I have come across different vendors that provide this service and also help you do email marketing – in addition to Aweber, there is InfusionSoft, iContact (Vocus) and GetResponse.
I know Aweber has some pluses and minuses I believe they have also been hacked so while they may be very good, it’s important to carefully evaluate the service and security as well.
I have not personally used any product, just here to provide some other options.
Good luck to all.
Jen Christopherson says
Great information! I printed it for future use! Wow! I am learning so very much! Thank you!
Faye says
Hi, as an author I do not have a business address and for safety reasons do not feel safe posting my home address on my mailing list. How can you maintain your safety and security yet still use these services?
Joanna Penn says
Some people use the address of their accountant or another postal address – but the anti-spam laws require you to be a real person to use the service and this is just one way.
Andrea T.H.W. says
As of now I’m using the Jetpack widget, not that I don’t like Aweber or MailChimp, it’s that I haven’t yet understood what happens to the list if the blogger decides to quit the service. The only drawback it has is that you can’t put it somewhere else than the sidebar and you have no option to send a product to subscribers which would be good. The positive side is that only those who are really interested in what the writer says subscribe this way. 🙂
But you’re definitely right, the money is in the list, especially because a list protects you from Google dance.
Joanna Penn says
You can always download your list – which you should at regular interviews – so you have a backup just in case – so it’s fine to quit the service after you have built it over time.
nick clark says
I had a free Kindle weekend last week, on my first Book “The Baltic Triangle Codename Seaforth” hoping this would stimulate sales of my latest book “Deadly States”, 5000 units were given away free, and guess how many bought the second book???????????? 2 now thats soul destroying.. LOL
Jen Christopherson says
Nick, sometimes people get the free book simply because its free. Some may come back later and buy the second book. Not everyone buys the whole series at one time.
Giving away a free book is a lot like fishing. You throw a hook out there and hope you catch something. Usually, if you are going to catch something, you must wait FOREVER for the “fish” to bite! LOL
Okay, maybe forever is a strong word for this, but it sure can feel that way!!!! LOL
nick clark says
Hi
What makes things even worse is that moi is a Scotsman and we hate giving things for free!!!!!!!LOL it was my PR Guy who came up with the idea (now sacked him) only kidding,!!!!!!!!!lol
orlando palmer says
As a budding author currently writing my first novel thanks for the tops. They are very relevant and I will apply them
scott hunter books says
…then the next issue is actually getting people to visit your website so they can see that you have a free offer! Aweber set up and so far no takers! Sigh.
Joanna Penn says
yes, traffic is a whole other thing 🙂 That’s when content marketing comes into play … http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2011/02/09/content-marketing-for-authors-and-writers/