Hello Creatives, I’m Joanna Penn, bestselling author of over 30 fiction and nonfiction books, podcaster and award-winning creative entrepreneur. I am an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author under J.F.Penn.
I’ve built a multi-six-figure business off the back of my author websites, so I know how important your site and email list are. Whether you’re just starting out with your first book, or you want to improve your existing author platform, this tutorial should help you along the way.
There are three videos and accompanying cheatsheets in this series:
- Tutorial 1: How to build your own author website within 30 minutes
- Tutorial 2: How to set up your website using the Author Pro theme
- Tutorial 3: How to set up your email list signup
I’ll take it step by step and you can follow along, so even if you’re not confident with technology, you should find everything you need.
In this third and final tutorial, I’ll show you how to set up your email list and signup form on your website so you can start to build a list of readers, develop a relationship with them over time, and sell more books! You don’t need a WordPress site to use this tutorial. It is stand-alone and even if you don’t have a website right now, you can still use it to set up and run your email list. Watch below or here on YouTube.
Sign up below to get your accompanying PDF cheatsheet
[Please note: The links in the text and the video are affiliate links, which means I receive a small percentage of the sale but at no extra cost to you. I hope you find the video tutorial useful enough that you will consider using my links so I can continue to provide free information. Thank you!]
Why do you need an email list anyway? [01:22 mins]
You might have noticed, there are a LOT of books in the world. If people don’t know your book is out there, or even that you exist, how can they find and buy your book?
Book marketing is sharing what you love with people who want to hear about it, and those who sign up for your email list have specifically said that they are interested in hearing from you. So starting an email list is about gathering those people together so you can email them all at the same time, while still adhering to the privacy and anti-spam laws.
It will also help you develop a relationship with your readers over time by sharing snippets of your writer’s journey and excerpts from your books, pictures, special offers, and anything else you want to share – along with your book launch links!
It’s also about securing your future as a creator.
If you rely on social media, or the book sales sites, they will change the rules at some point and you may lose access to your audience. Publishers change, technology changes, but if you have an email list of people who want to buy from you, then you will always be able to sell your books.
I also mention Kevin Kelly’s idea of 1000 True Fans, where “a true fan is defined as a fan that will buy anything you produce.” If you can attract an audience like this, you will always be able to sell your books.
Of course, when you start out, building your list will be slow and disappointing at first. We all start with nothing. A list of zero.
But it will grow over time and the most important thing is to get started now, because what if your book does take off? You won’t know who your readers are unless you start to collect them.
You can start building an email list before you have a book, or if your book is available already and you have an established site, you can start now.
It's like that old saying about ‘when's the best time to plant a tree?' It's years ago, or it's today. Many authors regret not starting an email list earlier.
Principles of email marketing [05:00 mins]
Once you start building a list, treat those people with respect. Remember, they are people, not just email addresses!
Don’t spam them, don’t buy lists, don’t sell your list, only send them what you said you’d send them. Don’t sign people up without their permission.
You will need to adhere to anti-spam laws, and all the major email platforms do enable you to follow these. If you are in certain jurisdictions, like the EU, you will also need to adhere to data protection regulations which include privacy policy, cookie policy and more.
You can find more detail on GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) at this free tutorial with Nick Stephenson and Data Protection Lawyer, Suzanne Dibble: www.TheCreativePenn.com/gdprhelp
Why I recommend ConvertKit for your email provider [06:57 mins]
I’ve used a number of email services over the years and there are lots of options out there. Mailchimp, Mailerlite, Aweber and ActiveCampaign to name just a few.
The email list provider I now use and recommend is ConvertKit. It’s designed for small/medium-sized online creative businesses and is great for when you’re just starting out, but it’s also scalable, so some of the biggest online entrepreneurs use it too.
My affiliate link is:
www.TheCreativePenn.com/convert
I use it for JFPenn and TheCreativePenn, which I maintain as separate lists. It suits all levels, so it will definitely suit you, wherever you are on the journey.
They also have a free level so if you’re just starting out, it won’t cost you anything.
ConvertKit is easy to use with Forms, Subscribers, and Sequences, as well as extended functionality like Tagging and Automations which means you can start with a simple setup and then develop over time as your author business grows.
For example, you might start out with one book and one sign-up form and just collect email, but later on, you want to know how many people clicked on a specific series link or book name, and you can add that functionality later.
Set up an account on ConvertKit [09:20 mins]
Go to www.TheCreativePenn.com/convert and then pricing to check out the plans.
You can Create a free account for up to 1000 subscribers and upgrade later if you like using the service. They have scalable pricing depending on the size of your email list.
Remember that you are not locked in forever. You can always move your email list later, as I have done several times over the last 10 years online as new providers have emerged with better functionality or pricing. Right now, I believe ConvertKit is the best option, which is why I continue to use and recommend it.
Click Create a free account.
There will be a couple of options so ConvertKit can give you the most useful information.
If you’re moving from another tool, they can help move your list over, or you can say you’re just starting out. I moved my lists over when I started with ConvertKit and it was a simple process. You can also select whether you have a website or not, but it doesn’t matter, you can use the email list without a site.
Set up your login details with email and password. Click Get Started.
You will receive a confirmation email and also welcome emails with more details, links to help videos, and more. You can also always access help via Chat in the bottom right-hand corner.
You will need to set up an address for your account. Anti-spam laws mean this needs to be a physical address. I use a PO Box but ConvertKit also allows you to use their address which is really handy if you don’t want to invest in a PO Box.
You will also need to indicate which email address you will send from. You can get email accounts that relate to your website through your hosting service, but I use GSuite, which is Google’s business service that includes email. This means that even if my site goes down, my email is not impacted.
Once you’ve set up those basics, you can then design a form to put on your website.
Set up an email sign up form [11:46 mins on video]
Click Create New.
You can embed a form on your website or you can use a Landing Page. I used to embed forms but I now primarily use Landing Pages as the design is so well optimized for the various devices that people use these days. You can also have different offers depending on where people come from.
You can see my examples at:
www.TheCreativePenn.com/websitecheatsheet
www.TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint
[The look and feel of my sign up pages will change over time as new forms become available. I actually discovered some new ones as part of setting up this tutorial!]
I use WordPress plugin PrettyLinks.com to create a special link for the page and you can also use Redirection plugin to forward links over time. If you have a different website setup, just search ‘redirection’ and you will find similar functionality available.
Click Landing Page.
There are lots of templates for different landing pages e.g. eBook, Newsletter, and much more.
Click Choose.
A template form will appear and you can customize it by typing over the words and changing the text and colors as you like using the panel on the right-hand side. Remember to click SAVE in the top right as you go 🙂
Click Settings.
You can use the ConvertKit domain URL or you can link it to your own site.
You can customize your success message so readers start to get to know you.
Go to the email section on the right-hand side. Click Edit Email Contents. Personalize the email so it sounds like you. Again, you can just over-type into the example.
You can always ‘model’ other authors by signing up for their lists and seeing what they do. Of course, don’t plagiarize or copy and paste, but you can use other examples as a model for your own emails.
After you have edited the email contents, you can also change the settings for after confirmation.
ConvertKit will give you a default success page or you can change it to your own site to deliver the ebook. You can also include a direct download which is what I have done in the example.
You can use a service like www.Bookfunnel.com to deliver your free ebook, which means the user gets an easy to use link that will help them get the ebook onto their specific devices and you don’t have to do any tech help.
You can add your Facebook pixel ID into the form which is really useful if you want to track conversions from advertising. This is not a book marketing or Facebook ads demo, so I won’t get into detail. You can find out more at: https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/facebook-ads-pixel
Once you have saved your form, remember to test it before you promote the link!
Sign up and check all the emails and settings are correct.
Add the form to your website [24:25 mins]
You can embed the form using the ConvertKit WordPress plugin.
Go to your website. Plugins -> Add New.
Search for ConvertKit. Install and activate. Choose the specific form you want to use on that page.
But it’s not necessary to even use the plugin. I am now using direct links and redirects to landing pages which means the signup form looks good on all devices and I can quickly and easily change my offers over time. You don’t even need a website!
If you want to just use a landing page, you can link to the form from your menu.
Appearance -> Menus
Click Custom Links -> Add the ConvertKit URL
Add to menu.
Refresh your site and now if you click that link, it goes to the ConvertKit signup.
Subscribers: Organization, tagging and segmentation [27:06 mins]
As people sign up, they will be added to your Subscribers area.
You can use tagging and segmentation over time if you like, for example, if someone clicks an Apple Books link, tag them as Apple so you can send retailer-specific promotions.
Sending Broadcasts (regular updates/newsletters/launch details) [27:50 mins]
Broadcasts are your update emails, for example, if you have a new book out, or you want to send regular updates on your author life. My example email is a launch for one of my books.
You can insert images and links as well as just type text as you would in any email.
Send a test email from the panel on the right and test the links. Then you can send immediately or schedule the email for a specific date and time.
Setting up Sequences [30:24 mins]
Sequences are a number of emails that people will get on subscribing. They are set to pre-programmed times e.g. 7-day intervals. The sequences are only included in the paid levels of ConvertKit so start without them and Upgrade later as you grow.
I use Sequences to tell people more about me and my books, as well as provide more useful information. You can also change these whenever you like.
I include a link at 120 days to sign up for my Pennfriends, which is my Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) team. These are people who post reviews in the early days of a new book launch, one of the most important things for authors to have. Having this as part of my sequence means I get new people all the time without having to remember to ask! I am all about making things easy.
So I hope you can see that with the free ConvertKit account, you can go in and set up a form so you can start to build your list, link it to your website and send out broadcasts quickly and easily.
You can see the demo set-up at https://jfpennauthordemo.com/ and just click the Free ebook link from the top menu.
You can use my link for ConvertKit at www.TheCreativePenn.com/convert or of course, you can just go to ConvertKit.com
CONGRATULATIONS! You now have your own email list setup on your website!
This is exciting as you can now start to build a list of readers who are interested in your books, develop a relationship with them over time, and become a more empowered author able to sell books whenever you like.
Just a reminder, there are three videos and accompanying cheatsheets in this series. Just click on the link for the tutorial you need below:
- Tutorial 1: How to build your own author website within 30 minutes
- Tutorial 2: How to set up your website using the Author Pro theme
- Tutorial 3: How to set up your email list signup
Next step: Supercharge your email list signups with this free webinar
I did a free webinar with Nick Stephenson on the Three-Step Process to Automate your Author Marketing and Find your First 10,000 Readers.
Click here to watch the webinar.
Nick is a master at building an email list and a great copywriter, so it’s well worth learning from the free webinar and start growing your own email list.
Happy creating!
