After building my contacts for several years, I've ended up with a good amount of email each day. I don't have a problem with that because most of these can easily be grouped. The group I have time to read today will be read, the others will be filed in related folders for when I do have time.
BUT
This morning, I opened my email and found several newsletters. Ones I had not subscribed to. So tacky.
With the recent uprising about privacy notifications, spamming, and ensuring only those who signed up for a newsletter remain on the list, I hardly expected this.
I mean, really? These people added me to their newsletter list without asking? Yes, I took the time to unsubscribe myself and didn't send a note to the person, I was nice, but...really? Who has the time for that?
If we want people to engage with us as writers, become fans, loyal readers, and know we are worth the time invested in opening and reading our letter, is adding their name to our newsletter list without asking worth it? Can I hear an AMEN?
Yes, we need to show great numbers to agents and editors. Yes, we need to get the word out about our books.
No, we should not drive away our readers.
So. How can you build your newsletter list?
I'm sure there are many suggestions, and I hope you share yours in the comment section. The one I have been using is: I posted the link to my newsletter signup form and wrote ad copy to entice readers to click. I did this ... oh... a couple of months ago and left it on my author facebook page.
Readers have stumbled onto my page, scrolled through the posts and saw this link to m newsletter post. They clicked and chose to receive my newsletters. Almost every day, at least one person has signed up. No pressure. No stuffing posts on newsfeeds. I posted it and haven't touched it since. I add other content regularly, which intrigues readers to my page, which causes them to scroll down and see this newsletter invitation.
I gotta say. One of my favorite emails is the one from my newsletter provider saying someone else signed up. Better than a cup of coffee in the morning. AND I wasn't tacky.
So, how have you invited readers to sign up for your newsletter? Let's share and help each other.
~Mary Vee
#TipfulTuesday #Thewritersalleyblog #amwriting #newsletters
background photo credit: Pixaby.com-tack
Mary Vee - Mary Vee - Rock climbing, white-water rafting, and hiking top Mary’s list of ways to enjoy a day. She was homeless for a time, earned her MA in Counseling, and married an Air Force vet. Mary has been a finalist in several writing contests and writes for her King.
Visit Mary at her website, blog, and her ministry blog to families: God Loves Kids. Or chat on Facebook or Twitter
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Mary's new release, Daring to Live, is a new release on Amazon.
I agree that this is very tacky. I also don't like being added to Facebook groups or huge group texts without being asked. Because then I'm the one who feels bad about "leaving the group". Why should I feel guilty about leaving a group I never asked to be in?
ReplyDeleteThanks for a thoughtful post and a great tip on getting subscribers. I don't have a newsletter yet, but I'll be keeping this in mind.
Thanks for your comment, Glynis. No need to feel guilty about leaving a group on FB. There won't be a notification to the group telling them. Just think of it as quietly leaving through the back door to visit the ladies' room. ;)
ReplyDelete