#TipfulTuesday: It's Just Plain Tacky When...

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

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION 

Mary's new release, Daring to Live, is a new release on Amazon.

Engage Your Senses

"Mom." A gentle whisper nudges me. "Moooom." A long hollow moan like the winter wind outside my window. The little boy beside my bed grips my shoulder and his  warmth seeps through my sleeve. An urgent shake pulls me from my toasty comfort.

"It's morning." His voice is full and bold now. It's not just any morning, though.

 It's Christmas morning.

I rise and follow anxious thuds on creaking steps. The twinkle of Christmas lights prods the last of sleep from my eyes. The piney scent draws me close to the tree adorned with memories. My little boy is beside its boughs, a jumping bean whose energy is contagious--a reminiscent excitement that I once felt long ago.

My husband is ready with a steaming cup and I settle into my chair while we finally say, "Go!" And he tears into his gifts. The rips of crisp,vibrant paper, the squeal of delight while I savor the fullness of my hot drink on my tongue, the fullness of my heart in this moment of childish joy.

The babe in a manger is not forgotten, as our last present waits--a sparkly box with a red bow. Our simple, humble gift to our great and mighty Savior. We open it and read the deeds written on slips of paper. Each one is a symbolic love sacrifice we now give to the God who loves. And yet, it seems not enough. Just as the manger of hay and the lowly stable with its earthy smell of wood and livestock, surely seemed unfit for such a babe. But we revel in the Grace, the Hope, the knowing that nothing is enough, but our very hearts for Him.

And in this we rest and spend our blessed morning in a quiet celebration for the birth of a King.

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In a handful of paragraphs, the senses are engaged, the scene captured by sound and touch, sight, taste, and smell. As writers, we are called to transport the reader into our stories to the fullest. As children of a creative, giving God, we remember best through the senses He has bestowed upon us.

In your next scene, remember those five senses, and see how your writing comes to life when you engage each one.

May this Christmas morning be one that delights your senses and gives you ample reason to praise the God whose great Gift surpasses any other we receive!

Merry Christmas!

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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures and social boundaries. Angie is an ACFW member and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.