6 Things That Will Make Your Email Captures Perform Better
For authors, email lists make things happen.
They’re databases that can kick off book launches, build momentum, help grow your lists, promote updates, and announce appearances. They’re an incredible asset — especially as you’re publishing.
But authors frequently get frustrated over trying to build the perfect list.
That’s because the command to “build an author platform” isn’t clear. Sure, you can create a blog, website, email list provider, and so on — but that’s just the technology. Your platform needs to have more than just bytes on a screen. It needs personality. It needs to attract and keep followers.
That’s where Godin’s tribal concept takes root.
Seth Godin’s Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us talks about the different “tribes” we all belong to and how you can tap into them in your work life. For example, I like reading spy novels, so I’m a member of that tribe. I’m connected to millions of other people who enjoy spy novels through online forums, book groups, and even Amazon reviews. It helps that as the President of BookBaby, I move through the book world frequently.
And that’s just a start. Where you have breakfast, the kind of coffee you prefer, the airline you fly — all of this is shaped and influenced by your memberships in tribes.
My point is this: your best tactics and techniques for creating an email list are about attracting and gathering your own tribe.
The way you do this is by giving them information they’ve asked you to provide. A key point here: A lot of authors — and many others who compile these lists — have the misguided view that regular communication could be construed as SPAM, that horrible four-letter word.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. They WANT to hear from you — often. These people have freely given you their email address — a very closely guarded destination point — and they expect to get something in return. Namely, your ideas, opinions, thoughts, impressions — and most importantly, your writing.
This is part of what makes an email list an author’s greatest asset. You have a willing and engaged audience that wants to know what you think and wants to hear more about your writing.
And that can be leveraged very simply to sell books.
So, in order to best utilize this asset, here’s what you need to know to make your email captures perform to the best of their ability:
1: Find where your potential email subscribers are already showing up and join them.
Your potential fans are congregating together today. You’re probably interacting with them already in these places. Some great places to talk with readers and even other writers are forums like WattPad or Reddit. Goodreads is another great meeting ground. The more deeply invested you are in your topic or your genre, the easier it’s going to be for you to find people to connect with.
And maybe this connection happens in person. It could be locally, like at a bookstore or a signing, or even a writer’s group. Really, you already know what your tribe loves — it’s just a matter of putting in some face time.
2: Understand that list building is about connection and not immediate commerce.
Focus on being helpful, first and foremost. Do interviews with other experts in your space. Find where people already are and then get involved. Become recognized as an expert in your own right so that you’ll attract your own followers.
It’s about offering genuine, honest information and presenting about as much of a topic as you possibly can. You really want to share things of value. That will be what keeps people coming back and looking for your content in their inbox each time.
3: Play to your strengths: create a blog and website.
This should be a given. Writers write — so start a blog and write regularly.
This is your home base and everyone who finds you online will inevitably land here. Use it to expand on your ideas and teach what you are learning. This can be where you talk about things that didn’t make it into your book, or where you can experiment with side projects.
Maybe you don’t want to take the plunge and write a cookbook, but you love talking about the best places for Korean BBQ in your city in addition to your mystery novels. Your blog is where you can do this, and your tribe is going to love it.
4: Set up your email marketing mechanism.
Let’s get technical for a second: your email platform is critical. You have to get a good one where you can manage your assets and trust that your information is safe — I personally like Constant Contact.
You want to ensure you have this infrastructure in place because this email list is where your biggest fans — and best buyers — are going to live. Luckily, once you’ve got your setup figured out, you’ll be able to reach them seamlessly.
5: From day one, find ways to get your community involved.
Interaction is the key, and it’s something that authors can easily overlook.
As your list grows, you might be surprised — and saddened — by a number of people unsubscribing from your list. That’s called list “churn,” and it’s perfectly normal.
Even the BookBaby email list has some “churn” to it.
The key is to minimize the number of people who are leaving by getting them involved. Nurture your list with things like Q&As and open-ended questions on your blog posts. From day one, invite your fans to participate and voice their own opinions. That’s where the true bonding — the tribal joining — really happens.
6: Connect your fans to each other.
Remember: the goal is not to grow a mega list of disconnected followers that are just empty email names. The goal is to build the tribe.
This means they need to interact with each other, not just with you. Give them opportunities to do this via digital and maybe even physical means. After enough of this inter-community engagement, you’ll notice you have a few super fans.
You can create some feelings of inclusion and importance among your most engaged fans. Tell them information ahead of everyone else — because you’ve noticed how much they like your work. You could say, “Hey, I’ve noticed you’re really active in my community. I’ve got a new book coming out and I wanted to let you know ahead of everyone else — but feel free to tell your friends!”
If you build it — and put in the time and effort — your tribe will come.
