Need to start my email list, and I'm scared

So, I'm nearly finished formatting my novel and hope to get it published before the end of March. I've been listening to Novel Marketing and Joanna Penn and her guests at The Creative Penn Podcast, and other such writing/marketing pundits, and I'm facing up to the fact that I need to start an email list so people will know when the book is out and available.

Not sure why I didn't think of this before, but one of Joanna's recent guests pointed out that you start your list with people you already have connections with, in person or on social media; you know, those people who've been asking all this time when your book is coming out. I think I was assuming I'd just throw up an announcement on Facebook and Instagram and let them see it or not . . .

Like that would be a smart marketing move.

No, gotta generate the list. And now that it comes to actually, really asking people (on line or face to face) if they want to sign up, I'm getting the deer-in-the-headlights, I-wanna-vomit willies.

It's not fear that they'll say no. In fact, a part of me hopes they will. Or being afraid they'll buy the book and then hate it--- although there's that in my psychology that says that would be the universe going the way it should. No, the fear is deeper. Like it's somehow obscene or perverse for me to do this kind of open, frank, in-your-face marketing. That I'm getting out of my place and the world will be worse for it. Promoting myself and my work is not what I'm allowed to do! That's not how I was raised!

Yeah, yeah. I know. I have to get over it. I'm reminding myself that I've taken on the Catrin Lewis pen name as a kind of character I'm inventing. Real Name Me "isn't permitted" to market; Catrin Lewis is and can. Real Name Me is a gutless wonder; Catrin Lewis is a savvy businesswoman who'll do what it takes to get her book out to the public.

Trouble is, Real Name Me and Catrin Lewis share the same stomach. And it's full of--- not butterflies--- but scorpions and centipedes.

. . . Sorry, I had to vent. The real questions are, if you have an email list, what did you do to build it up? What works and what doesn't, and what would you do differently if you could start over from scratch? And does anyone else share my marketing fears, and what did you do to overcome them?

 

I will agree with Moose that marketing is a scary place. From what I understand is that it helps to
stand out from the herd so to speak. While I suck at the process in general, you need to find a way
to appeal to your target audience so that you are more than just another writer in the genre. This
is no easy feat considering you have to try and set yourself apart from them in some way, so that
you won't get lost in the tidal wave of all the other authors in your genre.
Can't say I have ever been on an email list, so I don't know what it is like to get that sort of thing.
Perhaps it might help if you wrote up a sample of what you intend to be sending to your prospective
audience, and we can see what you've got to work with. After all, it has to be less crazy than trying
to make 140 characters do all the heavy lifting for you if you go the twitter route, and the people
that sign up for this list are in some part interested in what you are offering, yes?
Another thought that occurs, would be to get the ball rolling a bit faster, would be to have some
people in your corner to share their views of your work in addition to whatever you send out.
As a point of reference for the potential buyer, having some third party feedback goes a long way
in helping the new customer see that you are worth checking out, as opposed to simply trying to
manage the whole ordeal on your own. May not be some high praised editor, but it is better than
nothing.



@Catrin Lewis =
The book Marketeer.

 

I'm pretty sure it was the ConvertKit guy who opened my eyes to the fact that I should/need to/can ask people I know to join my list, as opposed to starting my website and vaguely hoping visitors sign up. Though I checked the transcript and can't see that he said so in so many words. Maybe the interview forced me to make the connection.

 

It's funny, but with me, it's like marketing and promotion are wonderful privileges reserved for the gentry and aristocracy, but not fitting for hoi polloi like me. Gotta get over that.

 

At this stage, I'm looking into discounts for pre-order, and seeing if Amazon will let me offer a kind of Friends-and-Family discount code that can be used any time. I've heard that some writers offer email subscribers access to deleted chapters, and I should be able to keep part of my website (which isn't up yet) behind a password-only wall where I can keep that kind of material for them.

I agree that offering something special with every mailing is much better than a continual cry of "Buy my book!!!"

 

I think you're right to be wary. People don't like being directly marketed to, even by their friends - sooo many friendships have been lost over MLM schemes.

I'm no expert on promotion but I treat other people how I want to be treated, so I wouldn't approach anybody and ask directly if they will sign up to my mailing list. I'd put an invitation somewhere general (Twitter, Facebook) and let people do what they will. Is it the best way to sell books? I don't know. All I know is when people market at me on social media, I unfollow them.

 

But do you announce on Twitter when your books are ready and out? I'd be interested in knowing that, and it'd be more convenient to catch the news there than by checking and rechecking your blog (as entertaining as your blog is).

I agree it'd be obnoxious to buttonhole everyone I know and tell them to sign up for my email list. But when people ask me when the book will be out, I'm thinking that'd be a good time to say, "Would you like to get an email notice when that happens?" And give them a card with the signup address on it if they would.

(Oh, crumb. Now I have to redesign my author card. But I needed to do that anyway.)

 

Oh sure, I think general announcements are fine. Most authors on Twitter have a link to their book/s in a pinned Tweet, and also mention the title in their bio. That includes authors whose book isn't out yet, with a preorder link or just "TITLE, Tor / spring 2018." Anybody interested in their work couldn't fail to find their book, with no need for a mailing list.

I'm coming at this as a reader rather than an author, so filter what I say accordingly... but I would only offer the mailing list is someone specifically asks you if you have a book available/when your book will be out. If they just express general interest in your writing (I ask most authors what they're working on, as an ice breaker) then I personally wouldn't. Probably about 90% of the time, other people's books don't sound like something I would want to read (wrong genre, wrong age group, whatever - nothing snobby!) and it would just be awkward if they asked me to join their mailing list.

I know you didn't say you would offer a sign-up to anybody who spoke to you. I'm just musing.

 

Thinking about it, the email list thing would be good for me as I get around a lot (sub at a lot of different schools, belong to several different organizations), and it's usual that at least one person will ask me each time I show up when the book will be available. I'm not on Facebook or Twitter with most of these people, so if they're really interested, the email list would be a good way to keep them informed.

Me, I'll do almost anything before I'll check my email, it's such a time sink with all the spam, but others aren't necessarily the same.

That's a good idea about doing a pinned Twitter post to the book. I suppose I should have the guts to put that up now. But I'd prefer to do it once the formatting is done, as if it's several more weeks I'll feel like an ass.

 

It's easier than you think.

You need:

- A landing page. This is where people sign up. It could be your website (I haven't updated my site in years, but you'll still see the e-mail capture at the top if you click the link in the sig) or it could be a stand-alone page you link to from your website, which has nothing on it apart from the lead capture form and the text you're using to sell them on signing up. Stand-alone usually gets you more sign-ups because there's no distractions, but if you've already got a website it's usually a bit more faff to set up. There are plenty of apps or Wordpress plugins (if that's what your site uses) that'll make one of these for you as well.

- An autoresponder to send your e-mails. There is nothing you'll need to do that Mailchimp can't do for you, and by the time you get to the point where you need to pay for it, you'll be able to afford it.

Desirable:

- Something to give away as an incentive. You'll get more people to sign up if you have this, but don't stress about it if you can't come up with anything. Stick up a lead capture form that says something like 'Let me know when this amazing book gets published' to start with and work on that later.

And don't worry about people who say they don't like to get e-mails. They're not going to sign up, so you don't care. Just make sure you're honest about what people are going to get when they sign up (i.e. don't say 'I'll e-mail you occasionally with updates' and then mail three times a day because you're trying to be engaging. It is not engaging, people will hate you. Mailing three times a day is fine as long as you tell them that's what's going to happen when they sign up). Be interesting. Stay interesting. You don't need to mail a lot, just be worth reading when you do it. People don't follow authors, they follow other people. Be a real person. Be likeable. Most importantly, be yourself. People can smell a fake from a mile away unless you're very good at it. But you can be yourself better than anyone else on the planet, and there are many, many people out there who'll enjoy you being you. Find them. Get them to want to buy your book because you're an amazing human being.

You'll be fine. Good luck.

 

Also, at the end of your ebook, you can have a hyperlink, asking the reader, if they enjoyed your work and would like information about any new releases, to sign up

 

I notice you mentioned a linked stand-alone form. I gather you're not talking about those gawdawful popups that appear the second you land on someone's page, holding the content hostage until you sign up for their bloody newsletter. I hit one the other day that didn't even have an X in the corner to close out of it. You had to scroll way down the page to make it go away, and I only learned that because the site had some information I thought I needed and I started pushing buttons to see get something, anything that might work.

If you want me to leave your site fast and never return, try to make me commit to you before I know what you're all about. (All "you's" in the preceding are of the general variety.)

Thanks for the encouragement.

 

No, I mean a page dedicated just to getting the lead, nothing else. E.g. this one, from Joanna Penn:

https://www.thecreativepenn.com/blueprint-signup4/

You can get to that page by clicking the bit on her homepage that says 'Get started right away with the author 2.0 blueprint'. Once you're there, you can do nothing on that page except click the button that opens the sign-up form. There's no other articles to read, nothing to distract you. You either sign up or hit the back button, that's it.

Pages like this will often have higher conversion rates because there are no distractions. They're not hard to set up, but as noted it's usually a bit more faff than just sticking a form on the homepage of the website you've already got.

Worth noting, it's not an either/or thing. The more ways you have of getting leads, the more leads you'll get.