Email Marketing for Book Authors
As entrepreneurs and business owners, we know the importance of our email list. We don’t “own” our social media followers. This can take on a whole new level of importance when it comes to book publishing. Why? The almighty Amazon. Amazon doesn’t share customer information with authors, so unless someone who purchases your book is on your list, you may never have an interaction with them. That is NOT ideal, obviously. (I don’t mean to pick on Amazon, because obviously this is true of Barnes & Noble and other booksellers, of course, but let’s face it: Most book sales these days are coming from Amazon.)
Sales Funnels for Books
If you offer an opt-in related to your book (a free chapter, for example, or some sort of related bonus content), you can grow your fan base by getting people on your list who are interested in your topic.
You can create a sales funnel that leads people to your book. Some of these people will your book and get filtered into a new funnel (leading them to a higher-priced offering).
You can create a sales funnel that leads people to your book. - @jodibrandon
Whole-Hearted Recommendations
Did you ever notice that sometimes it’s difficult to get people to spread the word about, say, a course or an online summit (because, honestly, we know that no one needs another unfinished thing on their plate), but that people spread the word about book ALL THE TIME? Books are a low price point. In other words, it’s easy for others to recommend you and your book without feeling like they’re going out on a limb or without feeling like they’re just adding to your already-full plate with something time consuming — or perhaps something they don’t have firsthand experience with. Makes sense when you think about it, right?
Too Much Selling?
I know, I know. You don’t want to annoy the people on your list. Remember, though, that people OPTED IN. They CHOSE to be on your list. At the Savvy Conference last summer, I listened to Rachel Hofstetter talk about the concept of “give, give, get.” Provide valuable content to your audience (give), then provide even more (give), and THEN ask for something, such as a book sale or a book review (get). Strike the balance and you won’t be selling all the time. (I agree that you don’t want to be doing that! People will unsubscribe quickly if you’re constantly asking them to buy from you without providing value.)
What to Send
Your emails don’t need to just be about your book. Sure, there will be more book-related emails during a launch period, but you can also talk about your writing process, a launch recap, who you’re interviewing (and why), and more.
Your email list is the perfect audience to validate your book title, cover, and more. The people on your list are fans already. They are interested in your topic. Such a warm audience is ideal for offering feedback.
If you’ve written and published a book, how did you utilize your email list? If you haven’t written one yet, I hope you’ll commit to doing so!