“It’s an audience of people” is brilliant! Thank you for sharing that.

I just visited your website to see what you write about. Why don’t you pretend you’re one of your clients and offer content advice to yourself? I know that might sound silly, but I’m serious. If a client was paying you for advice about what content to put in a regular newsletter, what would you suggest they do? Also, I think regular how-to tips might be a good fit for you. And if you don’t already, subscribe to your competitors’ newsletters and see what they send people. Subscribe to A LOT of newsletters to see what they send people!

And I love that you offer your subscribers an e-course. What a great idea!

Sandy

Here’s another thought, Alan: People who downloaded the book because it’s free might not have even read it. I have quite a few downloads on my Kindle that I haven’t read yet, and I’m not unique. These are books I intend to read, but others also download something just because it’s free, even if it’s not the type they usually read, etc.

You really want to be driving readers to your opt-in page in other ways — not just through your perma-free book. If you aren’t doing that already, give that a try before abandoning what you have now.

Sandy

Thanks Sandy, good advice! I’ll have rethink about the funnel strategy.

That sounds like a great idea.

I’m not a big fan of using a book as a lead magnet, so I’d encourage you to create something else that’s short and relevant — a character guide, a map of fictional region for a series, etc. It’s an opportunity to be creative.

Sandy

Everything in the book applies to both nonfiction and fiction — it’s just that all the examples are for fiction. I read it as a nonfiction author and can reassure you that it’s directly relevant to my work. And honestly, I think it’s easier for nonfiction authors to provide useful newsletter content than it is for novelists, so you’ve got that going for you!

Sandy

It’s too bad that the book focuses only on fiction, but it still sounds useful.

Thats right! I know the books are good because they have great reviews, including 5 stars from Readers Favorite. I suspect I haven’t found my audience though, that’s probably the issue.