Last week, I received an email from a professional acquaintance announcing, “So we became the #1 book on Amazon.”

Whoa! A parenting book was Amazon’s top-selling book? How did the author knock out Cassidy Hutchinson’s “Enough” or the Elon Musk biography?

And how did a book using a pay-to-play author services company do it?

Trust me, I was beyond impressed.

Until I wasn’t.

Smoke and mirrors

I pulled up Amazon’s best-seller list and discovered that this “best-seller” wasn’t “the #1 book on Amazon.” It wasn’t even in the top 50.

But it was the “#1 new release” in the Motherhood category.

Ohhhhhh.

When this individual wrote, “the #1 book on Amazon,” they meant, “#1 new release in the Motherhood category.”

Now I feel foolish

via GIPHY

They sucked me in, and I felt tricked. Duped. Manipulated. Now I feel foolish.

I admire the author. We’re connected on social media. Normally in a launch situation when I have some connection to the author and I’m sure it’s a good book (and I’m certain this one is), I’ll share information about it with my social networks.

And, yeah, my networks include young mothers and grandparents who buy parenting books as gifts for their daughters.

But not this time.

By making me feel foolish, they have lost my trust.

They’ll be fine without my support, of course. (I’m not delusional.) But if I feel this way, it’s likely that a few others who received the email do, too, right?

The last thing you want to do, no matter what you’re marketing, is lose your fans’ trust.

3 ways to display honesty in book marketing

Here are three easy ways to make sure your marketing is honest enough to retain the trust you’ve established with readers.

1. Stick to the facts.

Avoid “alternative” facts.

Your book is only the top seller on Amazon if it is, indeed, ranked number one on the best-seller list.

If you’ve achieved category best-seller status, bask in the glory. Adding the word “category” gives your message authenticity and accuracy while still allowing you to claim that impressive “best-seller” status.

Plus, adding the word “category” doesn’t diminish your accomplishment.

2. Don’t underestimate readers’ intelligence.

I got sucked in by the “#1 on Amazon” email because the author has a huge platform. In addition, she and her husband/business partner are professional marketers. If anyone could turn a parenting book into the top-seller on Amazon, it’s them.

It was a plausible claim.

Readers understand this. If they know you’re “internet famous” or if you’ve published blockbusters already, they’ll believe that your book actually could be “#1 on Amazon.”

But does that describe your track record? If it doesn’t, that “#1 on Amazon” claim won’t fly. Readers know how these things work, so they’re increasingly skeptical.

3. Showcase your true accomplishments.

Answer these questions to identify potential accomplishments you can showcase without stretching the truth:

• Has your book been honored with an award?
• Have you won writing awards, or have any of your short stories appeared in publications?
• Have you received industry recognition for knowledge or expertise that’s relevant to your book?
• What fabulous things have early readers said about your book? Have any luminaries or influencers praised it?
• Did the book achieve category best-seller status, even for a brief period? (And did you grab a screenshot?)

Don’t discount any achievement. Claim it, own it, share it.

It’s okay if you haven’t experienced any of this, by the way. “Accomplishments” aren’t a necessity. But they’re a valid alternative to the smoke and mirrors approach that can mislead or confuse.

How much do you value your readers’ trust?

You get to decide how you might or might not stretch the truth in your book marketing.

I choose honesty and transparency. You might think my approach is too rigid. And, hey, you might be right. But just as I’m transparent because that’s what I’m comfortable with, you need to proceed with what works best for you.

I encourage you to look at things through your readers’ eyes first, though. I trusted the author who sent me that “#1 on Amazon” email. That trust was undermined by one sentence.

I’ll get over it, as will your readers. But I move forward with even more skepticism than I had before that message dropped into my inbox.

Have you ever felt tricked by marketing for any type of product? Please tell us about it in a comment!

Don’t know how to get the influencer endorsements and testimonials for your book that convince readers that it’s a great read? I’ve got everything you need in the multi-media program, “Blurbs, Endorsements, and Testimonials: How to Get Experts, Authorities, Celebrities, and Others to Endorse Your Book.” Get details here.

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you).

When I spoke about “the one thing that will make a difference” at the Find Your Readers Summit last month, I focused on email marketing.

Here are just a few of the many reasons I believe authors should build an email list:

• You own your email list. You don’t own your connections on any social network, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or the others. If one of them crashes, or if you get kicked off the site, you’ll lose your audience.
• It’s more effective than social media marketing. So why not put your time where it will pay off the most?
• You can tap your subscribers to be beta readers or book launch team members. Stop fishing for reader support on social networks. You’ll find them in your email subscribers.

If you want to sell books, you need to get on board with email marketing.

Why aren’t you using email marketing?

So why aren’t more of you building an email list you can use to communicate regularly with the people who read the kinds of books you write?

The problem for many (you, maybe?) is that they don’t know where to begin.

When I’m tackling a new area, I often start by studying the terms used. If I don’t, I spend way too much time Googling and not enough following instructions. (That’s why I added publishing and marketing glossaries to this site for you.)

So let’s start there — with the terms commonly used when people discuss email marketing. When you understand them, you won’t feel like you need to use Google Translate when you begin researching email service providers.

The email marketing glossary for authors

To minimize overwhelm, I’ve limited the number of terms defined. So, while it isn’t a complete author email marketing glossary, it should be enough to reduce the intimidation factor.

Bounce rate: The percentage of emails that are not successfully delivered to recipients. Bounces can be classified as either hard (permanent delivery failure) or soft (temporary delivery failure).

Call to action (CTA): A prompt or button within an email that encourages recipients to take a specific action. That might be visiting a website or making a purchase.

CAN-SPAM: A set of rules and requirements established by the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate commercial email messages sent to recipients within the USA.

Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of recipients who click on a link within an email compared to the total number of emails delivered.

Conversion rate: The percentage of recipients who take a desired action (such as making a purchase or filling out a form) after clicking on a link in an email.

Double opt-in: A process where subscribers confirm their email address and consent to receive emails by clicking on a verification link sent to their inbox. It provides an added layer of permission and reduces the risk of spam complaints.

Deliverability: The ability of an email to avoid the spam or junk folder and successfully reach the recipient’s inbox .

Email automation: The use of automated workflows or triggers to send emails based on certain actions or events (such as welcoming new subscribers as soon as they subscribe).

Email service provider: This is a software company that provides an email marketing platform or tool that connects to your website and lets you acquire names and email addresses and create and send bulk emails to those addresses (subscribers). It automates all of this for you.

Lead magnet: The digital, downloadable incentive you offer your target readers in exchange for providing their email address and adding themselves — “opting-in” — to your email list.

List hygiene: The process of regularly cleaning and updating email subscriber lists to remove inactive or invalid email addresses, reducing bounces and improving deliverability.

List segmentation: The process of categorizing email subscribers into different segments based on specific criteria (demographics, interests, purchase history, etc.). It allows for more targeted and personalized email campaigns.

Open rate: The percentage of recipients who open an email compared to the total number of emails delivered. It indicates how engaging the subject line and email content are.

Opt-in: The act of giving permission for a sender to email someone by willingly subscribing to a mailing list. Don’t risk being identified as a spammer by adding people to your email list. Invite them to add themselves using an opt-in process.

Personalization: The practice of tailoring email content and design to specific subscriber information. For example, personalization lets senders add the recipients name to the message subject line, salutation, or anywhere else in the message, among other things.

Unsubscribe rate: The percentage of recipients who choose to unsubscribe from a mailing list after receiving an email.

Getting over that next email marketing obstacle

Now that you’re more familiar with some of the terminology, you’ll want to start thinking about:

• The email service provider you contract with (I use ConvertKit; it’s designed for creators like us).
• The freebie or lead magnet you’ll offer readers in exchange for their name and email address (here are ideas for novelists and nonfiction authors).
• How often you’ll email your subscribers.
• What you’ll send them.

Get started by adding yourself to author and marketer lists so you can see how others handle email marketing.

Study what they share in their emails and how the information is presented. Do they use text only or do they feature a combination of text and graphics? Which of these formats resonates with you?

Review the types of content they offer and how they do it. Some people send self-contained newsletters, while others (like me) provide only a portion of the text in the message and link to the rest online. Which approach do you prefer?

When you learn the terms above, then learn how you want to show up in your subscribers’ inboxes, you will begin to gain the confidence you want for the next step.

Do you offer an email newsletter? Please provide a signup link in the comments so other authors can subscribe to see how you do it.

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission (at no extra charge to you).

It makes me crazy when people selling products and services to authors use marketing buzzwords and phrases without defining them. The phrase du jour is “book funnels.”

And I’ll be honest: When I first learned about marketing “funnels” years ago, it took me a while to truly understand the concept because marketing funnels don’t work like my kitchen funnel. (I’ll explain that later.)

So, what is a book funnel and how can it help you sell more books? I’ve got the answers for you. In this article, I explain:

• What are book funnels
• Why you need one
• Book funnel process flow
• Book funnel elements
• How you’ll use your book funnel

Note: This article is not about the paid resource called BookFunnel, a brand name for a service that allows you to outsource the book funnel process to a specialist.

What the heck are book funnels?

A book funnel is a marketing strategy used to increase book sales. It consists of a series of steps that guide potential readers from discovering your book to purchasing it.

I created this graphic to help visualize it.

How book funnels differ from my kitchen funnel

Now let me explain why this concept wasn’t obvious to me at first.

When you pour a liquid into the wide mouth of a kitchen funnel, all of that water comes out the narrow bottom. All of it.

With marketing funnels, lots goes into the top, and little comes out the bottom. The difference between “lots” and “little” remains trapped in the middle. The marketing happens in that middle.

Getting stuck in the middle is a good thing

People enter the top of the funnel, and either take the action you’re requesting in the middle, or they don’t take it. If they don’t take action, they remain in the middle.

If they do take action, they move farther into the funnel.

And if they take the final desired action – purchasing a product, registering for an event, etc. – they come out of the funnel at the end. Sort of.

So, lots of people enter the top, but not everybody takes all of the steps that lead them out at the end. Unlike the liquid flowing through my kitchen funnel.

Why you need a book funnel

Now that you know what a book funnel is and isn’t, the big question is: Why do you need one?

Book funnels are a great way to gain visibility and generate more sales for your books. Here’s why.

Increased visibility: A book funnel and the marketing activities that drive readers into it increase your book’s visibility and boost your author brand. It will also help generate more traffic to your website.

More sales: Targeting potential readers who are interested in your book and guiding them towards making a purchase helps you sell more books.

Increased engagement: A book funnel can help increase reader engagement on social media but also through email, which I find both helpful and rewarding. You’ll be able to use your email list to launch promotions, send notifications about new releases, and create conversations around your book and other topics.

Saves time: It automates the marketing process and reduces the time you spend manually promoting your book. This gives you more time to do what you’d rather be doing – writing another book.

Affordable: It’s a cost-effective way to market your book.

Once it’s set up, it keeps working for you all day and all night. What’s not to like about that?

Book funnel process flow

If you’re new to the funnel concept, it helps to break down how readers flow from top to bottom. Here’s how it works.

Step 1: At the top of your book funnel

Book funnels typically begin when you or your publisher create awareness of your book. This might involve social media campaigns, advertising, blog posts, and email marketing.

You’re attracting readers to the top of your funnel.

Step 2: Drawing the right readers into your funnel

Picture those readers hovering at the top of the book funnel. You want to draw them in by helping them learn more about your book. Reviews, interviews, videos, and other content can give readers a better understanding of the book’s themes and characters or what they’ll learn from it.

That information will help them decide if they want to move further into your funnel to continue learning more.

Step 3: Pulling readers further into your funnel

To pull those at the top even further into your funnel, you offer them a free digital gift that’s related to the book. Some call this a “freebie” or “reader magnet.” The marketing term is “lead magnet.”

They must provide their email address to receive this gift.

Step 4: Convert readers in your book funnels from “interested” to “buyers”

The process you use to capture their email takes them to a “thank you” page on your site. In addition to information on how they download your lead magnet, this page provides more information about the book, including purchase links.

Your process will also automatically send an email containing the link they use to download your lead magnet. You use this to encourage a purchase, too.

Step 5: Continue to encourage purchase by staying in touch

You have the email address of everybody in the middle of your funnel who added themselves to your email list – they “opted in.” This is whether they bought the book and came out the end or not.

Send them regular emails with helpful and interesting information so they don’t forget about you and your book.

These aren’t “buy my book” emails. They’re “staying in touch” emails that include book and other news as well as a purchase link.

These are the people who are most likely to purchase from you eventually. It might not be this book, but it could be the next one.

Visualize these five steps as you look at the book funnel diagram again.

Book funnel elements

Book funnels require technology. If you’re not a do-it-yourselfer, you can pay someone to set this up for you.

These are the elements you need.

Email service provider

I hope you’re already collecting email addresses that you use to stay in touch with readers. If you aren’t, this is a great way to start.

Your email service provider will:

• Give you the power to add a form to your landing page that collects email addresses
• Automatically collect and store those email addresses for you
• Automatically send email messages to people as soon as they provide their address (this is called an “email sequence”)
• Allow you to create and distribute to your list an email newsletter or any other messages you want to send them

There are many email service providers to chose from. I used several before discovering my absolute favorite, ConvertKit. It’s designed for creators like us, and the customer support is exceptional.

Landing page

A landing page is a single web page designed to encourage a single, specific action. It has no toolbars. There are no links to other pages on your site. I design mine with Thrive Architect, which works with WordPress.

The goal of your book funnel landing page is to get people to join your email list. This is where you offer that free digital download, your lead magnet.

This means there should be a clear call-to-action that encourages readers to do that. Include these elements:

• Text that describes your lead magnet
• An image of the lead magnet or something that represents it
• A call to action
• An email signup form, either on the landing page or on a form or page that pops up when people click on the call-to-action button

Here’s an example of the landing page for my newest lead magnet, a cheat sheet that lists the “8 Services That Help Journalists Find Authors and Other Sources.”

Lead magnet

A lead magnet is a digital, downloadable incentive you offer your target readers in exchange for providing their address so they add themselves to your email list. It must be relevant to your book.

Get nonfiction lead magnet ideas and resources for creating one in “5 nonfiction lead magnet ideas.”

A sample chapter works well as a fiction lead magnet, but I’ve got other ideas plus tools you can use to design yours in “3 fiction lead magnet ideas.”

Thank-you page

As soon as readers submit their email address, technology will take them to a thank-you page. That page can either provide the download link for your lead magnet, thank them for requesting your “gift” and instruct them to check their email for a message with the download link, or both.

Use this page to sell your book.

In addition to text that thanks people and instructs on the next steps involved for downloading the lead magnet, include:

• Your book cover
• Book description
• Your best influencer blurbs/testimonials
• A few reader reviews if you have them
• Purchase links to online retailers selling your book

Email sequence

An email sequence is an automated series of messages.

In this case, the first message thanks readers for requesting your gift and provides instructions on how and where to download it.

Follow that with an email with more information about your book and purchase links.

Continue to nurture these interested readers by sending regular emails with updates about your book, additional content related to it, helpful or interesting information, and so on.

View your landing page as an alternative home page

The idea behind a book funnel is to create a series of steps that use information to turn readers from browsers to buyers. This is why I want you to use your landing page as an alternative home page for much of your book marketing.

Send people to your landing page instead of your website’s home page. Get ideas for how to do that in Carolyn Choate’s free lead magnet, “20 Ways to Bring People to Your Funnel.” (Carolyn sets up funnels for authors and others. This is part of her funnel, so even if you aren’t interested in her free download, check out her landing page for inspiration.)

Add the URL to your social media profiles. Share it on social media regularly. Include it in your speaker bio if you speak at conferences and online summits.

Repetition can lead to purchasing

Here’s why: People aren’t going to buy your book the first time they hear about it on social media, in a guest post, or in a YouTube video. When you send them to your Amazon sales page early in this relationship, they aren’t likely to buy the book quite yet.

They need more information and they need it more than once. A lot more.

You can do all of this with email marketing. And that’s why you want to capture their email addresses.

Email marketing allows you to connect with the right readers in a way that helps keep your book top of mind now and later.

There are definitely situations where you’ll send people to your book’s sales page on Amazon or elsewhere. But when you’re marketing to readers who don’t know you and your work yet, a book funnel built around email marketing is one of the best ways for them to get to see the value you offer.

Start building your book funnel

Don’t wait to get started building your book funnel. And don’t let the technology frighten you off. If you don’t want to do it yourself, pay someone to do it for you. Help is out there.

But do it.

Let a book funnel help you connect in a more meaningful way with the people you wrote the book for while you sell more books.

What company do you use for your email service provider? Please tell us in a comment. 

It caught my attention because although I was on his list, I didn’t subscribe to his newsletter. He added me without my permission.

I wasn’t interested in his newsletter topic so I deleted his messages without reading them.

Maybe unsubscribing isn’t as easy as we think

I could have unsubscribed, right? It was certainly easy enough — all I had to do was use that option at the bottom of any newsletter.

But I didn’t unsubscribe because I was certain he would confront me if I did. (Remember, I know him.)

Who needs the drama? Certainly not me.

Was it my get out of jail free card?

This time, though, I thought that his newsletter’s “I’m cleaning up my list” subject line was my get out of jail free card.

“I don’t like spam any more than you do, so I’m cleaning up my contact list,” the message began.

It felt like he was giving me permission to unsubscribe. So…I scrolled down to the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom, only to discover this warning just above it: “Feel free to opt out, but remember that unsubscribing works both ways: I have no desire to get email from people who don’t want to receive it from me.”

Whoa.

That is all kinds of wrong.

And it made me wonder if other authors shared the misperception that this was an okay thing to do.

Here’s why it isn’t, and here are two other author email marketing truths that will help you move forward, not hold you back.

Email marketing truth #1: Reciprocity isn’t the goal.

You want the right people as subscribers.

The “right” people are those in your book’s target audience. They’re the people who read the types of books you write.

And they’re probably not the people whose newsletters you subscribe to.

Take me. I don’t read science fiction, so you don’t want me on your email list. I will never buy and read your book.

And I won’t recommend your book simply because I learned about it in your newsletter because I’m not qualified to recommend it.

So don’t add me to your list.

It doesn’t matter that you receive my newsletter. You subscribed because you’re interested in what I write about — book marketing. You never want to presume that someone who writes about a topic you’re interested in will automatically be interested in what you write about.

Focusing on the right subscribers saves you money

Here’s another reason you don’t want to add people to your list just because you’re on theirs: Adding the wrong people will eventually start costing you money.

Some email marketing services give you a free account until you reach a specified number of subscribers. After that, you start paying.

In addition, even when you’ve got a paid account, your monthly fee increases as your list grows.

Don’t pay for people who aren’t your ideal readers.

Email marketing truth #2: This isn’t a loyalty test.

I took the plunge with the author who invited people to unsubscribe because I am constantly, constantly trying to decrease the amount of email I receive.

But after I unsubscribed, I watched my inbox for his response, because I knew there would be one.

It came pretty quickly.

The author told me that because I wasn’t willing to demonstrate my loyalty to him by remaining on his email list, he had unsubscribed from my Build Book Buzz newsletter and disconnected from me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

via GIPHY

He showed me, right?

Who pays the price?

Will I miss seeing what he shares about a topic I’m not interested in?

I will not.

Will he suffer because he won’t see the information I share that could help him sell more copies of his book or build a bigger platform for the next one?

I don’t know. Maybe he never looked at anything I wrote or shared after he subscribed.

But I don’t care. And I won’t suffer because of his actions.

People can support you in other ways

Please remember that the people in your life can support you in many ways that don’t involve receiving your newsletter.

They can announce your book to their social networks, introduce you to people who might be able to help you in a bigger way, or just listen to you talk about the joys and frustrations of publishing — and that’s just for starters.

Email marketing truth #3: You can create a newsletter your readers will look forward to.

When I ask authors why they aren’t using email marketing, most say it’s because they don’t want to be “spammy.”

Then I ask if they subscribe to any newsletters. When they answer “yes” — and they usually do say “yes” — I ask why. More often than not, it’s because the newsletters are interesting, informative, helpful, or entertaining.

Well, then, if that marketer can send a newsletter that’s interesting, why can’t you?

So let go of this idea that all email marketing is spammy. Because it isn’t. When you create content that serves your reader rather than yourself, your subscribers will look forward to your messages.

When you focus on what the reader wants from you, you’ll attract more of the right subscribers. Your list and fan base will grow — without adding people who don’t want to be on it.

Avoid an uphill battle

But back to the author who invited people to unsubscribe from his list, then punished them for doing so: It’s a mean-spirited approach to book promotion.

When your marketing decisions are grounded in a “you-do-for-me-and-I’ll-do-for-you” approach, it will be an uphill battle. (Consider that another email marketing truth.)

It doesn’t matter how beautifully you write or how much you know about your  topic. If you make people uncomfortable by approaching your tasks with an “And what will you do for me in return?” attitude, you’re going to find yourself with far fewer opportunities than your competitors.

You are who you are, but if you’re someone who…

• Subscribes to an author friend’s newsletter and gets angry if she doesn’t add herself to your list (or removes herself after you make the mistake of adding her) or
• Unfollows people on Twitter for no other reason than they don’t follow you back or
• Sulk because your college roommate hasn’t reviewed your book yet

…it will be slow going for you.

When you’re always looking for trouble, you’ll find it. Why not look for opportunities, instead?

Each email marketing truth will serve you well. Embrace all of them.

And if you haven’t started building an email list yet, what are you waiting for? Get started now!

Learn more about author email marketing attitudes, content, and mechanics in Tammy Labrecque’s book, Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert.

What have you seen in email marketing that you liked? What works for you? 

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2015. It has been updated and expanded.)

I’d love to see more of you use email marketing to build relationships with readers in a way that will help you sell more books.

As with just about every book marketing tactic, there’s a right way and a wrong way to use email marketing as an author. And, not surprisingly, it’s not as simple as finding someone who knows how to add an email form to your website.

You also need to know how to encourage people to add themselves to your list, and you have to send email messages that “speak” to them.

That’s why I’m reviewing Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi Labrecque. I think it will help with nearly every aspect of author email marketing.

Who will find this book helpful?

Newsletter Ninja will help authors at several different knowledge levels. They are people who:

• Aren’t convinced it’s a smart marketing tactic
• Know they should do it, but don’t know much more than that
• Make building an email list a priority and send a regular newsletter
• Are more experienced email marketers, but know they can learn more about how to use it even more effectively

The book covers everything you need to know and understand about using email marketing as an author with one exception. It doesn’t show you how to get set up with an email collection form on your website.

That’s because the process isn’t uniform. It varies for each email service provider, so you’ll need to use your provider’s tutorials and support staff for that. (If you’re not a do-it-yourselfer, ask a friend to recommend someone who can do it for you.)

What you can expect from Newsletter Ninja

There’s a lot to like about this book, including the author’s friendly, conversational tone. She’s an excellent writer, which makes it easy to learn from her.

There’s something for every author in this book, no matter where you are in the spectrum. Not using email at all? She’ll talk you into it. Power user? You’ll love the last few chapters about re-engagement and split testing.

If you’re using email marketing already, you’ll learn how to do it better — and you’ll learn how to become a more sophisticated user, too.

One of the beauties of this book’s contents is that you can stop reading as soon as you feel like you’re getting in over your head. Use what you’ve learned to improve what you’re already doing. Then, with that mastered, come back to the book and read more about what is, for you, next-level author email marketing.

Throughout the book, Labrecque makes it clear that she knows that not everyone understands industry buzzwords. She defines many of the terms she uses, such as “cookie” (what she calls that incentive you offer readers in exchange for their email address), and “onboarding sequence.”

This is important because if you get confused by or hung up on the buzzwords, you might stop reading. The author brings you along with her gently, all the while reassuring you that she is in tune with you. I like that!

A few gems

I’m sure it’s not surprising that I like a book that repeats some of the things I tell the authors I coach. One of these is in Chapter 1: “Do not make business decisions based on your own consumer behavior.” You are not your reader, she reminds us.

In Chapter 4, she tells us that the primary purpose of an author newsletter isn’t to sell books. It’s to build superfans. With those superfan relationships in place, you’ll sell books, but you don’t want to reach out to your subscribers only when you’ve got a new book for them to buy.

In Chapter 7, Labrecque explains the newsletter triad: you want your subscribers to open, click, reply.

If you’re sending a newsletter, is that happening for you? Do you know what percentage of your messages get opened? Are subscribers clicking on your links? Are they replying to your messages? If not, Newsletter Ninja will help you fix that.

Labrecque also offers an extensive list of helpful links to more information online, taking your learning outside the pages of her book to other websites.

For fiction and nonfiction authors alike

I was surprised to discover that in this book, Labrecque focuses on fiction, with no reference to nonfiction authors — at least none that I could find. The book’s description doesn’t say it’s specifically for fiction writers, and that’s not clear from the table of contents, either.

Even so, we nonfiction authors are smart enough to see past the fiction examples and stories and focus on the valuable lessons, regardless of how they’re packaged. You will learn as much as any novelist — you just won’t have the “for instances” that could help bring the concepts to life for you.

One topic that’s fiction-specific and less helpful to nonfiction authors is the Chapter 11 discussion about what to give fans to encourage them to sign up for your newsletter. Labrecque’s suggestions — a novella or prequel, for example — let readers sample the author’s writing.

I’d recommend considering other, more creative options, in light of recent research suggesting that short-form content works best. Labrecque did offer a few non-writing-sample alternatives, and I encourage you to consider that approach, too, whether you write fiction or nonfiction.

Two thumbs up

In college course terms, this book starts out at the 101 level, moves to 201, and ends at 301. You might not be comfortable moving through all levels right now. If you’re a beginner, start with the basics before implementing more sophisticated tactics.

You’ll want to know everything in the book eventually, but it’s OK to learn at your own pace.

I highly recommend Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert. I’m excited about implementing some of the ideas I got from it, too!

Are you using email marketing? Are you getting the results you want? Tell us about it in a comment! 

Tip of the Month

I like to share a “Tip of the Month,” a free resource or tool for authors, on the last Wednesday of the month.

This time it’s a Audiense.com, a fascinating tool that helps you understand your audience’s demographics. It will help you learn more about your readers and, in turn, discover where to reach them online.

At Audiense.com, scroll down to the “Unique audience segmentation” section and click on “create a free report.”

After adding a name for your report, you’ll define your audience. This is done with Twitter accounts and hashtags. Add the “@” accounts followed by  your ideal readers, but also add the hashtags you believe are relevant to them.

In a few hours, you’ll get a report with insights about your audience that you can use to help determine which social media platforms will work best for you or to guide your Facebook advertising audience choices. Be sure to click on all the tabs to get the most from it.

You can generate three reports a month.

Do you wish there were other options that are a better fit for your style, skills, personality, or preferences?

Do you want to know how to promote a book without using social media?

You are not alone. Keep reading.

Marketing beyond social media

When I asked authors in the Build Book Buzz Facebook group what they’d like to learn about through this blog, several wrote a variation of “marketing beyond social media.”

Easy.

Two of my traditionally published books sold out a combined four press runs without a single tweet, post, update, or share.

With that in mind, here are nine things you can do to promote your book without logging in to a single social media account. They’re in no particular order.

1. Guest blogging

This involves finding blogs that reach your book’s target audience, studying the type of content they use, and contacting the owners to propose that you write an article for the blog that will interest its readers.

In fact, here’s a guest blog post I wrote about guest blogging: “Guest Blogging for Authors is Alive and Well.” Here’s more advice on “How to be a great guest blogger.”

2. Book fairs

Exhibiting at these local and regional events lets you meet and converse with readers, network with other authors in your genre, and learn more about industry developments. If exhibiting doesn’t appeal to you or isn’t in your budget, attend anyway — you can still talk to other attendees, connect with other authors, and so on.

3. Publicity

People often confuse publicity with advertising. Publicity is the free exposure you get when you’re interviewed by or mentioned in the news media. I’m a national award-winnig former publicist, so you’ll find lots of information about how to get publicity on this site.

Typing “publicity” into the search box on the right generates a list of articles, as does searching for “media.”

The “Book Marketing 101” courses (one each for both fiction and nonfiction) on the training page also teach you how to generate book publicity. You can get the tools you need — templates for pitch letters, creating and practicing memorable sound bites, the messages you share, radio email pitches, and so on — in Build Book Buzz Publicity Forms & Templates.

4. Create a holiday

It’s easy enough to create a holiday and select the annual date for it. But it’s not enough to just pick a date and call it your own. For it to have book marketing value, it has to have a direct link to your book or something in your book (for example, the author of a novel or children’s book telling Raggedy Ann’s “real” story could create Raggedy Ann Day),  and you have to spread the word about the special day you’ve created (publicity is a good option).

Once you’ve got your concept and date, get it listed in Chase’s Calendar of Events. The deadline for the next book is April 15.

If your holiday is quirky, contact the folks at Holiday Insights to get listed on their site.

5. Speaking

Speaking, which is particularly effective for promoting memoirs, has evolved to include more than standing in front of a group and sharing information they’re interested in hearing. Now it includes presenting at virtual (online) conferences and being interviewed on podcasts.

“Authors and public speaking: 5 reasons to be an author who speaks” will talk you into speaking to groups about your favorite topic.

6. Email marketing

Social media serves a purpose, but if the social networks you use disappeared tomorrow, what would you be left with?

Nothing.

But you own your email list. Even Mark Zuckerberg can’t take that away from you.

Build a fan base and get to know many of them better by creating an email newsletter that encourages recipients to share information with you. Get an overview of the process in “Building your author e-mail list,” then read, “What should I send to my author e-mail list?”

7. Book signings

This is a great tactic for extroverts, especially those who enjoy public speaking, because today’s book signings are about entertainment, not books.

Jane Sutter Brandt explains how she had a blockbuster event in “How to sell out at a book signing without being a celebrity.” Learn what popular young adult author Megan McCafferty does at her book signings to keep people engaged and entertained in “Best selling YA author Megan McCafferty adds unique signature feature to book signings.” Get how-to tips from “Your book signing event tool kit.”

Consider doing yours at a venue that’s related to your book’s topic instead of a bookstore, too.

8. Create an event with other authors

Do this locally at a library or at a function room at a book lover’s conference such as the Dayton Book Expo. Collectively, you can attract a large audience of people who enjoy reading the types of books you write.

9. Meet with a book club

You don’t need social media to find and connect with book clubs. You do need to write the type of book that clubs read, though, and you need to do a few other things, as well (including finding book clubs). Learn how it works in “Authors and book clubs.”

Pick the one option of all of these that appeals to you the most and learn how to do it well. You will see that you enjoy book promotion more — so you’ll probably do more of it. That, in turn, will lead to more success.

Take that, Twitter.

What do you do to promote your book that doesn’t involve social media? 

Reader Magnets

That doesn’t mean that nonfiction authors can’t learn from it, though. It just means that if you write nonfiction, you’ll have to fill in a few blanks on your own. (More on that later.)

Use free books as reader magnets

The premise behind the book is that fiction writers can attract the right readers to their email lists by giving away their first book, which contains a link to a page on the author’s website where the reader can download a second book for free in exchange for providing their email address.

It seems that the detailed instructions provided in this 50-page book apply to fiction authors who have written at least two books. Because of that, it would be easy to conclude that the advice in Reader Magnets won’t help a novelist writing that first book, or who has written just one book so far.

But that’s not the case.

Approach this strategy with an open mind and creativity, and you will see that you can still use Stephenson’s approach and helpful how-to information with different “ethical bribes” to get readers on your list. Instead of offering a free e-book, offer a short story, novella, printable illustrations from a children’s book, and so on.

What do you have in your files already that will give readers a sample of your storytelling skills?

If you write nonfiction

If you write nonfiction and have authored just one book — and perhaps don’t intend to write another — you can use other content for your ethical bribe. Consider offering a collection of blog posts on a specific topic or a special report, checklist, template, audio interview, demonstration video, and so on.

Here’s what I really like about this book: Stephenson shows you how to do it with screenshots and detailed instructions. While most content of this sort says, “Create an account with Mailchimp and follow the instructions to add a template to your site and create a list,” expecting you to figure out the specifics on your own, Stephenson says, “Here’s what you will see on your screen when you take this step.”

He explains how to set up what’s called a “landing page,” a web page with a single purpose: to offer that reader magnet in exchange for an email address.

Using Mailchimp as an email list management service example, he shows how to set up your email system.

Finally, he explains what to send to your mailing list, and when, so that you stay in touch with readers in a way that’s rewarding for both them and you.

Naturally, because this book is just 50 pages, it isn’t the only resource you’ll ever need to truly understand email marketing best practices or landing page design. Still, it offers enough details and specifics to get you up and running while you learn more.

I recommend it for any author of fiction or nonfiction who understands the importance of email marketing to book sales and author success.

Have you started building an email list?