Julie Broad (Book Broad of Book Launchers) argues that for book marketing an email newsletter outperforms social media and author blogs because email delivers content directly into readers' inboxes, creates stronger, longer-term relationships, and is a channel the author owns. She explains how to start (create a value-packed opt-in, connect a newsletter service to a website, design a simple template), which tools to consider (Mailchimp, ConvertKit), and operational advice (set up an automated welcome sequence, choose a consistent cadence—at minimum monthly, ideally biweekly or weekly—write attention-grabbing subject lines, and repurpose newsletter content across blogs and social media). She emphasizes owning the list/data, providing consistent value, and using subject-line testing and repurposing to grow and engage subscribers.
Questions this video answers
Free if your list is 2,000 subscribers or less.
ConvertKit.
booklaunchers.com/businessbook.
At least monthly (she highly recommends biweekly or weekly).
Chapters
Email might seem outdated compared to Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, but when it comes to marketing your book, nothing is more valuable or provides higher return than an email newsletter. If you're wondering what's better to market your book, or if you need an email newsletter at all, then this video is for you. Hey, I'm Julie the Book Broad of Book Launchers. We're your professional self publishing services team. If your ideal reader uses social media, then you should certainly build a presence on that platform that they're using. But an email pops directly into the inbox of your target audience, creates a much better opportunity for connection and builds that foundation for a long relationship that can help you achieve bigger goals. Even blog posts will not connect to your audience as intimately or as consistently as a newsletter in their inbox. Think of your email list as your biggest fans and most devoted supporters looking to discover more of your specific expertise. Someone who follows you on social media may simply just scroll past your post and not bother to engage. Or depending on the algorithm of the platform, they might not even see you on their feed at all. Newsletters might seem like a little more work than a daily tweet or an Instagram story, but the benefits outweigh the effort and one of the biggest ones you own your newsletter. Unlike your social media, you rent or borrow your platform on social media, it's not your media. You have control mostly over the content you post, but you even control any of the experience, the data or the platform strategy. Like I said, a lot of your followers may never see your content on social media. And no matter what, you're playing by the rules of that platform, an email newsletter is your own media. And there are three big elements here. Content, community and content. By delivering your newsletter to your audience directly and not through a third party, you own your content channel and strategy. With this content you build more than a transactional relationship. Your providing value to your own community while being able to access your own data to help with your decision making. As you market your book, build your brand and provide better services to your audience. Now where do you start? Well, the first step is building that email list and reaching out to your audience. Figure out the right opt in to connect your audience with your brand. Basically, what do you promise to provide them in exchange for their email address? For example, if you want to write a business book, you can go to book launchers.com businessbook and see an example of an opt in with a value add offering. And that opt in content should pack value like our business book download does It's a workbook to walk you through everything you need to do to plan to write a really great business book. So you really need to add value. So somebody gives you their email address so you can start to build that relationship. This becomes a curated collection of quality leads that you're building a relationship with. These are people that will go to your website and enter their address in to receive your emails and and that means they're already interested in what you have to offer, what you have to say, or what you can teach them. You just have to know how to put together an excellent newsletter that they won't hesitate to open. Now there's lots of useful services out there to help you maintain that list and send out your newsletters. Mailchimp is a good one and it's free if Your list is 2,000 subscribers or less, which makes it great for getting started and it can provide some automation while making sure your opt ins comply with any laws. Our recommended service for our authors is ConvertKit, and they also have some great tutorials on how to set up and manage your email newsletter through their service as well. After you connect your newsletter service to your website and create that opt in, it's time to create your template. If you're not design inclined, consider hiring a graphic designer to create a header or some other kinds of images, but there's nothing wrong with simplicity. If you want to just rely on text, that can be a great way to go too. What matters most is that your newsletter matches your brand, reflects you, and adds value to the lives of the reader. With every issue. Now that a new subscriber has signed up, you want to set up an automated email sequence so that they receive a welcome email. In that welcome email you want to provide that promised content, but then you also want to let them know what they can expect next. Think of this as your first handshake with them. What are you going to be sharing over the days, weeks, months and years together? Do you remember handshakes before elbow bumps? Handshakes are how we used to say hello. Decide on how often to send your newsletter and the content that you'll include. You better be doing this at least monthly. I highly recommend bi weekly or weekly, but for some a monthly newsletter works and for others they may want to share content more regularly. Figure out what works for you and what works for your audience, and most importantly, remember to do this consistently and provide value when you do. Otherwise it's going to be added to the trash folder or they're going to hit unsubscribe Adding value will keep them opening your emails, but I also recommend playing with catchy and original subject lines. My monthly tips for you or Julie's newsletter or here's that email you signed up for. That's not going to get them to open up your email unless you're trying to bore them so much that they think of taking a nap every time they see your name. No? Craft your subject lines to catch your subscribers attention right away and convince them that there's something inside they don't want to miss. By the way, this is a great place to test your chapter titles or your book titles. Stay away from generic statements and spam triggering words. Instead, tease the benefit of what you're offering. Your subscribers might get 100 emails a day and their time is precious. Let them know from a first glance that you're not wasting their time. When done right, your newsletter is the foundation supporting your marketing mansion. The content inside of them isn't just limited to emails. Recycle it later into blogs, social media posts and in those posts link to your Opt in for a chance to boost your subscribe list to deepen your connection to your audience and count on that connection to further your business. You can't just count on your social media. It's your email newsletter that really gets the job done. And now my job's done, at least for this video. But make sure you subscribe and turn those notifications on because there's a video coming up that you're going to want to see next. And while you wait, may I recommend this one that YouTube thinks you're going to like to see? Or this one which is the latest and greatest from the channel? Take your pick and I'll see you there.
