Getting Started With a Mailing List

You are reading the second post in a series on author newsletters. When I first published this series a couple years ago, I started with the idea that I would solve my problems one post at a time, and explain how I did it. But as I sat down to revise the series with all that I learned in the past couple years, I realized that I needed to also help authors start their mailing lists.

So let’s start at the very beginning. This post is for those authors who do not yet have a mailing list, and are not sending out newsletters.

You’ve probably heard that a mailing list is a great marketing tool, and that newsletters are a great way to talk directly to readers. Both of these ideas are true.

You may have also heard that you have to have a mailing list and send out newsletters, or else. That isn’t actually true; newsletters are a great way to build an audience, but if you don’t have the time, energy, or money for publishing newsletters on a regular basis, then it’s really not practical to do so.

You don’t actually have to send out newsletters, but it would be a good idea to at least start growing your mailing list by collecting email addresses. And for that, you need a website.

Website

I know that it sounds weird, but the reason I start with a website as the bare minimum for a mailing list is that many hosting services offer a basic mailing list marketing service. Wix and Weebly both do, and if your website is hosted at WordPress.com you can have visitors subscribe to your blog posts, and then publish each blog post like it was a newsletter. (There’s a plugin for WordPress.org sites which works along the same lines, only better.)

I would not describe any of those options as good, but if you have no mailing list now then they are better than nothing. They will at least enable you to collect email addresses, and (if you want) send out newsletters. (I will cover collecting email addresses on a website in a later post.)

And that leads me to the second item on our list.

Opt-in Forms

An opt-in form (also known as a sign-up form) is how subscribers sign up for your mailing list. The new subscriber enters their email, checks a box to indicate that you have their permission to send them emails (this is required for GDPR compliance) and then clicks the subscribe button, causing them to be automatically added to your mailing list.

You need an opt-in form or you won’t have many subscribers. Sure, you can still collect email addresses at public events like book fairs, but more people will find you online. (And no, you can’t just add people to your list without permission. It’s not just rude; it’s also ILLEGAL!)

Be sure to set up that opt-in form on your site so that visitors can sign up. You should also link to that form from your author page on Amazon, and you should add a link in the back of your ebooks as well as any other place readers may find you online.

For example, I just realized  that I should probably add a link to my mailing list opt-in form in the author bio of this guest blog post. (One should never pass up an opportunity to share one’s opt-in form.)

My opt-in forms are supplied by Sendfox, the mailing list service I pay for.

Speaking of which, you might want to get an account with a mailing list service.

Mailing List Services

Earlier in this post I mentioned a few ways that authors can dabble in having a mailing list and sending out newsletters. They’re not bad suggestions, but if you are serious about starting a mailing list then I would recommend signing up with a company such as Sendfox, Mailchimp, or Mailerlite.

Of the three, I have to recommend Sendfox first, and the other two last. I have had my mailing list at both Mailchimp and Mailerlite at one time or another. They are distinctly disappointing when it comes to customer service and tech support, but like Sendfox they do offer free service tiers which include many basic features you will need to really develop your mailing list.

Companies like Sendfox, Mailchimp. and Mailerlite have tools you can use to track things like open rates, how many new subscribers join each month, which subscribers are ignoring your emails, and so on. This data is important because it tells you whether your subscribers are interested in what you are sending out. If they lose interest, you will lose subscribers.

Another thing these companies can do for you is enable you to send out welcome emails.

Welcome Emails

This is a topic which is a couple steps beyond beginner level, but if you are serious about having a mailing list then it’s something you should learn.

Welcome emails are the common term for the emails which go out automatically when someone signs up for a mailing list. They are usually used to give new subscribers useful info, introduce them to the owner of the mailing list, and deliver any lead magnet which was promised on the opt-in form.

Most authors have between 2 and 4 welcome emails. I used to have three, but I have since pared back to a single welcome email.

I have a whole post later in this series which is devoted to welcome emails, so why don’t we look at the next item you need if you’re serious about your mailing list.

Lead Magnet

One of the more common ways that many authors (and really, businesses of all types) encourage people to sign up for a mailing list is by giving away content. This goes by various names in different industries, including content upgrade, freebie, and lead magnet. The latter is the term used more often in author circles, so I’ll use it here.

A lead magnet is a piece of content which you give away to entice subscriptions. It can be anything from an infographic to a PDF handout. Other options include a video, short story, excerpt of a book, or even a whole book. In fact, it is not uncommon for authors to give away the first book in a series.

The only requirement is that the lead magnet has to be of value to your intended audience. They have to want it enough to sign up, and then they have to be happy they have downloaded it. (Oh, and your lead magnet has to look good, but that is a topic for another post.)

So tell me in the comment section below: Do you have a mailing list? What is the biggest problem you encountered with your list?