Why I Am an Author Newsletter Convert

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Before I was published, I subscribed to tons of author newsletters. Many of them arrived weekly, and there wasn’t much content. I didn’t see the value in constantly sharing “buy my book” announcements. I unsubscribed to a bunch, and I also didn’t focus on building my email list or my newsletter as part of my platform for a long time.

Later on in my journey, I talked with a publicist who stressed the importance of having a list that you OWN. When Twitter became X, I quickly realized how easy it was to lose followers that I had no way to contact. (My follower list on that platform dropped by thousands in a matter of weeks.) I decided to focus on my email list and to send out a newsletter.

The publicist focused on the importance of a regular newsletter schedule that was not sent too often or one sent too infrequently. I tried quarterly, but it felt like too much time had elapsed between contacts. I settled on monthly. I looked at the analytics from my email service and picked a day and a time where I had the most activity. It’s now on my calendar as a monthly task.

Then I had to decide what to include. I add new things and see how they are received. I am at the point now that I receive a lot of feedback and comments on my newsletter. And I love to talk to readers. I also have sections where I link to blogs or other items. For the links, I can check my analytics to see how many were opened. That helps me decide what to continue and what to replace.

People are busy, and they don’t have time to linger on emails. I try to have short informational paragraphs, links to key items, and bright graphics to separate each section.

Here are some things that I usually include:

  • A welcome to new subscribers

  • A brief section of what is going on in my life and my writing life

  • A fun fact about my books or series

  • Highlights of 6-8 authors that I have featured on my blog lately

  • Writers’ Corner - A section full of links to blogs about writing that I have posted recently

  • A list of upcoming events

  • Photos of recent events

  • A give-away of some sort and a congratulations to the last winner

  • And information on any book sales

If you’re interested in checking it out, here is the link to subscribe.

What do you include in your newsletter?