Image Credit: Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos
My most recent marketing development has been to have a monthly author newsletter. I started this on Mailchimp but as they stopped their free plan, I moved over to MailerLite. The transition was painless, I’m glad to say, and there are certain things I can now do which I couldn’t on Mailchimp. The important one is being able to schedule my newsletters. I schedule pieces all the time including for Chandler’s Ford Today so I appreciated coming across this feature.
I enjoy putting my newsletters together and work on them throughout the month so there’s no last minute rush to get a newsletter out. It also gives me time to add things as more news and ideas occur to me. It also gives me plenty of time to review my draft ahead of scheduling it so it is good to go on the first of each month.
Many authors have newsletters. Many will recommend having one because it is a way of engaging with your readers directly. You’re not dependent on social media companies either here (though it does help to spread the word about your newsletter if you use said social media. I link mine to my website too by having the sign up link as my landing page here. I can also share the link to that page directly on social media as part of my overall marketing).
I thought for this post I’d share ten top tips I’ve found useful in case you’re thinking of setting up one of your own and am using this one to update my previous posts on this topic. See below under Related Posts for those.
Top Ten Tips for Author Newsletters
Pick the date in the month you will find it easiest to use. I went for the first of the month because it is easy to remember. Other writers I know use the end of the month, and another uses the fifteenth. All work but what matters here is being consistent so readers know when they can expect to hear from you.
There are templates you can use to help you create a “brand” look for your newsletter. Give yourself plenty of time to figure out what appeals to you. Again, be consistent with this. If there is a golden rule here, it is to keep it simple.
It is helpful to think of a theme for the month. The more open the theme the better because that will give you more options to write about. For example, my February 2026 newsletter, which is due out shortly, will have the theme of Love and Spring in the Air. Love ties in with St. Valentine’s Day and in February you see more signs of spring on its way .
Long before you set up a newsletter, think about what it will contain. I share tips, news, links to some of my online stories and so on. Ask yourself what it is the readers are likely to like. I see sharing the stories as being entertaining and I know many of my subscribers are fellow writers so tips are always useful.
Keep the newsletter short. I divide mine up into short sections. I use pictures in between the sections to give added interest and naturally these tie in with the theme too. I use either my own pictures or pictures which are generally free to use under a Creative Commons Licence. Pixabay is well known here and Book Brush, the graphic design program I use, source their pictures from there. Quick word to the wise: you will see AI appear on some images. Yes, it does mean they’ve been created by artificial intelligence and for various reasons I stay clear of those but there is still plenty of choice. Pexels is another good source for images.
Do put a subscriber link on to your website so people can sign up to it from there. Mine is on my landing page at https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com and at the end of my twice weekly round ups of what I write there, I add the link to the end of those posts.
Don’t worry about those who unsubscribe from your newsletter. It happens to me. I’ve unsubscribed from newsletters myself when I realised there were many I read eagerly each month and others I didn’t so the latter went. There simply isn’t enough time for everyone to read everything, after all. Focus on trying to be entertaining to your readers and hopefully that will limit the number of unsubscribes but do take comfort from the thought this happens to every newsletter writer.
I share honestly about when things are going well in my writing life but also when things go awry. Again, it happens to all writers, but I think readers appreciate the honesty and certainly it shows a rounded and balanced view of my writing life. I know that can encourage other writers. It is often good to know setbacks do happen to others. It honestly isn’t just something that happens to you.
Make your newsletter as useful as you can. If I hear of writing scams, the newsletter is a great vehicle for putting warnings out. Writing tips are always helpful but they’re even better if you can show how you’ve made good use of them yourself.
Be yourself, be authentic in your newsletters. It is that which keeps people subscribed to you and, yes, it does take time to build up a subscriber list.
Marketing
All writers accept the need to do at least some marketing. There is an advantage to this. We will know of local links and possibilities our publisher(s) cannot because they’re generally not based in our area. A newsletter does count as part of your marketing work and they can be great fun to put together. Why not enjoy at least this side of the marketing coin? Newsletters give you a chance to have your say directly to readers.
Naturally, if you have work coming out and/or you do well in competitions, you have an immediate place in which to share that good news too. People won’t mind. They expect that from an author newsletter. If you’re approaching publishers and/or agents, letting them know you have an author newsletter, a social media presence, a website etc., will all help show them you take your writing seriously.
Conclusion
There is no one correct way to market your stories but newsletters can be a fun way to share your work. Every so often, I will put an exclusive story into my newsletter as a way of thanking my subscribers.
Engaging with potential/actual readers is something all writers seek to do because we know it helps sales. An author newsletter is just one way of increasing your ability to carry out that engagement so is worth doing for this alone.
If you’re carrying out book events, do take a print out form where people can sign up to your newsletter. Sometimes people will do that and check out your books later. I’ve had this happen.
You don’t need a paid for plan either, at least not to start with. You have to get to a certain number of subscribers before you need a paid for plan and that takes ages to reach. In the meantime, you have a free way of marketing your work and you as an author which is fun to do. Nothing to dislike there!
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
Never miss out on another blog post. Subscribe here:
Leave a Reply