How to Build an Author Mailing List
This is a special blog post by my friend and fellow indie author C.M. Estopar (a/k/a Christine Michele). Christine is the author of the Kindred Souls fantasy series, the Island Book series, and the serial story The Devoted. She has some great tips to share with new indie authors on how to build a mailing list of readers, fans, and subscribers.
An important reminder: Once you set up an email list, you become a custodian of your readers’ personal information (i.e., their email addresses). You have as much responsibility as business companies to safeguard your subscribers’ records. Do not give unauthorized access to anyone except when necessary and only to people you know and trust. Do not share your list with anyone without your subscribers’ explicit consent, and store their records in places that are reasonably protected from internet attacks. Also, be sure to have a sensible privacy policy, and comply with all applicable laws against SPAMs and for personal data protection, including the US Can-Spam Act, and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Author Mark Dawson hosted a very informative podcast episode on how the GDPR impacts indie authors. He also consulted with an IP attorney and shared the attorney’s advice with everyone in the indie writing community. You can listen to the podcast episode and obtain his PDF materials on GDPR here.
And now, here’s Christine’s step-by-step guide on building an author’s mailing list:
Building a mailing list can be seriously easy if you’re willing to put 30 minutes a week in! And I’m going to break it down into super easy steps that have worked for me and tons of others!
1. Lead Magnet/ Freebie
Before you go about starting a list, we’ve got to talk about lead magnets. Basically, lead magnets are “samples” of your work that you give out for free in exchange for an email address.
I say, “samples” because readers tend to expect full-length lead magnets in lieu of actual book samples. So, make sure you’ve got a prequel novella to your best selling series handy, or maybe a few short stories following your favorite protagonists.
These lead magnets should be non-exclusive to Kindle Unlimited, lead right into your best selling series, and should be able to be read without the reader having to buy your series to understand what is going on. The lead magnet *leads” into your series.
2. Mailing List Host
Next, you’ve got to choose your host! This should be the easiest step. Most hosts will host your list for free for up to 1,000 subscribers. Some you’ve got to start paying right out of the gate (looking at you Constant Contact). I recommend Mailerlite for its ease of use, awesome customer service, and cheap hosting cost (once your list hits 2,000 you need to start paying).
3a. Automation
Before you have your subscribers you need to create a way for them to get to know you and introduce them into your sales funnel. Personally, I only have experience with MailChimp and Mailerlite–which both allow you to create automation for your email list for free.
The main goal when creating your automation is getting the reader into your sales funnel. You might want to begin your chain of emails with an email that introduces you, your books, and maybe something a little cool about you. The second email in the chain should ask them if they received the freebie okay and how they’re liking it. From there, you might want to break your chain into two separate lists. One for subscribers who respond quite quickly to your emails and the other where subscribers are a bit more resistant or non-responsive. For the sake of keeping things short, these separate chains should empty into separate lists, one “responsive” and “non-responsive”. Once you have gathered a good amount of subscribers you can utilize these two lists separately or even drill them down into those who click vs. those who only open (and so on and so forth, there are so many options!).
Having two lists allows you to split your new release emails and stagger the buying power of your audience. Something the Amazon algos love!
3b. Forms
If you have a website, you will probably want to create an embedded form or pop-up form that is connected to the list that sends your new subscribers through an automation funnel. Forms are extremely straightforward and very easy to make and embed! You can also place these on your Facebook fan page. Make sure to make your forms GDPR compliant if you know some of your sign-ups will be from an EU IP address.
3c. Lead Pages
This can also be attached to your website. Lead pages are similar to forms and just as useful!
4. Obtaining Subscribers.
Bookfunnel, Instafreebie, and Facebook (if you’ve created a form or lead page) are three great ways of building your email list. You could also go through GDPR complaint giveaways like Ryan Zee or Litring. Be careful with giveaways though as you’re more apt to attract freebie seekers than people who actually want to pay for books.
Bookfunnel is a great way to funnel your freebie to new readers in exchange for an email address. This service costs $100 annually, and the customer service on your end–as well as the reader’s end–is absolutely stellar. Bookfunnel can also be used as a way to safely distribute Advance Review Copies (ARCs) to your ARC team once you establish it.
Instafreebie is extremely similar to Bookfunnel, but the service is cheaper and the customer service on the reader’s end is lax. To save time, I recommend Bookfunnel.
Facebook is a bit more complex. Through the use of Facebook Ads you can link a reader that clicks on your ad to your lead page. Then, through your lead page, they will sign up for your freebie in exchange for your email address. If you plan to use Facebook Ads (which can be costly compared to the other options) I recommend reading, “Help! My Facebook Ads Suck!” before starting.
–Hope this was helpful to someone! I know when I was just starting out it was hard to make an email list, but with these tools, it takes some of the head-scratching out of the equation. Happy Writing!
To find out more about Christine, visit her website at https://www.cmestopare.com
You can also check out her books at Amazon.
Click on the book cover images and find out more!
