A Stupid-Simple Email Marketing Plan for Indie Authors
You know you need a list. Here’s how to start.
As indies we’ve got a tough list of tasks. Not only are we chief, cook, and bottle-washer, but we’re also the head of marketing and sales… not to mention the writing part.
Every vocation has it’s tasks we’d prefer not do, but selling our books isn’t one we can ignore or push to a different day.
If we don’t sell our books we won’t have readers. If we don’t have readers we’re left with Mom and aunt Clara. Mom and aunt Clara don’t pay the heat bill. Let’s get you some readers instead.
Email is the answer.
Email isn’t the only answer. We’ve got multiple options when it comes to moving books, but most of the other choices involve paid ads. You’ll need to pay for advertising eventually, but before we move to advanced strategies, let’s get you the groundwork first.
When we own our email list we own our livelihood.
An automated email marketing plan gives you more time to write, while your email system does all the heavy lifting. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really enjoy talking to people in person. I’m an introvert. I keep my relationships very close. If I can put a sales plan in place that does all the personal interaction for me — sign me up.
Your simple email plan
Here’s a basic plan to get you started. Starting now is better than starting next year. It’s easy to get paralyzed with too much to do syndrome. Email is very forgiving, however. We all start with zero subscribers. Would you rather have zero next month, or zero today?
You’ll make plenty of mistakes with your email no matter when you start. Why not start now?
Eight steps to email glory:
- Get a very simple website for yourself. You’ll need a website to get approved for an email hosting account.
- Sign up for an email hosting account. I really like Mailerlite (affiliate link). This is the service I use. It’s free for the first 1,000 subs and it’s more robust than Mailchimp.
- Develop an Easy Invite (your free book you’ll give in exchange for your reader’s email). Yes, this should be a full book. No one wants your free chapters. No one wants to ‘join your newsletter.’ We’re all busy. We want stuff the benefits us, not you. You need to give something of real value in exchange for a reader’s email. For example, I give a full email masterclass in exchange for my non-fiction writer’s email addresses.
- Make a landing page. This is another reason why Mailerlite is so robust (especially for their great rates). Mailerlite has a built-in landing page and pop-up designer with plenty of pro templates. Most authors have to pay a separate service to build these pages. Not you.
- Send new readers to your landing page as often as you can. Invite them to download your free book.
- Design a series of automated welcome emails. Deliver the Easy Invite instantly. Over the next few days welcome the new reader into your tribe. Don’t sell right away. Establish the relationship first.
- Email your readers frequently in different ways. It’s your job to prevent irrelevancy. If you only email readers once a quarter, they’ll forget who you are.
- Launch your new books as you write them and breathe new life into your back-catalog. Email is the perfect vehicle for keeping your old books alive. With millions of new books released on Amazon every year it’s easy to get lost in the pile. When you control your list you control your sales stream.
Your books need your email list
There is zero barrier to entry to become an author. I can write a book, design the cover, format the book for digital and print distribution, and submit said book for sale all over the world — all on my phone.
Millions of indies are trying to sell their own books every day.
Most won’t sell more than a couple copies — ever. But not you. You’ve got email. You’ve got a plan. You want to be a full-time commercial writer and you’re not going to take it anymore. Not only will your old books thank you, but your yet-to-be-written books will also toss you a party.
If you want Amazon to recognize your book is worth reading, send them a steady stream of buyers through your email list. You’ll trigger the algorithm over time, with steady sales. It’s not about being at the top of your category. It’s about selling books consistently, month after month.
We’re waiting for you.
August Birch (aka the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. A self-proclaimed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indie authors how to write books that sell and how to sell more of those books once they’re written. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.
(Enroll Here for the Free, Tribe 1K List-Building Masterclass for Authors)