Email Marketing for Writers: The Good, Bad, and Even Better
How writers use email to sell their work automatically
Email is older than your grandfather’s underwear. The first email (as we know it today) was sent before the average Medium reader was born. And it’s only getting better.
Email is the hidden dragon of marketing.
Not only can we reach every member of our tribe directly, but we can also do it free (once we pay for our email service provider). There’s no pay-to-play model as-is with social media.
Email is the most-lucrative app in the writer’s pocket. And she might not even know it.
We spend so much wasted effort chasing social followers and begging people to ‘like and subscribe’ our videos, tweets, and podcasts… all while email chugs-away and earns us money while we sleep.
Email is perfect for writers.
Not every niche can claim that. But writers build tribes of readers. And — ding, ding, ding, readers like reading stuff. Guess what email is made-of? Yep, stuff to read.
Not only are emails simple to construct — we don’t need any more equipment than thumbs or some way to get the text on the screen — but emails are also extremely successful in generating buyers.
Why?
When we send an email we’ve got a captive audience. There’s no Baby Shark video competing for our time and attention. If we can get the reader to open the message, she’ll at least skim it.
…and if we’ve done our job right, she’ll take some kind of action based on your guidance.
How writers can use email to sell their work automatically
Maybe you can’t see the whole picture, so I’ll try to paint it here — if you’re a writer or creator, especially if you sell digital products — email is a great way to sell your work automatically.
Most writers are naturally introverts.
Selling isn’t natural for us. We put it off until later. We wait until the book is written, or the course is complete, to talk about it. This is way too late in the creation process to start talking to your tribe.
You need to begin the relationship as you create your work.
Take your tribe along for the ride. They’ll have more buy-in. They’ll be invested — feeling like they helped make it. When we’re ready to launch, you’ll have dedicated fans, itching to buy your stuff.
This isn’t hard-selling.
Email is a long-game process of slowly dripping content — what you’re up to, how you can serve your readers better, and the occasional sales offer.
How is this automatic?
Since we’re introverts, email is the perfect marketing medium for us. We write an automated email sequence, load it into the queue on whatever email service provider we choose, and send traffic to our landing page via our written content marketing (i.e. Medium stories).
Instead of begging your readers live, you’ll give each new subscriber a measured experience over time. She’ll learn to understand who you are and how you’ll serve her.
Occasionally, you’ll ask for the sale.
There’s no high-pressure or scammy-ness here. The reader understands it’s a commercial relationship. As long as you provide valuable content for her, delivered on a consistent basis — she’ll return for more next week.
Every morning I check my phone for mailbox money.
My email list allows me to literally earn money while I sleep. I don’t have to remember to send an email today. The process happens automatically. You can do it too. This takes a lot of work to set up. Most writers won’t do it. But if you start now, when you don’t need it, you’ll have the system in place when you do.
So, what’s the bad?
The bad is the set-up and list-building. This process will take months. Whatever time you have set-aside for it, multiply it by five or ten. You’ll earn your first sale. You’ll see how scale-able the process is. Over time, you’ll learn how to test and tweak your copy for better conversions.
Now is YOUR time
I understand the level of overwhelm at the beginning. It took me years to pull the trigger on my first email list. That was fifteen years ago. Since then, I’ve started (and grown) many.
It’s the not the size of the list that matters.
In fact, folks who focus on list-growth over sales per subscriber tend to do worse.
We all start with zero subscribers. So, the best time to build a list is before you need one. List-building takes time. You need to develop trust and a relationship with your readers.
You must give them a reason to open your email.
The worst time to build a list is the day you need one. The time to build yours is now.
I’ve got a free Tribe 1K email masterclass, designed just for you. It’s a 7-day intensive program, all designed to help you get your first 1,000 (or your next 1,000) subscribers without spending a hot nickel on ads.
Email is not for everyone. But it might be for you.
We’re waiting for you.
Enroll in my Email Masterclass. Get Your First 1,000 Subscribers
August Birch (AKA the Book Mechanic) is both a fiction and non-fiction author from Michigan, USA. As a self-appointed guardian of writers and creators, August teaches indies how to make work that sells and how to sell more of that work once it’s created. When he’s not writing or thinking about writing, August carries a pocket knife and shaves his head with a safety razor.