5 author newsletters I love
The questions I am asked regularly by authors:
Do I need an author newsletter?
What would I put in my newsletter?
Do my readers really want to hear from me so regularly?
The answer the first question - a VERY LOUD YES. But first, just to explain what an author newsletter is - a regular email from you to your fans, readers and propsective readers. These fans and readers have actively signed up for your newsletter somewhere like your website.
Your author newsletter is a way of communicating to your readers that you can completely ‘own’. What I mean by own is that you can include whatever you like in your newsletter and email them exactly when you like. And the key thing that makes newsletter so valuable is that people have actively signed up to hear from you (a qualified lead, in sales terminology). You have less control over your messages on every other marketing channel, especially social media where you are at the mercy of ever-changing algorithms and your content only being seen by 5 - 10% of your followers.
So, I hope we’ve established the value of having a newsletter, now what to include in it? Let’s look at a few examples of authors who used their newsletter very effectively with great content.
Marian Keyes
I have come to the conclusion that everything Marian Keyes does is brilliant, funny and joyful and her newsletter is no different. A lovely mix of news about her travels, her family, views, writing and books. Her newsletters make me smile so much and if you want to see how an author writes perfectly for her fans, then look no further.
You can sign up to her newsletter here (scroll down the page).
See her latest newsletter here.
Diana Urban
Diana writes YA thrillers and she is a brilliant at book marketing. Her day job at BookBub means she spends her days explaining best practice marketing to other authors. Do follow her across all of her social channels and sign up to her newsletter, to see how it’s done.
I believe Diana self-published her first book and has recently signed a traditional publishing deal. Diana does not have a huge backlist to play with, but she still creates lots of great content on her newsletter.
Ben Galley
Ben Galley is a hugely successful indie (self-published) author. His whole author platform is a showcase in how to do this. His newsletter is positioned as his VIP club, which is a very simple way of making your readers feel important and in your gang. Each newsletter includes a nice mix of content - information about his time at World Con, competitions, book launches, cover reveals and much more. They are visually very clear and to the point.
You can sign up for Ben’s newsletter here (scroll down).
Jason Arnopp
Another personal favourite of mine is Jason’s newsletter. Horror, Doctor Who, video games, writing tips - it’s got the lot. Sign up here.
Clare Mackintosh
To me, Clare epitomises the empowered author - as well as writing brilliant crime fiction, she focuses a huge amount of her energy and creativity in engaging with her readers, understanding what they’d like from her and then giving it to them. Her newsletter is just one part of her rather magnificent presence. Sign up here.
Mark Stay
Mark is an author, ex-publisher and podcaster, his newsletter is excellent and I highly recommend you subscribe to it here and pick up a few tips.
