Why Every Author Needs a Newsletter

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

I can “hear” the reader’s objections to the title for this article saying things like I’m an author and I don’t have or need a newsletter. Yesterday I spoke with an author and she said that she didn’t need a newsletter or know what she would say in one. From working with authors, I often hear these objections. One of my authors who was publishing his third book with Morgan James Publishing, told me outright he hadn’t created an author newsletter. 

Other authors decide they can’t devote the time to write and send a newsletter. Others object they have nothing to say to their readers. I understand these objections and like any aspect of the work, there are challenges for authors. In this article, I’m going to help you to see the importance of having this direct connection to your readers.

Let’s think about how you use email. I read my email on my desktop computer but I also read it on my phone. I look at the subject line and decide if I’m going to open and read the email. I would assume my email practices are similar to others.

Email is a direct connection to your readers--provided they open and read it. That’s why your newsletter program will typically measure and display the open rates. I understand not everyone reads their email. This week one author was telling me about another friend who had declared to a class that he had over 700 unopened emails. I add this story to show the importance of creating an enticing subject line for your newsletter. While I don’t answer every email and I get a lot of it. I do open or process my email all the time--early and late in the day.

For over 17 years, I have been writing and sending newsletters. I knew my target reader but here’s been my personal issue: consistency. I was sending about once a month which is infrequent and readers forget they subscribed to your newsletter. About a year ago, my newsletter program and my shopping cart went out of business. With a large personal effort, I moved my newsletter to convertkit.com which has changed to kit.com.  

For over a year (in fact currently for over 100 weeks), I have been sending a short email with publishing insights each week to my subscribers. If you aren’t on this list, use this link to subscribe. When you do, you will receive a free 87-page Ebook. Each author has to determine the frequency of their newsletter such as daily, five days a week, once a week, twice a month or once a month. After you determine your newsletter schedule, it is important to deliver consistently on your schedule. 

Every author has to select a newsletter program to use. Some people use MailChimp while others use constant contact or AWeber or something else. Each one has different functions and costs involved. On Right-Writing.com, I have a series of additional articles about newsletters.

Everyone begins their newsletter with a small list of subscribers. Then you grow email list using lead magnets. In 2019, I wrote a detailed article about lead magnets with specific examples. Follow this link to see this information.

Unlike social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc, email is your direct connection to your readers. To follow the rules of email, each newsletter gives the reader a simple way to unsubscribe. Each week, I have people who unsubscribe and that’s fine with me. I want people to receive my publishing insights who want to receive them. It’s that simple. 

An email newsletter is your direct connection to your audience. Through my acquisitions work at Morgan James Publishing, authors will raise objections to building a newsletter. From my perspective, this newsletter is one of the best and most important tools for every author.

Do you have a newsletter? Are you using it consistently? What steps are you taking to build your subscribers? I look forward to reading your comments. Don’t forget to join the conversation. 

Tweetable:

For every author, one of the most important tools is their newsletter. Get the detailed reasons and actions from this prolific author and editor.  (ClickToTweet)

My Writing In Other Places:

With these articles, I encourage you to publish your work beyond your blog in other places. Below are three articles which were published in other online locations than this blog. While it's been a couple of months since I highlighted this section, I have continued to write each month on each of these websites. Find your opportunities to get your work into some other websites through guest blogging.

What’s Behind A Successful Book? In this article, I give some detailed examples about what it takes to create a successful book. It is not writing another book. Read it at:  https://bit.ly/4wPDCf5

Each month at Almost An Author, I write about some aspect of book proposal creation (an important skill for every writer). In this article I detail How To Catch Attention. Read it at: https://bit.ly/4h06JaO 

Each month, I guest blog on Writers on the Move. This month I wrote about how the gatekeepers (editors and literary agents) are looking for authors who will market their books. In Beef Up Your Proposal Marketing Section, I detail how to add this information into your pitch and also explain why it is important. https://bit.ly/4wvbJJ3 

Currently I’m working with my third publisher as an acquisitions editor. During these years, I’ve spoken with many authors about their expectations, dreams and desires for their books. I find many unrealistic expectations. Many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses. 

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

During the last year, once a week I’ve been sending a short free newsletter. Just follow this link to subscribe. When you are added to the newsletter, you will receive a FREE 87-page Ebook which is packed with insights for every writer.

Get these articles on your email: 

Since 2004, I have blogged about The Writing Life over 1,800 entries and one of the top 27 content writers. With this simple form, each week you can get my new articles, encouragement and insights at: https://t.co/W6uU64u6aA

My Recent Tech Challenge

  

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

“What is SOS on my iPhone instead of where the connection bars are normally showing?” From my work as an amateur radio operator, I knew about SOS but why was it on my phone? 

On my desktop I searched and learned it meant my iPhone was not connecting to my email or the internet. It was a holiday but my local Apple store was open and I drove there trying to connect with the genius bar or tech help. All of those appointments were filled for the day. I spoke with an Apple person who told me normally this issue was a carrier problem. He gave me directions to the nearest Verizon store. I noted where it was located on his iPad and drove to the store. I couldn’t use my phone for direction help to locate it. 

At the store, the tech explained it was likely a failed SIM card. I had an older iPhone Pro Max 13 (and now they are selling 17). Removing my SIM card, after some manipulations (and time), he managed to reactivate my phone and return it to me.

I continued to monitor my phone and several more times I noticed the message SIM failure. Last week, my wife and I updated our phones the 17 release. In my writing life, my phone is much more than a phone. Throughout my day, it has many different functions and the continued failure of the old phone wasn’t an option. 

With the new iPhone, I’ve been mired in additional tech challenges to make sure my various applications work on the new phone. It took some work but to my relief it looks like everything is functioning. 

For over 40 years, I’ve been facing these tech challenges. When I was writing my Master’s thesis at the University of Texas at Arlington, I had an Osborne computer, which was one of the first portable computers. It was called a “lugable” because it was the size of a portable sewing machine. 

As writers, we continue to use new tools and learn new aspects of our work to become more effective and reach new readers. Whether we like it or not isn’t the issue, it’s part of our world.

One of the resources I use to keep up on some of the tech matters is The Current from Kim Komando. I’ve learned a great deal from reading these newsletters. Follow this link to learn more and subscribe. 

I watched an interview with director Christopher Nolan about his lack of email and not having a smartphone. He is finding it harder and harder to avoid using these tools. 

As a writer, how to you continue to upgrade your skills and tools? Where do you turn when you face a tech challenge? Or are you resisting using these tools like Christopher Nolan? I encourage each of you to keep learning, keep experimenting with new tools and growing in your abilities and skills. Let me know the actions you are taking in the comments below.

Tweetable:

Like the world of publishing, technology is constantly changing. In this article, this bestselling author recounts a recent tech challenge and how he overcame it. Get the details here.  (ClickToTweet)

Throughout my many years in publishing, I’ve co-authored over a dozen books and reviewed thousands of submissions (no exaggeration). As a part of the process of working with these authors, I speak with them about their dreams and plans. Many of these authors have  unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. Many aspects of the details of publishing are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 in  free bonuses.

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

For over a year, once a week I’ve been sending a short free newsletter. Just follow this link to subscribe. When you are added to the newsletter list, you will receive a FREE 87-page Ebook which is packed with insights for every writer.

Get these articles on your email: 

Since 2004, I have blogged about The Writing Life over 1,800 entries and one of the top 27 content writers. With this simple form, each week you can get my new articles, encouragement and insights at: https://t.co/W6uU64u6aA

The Right Tools Are Critical for Every Writer

As I begin a new year (2018), I take some time to reflect on the accomplishments of last year and also look ahead to what I want to happen in the year ahead. I'm grateful for the different opportunities I've had to write and also help others. As I get into this reflective mode, I look at some of my habits. For example, over the last few years, I've focused on growing a large following on Twitter which has grown to over 220,000 last year and continues to grow. Twitter has added a graphic of twitter impressions (see this image from my twitter page)

Since 2008 when I joined Twitter, I have tweeted almost 40,000 times. In recent years, I tweet about publishing and writing almost a dozen times a day. I use a tool called Hootsuite which has a free version and also a paid version. Recently I have switched to the paid version because Hootsuite added a limit of the number of future tweets you could have on the free version. I exceeded this number.

For me, Hootsuite has been the right tool for my social media because:

--I can schedule the tweets
--I can add an image to my tweets (important for visibility)

Because of my commitment to Twitter and Hootsuite, I have developed my own system with my tweets. For example, I begin my day with an inspirational quote. As I locate these quotes in various places, I cut and paste them into my Hootsuite with a photo. I've saved many of my photos in a little folder on my desktop called Twitter photos. Rather than search each time for a photo, I often have an image saved in my folder because I've saved them and developed an easy system to keep and retrieve them.

Your writing goals will be different from mine. Maybe you want to be published in more print magazines. You will need to learn how to write a query letter and develop a pattern or habit of pitching editors on a regular basis. If they are Christian publications, I encourage you to use the Christian Writers Market Guide 2018. If they are general market publications, then use the 2018 Writers Market Guide and make sure you are contacting the right editors with your pitches. You can also find the Writers Market Guide in the reference section of most public libraries.

If you want to sell more of your books, then you will need to be reaching your audience through the radio or print or social media or your own newsletter list. Each of these venues are effective and ones where you will need to learn the right tools and develop a regular pattern or system. As I use my various regular patterns or systems, I don't have to reinvent anything but simply use what I've created earlier over and over.

What tools are you using with your writing? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.

Tweetable:

Every writer must use the right tools for your writing. Get some ideas here. (ClickToTweet)
 

Twitter Tool or Gimmick?

One of my writer friends and I were talking about twitter. He suddenly said, "Terry, you use a program to automatically grow your following right?" I agreed that I'm using a program called Tweet Adder. I've been using Tweet Adder for about seven or eight months and yes it has dramatically increased my followers on twitter. I see Tweet Adder as an important tool and not a gimmick because it does automate a number of functions. Previously I was working each day at increasing my followers on Twitter and now Tweet Adder handles these functions.

From my experience with Twitter, one of the best ways to increase your followers is to first tweet excellent focused content and second to follow others who have an interest in that content. You have to follow others gradually and consistently. If you decided to follow 400 people in a single day, then that would appear to twitter like you are abusing the tool and they could suspend your twitter account and defeat your entire purpose for being on twitter.

You can invest the time and energy and follow people to grow your twitter following. Or you can use a focused tool like Tweet Adder to help you in this process.

The program runs 24 hours a day in the background of my computer and will gradually follow new people. They don't follow random people but individuals that I've selected through keywords. For example for my Terry Whalin twitter account, I'm looking for followers who are interested in writing, publishing, books or those types of words. Tweet Adder searches the profiles of people on twitter and you can select whether you want them to speak only English (my preference) or to be in a certain geographic area and other limitations. The program will search for new followers, eliminate any duplicates and follow more of these selected people each day.

After a period of time, if the person does not follow you in return, then Tweet Adder unfollows this person. It keeps the balance between people you are following and people who follow you on Twitter.

The program has a one-time fee and not something monthly (like some other Twitter programs). Also from time to time, Twitter will change how their program works. The folks at Tweet Adder keep up on these shifts and modify their program so it still keeps working--and send out an update to you without any additional expense. Other programs will charge you a fee for that update but it's not the case with Tweet Adder.

At this writing, I'm still learning how to use this tool but it is not a gimmick. It is a valuable tool for you to grow your twitter following without spending massive amounts of time and energy. If you are looking to increase your presence on Twitter, then I recommend you try the free download of Tweet Adder and eventually purchase this tool.

Press Release Tools

Many writers have never written a press release. They figure that's something their book publisher handles or something they can delegate to someone else. In the normal course of events, your book publisher will prepare a press release for the book. This release is focused on the content of your book and a mixture of information about you as the author and the unique marketing position of your new book. It's a one time event then the publicity person moves on to another book.

There are almost limitless opportunities to promote your events, your forthcoming workshops, your new products and other aspects of your work--if you know how to write an effective press release. It's another critical skill that every writer should add to their base of knowledge. The first part of this process is learning to write the release, then you need to effectively get that release to the right media person (newspaper, magazine, Internet, radio or television) and follow-up. The key will almost always be in the follow-up.

Whether you've never written a press release or it's been a long time or you just want a tool to help you in this process, I've found this resource from John Jantsch at Duct Tape Marketing. It's an online press release generator. You fill in the blanks and it generates a press release which you can receive via email and send out. You have to subscribe and confirm your subscription to reach the Instant Press Release link but then you can save this link in your browser and use it over and over. John is using this tool as another way to build subscribers and it's admirable. If you don't want to be on his list, you can unsubscribe at any time but I see he provides continual value to his audience and recommend you stay with his list.

Another resource in this same area (where you don't have to register for the tool) is the Press Release Builder. If you follow the various links here, you will gain an education in this aspect of the business, learn how to email reporters and much more.

A few readers are probably grousing about this post and wondering why they should even care. They want to get published in magazines. Or they have a novel that they want to get published. Or they have a nonfiction idea that they are putting together into a book. Here’s why you should care: you are the best person to promote yourself. Unless you write certain press releases and send them into the market and follow-up with the media, they will never be written. Yes, you can hire a publicist to write them for you but if your resources are limited, then you should broaden your skills and learn to write press releases.