When I first started blogging for myself, on my own website, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I knew I had to write regular blog posts and post my content on social media, but I didn’t know a single thing about the importance of email marketing.
But email marketing has some really terrific advantages over other forms of marketing.
There are several email service providers out there you can use. MailChimp is free, and it is what I used for the first two years I was blogging. However, I recently switched to ConvertKit, and I never want to go back. It is so easy to use, it is completely worth the monthly fee. You can get your free trial here.
Email Marketing is Writing
First of all, writing is what we do best. A form of marketing that is comprised almost solely of writing should be right up our alley.
You’ve Got Their Permission
When someone signs up for your email list, they are giving you permission to contact them directly about your business. You now own this information (sort of like a friend’s phone number), and no platform can take their information away from you.
It’s Personal
The great thing about email marketing is you aren’t saying, “Buy my book!”, “Buy my product!”, or “Pay me!”. (Well, I guess, technically you can, but it’s not very effective.) Instead, you are building a relationship between you and your readers. Each email should be like a letter to a friend. You share something entertaining, something that will inspire them, or something that will help them. Ask them to reply. Make the communication two-way, and you will find it will work much better for you in the end. Customers are much more likely to buy things from people they trust and feel like they know personally.
Shareable
Just because someone doesn’t buy from you immediately after they sign up for your email list doesn’t mean they are a dead end. Maybe it just isn’t the right time for them. They could buy from you later on, or maybe forward your emails to somebody else they think could benefit from your information.
You Can Measure Your Success
With email service providers, you can track how many signups each form receives. You can A/B test what times and subject lines work better and result in more opens or clicks. Being able to measure the success of your email campaigns gives you valuable information about what should stay the same and what should change.
Automations
My favorite thing about ConvertKit is the ability to build automations. You can do this on most email service providers, but ConvertKit makes it visual and easy to use. You can set up a landing page and signup form to go at the bottom of your blog posts, both leading to your lead magnet. Then, you can set up an automated sequence that takes those new email subscribers through a welcome sequence introducing them to your brand. Eventually, you can add those subscribers to your newsletter. You can create automations for your book launches, or maybe you have a new lead magnet or service you want to share. These automations are really what makes email marketing time-effective for you, the creator. You spend some time creating them and setting them up, but then they can work for you for years.
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Over to You
Hopefully, you found this helpful!
Email marketing is so important to building your author business. It can help you build a personal connection with your readers. You own the contact information, so no matter what happens on your social platforms, you will always have access to your audience. It is shareable and measurable. And, if done right, with automations, it can be extremely easy and have a fairly high ROI.
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Did I miss anything? Questions or comments about email marketing? Let me know down in the comments!
