Homework #8 - Email

My current mailing list has around 1,400 subscribers. I’ve been really happy with my open and click rates, but I’d still like to improve them while also encouraging more of my subscribers to reply to my emails/engage more. BookSweeps has been a big part of growing my list, and I’d like to use StoryOrigin more and would love to network with a few authors in my genre to do email swaps. My biggest challenge is simply finding the time to do all this when I barely have time to write with my precious (and busy!) young kiddos.

My lead magnet is a collection of three short stories. The stories are set a decade before the first novel in my series, and each story is a piece backstory of the three main characters. This magnet has worked well—seems to get readers wanting to learn more about the world and the characters, thereby driving them to the first book. I think getting a cover for the collection helped too. I’d like to experiment with another type of lead magnet like a quiz at some point.

My emails that get the highest open and click rates are those in which I give away copies of my books or run a sale of some kind. My other usual topics are sci-fi and fantasy book and movie reviews, writing updates, and the occasional personal tidbits. Last year, I sent my list a survey via Google Forms asking for feedback about what they’d like to see in my newsletters. I incentivized participation by giving away a pair of signed paperbacks to one random respondent. Got quite a few responses, which has helped inform what I send my list. Highly recommend trying a survey if you’re struggling to know how to best serve your list!