In episode #4 of Kidlit Marketing Made Easy(er), we flew over author newsletter land and got a bird’s eye view of what starting an author newsletter looks like. It looked good, didn’t it? I thought so but if you’re rolling your eyes right now, you may not have a newsletter problem but rather a mindset one! So, in today’s episode of the podcast, we’re going to take a long, hard look at how creating and writing an author newsletter can be a fun, fulfilling and creative project if you reframe your marketing mindset.
In episodes one, two and three, I highlighted how marketing is simply sharing what you love with people who want to hear about it. It’s not about aggressively poking strangers and whisper-screaming, “Buy my book!”, and that’s a mindset shift right there! So, if you’re still grappling with that change in perception, go back and listen to those episodes again and remember that you’re responsible for your author career, and you can be both responsible and authentic. You get to decide how you’ll be engaging with the people you connect with when you write your newsletter. So, just be you. What could be easier?
The story of YOU
In terms of today’s episode, I’d like you to think about how marketing is creative, how you’re a creative person and how you can use that creativity to make your newsletter a project you love that just happens to market you as a delightful side effect to all the fun you’re having. Marketing guru, Seth Godin, says that good marketers tell a story. In the case of an author newsletter, that would simply be the story of YOU. You can do that right? Who knows you, what you like doing, what you enjoy reading or writing or visiting or watching better than you?
Shifting your marketing mindset
There are a lot of creative ways to write a newsletter, you just have to find what works for you but if you’re thinking of a newsletter as something gimmicky or sales-y or just daunting, I’m going to give you some examples of mindset changes you can make which will help you bridge the gap between where you are today and creating an author newsletter:
- We’re all works in progress who are learning all the time. Maybe you have no formal qualifications in writing, publishing, marketing or running an author business. Welcome to the world of writing where most people don’t. In the age of technology, we all learn a lot from books, podcasts, online courses, conferences and even on social media. If you enjoy learning about writing, then marketing through an author newsletter is just another part of writing you get to discover. The biggest discovery that you’ll make about it is that your newsletter can be whatever you want it to be. If your mindset about author newsletters is negative, then it’s probably going to be a negative experience but if you set out to have fun with it and create it to reflect who you are and what you enjoy, then it’s going to be as awesome as you. What about if you make a mistake or discover that it’s just not you? You’ll learn from those discoveries and you’ll move on. No harm done. But you won’t know until you try. The most important attitude you can have is one of play, experimentation and learning. Don’t be afraid of it!
- You can use your own writing as your main marketing tool. You’re a writer; you love writing, so this one’s easy. If you’re a middle-grade or young adult author, write a short story, some flash fiction or an article and share it on your blog then link to it in your newsletter. If you’re a picture book writer, share some backmatter about the subject of your new narrative nonfiction picture book manuscript. Or write the first stanza of a short poem, publish it in your newsletter and ask subscribers to send in a second, third and fourth stanza. Then choose one of each and make a complete poem you can share with all your subscribers. Think about what you’d find engaging or how you could reach someone just like you, then do that. Considering your own social and reading behavior and then blending them into your author newsletter is the best type of marketing because it creates empathy with your subscribers and connects you to them and them to you.
- If you write middle-grade historical fiction, for example, and love visiting all things history-related on holiday, then snap some pictures you’ll be snapping anyway and pop them into your newsletter. If you picked up some fascinating information about this king, that torture device or some strange custom along the way, share it with your subscribers. They’ll most likely be history buffs too because that’s the type of subscriber you’ll be attracting, so you’ll all get to geek out together and create connections through your shared love for history.
- A newsletter is one of the most useful, quiet and satisfying ways to invest in your career as an author. You might not believe this about me if you’re one of my clients or students – or even if you listen to this podcast – but I’m introverted which means I like to spend a lot of time on my own. I’m not shy and I am sociable but I need quiet and silence and time alone to recharge. So, networking live with crowds of people doesn’t invigorate me the way it does for an extrovert; it drains me, even though I love speaking to and meeting new people. But networking through a creative project like my newsletter at times I can choose and for the length of time I can handle fits my personality perfectly. What about you; are you nodding your head as I speak?
Assignment
Now that we’ve had a look at some ways you can shift your mindset about author newsletters, I want you to think about your career as a writer. Is it just about one book, or are you building for the long term? If you’re building for the long-term, a newsletter is an easily sustainable marketing tool because you get to make it 100% yours. If you can’t devote more than a short paragraph with one link every two weeks, then you get to set up your newsletter that way. The great thing about a newsletter is that you can set it up to reflect your personality and the amount of time you have instead of having to follow a list of rules you’re not comfortable with.
To show you what I mean, I’m going to give you some homework: pick an author you admire and sign up to their newsletter. Even better, pick two authors so you can compare their newsletters. Have a look at the length and how they’ve set their newsletter out, for example: is it one long paragraph or is it divided up into sections? Do they give their subscribers interesting links to follow to articles they like? Do they promote their own work only?
I subscribe to Laura Purdie Salas’ newsletter called Small Reads. Laura is one of my favourite kidlit authors because she writes the most lyrical and consistently beautiful narrative nonfiction books for children, and she’s also quiet but lovely to chat with on social media. Her newsletter comes out at the beginning of every month and is packed full of interesting information both about herself and other people or books. It’s addressed to educators but honestly, anyone who loves writing for children can subscribe and enjoy it. Small Reads is divided up into sections in which she chats about what’s going on in both her personal and professional life; she also mentions services she can provide for educators and then she highlights books that she’s read lately and loved before showcasing some of her own books, before ending off with a list of events she’s speaking at. If you subscribe to her newsletter you get a glimpse of her personality, what she does and what she can do for you. So, her newsletter is personal, engaging and informative.
Once you’ve read some author newsletters, take out a pen and paper and jot down some things you liked or found interesting, and in the next podcast episode, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at some ideas you can implement in your own newsletter. Don’t miss that episode as you’ll come away with lots of ideas you can use immediately to get your newsletter started.
