A common concern among authors is how often to send their newsletter. They want to keep readers informed, but they don’t want to bombard them. This goes hand-in-hand with the worries over how many times to post on social media. Again, authors don’t want to seem “spammy” or “bother” their readers. The common wisdom is that our readers are seeing so many social media posts and newsletters hitting their inbox that it would be really hard to hit the “too much” threshold.
And guess what? After being put on a texting list for a political party (That is so not one I support!), I can tell you that no matter what you think, you are not contacting your readers too much. How do I know? Because this political machine (and I’m guessing numerous super pacs as well as the national and state orgs) are sending me 40-50+ texts PER DAY, and considering that they have paid consultants and marketing people behind them, that is apparently working for them. (Not with me, haha!) Additionally, these texts are like a one or two sentence bombastic statement with a very sketchy looking link to click on. Like the kind your Gen X parents warned you about, because it’s that scammer-y looking of a link. But let’s be honest, this org would not be sending out this many texts with that much bad internet juju if they weren’t seeing response and fundraising numbers to back them up.
So what are these political texts telling me?
1) You need a platform to drive your audience to. I have no idea where those janky looking links go; I sure as hell won’t click on them. But they’re clearly driving them to a website of some kind. And the website needs to have a “call to action”, which I’m sure for the political class is a fundraising link, but for you it could be a free book or a newsletter signup or a new release depending on where you’re sending readers and at what stage of the customer journey your reader is at.
I could once again give my spiel about how you need to own the platform you’re building on as much as possible, and that means using your own website with your own domain name (preferably a .com), but I won’t. I know you’ve probably heard it enough. And if you’re wondering what I mean here reach out or comment! I’m happy to talk about it some more.
2) Capture your readers’ attention. Preferably not with a bombastic lie, but a great hook or trope, an engaging excerpt, or an enticing cover will work. You only have a few seconds to capture their attention, so make those seconds count. This means paying attention to the genre(s) in which you write and knowing what hooks readers, such as what their favorite tropes are or what they like in covers. Tastes can change and you won’t please everyone, but you want to at least make an attempt.
3) Don’t forget that call to action. Whether it’s a link (in the first comment) on social media or in your newsletter, make sure your readers know what you want them to do. These texts say things like “sign this petition” or “tell (redacted) what you think” or “renew your membership” (I get three or four of those a day, so who knows how long that membership will last.). There’s a clear call to action and a clear way to do that.
4) You are not reaching out to your readers too often. Sending one newsletter a week is perfectly fine. Posting several times a day on social media is expected. You are not bothering your readers. They want to know more about you and your books, your worlds, and your characters. They want to hear from you, and you want to remain fresh in their memories.
Finally, I’d say mix up your messages. Don’t ask for the same thing over and over again (like buy my book). Give them various price points or various ways to connect deeper with you. Try different channels or different tactics. The texts I get are all over the place, and while I wouldn’t recommend that strategy so much, what I would say is make sure what you’re saying sounds at least a little fresh, even if you have built in blocks in your newsletter for latest releases or different free gifts.
We worry that we’re contacting our readers too much, but the truth is, we’re probably not contacting them enough.
