(via Crux Roads)
I’m trying so hard to not use the m——– word too much on this blog, especially for you authors with sensitive dispositions. We’re going to ease you in. Have no fear.
Writing to your loyal tribe is not playing hardball m——–, right? And I have experienced hardball tactics this past five days. My husband and I are replacing our life insurance policies (we’re young; hubby’s going to turn 40) because the rates are going up.
Now, I’m a loyal State Farm Insurance customer. I worked as a State Farm marketing assistant for my long-time agent and when I got married, my husband moved from another company over to State Farm, because I love State Farm. We got a new agent up here by Seattle who we also loved and then he retired and a new, very hungry and motivated agent took over a few years ago.
She’s cool. She’s a lot like me . . . when I was a marketing assistant 18 years ago. I used to sell hard. I pushed and prodded and was a bloody nuisance to all of our State Farm loyal customers. I was 18 years old! I had no idea what I was doing. So then, when I see this new agent, who is older than me and experienced as an agent using the same tactics that I have outgrown, well, I call it m——– hardball. I flat out told her so on the phone the other day. I hate being hardballed.
So I don’t want to be this way on this blog and especially, do NOT want to train any authors to do it either!
The answer to hardball m——– is content marketing. But we’ll call it content unmarketing to differentiate in your author minds. Because with content, you’re giving your readers information that they need or want. And since you’ve written a book, you’re their expert.
Instead of pushing them to buy more and more, you’re going to reward them for buying your book and for listening to you and for being interested in you. Promotion shouldn’t be happening with an author’s loyal tribe every second. Even if you write a book a year, that’s just once a year. Even if you find 12 other authors to help promote, that’s once a month. So your audience is a bit different than say, a State Farm insurance audience or a business audience.
Your newsletter is going to be content-rich. Here’s how:
1. Condition them to click on links. Tis the way of the Internet! You give them links to recent posts on your blog, recent guest spots you’ve done on other blogs, and links to interesting things you’ve found on the Web that you know they would like to check out for themselves.
2. Your newsletter is like a short article (400-500 words max). You write short pieces about this book you read the other day that relates to the book you wrote, or about someone you talked with about this part of your novel, or that story in the New York Times about that person who just got back from . . . well, you know the drill.
3. Consider how your newsletter platform or theme works with your book(s). Does it fit together or is it diametrically opposed? Either way is fine, but you need to know why you’re doing that. The answer can be as simple as “I like it. It’s something I’m trying out.” Good. At least you have a reason. If you’re only doing it because someone told you to, I’d be a bit more worried.
Above all, the content of an email newsletter is like your blog, only hyperfocused. People who give you their email addresses deserve extra tidbits (remember to give coconuts!).
Next up, talking about why people buy books and how you can use those behaviors to create powerful content.
