Newsletter Ninja: How to Become An Author Mailing List Expert
by: Tammi Labrecque
I heard this author speak on a podcast and loved her energy. I decided to check out her book, which I often do after listening to podcasts, and boy am I glad I did. One of the next steps in my authorly journey will be to start a newsletter, and there are plenty of actionable tips in this book that I will be referencing as I go.
As with many “how-to” books I have come across, I did a full read through and will go back through it with a highlighter when I’m ready to take the plunge. It is a short read, which only took me a couple of days to get through, especially since her writing style is very conversational. While she doesn’t go into too much detail as relates to specific products and services, she does offer a page in the back of her book that links to resources on her website. Since I was already familiar with MailChimp, that was the service I had in mind when reading through the book.
This book was helpful to me in that it allowed me to get my head wrapped around welcoming a new reader into my world. When they subscribe with you, there is a contract of sorts you are executing. You say what you are going to deliver, and in exchange, the reader provides you with their email address. Simple right? Not so much.
There are things to think about, initial set-up, evergreen onboarding, delivery systems, engagement, and what everyone wants, building strong relationships with their readers. Ultimately that is the goal since if you have engaged readers, you sell books. This book walks you through the steps and provides you with enough information to get some systems into place. I recommend having your laptop cued up as you read through it, and checking out some YouTube videos about how your particular email service works. Between the book and video, I was able to put a system in place that, fingers crossed, will work like a dream! Like with anything, beta testing will work out the kinks and by the end of 2019, I should be able to check “Become a Newsletter Ninja” off my list.
I will let you know how it goes, in the meantime, do you have a newsletter list? If so, which services are you happy with, and why? Let me know in the comments. And if you are just starting out like I am, consider following my blog, since I am sure there will be more posts to come! I have way more to do than getting a newsletter out after all!
Happy Writing! XO
D.A. Henneman - Romance Author 
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