“The Book Sistra” I was lucky. The month I sold my novel was the month I started my newspaper, Living the Dream, with my coaching business. Little did I know that as my list of subscribers grew, I would have a beautiful platform to present the book 18 months later. Because of that list, I was selling my book in advance before it reached the store shelves. I was developing the audience without realizing it. But now I know that having a list is a gold mine, of selling your book and making your book visible to the publisher. These days, if you can prove that you are coming to the table with a large crowd, great progress may follow. But how do you find such a list? These tips will help you move from seed to harvest as you grow your team.
1. Start with what you know. Most of us already have a list, either in your email address book or in your holiday card list, that you use once a year. It can be as small as 10-25 or as large as 200-400. Start by sending a regular email notifying people on your list that you are planning and planning to send regular notes, newsletters, or whatever you plan to send. Give them a chance to get out if they are not interested. Most will always be there as your family and friends are interested in hearing about what you are doing.
2. Whenever you meet new people, get permission to add them to your list. At this point in your writing career, it is important that you go out and meet people at least once a month. You can go to social media, take classes or (and this is much better) and do a talking engagement. Non-fiction writers especially should always talk because you want to establish your expertise in your article or articles. You can collect business cards when you are on the network or reading and getting people to sign up with their contact information for your event. Make sure you GET PERMISSION and let people know they will hear about you through a newsletter, etc. It's really wrong to add people to your mailing list without their knowledge.
Also called spam! I know that registering people is important because I have seen famous writers do just that. I once attended E. Lynn Harris because I knew she had a great — and honest — reading, and I wanted to find clues on how she did it. The room was indeed packed and everyone acted as if they knew him. When it came time to sign the letters, he made an announcement: he will sign your letter if you sign his own! He made it clear that you would be hearing about him via email, birthday cards and holiday cards. People were very happy to sign this list. It's light!
3. Get a listing service to keep your list. You will soon learn, as your list grows, that your email account may not allow you to send multiple messages to groups larger than 50-80. Also, it is not a good idea to have your list only on your computer, you will want it to be based elsewhere. Solution: sign in to get a listing service. You will have your well-maintained website, and many list resources will provide you with templates and allow you to send beautiful HTML email messages to your list. You can also find code and links that allow people to enter your list from your website. There are many to try.
I use both Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com) and 1 shopping cart (http://www.1shoppingcart.com). If you do not sell products or services, you may not need a shopping cart to make Constant Contact just for you.
4. Contact your list regularly. You want to stay in touch with the people on your list, so they don't forget about you. The way you act is up to you. As I said above, E. Lynn Harris sends notes and cards to her list. A colleague of mine sends daily encouraging quotes. I am a big fan of email newsletters because you can provide news about your activities and content that is useful to your readers. When you provide content, such as real estate investor tips, marketing ideas, or cookbook recipes, you are developing your own technology. And you give people a good reason to stay on your list — they get good things out of it. In the past I have offered discounts on my services, holiday gift certificates for people who can give vacations and career advice articles and goals to achieve goals. And the entire version of Living the Dream also includes my book and reviews of acquired stars. You can see past issues by going to http://www.creativecoachingplans.com/newsletter.html.
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