Newsletter Benefits for Indie Authors

• August 29, 2022
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by Susan Violante, Managing Editor

As indie authors, we get the importance of having a website, creating, and maintaining a blog, and being active on social media to connect with our audience. But many of us have neglected one of the most effective tools to keep audiences connected: the mighty newsletter!

As per many marketing case studies, statistics show newsletters are still the best tool to bring traffic to your website and keep fans interested and engaged. When you send a newsletter to subscribers, you are not only connecting with an audience that is already interested in your content but that are already expecting it. All other tools are hit-or-miss in the sense that they do not go straight to the in-box of an already interested recipient, as it is the case with newsletters.

I know, for some reason, creating and maintaining a newsletter feels more intimidating, but it really isn’t. There are so many easy templates and user-friendly distribution systems out there that once you set things up, it takes no time at all to keep it up. Below are some tips that can help you:

• Do your homework and choose the system that best works with your setup. There is no point subscribing to a platform that offers a limitless number of tools if you only will be using one or two. There are many easy and simple to use platforms that can adapt to your budget and size of your contact list.
• Use templates instead of designing from scratch. It is easier to edit the colors, fonts and format from a template that creating from a black screen. When you do so, remember to match your website’s colors and fonts if possible. This will make it professional and will identify you as a brand.
• Know your audience and cater to their interests. It is not the number of articles that counts. What will guarantee clicks and readers is whether you provide the audience with what that they want to read. If you are a cookbook author for example, adding some recipes or cooking tips on top of your news and event announcements might be a great way to offer useful information that can make them keep reading.
• Use colorful images and pictures that have to do with the content to make your newsletter attractive and easy to read.
• Include giveaways and promotions.

A newsletter is not as difficult and complicated as it might seem. It is what we make it. You can send one out weekly, monthly, or quarterly. It just has to be sent consistently. How do you use your newsletter to attact readers?