Ways To Serve Your Email List
You reading this because you may want to start an email list but don’t know what to say to folks every week.
I get it. I talk to enough authors of children’s books to know that the true joy lies in creating the book.
I talk so much about email marketing because it is natural for authors to write to their audience.
Right?
You love to write! So why not do it in a way that can also ensure book sales?!
Okay! I’ve started my list. Now, what are some ways to serve your email list?
I interview about five authors a month. I try to support every author I have on my show, so joining their email list is the easiest way for me to stay in the know about what they are up to?
Social media never shows me all their posts, but we have to engage with an email to: delete, archive, or read.
I started to notice, however, that I was signing up for lists but not seeing any emails.
After I got my freebie, that was it! The author ran out of things to say via email. And then I would sporadically hear from them when a new book was released.
I’ll tell you this now, that is a turn-off.
I don’t expect authors to write an essay each time they send an email. But I do expect some relationship building along the way. Nurturing– as most call it.
So I came up with a strategy, especially for children’s book authors.
I call this strategy the G.R.O.W.T.H. strategy, and it helps children’s book authors systematically nurture their list. Without feeling salesy.
The G.R.O.W.T.H. strategy
G: Give Freebie
Giving a freebie is how most email relationships start. We provide the potential reader with a freebie and hope they love it. Whether it’s a coloring page, curriculum sheets, supplemental worksheets, or printable stickers, they get them and hopefully feel seen and appreciated.
R: Reach out for Feedback
I consider this a crucial next step. We don’t want to give the freebie and hope our potential reader loves it. We want to know for sure. We want to know we created something that helped them. AND we don’t want them to forget about us either.
So we use this step to reach back out and get feedback. We can even ask for pictures or reviews from them. Feedback is excellent to use in future emails or even social media posts (once we ask permission).
O: Open up with a Story
As an author, you know the power of a good story. Stories allow us to connect. Using an email to tell a short and captivating personal story about ourselves is a terrific way to invite the reader into our world. We can also use it to remind them of our mission.
W: Win With Them
This step is a great time to share a testimonial from another reader. Doing so may encourage them to buy your book or even leave a review of their own.
T: Teach Them Something
Okay, this doesn’t have to be a full-on lesson. Use it as a time to share a blog post that helped you this week. For example, if you write S.E.L. books, share helpful a post or article about something S.E.L.-related.
Not only does this position you as a resource, but also someone that genuinely cares and wants to help their family.
H: Help Them
Throughout the strategy, you have been dropping your book links. But this is the time to lead with your book. Remind them that you wrote this book to help with [your topic] and wrote it with their family in mind.
Leaving this as step #6 removes the salesy feeling. They know that you care and are really in their corner to help them with [your topic].
Please don’t feel guilty about positioning your book as a tool to help them. That is why the potential reader is on your list 💕
How can you implement the G.R.O.W.T.H. strategy?
I developed this strategy to be used repeatedly. Once you complete step 6, go back to step 1. It will give you many ways to connect with your audience honestly.
Need additional support with the G.R.O.W.T.H. strategy?
Check out these prompts explicitly created for children’s books authors here. It gives you an entire year’s worth of prompts to email your list. These are built-in ways to serve your email list!
It also lists notable social media and book holidays to make sure you are emailing the right thing at the right time.
If you are looking for proven ways to grow your email list check out this post.