One of the most important tasks of the modern author is to make sure he or she is accessible to his or her readers. I have been blogging for a decade in one form or another, and have been involved with social media since before the term was invented. As of February 2013, I am a regular user of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads (plus of course this blog!) I dabble with Google+ and post on a variety of forums. It all helps in the quest to both find new readers and engage with existing ones.
However, not everyone uses social networks, and even those who do might find important announcements getting drowned out in the roar of everyone else's posts or tweets. I am also uneasy with the prospect of big businesses controlling how I get in touch with my customers. What if Facebook announces another new radical overhaul to their site? What if Twitter breaks down, or Amazon changes its algorithms yet again? I want to be safe from these kind of mishaps.
The solution is to create a mailing list. I'm going to aim to send out a newsletter roughly once a month. It will contain a digest of recent important news and announcements, plus (crucially) information about new releases. I am also working on special offers that I can give to my newsletter subscribers--offers that won't be available elsewhere!
To subscribe, please click here and enter your details. I will never spam you or give out your email address to any third party.
Recent publicity
A Scottish friend sent me this newspaper cutting yesterday. It's from the Lochaber News, and just goes to show that press releases can work! I would urge all indie authors to consider writing to their local newspapers when they release a new book, as you never know, they might just decide you are newsworthy enough to put in print...
Don't forget...
My Goodreads giveaway is still in progress and has had a brilliant response so far, with 87 people signing up for their chance to win a signed copy of The Only Genuine Jones. Click here to enter!
1 comment:
Alex, it's great to see you've started growing your mailing list. It's the most valuable business asset you can invest time and effort in!
There’s tons of ways to capture emails and grow your mailing list - so many it boggles the mind!
For a few dozen more ideas check out this post:
http://www.tinylever.com/email-list-growth-capture-emails
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