Book Promotion Tip # 3

Use Your New Mailing List to Promote Your Book
1. Create an e-zine that offers useful information for readers of books similar to yours.

2. Write four short (no more than 500 words or two pages of double spaced text) articles filled with useful information for readers of books similar to yours.

3. Can't imagine what information you could write about? Think harder.

Do you write romances? Give your readers lists of famous lovers of the past.

Do you write cookbooks? Give your readers a chart for changing standard English measurements to metric--useful lists of acceptable ways to substitute ingredients in recipes.

Needlecraft---step-by-step instructions on how to Tat or give them lists of urls of places to buy craft supplies at a discount.

4. Send article number one to several on-line magazines that sell items connected to your book.

5. Offer the article free if the e-zine will include a short, concise pitch for your NEWSLETTER at the end of the article that includes your invitation to subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to this address---your special newsletter e-mail address.

6. Set up a Newsletter page and necessary search buttons on your web site. Put article number one (1) on your site.

7. File articles 2-4. Write article number five.

8. Decide now how often you want to publish a newsletter.

9. Mock up a copy of your newsletter. Copy the format of newsletters you subscribe to" Obtain your ISSN number for your first issue from the Library of Congress http://lcweb.loc.gov/issn

10. At the proper time--send out your newsletter to your mailing list. It may only be to a few subscribers at that time. But add your opt-in information so you can collect the information of new subscribers.

11. You could supplement any opt-in subscribers by sending your newsletter or its url with an introductory explanation and opt-in instructions to your address book. Make sure you encourage your readers to pass the newsletter on to their friends.

12. Set up an archive on your web site to keep copies of your newsletters available to visitors.

13. Obtain an "opt in" device asking visitors to your web site to sign up for your free newsletter. Place it prominently on every page of your web site.

14. Find five newsletters or e-zines that handle complementary topics to yours, for instance--for a needlework newsletter there could be no better companion than a newsletter that sells supplies. Ask to swap ads.

15. Prepare your advertising rates, and a special e-mail address for advertisers. As soon as you have 1000 subscribers you will begin to get requests for advertising space. 4-6 lines in a newsletter with 1000 suppliers are worth approximately $25 dollars for one insertion and approximately $100 to repeat the ad in four more issues for a total of five printings. Run a short term special on reduced rates.

16. Are you wondering why you should write four articles but only send one to other e-zines? There will (not might, but will be weeks--months that you cannot stop to write a new article. The three articles in your file can cover you when you can't find time or interest to create a new article.

17. Never Never forget to include an ad for your book on the Editor's message page.

About the Author

A.H.Holt is the author of Silver Creek, an old fashioned western offering mystery, romance, action and a handsome cowboy. She also writes poetry, short-stories, book reviews, and non-fiction. Anne is editor of the new on-line magazine WesternFictionReview.

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