Monday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

TEN HOT E-NEWSLETTER TIPS FOR AUTHORS & BLOGGERS

By: Molly Greene

1. Establish a long-term game plan. Smart advance planning will help you tie your e-newsletter campaigns in with your blog and all your other strategic marketing efforts. You can’t just pull the trigger on a single e-newsletter and expect good results. This type of marketing is a commitment that will pay off over time, and it works best when you create a long-term strategy before you send the first issue.

2. Options: Mailchimp, iContact, Constant Contact, Aweber, Feedblitz. All these e-newsletter systems are reasonably priced or free and offer some degree of analytics so you can track statistics such as which sends are opened most. Choose one and go for it. Aweber and Mailchimp seem to be the most popular, and author Toby Neal shared a great guest post with my readers about Mailchimp’s benefits. I’ve used iContact and I think it’s a little clunky, but what do I know? iContact does have an autoresponder function that allows you to program sends, like an automatic email to “greet” new subscribers as they sign up.

3. Test different messages, content and formats. Although it’s best to have a professional create a beautiful branded banner for your e-newletter, you can try different ideas in overall layout, content, packaging, and offers. Research what has (and has not) worked for others, then experiment with various approaches until you hit the mark and get the desired response.

4. Include at least one call to action. . .

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If you missed my latest writing and marketing tweets, here they are again:

• 3 Resources You Need to Unlock Fascinating Character Goals - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/thV3301huHK  
• Everything You Need to Know to Begin Self-Publishing Successfully | Digital Book World http://ow.ly/9aP4301huKV  
• Three Ways To Promote Your Collection Or Book Without Leaving The House - Writer's Relief, Inc. http://ow.ly/Plf3301huNh  
• Ten Hot E-Newsletter Tips For Authors & Bloggers | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/kgsK301huPH  
• How to Refine Your Novel: Plot at the Word Level http://ow.ly/QfIV301huSt  
• How to Tap Into Emotions and Boost Your Content Marketing http://ow.ly/Tsqf301huW3  
• Brand Management - Four Things to Keep in Mind When Training on Brand Voice : MarketingProfs Article https://t.co/dGBxJa6Vx0
• Social Media - Everyone Really Needs to Stop Freaking Out About the New Instagram Algorithm : MarketingProfs Article http://ow.ly/wDcu301hvbA
• Podcast Promotion: 7 Smart Ways to Improve Your Social Sharing - Peg Fitzpatrick http://ow.ly/ZsiB301hvfY
• Top Tips for Creating Quality Evergreen Content http://ow.ly/SUpz301hvlW
• 5 Reasons Agents Don't Explain their Rejections - Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/gfiK301hvrI
• How to Write a Book Review – Joanie's Blog http://ow.ly/gdBO301hvze
• 10 Tips for Authors Using Social Media - Social Media Just for Writers http://ow.ly/LJec301hvDn
• 20 Ways to Make Progress with your Novel | Self-Publishing Author Advice from The Alliance of Independent Authors http://ow.ly/iUkV301hvIR
• Best time to launch a book | Self-Publishing Author Advice from The Alliance of Independent Authors http://ow.ly/z8oO301hvLK
• What's Your Genre? A High-Level Overview for Writers | Jane Friedman http://ow.ly/aYfE301hvOW
• The eBook Author's Corner: Developing an Author Website – A Marketing and Communication Checklist Study http://ow.ly/JIq1301hvSD

Happy writing and running, Kathy