Your email list is one of the most important assets you have as a blogger, entrepreneur, or business owner. You have a direct line to your subscribers, a line that you can use to build trust with your readers. Because your email list is such a powerful marketing tool, it’s important to know how to use your email list to sell your book. If you plan your emails carefully, you can generate a lot of sales from your mailing list.
WHY EMAIL LISTS ARE IMPORTANT
Let’s go back to basics for a moment. As a blogger, it can be easy to focus on growing your social media followers. It’s an awesome feeling when you work hard to grow a social media platform and you see your follower numbers quickly growing. However, you must remember that ultimately that platform controls how your followers see your content. A simple algorithm change can drastically change the number of followers who see your content. We saw this dip a few years ago with Facebook, and a few months ago with the Instagram algorithm change.
In contrast, you own your mailing list. You control what content gets sent out to your readers and when they see it. Because you ultimately control and own your mailing list, it’s important to:
- Focus on growing your list, and
- Utilize your list properly to promote your content and products.
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HOW TO — USE YOUR EMAIL LIST TO SELL YOUR BOOK
So how do you use your email list to sell your book? First, you need to cultivate a relationship with your subscribers. Before you begin to sell to them, you need to provide consistent, high quality content so they begin to trust you and see you as an expert in your field. Once you’ve built up your subscribers’ trust, then you can use your email list to sell your book.
When I promoted my book, I started by asking my subscribers to opt in to a second mailing list to receive more information about my upcoming book, something you should consider doing, too. You can promote your book to this second list more heavily, sending them more frequent reminders and information about the book. Using this second segmented list along with your primary list can really boost sales of your book.
Here are some types of emails that you could write to promote your book:
- Give your subscribers a behind-the-scenes look into the process of creating the book. Maybe even allow them to help you make decisions, such as choosing between a few book cover options.
- Send them an occasional snippet or two of your book to pique their interest. What can they expect to see in your book when they buy it?
- You can easily send book testimonials and reviews to your mailing list to promote your book, too, which will offer social proof that you’ve written a great book that’s worth buying. As the buzz starts to build, so will your sales.
- When and how can they pre-order your book, if you choose to offer that option? What perks will they receive for placing their order early?
Your email subscribers have already given you permission to come into their inbox. If you’ve consistently provided value to your readers, they’ll even look forward to receiving your emails. That relationship you have built with your subscribers will help you to use your email list to sell your book. They trust the value of the content you provide, so they can trust the value of your book. When you build that foundation of trust, your email subscribers will be eager to buy your book.