The Marketing Funnel
Thanks so much to Susan for letting me take over
her blog today. I always enjoy her posts so it’s a pleasure to be here. When
she told me she thought a post on marketing would be good, I got all excited.
That’s because I just finished a month long course on the subject, and want to
share it.
So what’s a marketing funnel? I’m glad you
asked. It’s what every author needs in order to maintain an active relationship
with readers, fans, and customers. This is done by having an email list or
newsletter.
I know you’ve all heard how important it is to
have a newsletter/email list before, just as I had, but having its relevance
broken down to me over the recent course really drove it home. Here’s why:It’s a proven fact that email recipients are more likely to buy your book over anyone who sees it on social media. Social media is NOT a reliable marketing tool. Most of the time ads and promos just pass by as white noise or don’t get seen at all. Someone who signs up for your email list/newsletter, however, is actively agreeing to become accessible to you.
How does the funnel come into play? Well I
mentioned that social media isn’t reliable for selling books, but it is reliable in harnessing potential
email recipients, therefore turning all your social media outlets into a single
funnel for your main marketing tool: the email list/newsletter.
They work together. Let’s say you run a clever
blog, but don’t get on Twitter or Facebook much. No problem. Just make sure you
have a place for people to sign up for your email list on your blog. Make sure
it’s visible.
Same for Facebook or Twitter or LinkedIn … If
you use them regularly and have fun status updates and participation, make sure
your home page filters back to your email list. You’re collecting and funneling
potential customers and clients into this list, so that when you do send out
your newsletter announcement of a new book or special offer, they will
absolutely %100 see it.
Everyone uses email. Everyone.
If you’re like me, you’re inundated with emails
and the thought of getting more makes you cringe. But not everyone out there is
a writer who gets the amounts of email we do, so give them the chance to
connect with you in a reliable way that will make your contact with them
personal, and allow it to grow.
Think of social media as your tools and use them
to funnel in strangers so that they become
real fans. This allows you to connect with new readers.
Make a plan and stick to the tools you’re good
at. You can’t do all of them well so don’t try. And if you want a surefire way
to bring people into your email list, give away something for free when they
sign up. Things that work well are first eBooks in a series, or PDF reports of what
works for you--like tips on craft or cover designs. This is the age of DIY and
if you offer something useful, they will
come.
You don’t want your newsletter to be JUST promo
stuff either. Give your readers something of value each time, whether it be
content you’ve already shared on your blog or directing them to a recent post
ON your blog. Then, include your latest announcement or offer. This will keep
the people on your list opening your emails.
Share what you’re learning while you’re on this
journey and offer to help others.
Many of you are like me and have worked hard on
maintaining a blog presence, so this idea of adding another job to an already
time consuming one is a bit daunting. I get that. But the problem with blogs
nowadays is that people are not going out to look for them anymore. Your
followers may or may not see your posts, but the same details in an email list
WILL be seen when it’s convenient for the person to open their email.
This is some of what I learned from Tim Grahl’s
marketing course. I took it because I’m not good with marketing—I’m a creative
person, an artist, and I’m better at the actual production. But I knew I needed
to change that attitude, especially since I’m indie and in charge of ALL my
marketing.
If you’re not familiar with Tim, he’s the
successful author of Your First 1000 Copies, which he indie published last year
and has just hit 10k in sales. He shares his story here in this link—about what
worked and what didn’t, and I highly suggest listening to it. Thanks so much for stopping by here today! If you have any questions on using email and newsletters as a marketing tool, just ask in the comments and I’ll answer to the best of my ability. If you’d like to sign up for my email list, here’s the link: http://eepurl.com/O0s5b
I give my email list an exclusive first peek at what I’m working on and special offers only available to them.
Tell me, what have you found to be a successful marketing tool? Is there anything you dislike seeing? Do you think we’re too overloaded with promos on social media? Please share …
Thanks, PK, for taking over my blog today. You're very convincing about the newsletter. You've given my so much to think about. What do all you readers think?
