I briefly considered adding some guidance regarding author newsletters to my self-publishing tips, then realized I have no guidance to give. Sure, I (now) know how to create one, but that's rather putting the cart before the horse. An author has no need for a newsletter if she has no subscribers. So while I was waiting for the repairman to arrive, I decided to ask Google how one goes about acquiring subscribers. Nobody knows!
Every semi-potential link I clicked on proceeded to tell me what to include in my newsletter (thanks, but I can figure that out on my own) and how often to send one. Many listed various mail hosts to try and advised giving away product. But how to get subscribers? The authors glossed over that completely. Because they don't know.
I had the bright idea of editing my Amazon author profile to invite people to join my mailing list, but Amazon will not allow any links to be included in a bio. What?? It kept telling me some of my content was prohibited, so I surfed over to the FAQ's and sure enough. I ended up adding a line at the end of my bio, still inviting people to join but telling them:
"Join April's newsletter at her website, which apparently is against the rules to publish. Simply Google her."
I wonder how long it will be before Amazon reprimands me. 😊 I actually do hope I hear from them. I have a few things to relay.
I also joined LinkedIn because apparently that's something authors do. It'll probably be as "useful" as Pinterest or Facebook.
Sure, there are companies one can pay to cultivate subscribers, but I have three issues with that: 1) It's unseemly; 2) $$$; and 3) How dedicated would those unearthed subscribers be? Would they even hang around? Doubtful.
I only got a tranche of newsletter subscribers because of a book giveaway I participated in, and these people were most likely far more interested in the other nineteen books than they were in mine. But I'm not going to pay for involvement in another giveaway, and besides, I only have three full-length novels and two of them are bad. I already featured the "good one".
I will, however, keep searching and trying. Sporadically. I do, after all, have a book to write.
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