I Need a What?

Dear Reader,

Are you a new author? Or thinking about self-publishing a book? Have you been listening to a variety of podcasts and reading articles and blog posts on “how to” be an indie author and self-publish your book?

Yeah, me too. I have listened to every podcast, webinar, read every blog and article I could get my hands, and attending author talks taking copious notes. You know what happened? Information overload! My head was spinning with all the knowledge out there. I’m not suggesting you not continue to listen, read and learn. You should. Because there is no one silver bullet that will get you on the best sellers list overnight. And for every successful author out there-there is a different way to reach that success. What works for one doesn’t necessarily work for another. How frustrating is that? And while there is a necessary component of trial and error, there are some things that I believe will work and allow for your own original spin. I have two books published, so I’m still new at this and am learning, but hopefully knowing you and I are in similar places you can appreciate my advice is relevant and helpful.

One thing I’m sure you have heard in your research is that you need a newsletter list. Take heed, that is excellent advice. You need a newsletter list. You may not yet appreciate how critical this really is, but trust me. You need this.

So how do you get one?

1. Ask, friends and family for starters. They are typically willing to support you and that will get you started. But, you will need some additional names on that list to really get where you want to be.
2. I’ve tried a lot of different ways to get people to sign up, I have a newsletter sign up on my facebook page. I’ve tried collecting names at book signings. But the one best way I’ve found to get a bump in adding names to my newsletter is by joining a group give-a-way on Instafreebie. Look for groups in your genre and contribute either a short story, a preview of your book or your book itself. *Now if you’re just starting out you may not have a lot of money to spend on things like month memberships etc. But, you can use the Instafreebie 30 day free trial for their Plus plan which is $20 a month. You need to at least have the Plus plan in order to collect email addresses. I joined a group give away for the first time and gave away my first book in a trilogy and gave away over 200 copies of my book. That is potentially over 200 new email addresses for a newsletter and over 200 potential readers for book two and three. It is also over 200 potential reviews.

Doesn’t that sound phenomenal? imagine over 200 names, sales, and reviews before you even publish your book or your next book?

I didn’t learn this until after I had my second book published and I was still struggling with a newsletter list with less than 20 people and only 4 reviews on my books.

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