Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Your Author, Illustrator, and/or Translator Newsletter

So while there's a lot of wisdom from the yoga saying "eyes on your own mat," much of that is about not comparing your journey to others', as it's really not helpful. 

Having said that, knowing how other creatives are navigating their newsletters can inform and inspire what we do with our own. As a reminder, having a big following on the social media platforms is no guarantee you'll be able to reach that following, as you don't own those connections--the platform does. And platforms can change their algorithm at any time, and then ask you to pay to reach the people who already said they're interested in keeping up with what you do. 

Building your own newsletter email list is GOLD, because they are connections that you control, that you own in the reciprocal relationship where you're going to share things that hopefully your audience is interested in, meaning they'll stay with you for the next time you'll reach out.

There's so much to consider, particularly the balance of how much you give compared to how much you ask!

BookBub's AJ Yee reported on a 2023 survey of over 500 authors about their newsletters. The data in The State of Author Newsletters is really interesting, including:

How often folks email their lists (winner: 41% email once a month), 

The top 14 things folks include in their newsletters -- top three are updates about new books (92%), cover reveals (70%), and recommendations of other authors' books (65%)

Infographic from the BookBub data, "What Kind of Content Do You Typically Include"

And the top 9 ways folks gain new subscribers -- top three are links in the back of their books (75%), links on social media (65%), and giveaways of free books (56%)

The State of Author Newsletters is fascinating, and hopefully will inspire you with your newsletter!

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

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