5 Email Marketing Traps Book Authors Should Avoid

I know it's tough to market your book these days. With all the marketing tools out there for authors, it can get overwhelming. 

This morning I received a query through my LinkedIn for an ebook. Since I market authors, I assumed it was an author inquiring about marketing assistance. After I opened the email, I noticed the author had included a "free copy" of his ebook and asked me to read his book and pass along to my friends and colleagues. I did not know this person and I didn't know anything about his work or his book (despite the fact that he has 600 plus connections on LinkedIn, that doesn't mean anything to me).

Spam is a HUGE pet peeve so it's important to understand what NOT do when you use email to market your book. This also applies to any product or service and not just books. 

1. Do NOT solicit or sell your book to someone you don't know or has not subscribed to your email list. That's just common courtesy and you want to grow your email list and not lose subscribers. 

2. Offer your email subscribers valuable content, articles, and free reports/downloads. How can you help people and offer assistance? Email marketing is not about pitching your book 24,7. It's about making real connections with people. Think of your sales funnel. Only about five to ten percent of website visitors will actually buy the first time they visit your website. You need to provide them with valuable information so they'll stay interested in you, as the author, and your book. 

3. Do NOT give away your entire book away via email. Many people think this is an effective sales tactic and will generate more interest and will make the book go viral faster. If your book sales aren't a priority and you want to use the book to market your business (specifically non-fiction authors), then you can go that route but that's an entirely different marketing campaign altogether. However, if you are a fiction writer and book sales are your number one goal, provide only a sample chapter of your book. You want to generate interest with your sample chapter - just enough to entice the reader to want to buy your book. Why would someone want to purchase your book when they just read it for free? 

4. Include videos in your email marketing campaigns. Viral video is hot for book authors. If you want to try a visual marketing tactic, create a book trailer video (stay tuned - I will be posting an interview soon about the importance of book videos). You can also take on the persona of your character in your video and talk about the book through the eyes of your character. You don't need to spend a lot of money either. Use your webcam or digital camera. The video only needs to be a few minutes long, and it also puts your face in front of your audience.

5. Be consistent with your newsletters.  If you start an e-newsletter, make sure you send them out on a regular basis so you stay in touch with your subscribers. If you only send out emails every few months, then people won't take you as seriously and they will probably lose interest in your book. With the hundreds of thousands of book choices people have out there, it's very easy to lose people's attention. Your newsletter doesn't have to be long but be consistent - if you send out emails monthly then keep up with that schedule! Automate your newsletters through your CRM software, and implement an editorial calendar to help you stay on track. 

If you are a newbie book marketer, take these tips into account before you blast out emails to your email subscribers. You don't want to see people opting-out left and right -- not a good sign! 

 

 

The Ego Turn-Off: Why Your Email Lists Unsubscribe

As a copywriter and marketer, I support my fellow colleagues in their sales endeavors. We all have to make a living and support our businesses. But there is always that one email that leaves me shaking my head. 

Yesterday I received an email from a professional copywriter and marketer. First, I have never heard of this guy. I possibly could have opted-in to his list months ago, but this is the first correspondence I received from him.

What was the big turn-off? I can sum it up in one word - ego. He reeled me in with "So can I ask your opinion?" Sure, I'll give you my opinion. However, I stopped reading after the first paragraph. The email was all about HIM and how he's made millions of dollars for his clients. I scanned the length of the email, and it was at least five pages (possibly more). In the first paragraph, he made excuses as to why he hadn't sent emails lately. He was just too busy to bother with us lowly people, because he was too busy making other "cool" people rich. Yeah, that will win a lot of people over to your side with that kind of bragadocious tone.

Not only was the sales pitch riddled with his ego, but it was poorly written. He calls himself a copywriter and professional marketer, and claims he knows the biggies like Michael Masterson and Clayton Makepeace.

His email turned me off, and I definitely did not want to find out more about his marketing course he was trying to sell. He lost me at hello! After my experience with this email sales pitch, it made me realize (once again) that we only have a few split seconds to make a good impression. 

In email campaigns that involve sales pitches, I suggest you avoid the following:

1. Don't turn your email into a "brag book." Testimonials from clients are great, but I didn't see one testimonial in his email. I would have been more impressed if he had actual testimonials from his million-dollar clients -- instead of him bragging up and down about how he's been so busy with these clients. 

2. Offer to HELP people and be genuine! Did he offer me a free report on how I could make more money? No. Did he offer me a free consultation to discuss my marketing goals? No. 

3. Do NOT write dissertation-length emails. Who has time to read ten pages worth of copy? My head was swimming as I scrolled down his email. Far too much copy for one email! 

4. Break up key points by using bullet points, boxes, or different colors/fonts. 

5. Use a CLEAR Call to Action. I scrolled to the end of his email, and I couldn't find a succinct Call to Action, Did he just want my opinion or did he want me to buy his course? Or both? I was lost in his jumble of words, and I couldn't pinpoint a clear message -- what the heck did he want me to do?

As a result, I unsubscribed from his email list, and I sent him constructive comments as to why I unsubscribed. Maybe he'll take my comments to heart and realize he needs to dial back his ego (or maybe not).

Bravado and rambling, confusing sales pitches just won't cut it anymore. People can smell a fake a mile away, and based on his email tone alone I wouldn't spend my hard-earned money on his course. He didn't give me a good enough reason to invest in him or the course he's offering. I'm not downplaying his expertise. He could be the best marketer in the world, but how would I know that based on his rambling, all-about-me email?