What is the best way to build an email list in 2020?

[Joe Vasicek]

Subject line says it all.

[TimothyEllis]

I still think it's the backmatter sign up.

Have it in place for book 1, and it slowly builds itself as you release.

You get 100% interested in your next release readers.

All other ways get diluted by those who only want free or 99c, and those people are not going to buy your new release unless you discount to 99c, and I've never understood leaving all that money on the table for the sake of a bit higher rank.

These days you have to decide if you're running a new release announcement list, or a newsletter, and state that at signup time. Newsletter people again, are a different kind of reader.

For me, the mailing list has one goal. Maximum sales on day 1. That's all it's for. Anyone on the list who isn't going to buy on day 1 is just list fat.

[alhawke]

StoryOrigin and BookFunnel. And Prolific Works (I haven't personally tried this one).

Author swaps are very effective and, if you give readers some work of yours in exchange for their email, like a free ebook or short story, I think it shows genuine interest when a reader gives you their email. You're not offering them money or a gift card--I don't favor that empty method for your fanbase.

Of course ideally you get organic fans from the back of your book, like Timothy said. Those are golden. I do that too, but for me as a new writer it's just slow.

[notthatamanda]

Can I ask a probably dumb question? Why do you need a third party for an email list? Does word press have a function to let people sign up to be emailed, preferably to check off if they want to be emailed about all your posts or just new releases? Thanks.

[Denise]

Can I ask a probably dumb question? Why do you need a third party for an email list? Does word press have a function to let people sign up to be emailed, preferably to check off if they want to be emailed about all your posts or just new releases? Thanks.

You need a third party when you have a high amount of emails. It's the way they manage the emails. There are ways to send emails from Wordpress byt they're not recommended.

But there are cheap opions like Sendfox and Sendy.

[alhawke]

You need a third party when you have a high amount of emails. It's the way they manage the emails. There are ways to send emails from Wordpress byt they're not recommended.

But there are cheap opions like Sendfox and Sendy.

The problem is, it's really costly when you go over their free limit. I try to make my emails very pretty with pictures behind my messages and stuff. Mailchimp can do all that. But only the first 1000 addresses are free. After that, it gets very $.

Denise, do you use Sendfox or Sendy? Are they viable?

[TimothyEllis]

Mailchimp can do all that. But only the first 1000 addresses are free. After that, it gets very $.

Not quite true any more.

They go by how many people you have in your 'audience' now, but the first 2000 are free.

Changed earlier in the year.

[notthatamanda]

Well, I am glad I asked. I will take a closer look at Mailchimp eventually. Thanks for help guys. Sorry for going off on a tangent Joe.

[alhawke]

Mailchimp can do all that. But only the first 1000 addresses are free. After that, it gets very $.

Not quite true any more.

They go by how many people you have in your 'audience' now, but the first 2000 are free.

Changed earlier in the year.

That's good to hear--gives me a little more wiggle room.

[TimothyEllis]

Mailchimp can do all that. But only the first 1000 addresses are free. After that, it gets very $.

Not quite true any more.

They go by how many people you have in your 'audience' now, but the first 2000 are free.

Changed earlier in the year.

That's good to hear--gives me a little more wiggle room.

Me too. I'm very close to the 1000 mark now, so when everyone started complaining about the new system and their 'audience' numbers boosting them up, I was actually quite happy about putting off paying for a lot longer.

[DmGuay]

This is a good question. I'm by no means an expert, but I can tell you what is and isn't working for me.

A few things: My list is small, but has been scrubbed of freebie seekers, and the audience is super engaged.  In my mind, It isn't about having a huge number of subs. It's about having engaged subscribers who genuinely like your work. Even if that list is much smaller, it's much more valuable (to me). 

I increased my subscribers and engagements AFTER:

I spent the time to completely retool my mailing list after reading Newsletter Ninja. Namely, the advice to send content that is 'valuable'. This means something different depending on genre and who you are as an author. But I feel like if you use the word "genuine" and "entertaining" interchangeably for "valuable," you're on the right track.

I read "Strangers to Superfans". It helped me fine tune. Ultimately you have to know who your ideal reader is and what they're interested in. As soon as you know that and can give it to them? You've got the key to success. (Aligning your genre with your personality helps a lot...)

So, I revamped the emails I sent with all this in mind ^^. Then, I added the sign up link to the front and back matter of all my books (As a clickable link but also spelling out the actual form address, because people don't like to use the Kindle browser and will type that address into their computer later), which has increased sign ups. (I currently don't have a reader magnet.)

Other than that, I've stopped following the 'normal' advice.

I've stopped doing newsletter swaps. Now, I only recommend books I have personally read and enjoyed. I don't get the benefit of swaps, BUT this has super duper increased trust and engagement. Probably because they don't think I'm just trying to sell them something. I'm like a friend who knows what they like and shares good finds.

I also don't do much Bookfunnel or StoryOrigin, mostly because it's really hard to find good genre matches outside of romance and UF. And, I was the admin of a few promotions last year,  and you'd be amazed how many people NEVER share the promotion to their list or even post it just once on social media. I may try again once I have a reader magnet, but I will use it selectively and carefully manage the resulting list.

So what do I do?

Ultimately, I rely on my organic list. Your organic list is always your best list, although it is frustrating that it takes so long to build! I do what I can to speed that up by putting the signup link where people can see it, optimizing it, and emphasizing the value they will get out of joining me.

One tip though: If you ask people to interact--like hit reply to answer a question or enter a raffle--that somehow increases deliverability and your "reputation" as a sender, which I *think* translates into fewer emails in the spam filter.

I also focus on moving the people who found me on social media after reading my books onto my organic list--in time-- with the clever use of carrots. I do giveaways only for fans who are only on my list. And I post teaser graphics for all my giveaways, along with a sign up link. They go to a separate dedicated list. If people engage over time, they get moved to my main organic list.  The giveaway drawing is on YouTube. (Which also brings in new people.) 

The giveaways are fun and don't cost too much, because they tie into my genre and my books. Because I know who my ideal readers are, and what they like, so I have a pretty good sense of what giveaway items will get them excited. (Which is why the Strangers to Superfans formula works).

It's the slow steady build method, but it's worked out waaaaay better than the quick build methods. I've done a lot of things that didn't work out great, that I will never do again.
-Like paid $60 toward a giveaway of merch for fans of a big trad pubbed author, only to get 1500 sign ups whose emails also went to 11 OTHER authors who also paid to be part of the giveaway. Pretty much all those people unsubbed, because they were inundated with author emails.
-I've done rafflecopters combined with blog tours to net me followers that never really engaged. They just wanted the prize.
-I've put a first in series free on Bookfunnel and story origin. I kept about 20 percent of those people ultimately. The rest just wanted free stuff.

I treat my organic people like the treasures they are. I never give away free books, but I am generous with time, recommendations, responding to messages, and in deleted scenes, etc.

I launch at full price, and I don't discount my books very often. When I do have a sale, people don't hesitate to grab it. Ultimately, your best list builder is having books that really deliver what readers in your genre want in a way that is uniquely you. AND the best way to keep them is to send them an email they LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING.

[Denise]

You need a third party when you have a high amount of emails. It's the way they manage the emails. There are ways to send emails from Wordpress byt they're not recommended.

But there are cheap opions like Sendfox and Sendy.

The problem is, it's really costly when you go over their free limit. I try to make my emails very pretty with pictures behind my messages and stuff. Mailchimp can do all that. But only the first 1000 addresses are free. After that, it gets very $.

Denise, do you use Sendfox or Sendy? Are they viable?

I use Sendy and I love it. I posted a review on my blog: https://dayleitao.com/how-i-saved-by-switching-my-newsletter-to-sendy/  It's a one-time fee of $59, plus whatever you spend on Amazon SES, which so far has been free for me. I also paid a developer to install it.

I know quite a few authors who use Sendfox. Some of them are happy with the service, some aren't. It's just a one-time payment of $49, and you can send up to 50k emails a month. And Mailerlite is another alternative, too. It's not that much when you have fewer than 2500 subs.

For pretty emails you can use a free email builder like  Stripo or Beefree. You can even keep using Mailchimp to set up the newsletter, then just copy the code. I also like my emails to be pretty! I think it makes a difference. Now that I'm using Stripo, I think my emails are much, much better than when I was using Mailerlite.

[JRTomlin]

I absolutely agree that it is about having engaged subscribers. I have scrubbed a large portion of the freebie seekers out of my list. I do offer a freebie through BookFunnel for signing up, but you are highly unlikely to find that except through the back matter of one of my novels. That means that by far most of my list is people who are actually willing to plunk down some money for one of my books. I average around 55% opens and 10% clicks which is considered quite respectable.

Basically, I'd repeat Timothy's advice to build an organic list through backmatter.

[LilyBLily]

I can tell you the best way NOT to build a newsletter list. Do everything halfheartedly. Try a little of this and a little of that. Be inconsistent about the kinds of newsletters you send. Be random about when or how often you send a newsletter. Get addresses from multiple sources with different motivations: contests, freebie hunters, group promos, swaps, organic. Don't segment out readers of different subgenres. Oh, and don't have an automation to welcome anyone, or if you do, don't have it lead anywhere in particular.

I've done all that and more. Still, I have thousands of people on my list who simply cannot be bothered to unsubscribe. And I, halfhearted, also can't be bothered to remove the dead weight. That it is dead weight is proved by the lack of response when I announce a new book for sale or even a new freebie. 

If you're going to do anything significant with your newsletter, you need a plan and then you need to be consistent with the plan and follow through. If you can't bring yourself to do everything a newsletter guru recommends, you're better off doing none of it. If you write in multiple subgenres, as I do, having just one newsletter to serve them all probably isn't effective, either.

And by the way, I don't think back-of-book signups or front-of-book signups or active links in the books or excerpts of other titles move the needle much if at all unless people actively want to read more of your books right away. If your books don't inspire that urgency, no smooth marketing ideas will produce the dedicated readers who will buy each and every one of your new books as you release them. 

[DmGuay]

I can tell you the best way NOT to build a newsletter list. Do everything halfheartedly. Try a little of this and a little of that. Be inconsistent about the kinds of newsletters you send. Be random about when or how often you send a newsletter. Get addresses from multiple sources with different motivations: contests, freebie hunters, group promos, swaps, organic. Don't segment out readers of different subgenres. Oh, and don't have an automation to welcome anyone, or if you do, don't have it lead anywhere in particular.

I've done all that and more. Still, I have thousands of people on my list who simply cannot be bothered to unsubscribe. And I, halfhearted, also can't be bothered to remove the dead weight. That it is dead weight is proved by the lack of response when I announce a new book for sale or even a new freebie. 

If you're going to do anything significant with your newsletter, you need a plan and then you need to be consistent with the plan and follow through. If you can't bring yourself to do everything a newsletter guru recommends, you're better off doing none of it. If you write in multiple subgenres, as I do, having just one newsletter to serve them all probably isn't effective, either.

And by the way, I don't think back-of-book signups or front-of-book signups or active links in the books or excerpts of other titles move the needle much if at all unless people actively want to read more of your books right away. If your books don't inspire that urgency, no smooth marketing ideas will produce the dedicated readers who will buy each and every one of your new books as you release them.

This is so true! You have to separate the people by sources and email on a schedule. I used to only send emails when I had a new release. Turns out, that was completely wrong!!

I disagree about back and front of book sign ups. I get a steady stream of people every month that way, with no extra freebie offer. It's all in what your newsletter has to offer them and how you phrase it.

[Anarchist]

Best advice I can give...

1. Decide in advance how you intend to use your list. (Brand building, launch sequences, hiring beta readers, farming ARC readers, promoting backlist, etc.)

2. If you plan to get subs using multiple tactics (organic, Facebook ads, swaps, etc.), put the subs on different lists. Keep 'em separate so they don't muddy your metrics. Track engagement (open rate, click rate, purchase during launch, etc.) for each source.

3. Create a gmail account and use it exclusively to monitor (successful) authors' email. Set up filters to keep things organized. Cherry-pick tactics that seem to work and test them, one at a time, on your audience.

4. Create at least one freebie and make it exclusively available to new subs. People should only be able to get it by subbing to your list. Then, pitch the bribe in each book.

5. If you use a freebie to attract subs, don't get upset when people sub/unsub just to get the freebie. Think of it as a cost of doing business.

6. In the beginning, respond to subs' emails. Treat 'em like real people. When your list gets huge, you won't have time. So start planting seeds of goodwill now.

7. This goes for any type of advice (relationship, investment, legal, etc.): only listen to people who are successful in the area about which you're seeking advice. If they're anon like me, ignore 'em. ;)

[RPatton]

I'd also add tagging readers by book or series. I'm not going to send a blast about book A to readers who came in at book A. (It's also good for research purposes.)

One thing I've started doing is giving my readers advanced notice. This month I have a lot of news, so I warned them there would be an extra email this month and when they would get it. I've also started adding a "contents" at the top of my newsletter.  It's all about managing expectations.