My Controversial Theory on Author Newsletters
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010The experts say that you should push out content as often as possible to maintain a relationship with your readers. Now, I’m no expert on marketing, but I’d rather maintain a good relationship with my readers.
I know how I behave when some company starts spamming my inbox every day. I tune it it out. Or sometimes, I unsubscribe. What does an author possibly have to say that’s so important she can’t do it in her book? Why must she harass her readers regularly with promo? I can’t fathom it. Recent studies have shown that people have learned to tune out advertisements in magazines. No matter how perfect the placement, if it isn’t something that speaks to the reader, her eyes will gloss right over it. I think email works the same way. That’s why I’ve come up with the Stephanie Draven theory on newsletters. That being:
Don’t send a newsletter unless you have, ya know…news.
I may turn out to be all wrong, of course. (As I get older, I seem to be wrong more often. Or at least, I’m more willing to admit it.) But I’m gonna take the risk. My very first full-length novel will hit bookshelves at the end of September and run through October. That means I have a lot of news in the next month or so. So I wrote a newsletter. In a few weeks, when I’m closer to my release date for Poisoned Kisses, I’ll write another one. I might even pen one for Thanksgiving, letting everybody know how it went. After that? I’ll probably give it a rest unless I have news about my next book.
Oh, and for the love of Pete, don’t subscribe anybody to your newsletter who hasn’t given you the go-ahead!
