October 30, 2017
Introduction
We see a lot here at BookFunnel (hint: dragon shifters are big business). With thousands of authors and hundreds of thousands of readers every month, there’s a lot going on. We see authors experimenting with their mailing list, and we see the (sometimes overwhelming) reader response when they nail it. We also see authors struggling with what to do next.
By far, the biggest mistake we see authors making is building a mailing list of readers and then not engaging them. They go to all the effort of building their list, but then they don’t know what to do with it. Building the list is great, and you want to find those true fans. But when you don’t engage, they forget who you are.
If you’re not building a mailing list, you don’t have a direct relationship with your readers. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, these are all places you can build a following, but you’re entrusting the relationship to someone else. Facebook will change the rules on you (and has, many times), and you’ve lost the ability to communicate with your tribe.
Once you have that list, you have to actually talk to your readers (sorry, introverts!). What should you say? Some authors make it look so easy (and we hate them… not really… maybe a little). They have a gold star in marketing and are always upbeat and on point. Readers practically throw money at them every time they write a post or email. You want to be like those authors. You’ve followed all of the advice and built a list, and now you need to turn those random email addresses into super fans.
How, you say? By learning from HBO, Netflix, and now, Amazon. They’ve learned a valuable lesson that authors need to learn too. How to make people come back for more. And they’re doing it with a powerful tool we see some of the biggest BookFunnel authors doing as well: exclusive content. Like the fan clubs of old, these authors are turning readers into super fans with content that readers can’t get anywhere else.
In this series, we’re going to talk about making super fans. Whether you’re new to this or a marketing super genius, we promise you’ll find something you can use. Start reading the series now!
Posts in This Series
- Introduction
- Part 1: Short Stories
- Part 2: Prequel Novellas
- Part 3: Serials
- Part 4: Bonus Epilogues
- Part 5: Bonus Scenes
- Part 6: Special Deals and Discounts
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