Three Known Facts to Grow Your Readers

By Susan Reichert, Editor-in-Chief for Southern Writers Magazine 

Do you produce a newsletter for your readers/fans? If you don’t, chances are you might be missing out on a loyal following. Newsletters are great ways to send information to your readers and to develop relationships with each one of them.

Here are three things you must have.

           

            Newsletter subscription sign-up box

            Options to share your content with others

            Box for readers to send you questions and comments

Sounds simple doesn’t it? It is.

Authors need to develop a strategy to grow their readers, and one of the easy things for authors to do, is to write a newsletter. After all, that’s what we do, write!

Readers want to know about you, the author. Yes, they do want to know a little about you personally, but their main interest, is getting to know you as an author. Things like . . . what makes you tick, why do you write what you write, how long does it take, is it always easy for you to write, do you just have to sit down at the computer and your story falls out onto the pages. Do you write all day and into the night, or do you get up early or wait until everyone has gone to bed and then write. Do you overdose on coffee and chocolate or do you prefer not to eat and drink while writing. How do you choose your characters, their names, what they look like? Was it easy to choose your main character and how did you pick the flaws they would have. And the list of questions go on.

They want to know what it’s like for a writer. And you are the one who can open that door for them. You can bring them behind the scenes to see this world that has been draped in wonderment and mystery.

If you can do this for them, they are going to stay with you. You will retain your readers. They are going to want to follow you and will share with others how much they enjoy reading your books. They will be singing your praises. They will feel a part of your world.

Let’s break the three facts down.

The sign-up box –– make sure it is displayed throughout your website.

Sharing options –– make it easy for your subscribers to share your content with others via social media and emails by just clicking a button. Encourage them to share with their friends who enjoy reading.

Comment/Question box –– readers should have a place on your websites to send you questions and comments. Encourage them to interact with you by asking you questions and sharing their thoughts.

Just these three simple things will increase your reader base.

Newsletter subscription sign-up boxes should be prominently placed throughout your website, especially on pages hyperlinked within your newsletter.

Consider gating content pieces that are more in-depth and exclusive, requiring an email sign-up to continue reading.

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