Yeah, I’m really digging in to this subject. This is part three.

Here is the link to part one

And here is the link to part two.

Quick recap:

I joined a massive group of authors in a newsletter subscriber promotion. I gained 65 subscribers on my own before the marketing email went out. Then I gained 200 subscribers during the promotion. Nope, I did not sell any more books during the promotion than I normally would have during a weekend. My big wins were seeing analytics for the first time, and gaining all those subscribers!

The second newsletter I sent out was the cover reveal for Ashes in the Sky, which I sent out a full day earlier than release day as a special thanks to my fans who had signed up.

I held my breath, knowing that the letter was not only going out to my 50 Instagram fans, and my 15 previous subscribers, but also to those 200 people who had signed up for the promotion who might not be really interested in me.

I bit my fingernails and held my breath… and then partied when the numbers came in. I had a 57% open rate. (newsletter averages usually sit around 20 percent) I had a 50% click through to Goodreads. (12% is the norm) Wahoo!

And here’s the biggie…

I did not have a single “unsubscribe”.

Rock on! That means that I’d kept all 200 of those people who had subscribed during the sci-fi reader promotion. Awesomeness!

Looking at the numbers, though, I had to smack myself.

What is the first rule of marketing?

**Make it easy to buy your book.**

I didn’t have a single link in there to buy Fire in the Woods. (Yeah, I’m an idiot)

My next newsletter went out about a month later when I made the announcement that Barnes and Noble had picked up my book for national distribution. This newsletter went out stocked with links to buy Fire in the Woods at every outlet I could think of.

Now, this is important: I didn’t scream “buy my book”. I just left the links at the bottom of the newsletter after the fun and merriment of the announcement.

Were there click throughs?

Yup. Lots. And I also could see where they went. Kobo, Smashwords, B&N, Amazon, and Book Depository. (BookDepository.com was the largest click through, if you were wondering. I have a big international audience)

So, are newsletters worth it?

I’d have to say yes. And they are kind of fun, too.  They are more personal than a blog, and I feel like I can kick back and say what’s going on in my life. And the fun thing is that people signed up and want to see what I have to say. It’s really cool.

Have you tried newsletters yet? Are they working for you?
Oh, umm, in case you were wondering…

Click here to sign up for my Newsletter!

Do you have any more questions about newsletters?  Let me know!

You can find Fire in the Woods at all these awesome bookish places!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo | Chapters Indigo! | iBooks

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