When Google bought YouTube in 2006, the platform skyrocketed to prominence. The subsequent proliferation of video into a daily information-sharing tool is evidenced in today’s ease of capturing, viewing, and sharing videos in the social media sphere. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat all offer the ability to stream live video to your followers. The serious investment made in video by these social sharing giants has cemented the importance of the medium to building brand awareness.

The process of launching a book into the market and positioning it for success among the competition can seem like a daunting task for many authors. There are so many components and moving parts to think of that many authors find themselves feeling overwhelmed and not sure where to begin. While there is no one thing that will guarantee success, there is a golden ticket that will get you through the door to reaching readers and building a loyal and engaged followership: the newsletter.

The first time an author sees and holds their book, it’s a thrilling moment and incredible milestone in their journey as a writer. The book is the culmination of months, sometimes years, of their hard work, and they are excited that their knowledge, heart, and experience is ready to be shared with the world. Some authors want to remember this first moment, capturing their thoughts and emotions on video, and celebrate the occasion with their audience.

You know that having a newsletter is an important component of your platform and that the list you send your newsletter to is invaluable to you. (If you don’t, check out our article on newsletters here and here.) What may not be so clear is how you can continue to grow that list over time. Below are some strategies to help you do just that.

Provide really valuable content in an engaging way.

Above all other strategies, valuable content creation is king. If you are giving your readers useful, relevant, timely information that they can really use, your newsletter will be valuable and it will be shared with others. Word of mouth and forwards are your greatest ally in trying to achieve a bigger newsletter list.

One critical component to building your author platform is to create and maintain a regular newsletter. Speaking directly to those who are interested in what you have to say on a regular basis with relevant and compelling content will bring you some great marketing and conversion opportunities now and well into the future.

First, we will discuss why you need a newsletter in the first place. Then, we’ll get into the finer details of ways it can work for you and how it can be most effectively distributed.