Something That Apparently Works in Newsletters - From a Newsletter Hater

No, I'm never going to send a newsletter again. It's far too embarrassing. I think if I had more than one real fan, a newsletter could be something enjoyable to compose. And hey! I appreciate my one real fan more than she knows, but I could simply just email her, instead of sending a newsletter to 300 people who probably cringe when they see me in their in-box. I'm not going to do that, obviously. 

(Just to clarify, most 99.9% of those 300 people only signed up for my newsletter in the hope of winning a Written Word Media book giveaway.)

Out of curiosity, I logged onto Mailerlite to view my past newsletters, and found that I've only ever sent 12. It seems like so many more! God, they were agonizing! The first one was two years ago and it was very simple ~ a "welcome" message, a giveaway, and a plug for one of my books, The Diner Girl. Silence. Oh, except for the "unsubscribes". I don't know what I was expecting, if anything, but every self-published author raves about newsletters, so I must have thought they were magical.

For the next one, I gathered up all the tips for things to include, so I wrote about the setting for Lies and Love; a nice, short article describing one of my favorite places in the world. Well, that landed with a thud. And to ensure I was covering all my bases, I included a Valentine's Day dessert recipe. (Oh, my God! What was I thinking?) 

The next month, I tried a "What Does Your Favorite Book Genre Say About You?" article. (I really needed to fill space.) Plus, even though no one had entered my first giveaway, I tried again. 

Next came a classic book trivia quiz, followed by a cover reveal, and on and on. All in all, my open rate averaged around 25%.

"A 25% open rate is generally considered

solid and average in many industries, though it is on the lower end of "good."

"Lower end of good" is the story of my publishing career. I think I'll use that in my ad copy!

By the time I finally gave up, the "unsubscribes" no longer bothered me. In fact, they were a relief. "Oh, you guys are sick of this, too?" 

I began my newsletter experiment by sending one every month. That didn't seem too pushy to me; unobtrusive. The last thing I ever wanted to do was obtrude. 

Then I stopped. I just couldn't anymore. I knew these people weren't fans of my work, but only the surliest took the time to unsubscribe. I maintain that most people are nice; maybe too nice. I'm bad at unsubscribing from things, too.

I don't know what spurred me to give in and send one last newsletter five months later. Maybe I wanted to put a cap on the endeavor once and for all, rather than wonder if there really was some magic that I couldn't seem to grasp in my fingers. I didn't write it as a "fond adieu"(who would have cared?) I just went about it as if a five-month gap was perfectly normal. And no more unsubtle begging! "Look," I conveyed, "you guys don't want this; I know it, but I've got a couple of things I think are worthwhile, so here you go."

Weirdly, this time the unsubscribes never appeared. No, I didn't get any feedback, but I also didn't get any rejection. I think it might have been the passage from my yet untitled novel that did it. I'd gone into the manuscript and pulled out something quickly that I thought might be semi-intriguing. Maybe my strength actually is my writing. What the heck?  Or maybe it was my "currently reading and watching" that I threw in...because I had space to fill. I hope it was my writing. 

I suppose it's personalization that is most important; not contests or recipes or heaven forbid, plugging a book! I get it. I have to wonder, though, do authors include a sample of their writing in every newsletter? Don't they run out of stuff? It's fine as a one-off, but unless one is really prolific, that seems unsustainable.

I still have no desire to ever send another newsletter. Marketing experts are quick to point out that no form of advertising is right for everyone. An author should listen to her or his gut in these matters. As for me, my gut doesn't enjoy the accompanying nausea.