Tag: MailChimp

One Indie Author’s Techno-Terror and Promo-Phobia

anxious author at work laptop-868501__340It is an accepted truism that those of us with high artistic aptitudes often lack business aptitude and vice-versa. Many writers bemoan the necessity of and time spent on promotion. We want to write. Most of us do not enjoy the aspects of our craft that involve promotion, marketing and the non-creative side of our profession.

Let’s say that I am the poster-child for this problem. I have a website. When it was set up, (and I needed someone to do that for me) I promised myself I would post regularly on it. I don’t. We are told by those who know that we need an email list and a newsletter to let fans, friends and followers know what’s new, what’s coming and generally stay in friendly contact. In spite of repeated self-flagellation, I have not done so. Continue reading “One Indie Author’s Techno-Terror and Promo-Phobia”

Authors Should Find a Mailing List Service to Meet Their Needs

mailinglists2_newsletterLast month I talked about using InstaFreebie to build an author mailing list. This month, I thought I’d discuss finding a mailing list service to meet authors’ needs.

While authors could just send newsletters from their personal email addresses, most don’t. Generally, personal email companies frown upon their members sending massive amounts of email to people, and will sometimes suspend the account for being a spammer. So, people tend to go with mailing services. In addition to allowing an author not to be labeled a spammer, mailing services provide a wealth of data about the emails sent. They tell the sender whether the emails were opened, which links were clicked, and who unsubscribed. Continue reading “Authors Should Find a Mailing List Service to Meet Their Needs”

Should I Use MailChimp for My Author Newsletter?

mailchimp-logoWhat is MailChimp, and what is it good for? Of course, everyone does things differently, so I thought I’d offer a brief rundown on how I use Mailchimp to manage my mail-outs in a very basic way, and how it might be useful to you. This is not a review or an IU official endorsement. It is a slice of life that perhaps you can learn from. If you want to know more about creating a newsletter, see Jim Devitt’s post, Developing the Perfect Author Newsletter.

MailChimp is an email marketing service. You write your email; they send it to everyone you want and keep track of what happens to it after that. As far as the sending part, they don’t do much that you couldn’t do in your normal email program. For the analytical part, they provide information that I have no idea how to find myself, and this is the main reason I use the service. And on top of it, my newsletters look more professional. Continue reading “Should I Use MailChimp for My Author Newsletter?”

How to add a MailChimp email signup form to your blog

mailchimp-logoLet me say it right upfront: I hate emailed newsletters. Most businesses send them out far too frequently for my taste. I usually let them languish in my spam folder unless I’m in the market for something they’re selling. But with Facebook limiting the organic reach of posts (unless you pay them), a newsletter is one of the few free ways left for us to be certain that our fans get word of a new release.

So when David Gaughran recommended MailChimp, I gave a lusty sigh, bit the bullet, and signed up. MailChimp is free for mailing lists with fewer than 2,000 addresses. The free service also limits the number of newsletters you can send out per year, but the limit is something like 800. I’m only intending to annoy people when I have a new book out, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be okay. Continue reading “How to add a MailChimp email signup form to your blog”