How to revive a dead email list before your next book launches
...Plus a summer sabbatical for my newsletter
I know you have one. Don’t deny it. Most of us do. It’s the dormant email list.
At one point (or three), you ran a campaign to collect email addresses and create a newsletter because you were told THIS IS HOW YOU SELL BOOKS NOW.
But eventually, your book launch passed…keeping up the newsletter was putsy and tiring…and you switched out of marketing mode because, you know, you do have a life and all.
But now you have a new book coming out. And you still have that list, but…whoops. You haven’t sent an email in two years.
How do you revive that list to make it a viable marketing path for the new book?
First, let’s address your biggest hurdle: Your subscribers probably won’t remember who you are.
I wish I could say they are all loyal fans that have been deeply missing you and will tremble with excitement to finally see your name in their inbox once again.
In reality, they will likely think your email is spam or that you are a crook who bought their email address off a hacking company and illegally added it to your list.
Even if they don’t go so far as to assume ill intentions on your part, you should still expect quite a few unsubscribes as the response to your newsletter resurrection. Why? You are reminding them about a service (your newsletter) that they have been doing just fine without these last couple years, so do they really need or want another inbox clogger?
While I think it is okay to lose subscribers—you only want to talk to the people who are “right” for your message in this moment anyway—we still want to do what we can to minimize people leaving.
We also want to make sure that if you are using that email list again, you employ it in a way that actually gets you good ROI—not just doing a marketing activity for the sake of feeling like you are doing something.
So yes, there does have to be some strategy to reviving a dead (or sleepy) list.
The first handful of emails you send after a long hiatus should have a similar feel to the initial welcome email sequence you sent when they first opted in.
Here are the focuses of the first three emails you should send out:
First Email: Re-Introduce yourself.
Subscribers do not remember who you are. Remind them. And yes, that includes acknowledging your absence. It’s weird if you just pick up where you left off as if all this time hasn’t past. That’s what bad boyfriends do, the kind every girl’s bestie begs her to break up with.
Also remind subscribers how they got on your list. You may have had several opt-ins or lead magnets, not just one—list them all to help jog your subscribers’ memory. But do all this as succinctly as possible. It’s just a reminder—you still want to offer some kind of “meat” as the point of your email that has value or entertainment for your subscribers.
But whatever “meat” you decide for your topic…shhh…don’t talk about your new book yet!
And then, the closing of the email: dangle a secret giveaway or freebie that you will be sending them soon, and tell them when to expect this second email (they will be more likely to open the next email that way.)
Second Email: The Appreciation Email (*cough cough* bribery/reward…)
This is not the time to say (yet): “Oh, I have a new book coming out, please go spend money on my behalf!” First, you must earn back your subscribers’ trust and interest in you. (And get them to OPEN your emails!) This starts with thanking them for sticking with you by offering some kind of grateful gesture. Some ideas:
A webinar
A giveaway contest where winner(s) get one of your previous books
A free guide or mini ebook on a topic that fits your author brand
A private Spotify playlist you curated exclusively for your newsletter subscribers
A coupon to your digital store, if you have one
A digital print they can download
Why do we do offer a gift like this?
Reciprocity: Email subscribers are not just a money machine for you to call up when you need them. They should be getting value from your newsletter, too. And when they receive free gifts from you, they feel like they owe you and are more likely to buy later. It’s a psychological strategy. We’re not nice people in marketing. This is all very manipulative. ;)
Spam Filter Hack: To get these gifts from you, subscribers are engaging with your email by clicking links or buttons. This interaction helps their mail service provider (such as gmail or outlook) recognize that emails from you are desired, not spam. Replies or comments to your email also helps with this, but getting people to leave a comment is HARD. You will get more gift opt-ins than personal email replies.
If you can’t tell, we are setting things up so that when you do ask for orders for your next book, more subscribers will actually see and open the email with the ask.
At the close of this second email, you can mention what your new book will be about. But don’t make a sales pitch yet. Keep it brief, with a tone of “Here is where my career is right now and what I am working on. Thanks for being part of my journey.”
Third Email: Make Your Ask
By Email Three, you can ask your subscribers for what you need. Maybe you want them to:
Join a Launch Team (sometimes called Street Team)
Pre-order the new book
Leave reviews of the last book on Amazon or Goodreads to help boost your profile.
Go ahead and make the ask.
The ask can be the full message of that email, no need to write something else as the “meat”, too. Your subscribers aren’t stupid—they understand why you run an email list. Their time is precious. You can keep the email short and ask for what you need.
Keep in mind that Email Three is just the SOONEST you can ask. You don’t *have* to ask for anything in email three if you aren’t there yet. Maybe you revived your list long before you need anything. That’s great! Just send good, value-focused content as the third email instead.
Not sure what to post as the content for your newsletter? This struggle is likely the reason your newsletter went dormant in the first place. Read my popular post for how creative writers can create non-hokey newsletters below.
Other Points
Frequency:
Space these three emails 2-5 days apart, whatever feels right to you. They have to be frequent enough that subscribers remember (and are looking for) each email. This is just the frequency for the re-introduction sequence. After these three emails, return to a schedule that feels authentic to you. It can be much more spaced out, but should remain consistent. I do a monthly newsletter and that works for me and my brand.
Subject line:
Getting that first email opened is going to be a challenge. The subject line is the only tool in your belt at that point. Whatever you come up with, remember that the formula for a good subject line: Curiosity + Urgency.
Good luck! If you try this, please leave me a comment and tell me how it went for you!
Where I’ve Been
Last month, I was SO honored to be a presenter at the Minnesota League of Poets. (If you are new to my newsletter from that event, HELLO and thanks for joining my corner of the internet.) This was a private event, so I don’t have a link I can share to watch the presentation, but I highly encourage any Minnesota-based poets to click the above link to their website and check out this organization’s great work.
Summer Sabbatical
This will be my last newsletter post before I take some time off for the summer.
As someone who teaches Minimalist Marketing and burnout prevention for creatives, I try to live by example. I have a very busy summer planned this year, both professionally and personally. (Including a new orchard I am putting in right now: apples, plums and a cherry tree!) So I am giving the newsletter a short rest in the bright summer sun. See you in the Fall!
Enjoy your summer refresh. An orchard sounds lovely.