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Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Insecure Writers Want to Know: Blogging is more than sharing stories. It can be the start of special friendships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere?

            Blogging through Adventures in Writing has brought me all of you, true relationships and even true friends. For that, I am forever grateful. I can’t thank you enough for sharing all your experience and knowledge in the writing field with me. Your generosity has helped me move forward on many writing projects. Seriously, thank you!  

http://victoriamarielees.blogspot.com

            That being said, I realize how small—incredibly small really!—my social platform is. 

Writers need to build their online platforms. This is what I’m hoping to achieve through my connections with you, fellow writers, at Insecure Writer’s Support Group. I try to help my friends in the blogosphere by joining or following their blogs and connecting with them on facebook, Goodreads, and twitter.  

May I please request that if you have not “followed” my blog, please do so now. And if you could, please connect with me on my facebook author page, my Goodreads page, and my twitter page @VictoriaMLees. Thank you so much. If I haven’t connected with you on social media, please feel free to give me the links in the comments section of my Adventures in Writing blog. 

But what about an e-mail list? Do you have one? 

How did you start your e-mail list?

Can you only solicit an e-mail list through a website? Can I do it from my Adventures in Writing blog? 

Do you need to solicit e-mail addresses separately for list purposes and offer a free…what? Possibly a writing tips sheet or a short story piece in order to get the e-mail addresses?

Could the document you’re giving away be a PDF document or does it need to be an e-book? 

Do I need to tell readers that I’m soliciting e-mail addresses for a list?

Do I need to offer a newsletter to the e-mail list at regular intervals?

What do you write about in any newsletter you might offer to your e-mail list? 

How difficult are the e-mail marketing services to use? Which one do you use? 

I’d love to hear any comments you may have on the topic of an e-mail list and how you do it. I would truly appreciate it. 

I’ll be interested to see how you’ve tackled this month’s question. It’s great having a topic to share our thoughts on each month. As I’ve said, I am extremely thankful for all of you for being my sounding board and advisors in this writing and publishing journey. 

Thanks so much for visiting! Remember, please follow Adventures in Writing if you haven’t already and connect with me online. Leave your blog link in your comment so I can be sure to do the same for you.

This post was written for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. We post on the first Wednesday of every month.  To join us, or learn more about the group, click HERE.  


21 comments:

  1. Just announce that you have a newsletter here an elsewhere and ask people to sign up. If you can offer them something for doing so, you'll get a lot more to sign up.
    The IWSG is all about support so hope we are helping you!

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    1. I think IWSG is the best group to find support here online, Alex. I need to investigate how to put a sign-up gadget on blogspot first. Then create a free giveaway for signing up for my newsletter.

      Thanks for all you do to help your fellow writer, Alex. And thanks for sharing your advice here at Adventures in Writing. Have a beautiful weekend!

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  2. I just started following you on Twitter and on Goodreads. I agree we need to have more than a blogger platform though I don't have time to do much on Twitter and Facebook with all the time I spend on my blog. I agree with Alex that announcing a newsletter on your blog is a good way to get people to sign up for it. Maybe do a contest like Alex suggested.

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    1. Thanks so much for following me on Twitter and Goodreads, Natalie. I truly appreciate it. And thanks for offering your advice here at Adventures in Writing.

      I'm not sure how I'll find the time to increase my social media presence either, let alone add a newsletter to the mix. But I've got to try. Have a beautiful weekend!

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  3. Hi Victoria - I've just decided to keep my blog ... while other social media ways are left aside. I hardly do FB ... and everything else is off ... good luck with setting up a newsletter ...
    Elizabeth is very good:
    https://elizabethspanncraig.com/business-of-writing/newsletters-for-the-reluctant-author/ - there's a later post on changing services ...you might want to look around.

    Good luck - all the best - Hilary

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing Elizabeth's post. I will check it out for sure.

      You blog, Hilary, is great and everyone visits it, so I think you are good. It's always a pleasure seeing you here at Adventures in Writing. Thanks for sharing your advice. Enjoy your weekend!

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  4. Good for you, Victoria, for tackling those social media things that STILL intimidate me! I confess to having a virtual assistant who does my techie things (worth the cost to keep me sane!). She maintains my website, blog and assists with the books I self-pub. I so admire authors who can wear all those hats. Links to my newsletter, etc. are on my blog. I send them out sporadically, usually when I have a new title out and use FB events to increase my media reach with new followers (done and done, with yours!!). Participating in other author events and giveaways is also a good way to gain new readers. It's an endless task so I suggest you find avenues you enjoy and really pump time and effort into them. It'll pay off.

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    1. Oh my gosh, Nancy, this is great! Time, like you said, time is all I need. Sending the newsletter out sporadically sounds good. Thanks for following me. Maybe I can get techie help, too.

      How did you place links to your newsletter on your blog?

      Thank you so much, Nancy, for all this advice and insight. I truly appreciate it. Thanks for visiting Adventures in Writing. Enjoy your weekend!

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  5. when I've signed up for giveaways, I've received pdf's. In fact, I'm starting to prefer them. I have followed a few over on YouTube, not just authors or writers either. I prefer the PDF's cause it's easier for me to print if the offer is something like a template. And easier to keep filed on my computer.

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    1. Hello and welcome to Adventures in Writing, Mildred. Thanks for visiting and offering this great advice. Yes, I'd rather make a PDF file to give away. Now, to consider what to offer...

      Thanks again for your advice here at Adventures in Writing. Enjoy your weekend!

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  6. To get newsletter/mailing list sign-ups, announce it everywhere (every social media platform) with a link to your sign-up form. Don't add any emails yourself, let them sign-up. You do need to make it clear it's for a newsletter.

    You can use a free incentive to get them to sign-up. It can be anything, including a PDF if that's all you have. Provide that free gift AFTER they sign-up. When you're creating a form (for example: through Mailchimp), you get to design that confirmation emails and such and can provide the link to the free PDF in those emails.

    If you go to my blog or website and click on the Newsletter tab, you'll see my newsletter sign-up form for ideas.

    Here's a post I did about newsletters with a downloadable PDF: https://www.writewithfey.com/2016/08/how-to-create-newsletter.html

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    1. Chrys, I can never thank you enough for all you do to help me understand blogspot and social media. Thank you, thank you! I'll head over to your website to check everything out.

      Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge at Adventures in Writing. Enjoy your weekend!

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  7. I'm what's referred to as a lazy marketer. I don't send out a newsletter. I'd either bore everyone to death or push them to drink. I do like to support other writers. I'm following you as of today.

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    1. Thank you so much, Joylene! Yes, I'm worried about topics for the newsletter thing as well. Supporting fellow writers is what IWSG is all about. All I know is that I'd be lost without all of you.

      Thank you so much for giving your input on the subject of newsletters at Adventures in Writing. Enjoy your weekend!

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  8. I don't do enough social media stuff, and post to my blog about once a month. That's my goal, usually. I do FB as much as I can. I feel overwhelmed by it all a lot. Love connecting with writers though.

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    1. You know Dawn, I feel overwhelmed by social media too. Basically I do Facebook and twitter when I have a moment. I need to do more. And yes, I need to connect and interact with more writers in the online groups I belong to.

      Like I told Joylene above, I'd be lost without all my writer friends here at IWSG and SJ Writers. I truly appreciate your input in this matter at Adventures in Writing. This helps me decide what to do. Enjoy your weekend!

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  9. All these decisions are pretty personal. Most authors swear by a newsletter and email list, but I think this is most useful when you plan to write more than one book. I have enough going on with my blog, social media, work, and lifestyle - and feel like I’m “bugging” people enough with my book promos elsewhere - to create a newsletter.

    Also, I see my monthly IWSG posts - which contain updates and news about my writing - as an equivalent to a newsletter in the sense of keeping people abreast of what’s going on.

    Happy connecting, Victoria. I’ve made great friends through blogging.

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  10. So have I, Liesbet! And collecting emails and having a newsletter is a truly difficult decision, because like you, I share my writing progress and information here at my blogs, Adventures in Writing and Camping with Five Kids. To have another thing to write each month will be difficult. I want to concentrate on revising my memoir. Then there are family life obligations...

    It's always a pleasure seeing you here at Adventures in Writing. Thanks for sharing your advice. Enjoy your weekend!

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  11. I've made so many friends through blogging!

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  12. So have I, and you are one of them. Thank you so much for your comment here at Adventures in Writing. Please stop by again! Have a beautiful weekend!

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