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9 author newsletter examples to help grow your reader group

· 7 min read · Email marketing · Oct 1, 2019

For authors, email marketing is the best channel you can use to communicate directly with your readers.

A newsletter that keeps you connected to your readers can do wonders for you if you do it right. So, how do you do it right? What type of content should you send to your subscribers? We’re here to help you answer those questions by showing you a few examples of successful author newsletters.


One advantage of having a group read your books in advance is that you can get honest feedback. Then you can make any necessary improvements to your book – even small things like typos that could have slipped through the proofreading phase. 

Check the example below to see how it works:

Author Newsletter Example 1

Tansey Morgan sent this friendly email exclusively to her ARC team. She uses a creative subject line and reminds them that her book is live for them to review. She also made it clear and easy for them to know where to leave a review by giving them two options. Speaking of reviews, let’s check out the next example.


Share positive reviews in your newsletter. A great way to promote and sell your book is to let your subscribers know what others are saying about it.

The readers who take the time to write a review will appreciate that you value their effort. Sharing their opinion in your newsletter is always a good idea, especially when they are also your subscribers. 

A.D. Justice does this in her newsletter below. When she announced the release date of her new book, she showcased her best review. Just include a few reviews. You don’t want to overwhelm your readers, so select the best ones and you’re good to go.

Author Newsletter Example 2

As a rule of thumb, whenever you have appealing colors or images, use them. Wandering Pages does a good job in their newsletter by immediately starting with an eye-catching book cover. Also, the email content gets straight to the point by letting readers know the release date and a short teaser about the book. And what would a teaser be without its proper call-to-action at the end? 

Here, readers even know the price of the book and where to click to get it. This newsletter is a great example of “simple and effective.”

Author Newsletter Example 3

People have different tastes in how they read books. Some read on a Kindle, some on a Kobo, while others prefer old-fashioned paper books. Make sure that your readers have the option to choose their preferred reading format. 

You can include this directly in your newsletter just like best-selling author, K.A. Linde, did in the following example. She sent an email announcing that her brand new book was available and included a link to every possible format.

Author Newsletter Example 4

Readers want to get to know more about authors beyond their new or upcoming releases. Go a step further and connect with your readers on a personal level. You can share what you’ve been up to and any of your recent life changes. 

Sharing some of your life’s updates can help strengthen the relationship with your subscribers. Just like author Helena Rookwood creatively does in this email below. She shares some personal updates in her newsletter along with some book recommendations at the end.

Author Newsletter Example 5

In this newsletter, author Dyan Chick encourages her readers to not only follow her progress but also participate in the popular NaNoWriMo challenge. She also shares some important updates regarding her future books. You can do this too, especially when you have curious readers asking you about a sequel.

Author Newsletter Example 6

If you prefer to send monthly newsletters, you can follow Heather C. Leigh's example of sending an occasional email packed with information. Here, she decides to share multiple things such as latest and upcoming releases, projects in the works, future radio appearances, personal news and even events where readers could meet up with her and other authors.

Author Newsletter Example 7

If you’re an author who has published multiple books and is about to release a new sequel, you can use the occasion to offer a Box Set of your previous books at a discounted price. This is what author Susan Kaye Quinn did when she announced her new book to her subscribers in the newsletter below. 

Author Newsletter Example 8

Make sure to plan out every detail of your offer carefully. This type of newsletter allows you to remind your current readers that a new sequel has been released and to encourage them to buy your previous books.

Who knows? It could be that they’ve missed them or that they want to give your books as a gift for their friends. There’s a good chance you’ll get new readers as well.

The newsletter below is another good example of offering a box set to your subscribers. The only difference is that this one includes a collection of books from multiple authors. If you team up with other writers, you can have them send a similar version of this newsletter to their own subscribers. It’s a smart way to have more people spreading the message!

Author Newsletter Example 9

Conclusion

Email marketing is a powerful tool for creatives who want to stay connected with their audience. As an author, you should be using email.

For more insights into creating effective campaigns, check out this article where best-selling authors give their email marketing advice!

In case you haven’t tried email marketing, it’s never too late to get started.


What are some other ways that you use email to stay in touch with your readers? Do you know of any other newsletter examples that you’ve seen other authors use? Don’t hesitate to share them in the comments. :-)