FOR AUTHORS
What Should Authors Post on Social Media Between Releases?
What should authors post between releases? A balanced mix of story, process and reader posts, series reminders, countdowns and a weekly plan.
A down-to-earth guide to starting and growing an author mailing list, from the first sign-up form to the emails readers actually look forward to.
To build an author mailing list, pick an email platform and put a sign-up form on your website plus a link in the back of every book. Give readers a reason to join, such as a free short story. Then send a short welcome sequence and a newsletter that offers more than sales pitches, with consent and an easy unsubscribe.
Most authors know they ought to have a mailing list. Far fewer know how to start an author mailing list, what to put in it, or how to keep it alive between books. This guide sticks to the hands-on side of things: the tools you’ll need, where the first subscribers come from, and the emails you’ll actually write.
Still wondering if you need a list at all? It’s the one route to readers that no retailer or social network controls. When a book comes out, your list is the audience you can reach directly, without paying per person or crossing your fingers that an algorithm shows them the post.
Not much. Four things will get you going.
First, an email platform. That means a proper email service, not your personal inbox, because it handles the sign-up forms and unsubscribes for you and can send to lots of people at once.
Second, a sign-up form or page. Put it on your own website if you can. That way the link never changes, whichever platform you move to later.
Third, a reason to join. News of the next book is a start. A free story or some bonus material usually works better.
Fourth, a privacy notice: a plain explanation of what you collect and why, and how people can leave.
You’ll find plenty on offer. Prices and subscriber limits vary a lot and change often, so compare the current plans instead of trusting old reviews. Look for:
That last one counts for more than it used to. Google’s email sender guidelines ask anyone sending to Gmail addresses to set up SPF or DKIM authentication and to keep reported spam rates under 0.3%. If you send 5,000 or more messages a day, you also have to support one-click unsubscribe. Most platforms will walk you through the set-up.
Everyone starts at zero. Here’s where sign-ups usually come from, in rough order of how much they count for most indie authors.
A reader who has just finished your book and loved it is the best subscriber you’ll ever get. Put a short, friendly invitation with a link straight after the last page, ahead of the acknowledgements. Then repeat it in your author bio.
Make the sign-up easy to spot on the home page and every book page. Give it a dedicated newsletter page as well, one you can link to from anywhere. Our guide to what an author website should include shows where it fits. A well-built author website makes signing up the obvious next move for anyone who lands there.
Add the link to your bios and mention the newsletter every so often, especially when you’ve got something new for subscribers. Social reach goes up and down. Moving followers onto your list turns attention you’re borrowing into a relationship you keep.
At talks, signings and fairs, a sign-up sheet or a QR code does the job, provided people tick a clear box agreeing to hear from you. Lots of authors also join cross-promotions, where writers in the same genre share each other’s free offers with their own lists.
A reader magnet is the freebie people get when they sign up. The best ones only appeal to readers who’d enjoy your books anyway, so your list fills up with the right people.
A warning if you use KDP Select. An ebook enrolled there has to be exclusive to KDP in digital form, and Amazon says that means you cannot distribute it digitally anywhere else, including on your website. So don’t hand out an enrolled book as your magnet. Write something separate.
New subscribers are never keener than on the day they join. Make the most of it with a short automated run of three to five emails spread over a couple of weeks.
| What it does | |
|---|---|
| 1. Welcome | Delivers the free gift and says what to expect from you. |
| 2. Who you are | A short, personal note on why you write what you write. |
| 3. Where to start | Your books in reading order, with links to buy. |
| 4. Something extra | A behind-the-scenes story, a photo of a real location or a favourite reader question. |
| 5. A question | Ask what they like to read. Replies start a conversation and tell you what readers enjoy. |
Between launches, you need to give readers a reason to keep opening. Updates on the next book are good material, and so are cover reveals and research trips. You can write about the real places behind your settings or the books you’ve enjoyed lately. Share photos readers send in. Every so often, give them an exclusive scene. A handy rule of thumb: give far more often than you ask.
When a new book is on the way, your list should hear about it first. Send the cover and the pre-order link, then a reminder close to release, then the launch-day email. Our book launch timeline shows where each one fits.
Choose a rhythm you can keep up. For many authors monthly is a manageable place to start, with extra emails around a launch. Sending too often is the smaller risk; the bigger one is vanishing for a year and then turning up with a sales pitch for readers who’ve forgotten who you are.
In the UK, marketing emails come under PECR. The ICO’s guidance on electronic mail marketing says you generally need people’s specific consent and mustn’t hide who you are. Every email needs a valid contact address and a way to opt out, and you should act on opt-outs promptly. The “soft opt-in” exception for existing customers doesn’t extend to prospective customers or to bought-in lists.
What that means day to day: use a proper sign-up form, never add friends or contacts or names from anywhere else without asking, and keep a privacy notice on your site. This is a summary and not legal advice, so if you’re unsure, read the ICO’s guidance for yourself.
Look at clicks and replies as well as open rates. They show you what readers care about.
Every so often, clear out subscribers who haven’t engaged for a long time, after a final email inviting them to stay. A smaller list of people who read your emails gives you a truer picture of what readers want.
And keep the promise you made at sign-up. If people joined for a crime series, don’t fill their inbox with a different genre. Use tags or a separate list for that.
We build author websites with the mailing list sign-up at their centre, and our social media management keeps readers moving from your posts onto your list. We started out as the team behind our founder, USA Today bestselling author Jack Cartwright, so we know how the parts of an author’s marketing fit together. We agree a clear brief, scope and fee with you before any work begins. See all of our author marketing services.
There’s no magic number. A few hundred engaged readers who open your emails and buy your books are worth more than thousands who signed up for a giveaway and never read a page. Concentrate on attracting the right people and keeping them interested. The numbers will follow.
Begin on a free or cheap plan while the list is small, provided it lets you use your own domain and set up a welcome sequence, and lets you export your subscribers. Upgrade to a paid plan once you need more subscribers or more automation or features than the free tier gives you.
Double opt-in asks each new subscriber to confirm by clicking a link in an email. You’ll get slightly fewer sign-ups. In return, you keep mistyped and fake addresses off your list, and you have a clear record that every person chose to join. Plenty of authors think that’s a fair trade.
Only if they’ve given you consent directly. Buying your book from a retailer doesn’t put someone on your list. That’s exactly why the sign-up link in the back of the book is so important: it’s how readers who bought through a retailer can choose to hear from you.
Check your subject lines and how often you send, and ask whether the content matches what people signed up for. Ask a question that invites replies. Email new subscribers promptly, while they still remember joining, and remove addresses that haven’t engaged for a long time.
What should authors post between releases? A balanced mix of story, process and reader posts, series reminders, countdowns and a weekly plan.
Learn how to give every book in a series a consistent look, with colour per book, clear numbering, box set covers and refreshes that help read-through.
Why indie authors sell ebooks, paperbacks and audiobooks from their own site, how delivery works, and what to check on VAT and KDP Select first.
Four quick questions, and we’ll show you where we’d start. Your answers come straight to us with your message, so you won’t have to explain it twice.
A 30-minute introduction call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Your answers come with the booking, so we’ll be ready for you.
Prefer to talk it through? Make an appointment for a 30-minute call on Microsoft Teams, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
A closer look at the work behind each part of your plan.
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