How Often Should You Email Your List? The Strategy Authors Need | Ep. 43

Are you sending too many emails—or not enough? If you’ve ever wondered how often to email your list and what to include, this episode is your guide. Host Allison Lane breaks down the perfect email strategy for authors, showing you how to stay top-of-mind without overwhelming people.

If you’re ready to make your emails work for you (and not just be another thing on your to-do list), hit play now >>>

What You’ll Learn:

• The ideal email frequency to keep your audience engaged.
• The one thing every author email should include (but most forget).
• How to make your readers want to click your links (without feeling salesy).

Resources Mentioned:

• Connect with Allison Lane: https://www.instagram.com/allisonlanelit/ 

Timestamps:

[00:02:51] — Why a “mishmash” newsletter is killing your engagement.
[00:03:17] — The real reason you should include your link 3 times in every email.
[00:06:11] — The mistake authors make with freebies (and how to fix it).

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Transcript

Allison: 0:00

People click when they feel the urge, not when they find the link. Hey there and welcome back to another Thursday Q& A episode of the Author's Edge. Every week, I answer one of your burning questions, quick, clear, straight to the point. If we haven't met, I'm Allison Lane and I'm here for you. I'm giving you the straightforward clarity I know you need in order to get your work out to the world and increase that ripple effect that you know your knowledge can have. Now, here's today's question. When you have subscribers to your email list, how often do you send them a freebie? And does this include giving them early access to a podcast or an interview before posting on social? Great question. Thank you so much for sending it in. You know who you are. Here's my take. Send an email once a week, but not just with a freebie. Your email should be curated, giving an update of what you're doing. That could be a quick tip or a story from your week, a link to one podcast episode, a link to point to a media appearance, or a behind the scenes photo. Which if you saw my desk right now, you would wonder how am I getting work done? That's the kind of behind the scenes photo we want to see. Or one thought or one insight. The point is, no one is looking at all the activity that you are having in the world. No one is tracking your social posts like they are in charge of your marketing or like you think they are. And if you want people to see the result of your media interview, or see the article or listen to your advice, you have to give it to them in a way that makes them want to click and that's digestible. You have to bring them the news. And don't carpet bomb them with everything. Don't put everything in one big fat newsletter because a newsletter is over freaking whelming. Nobody wants that much information at once. That's like when you go to a restaurant and they order an array of appetizers and also the sampler platter. Nobody orders the sampler platter. You know why? Because it's too much. It's like too much of a good thing. And then, one thing that you know, you're not going to eat. No, but that's why nobody orders the sampler platter because it's a mishmash. Nobody wants your mishmash email. So, here's a pro tip. One email should drive to one place, not five different links, one place, one link, maybe a link to the LinkedIn live, video that you just did, or a link to your YouTube short that you just posted, or a link to the podcast appearance you just had. But include the link three times. And here's why. And here's where in your email. Why? Because people click when they feel the urge, not when they find the link. And they don't want to go scrolling through your email; let me scroll down, I bet she put the link at the bottom in the PS cause she didn't want to put it right up front cause she thought that would be too salesy. No, some people think, Oh good, I don't have to read the rest of this. I want to go directly to the article or directly to the freebie. So, that's why you put the link, the same link in three different sections, three different areas. One within a sentence. Before someone even has to scroll down, you want to put a link embedded in a word or a phrase in the first two or three sentences. And then, as a clickable button or a clickable photo, and then in the PS at the end. That's why because you're making things easy for the reader. It's not because you're saying, please click, please click, please click. It's because it's kind. It's because it's thoughtful because someone might get to the middle of your email and they just know that they want to go and see what you've provided. This is all because you're curating for them the news and the insights and the entertainment that you have to share. Because again, they're not seeing all your social posts and they don't know you and they're not even trying to seek those out. As for freebies, no. Your email subscribers do not need a freebie every single time. In fact, they don't want one. Instead, have one really good resource. And a freebie is you could sometimes hear them call it a downloadable, or a gift, or a resource. Whatever it is, it's something that you have curated for them that is easy for them to digest inside of 15 minutes. Your freebie is not your one hour webinar. That is like inviting somebody for a drink. And then, asking them to stay for dinner and cook thanksgiving dinner for them. They're not in for that. They just want something that's bite size. Give them one cocktail. And you want to make sure that your resource is something that actually they want. And the marketing term for that is that converts. You want to offer them something that they're going to want to click on. Don't just toss it out in the email. Like download it now. They don't want to download it now. Because they're probably looking at your email on their phone. So, if you make them click download now, that freebie downloads onto their phone and that's not where they want it. Believe me. Be gentler and offer to email it to them because that's actually what they want. If you just toss it at them in an email, it's like confetti, like catch. They don't want that. They actually want to give you their email and know that your resource is going to be waiting for them in their email because that's where they receive everything. Just like in snail mail, you know that the snail mail that you get at your house. It's going to be in your mailbox, not just spewing about in the road. So, to wrap it up. Email once a week, one clear focus, one strong resource or freebie or downloadable. And always offer someone an opportunity to act because if they're leaning in, you want to be there to offer them something good. If you have a question for next week's Q& A, send it my way. Here's an easy way to do it. In the show notes, the first four words are send me a text. You can send me a text with your question and I might feature it in an upcoming episode. Until next time, keep showing up for yourself. And remember, you are a big effing deal.