38 Content Ideas For Your Author Newsletter
I bet you've heard it time and time again as an author...
"You need an email list".
"Your email list is where the sales are".
"You don't own social media but you do own your email list".
"Your readers on your email list are your true fans".
So you've dutifully set up your email newsletter and that's where you get stuck. You know you need to write to your email subscribers regularly (that too was drilled into your brain) but you're at a loss as to what to actually write.
Trying to come up with content ideas for your newsletter on a regular basis is hard. If you're not currently promoting a book, what exactly are you supposed to write about in these things?
Well, today I'm coming to your rescue with 38 content ideas you can use in your author newsletter.
BOOK NEWS
These content ideas all relate to your books. It may be your current work in progress, your upcoming releases or your backlist. These are ideas you can use to softly promote your books without doing a hard sell.
Within each of these ideas you can find multiple ways to share with your email list. You also don't need to use every example I've shown you in one newsletter. You can break them up into multiple newsletters, thus giving you a variety of ways to use the same content.
And remember, if you're talking about one of your books, whether that's a new release, upcoming release or backlist - include a call to action (CTA) in your newsletter. This will usually be a link to buy your book or pre-order it. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to take the next step and purchase from you.
1 | SHARE YOUR BEHIND THE SCENES WRITING PROCESS
Readers want to know more about your writing process. It's fascinating to them that you can turn a jumble of ideas into a whole book. Maybe you went for a walk and found inspiration for one of your characters and can share that story. Maybe you had a funny conversation with another person about your writing and you can share that. Or you could share what internet searches you did today (that can always be a funny one, especially for mystery writers). Take your newsletter subscribers on a journey and share a snippet of your behind the scenes life.
2 | SHARE YOUR CURRENT WORK IN PROGRESS (WIP)
Readers love to find out what you have planned for your next book so tease them a little and share what you're currently working on. You can share tropes you're planning on using, tease situations the characters may find themselves in, share a rough draft of a scene etc. This helps to draw your readers into the world you're creating and entices them to want to know more (aka buy your book when it comes out).
3 | SHARE YOUR UPCOMING CHARACTERS
Give your readers some details about the characters you're currently writing about. Share their names, how the characters meet, their personalities. This gives your email newsletter readers a way to connect with your book's story and feel involved.
4 | SHARE YOUR UPCOMING BOOK RELEASES
If you know your release schedule for the year / or even if you only know your next book that's coming out you can tease your readers with the news. You can share what tropes you'll use, give them an idea of what the story will be about, drop hints about parts of the story, share when you expect the book to be released (if you don't have an exact date, you can always share the season; summer, autumn etc).
5 | ASK YOUR READERS THEIR OPINION ON THINGS
Draw your readers into the process and ask for their help. For example, if you're stuck, ask them to choose between 2 characters names you're thinking of, choice of cover models, colour of upcoming book font etc. It doesn't have to be a large part of the book or process but by getting them involved they'll start to feel invested in the outcome and have a more personal stake in wanting to read your book when it comes out.
6 | SHARE ANY EXTRAS WITH THEM
Perhaps you created a playlist to listen to as you wrote the book. Or a playlist specifically designed for your readers to listen to to get them in the right mood for the book. You could also share deleted scenes, previous book cover options, book cover models you didn't choose and why or title ideas that were discarded.
7 | SHARE A SCENE FROM YOUR CURRENT WORK IN PROGRESS
Share a rough draft of one of the scenes you're currently writing. You can emphasise to your readers that this is a very rough draft and it may change before it gets to the book. But by sharing a scene or two you're hooking your reader into the story early and they feel more connected / want to buy it when it comes out.
8 | SHARE PAST CHARACTERS WITH THEM
Share a past character with your newsletter subscribers. Your options you could write about would be: their character journey in the book, why you gave them certain characteristics, their interaction with other characters in the book, who you based it on, why you made them shy, grumpy, secretive etc. You could also share why you liked writing them or how long their story was turning around in your brain before you wrote their story.
9 | WRITE A NEWSLETTER FROM ONE OF YOUR CHARACTERS POINTS OF VIEW
One of my favourite authors does this often. She'll write the whole newsletter from her character's point of view. She also sometimes has them answer some reader FAQ's or sometimes she has a section where her character dispenses advice about a fictional question someone has posed. This question usually relates back to something from her book or something that relates to her character's personality. This is quite a fun little way to add a little more personality to your newsletter without having to worry about trying to think of something you can say, because your character can do all the talking and you can make it up :)
10 | SHARE A SCENE FROM A PAST BOOK YOU'VE WRITTEN
Add a scene from one of your backlist titles and add a button to buy the book. You can also spice it up by crafting a story around this scene or this book by sharing why you wrote it, who your favourite character was, why you liked them etc. It doesn't have to be long, just a paragraph and then dive into a scene that showcases your reasoning.
PROMOTION
These are content ideas that are directly promoting your books. Make sure to always include links to purchase in your emails.
11 | SHARE BOOK COVER REVEALS & TEASERS
Before your books come out you can get your readers engaged and excited by dropping hints and photos about your upcoming book cover. You can make it fun by creating graphics that only show a portion of the cover and give them a date for when they see the full cover.
12 | SHARE MODEL/COVER ART REVEALS & TEASERS
Along the same vein as a cover reveal, you can also tease your audience by showcasing your cover model and revealing them before you drop the full cover. Or if you don't have a model on your cover you can do the same with your cover art and reveal it before they get the full cover details.
13 | REVEAL YOUR UPCOMING BOOK'S BLURB
To draw your readers in and get them excited about your upcoming release, you can share the blurb for your book with them. And don't just think that you can only share it once. You can re-share the blurb multiple times over the course of a few weeks or months leading up to the release.
14 | SHARE YOUR PRE-ORDER LINK
If you have a pre-order set for your book, you can share the link for that anytime you mention your upcoming release. This will give them an opportunity to purchase now so they won't forget between now and release day. Or so they don't have to remember on release day.
15 | SHARE QUOTES FROM YOUR BOOKS
You can share quotes from your books to entice them to read. Some good options to choose from are ones that are funny, or emotionally charged or hint at a bigger issue/secret that will be revealed in the book.
16 | SHARE YOUR BACKLIST
Don't think that because you've already written your book and it's part of your backlist that the promotion for it is over. You can promote and share your backlist books multiple times. And sharing them with your newsletter subscribers is the perfect place to showcase them. Your subscribers are interested in you (otherwise they never would have signed up to get your emails). They may be new subscribers, they may have been on your list for a while, but that doesn't mean that they're read everything you've ever written. So share your backlist with them. Get them interested and make some sales :)
17 | SHARE ANY SALES
Don't forget to share any sales you have going on with your email subscribers. Think of your email list like a VIP list. You want to keep them happy and keep them around. And one of the best ways to do this is to make sure to share with them any sales or upcoming sales with them.
18 | SHARE ANY PRICE CHANGES
Along the same vein as sharing any sales prices with your audience, you also want to share any price changes with them. Perhaps you have a pricing strategy that has you releasing your new books for $3.99 and then after release the price goes up to $5.99. If that's the case, make sure to email your list to let them know the price is going up and to grab the sale price while they still can. If you go into your launches sharing this information, and freely giving them time to get the best deal, then you're going to build an audience that appreciates the transparency and doesn't think you're pulling a bait and switch when the price goes up.
19 | SHARE YOUR FREE BOOKS
Got any books that are free? Either perma free or for a limited time? Make sure to share them with your audience. This runs especially true if they're first in series as the read through of promoting your first in series usually makes up for selling a free book.
20 | SHARE ANY BONUS SCENES
Have you written an extended epilogue? Or any bonus scenes that you plan to use as a way to get new book readers to sign up for your email list. Make sure not to forget your current subscribers and give them access to the same freebies. Bonus if you do it in a way that means they don't have to subscribe again as that can be a little annoying for them if they're already on your list. Some ways to do this would be having a hidden page on your website and sending them the link. Or you can utilise something like Bookfunnel and you give them the direct link to the bonus instead of the sign up link.
21 | SHARE YOUR READER GROUP
If you have a Facebook reader group, make sure to promote it in your newsletter. They may not know you have one and by showcasing it in your newsletter it makes it easy for them to access it and join.
22 | SHARE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
Just because someone is following you on one platform doesn't mean they're following you everywhere else. Make sure to give them an opportunity to find you across multiple platforms by sharing easy links directly to where they can follow you.
23 | SHARE READER RELATED CONTENT
Perhaps you have some awesome social media followers who love you and help you spread the word on launch day with their own reader generated content. This can be fan art, social media posts about your book, quotes they're sharing, reviews etc. Make sure to share this sort of thing in your newsletter. It can be great to build buzz and excitement around the big day. Plus you don't have to just take advantage of it during launches. You can share these things anytime you want. And it's a great way to thank your fans and acknowledge them at the same time.
CROSS PROMOTION
Collaboration with like minded authors who have the same target audience as you, for example if you write mysteries then another mystery author etc can both be a great way to promote your books and to fill out your newsletter.
Some ways to collaborate and share in your newsletter are:
24 | SHARE OTHER AUTHORS NEW RELEASES
Got an author buddy who has a new release coming out soon or has just released? Make sure to share a photo, the blurb and a link to it in your newsletter.
25 | SHARE OTHER AUTHORS FREE BOOKS
Everybody loves free things, so make sure if your author collaborators have a free book to promote it in your newsletter. Free books are a great way for your audience to try out a new author to see if they like them. Plus it's great for you too as it builds loyalty and trust in your audience for you by sharing it with them.
26 | SHARE OTHER AUTHORS SALES ON BOOKS
Does your author pal have a sale going on at the moment for one of their books or even a whole series? Make sure to share that with your email subscribers.
27 | NEWSLETTER SWAP WITH OTHER AUTHORS
A great way to find new readers is to swap newsletters with an author who has the same type of readership as you. This is where two authors write an email to the other's audience introducing themselves and pitching one of their books. I always think it's a good idea to offer a free or low cost ($0.99) book at this stage as most of the people in this new audience probably haven't heard about you before and that gives them a lower barrier of entry to try you out. Then if they like what they read, they'll buy more.
28 | SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS
These can be authors that you've agreed to collaborate with or it can simply be authors that you've read and loved yourself that you just want to share with your audience.
29 | SHARE YOUR TOP 5 BOOKS YOU'VE READ THIS MONTH / YEAR
Most writers are also avid readers and this is an easy way to showcase other authors in your newsletter. You can make this a monthly segment or do it just once a year with a top 5 or top 10 etc.
PERSONAL
People on your newsletter want to know about YOU as well as the books you write. Newsletter peeps are your serious fans. So make sure to share some stuff about you and your life with them as well as book news.
And remember, it doesn't have to be a lot or too invasive if you're concerned about sharing too much. You can just give them some brief snippets into your life.
Some ways to make it personal are:
30 | SHARE A BEHIND THE SCENES - DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN AUTHOR
Give your email list a little insight into how a typical day in the life for you as a writer goes. Do you get up at 6am and start cranking out your words? Or do you roll out of bed at 10am, immediately head to the coffee maker before you can even think about writing that day? Your story doesn't have to be too involved but by sharing these little details gives your reader that personal connection to you as an author and makes them feel more involved.
31 | SHARE A FUNNY ANECDOTE OF YOUR DAY
Has one of your kids cracked you up today? Or maybe your pet has done something completely adorable? Share this little tale with your audience as they may get a kick out of it too. And the best thing about this is you don't have to share personal details like names if you don't want to. You can just say one of your kiddos, my dog etc.
32 | SHARE THE BOOK YOU'RE READING RIGHT NOW
Sharing what you're reading with your email list doesn't always have to be about cross promoting another author. You can also just share what book you're enjoying right now and the reason why. People will love this small insight into your life.
33 | SHARE ANY AUTHOR/WRITING EVENTS YOU'LL BE ATTENDING
Make sure to let your readers know in advance if you'll be attending any conferences, events or book signings where they'll get a chance to meet you or have a copy of one of their books signed by you.
34 | SHARE REVIEWS FROM READERS
But make this more personal by sharing a story alongside it. Perhaps when you read this review you were having a tough day and it made you happy. Or you were worried readers wouldn't get one of your characters until you read 'this' review etc.
35 | ANSWER YOUR MOST ASKED QUESTIONS
I'm sure you've been asked the same questions time and again by different people. If so, why not make a fun little section of your newsletter where you answer an FAQ from a reader. You can do one at a time and stretch them out across several newsletters.
36 | SHARE PHOTOS
Of you (if you want) or of your workspace, your desk, a messy pile of notes, your plotting cards on a cork board, your pets etc.
37 | SHARE A MEME OR A JOKE
Share some light hearted content with your email list. Memes or jokes are perfect for this. It doesn't even have to be related to writing. You can simply share something that made you giggle and you thought they would get a kick out of it too.
38 | SHARE ABOUT YOU
I know this can be a confronting one. A lot of authors are much more comfortable behind the screen creating worlds instead of sharing theirs. But readers and your email list especially are intrigued by writers. It's such a departure to think of people getting paid to write instead of the normal 9-5, that it makes your audience curious and they want to know more. So share about you as well as your books. What you did today, how you work, how you became a writer, your journey in publishing, your pets, your kids, your partner, what you did before you became an author, whether you still work full time or if this is your only gig etc.
Share as much or as little as you like, and remember, you don't have to share all the details. You just need to give them a taste.
That's a wrap! You can use one of these per email, combine a few into a regular newsletter, or take a few ideas and give them your own twist. The choice is up to you.
Which ones are you excited to try?
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