by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I have mixed feelings about group giveaways that are geared to grow newsletter subscribers.
I’ve had success in the past with the (very few) times that I’ve participated in group giveaways. My bounce rates and unsubscribes stayed pretty low. I think this is a testament to the fact that 1) I rarely send email newsletters and 2) the groups I joined had books very similar to mine.
But I still always felt like I was spamming unsuspecting readers–even though they had expressly agreed to sign up for all the authors’ newsletters in exchange for the chance to win a grand prize.
Additionally…and this is me being cheap, as usual…my email list is of such a size now that I have a paid plan on Mailchimp. I don’t particularly want to waste my money sending out release newsletters to a disinterested recipient (a.k.a., someone who didn’t seek to sign up for my newsletter and mine alone). To be clear, I do segment my lists, sending new subscribers a different newsletter than other segments. But this is still pricy (and time consuming, to boot).
I subscribe to author assistant Mel Jolly’s newsletter and read an interesting message from her last week. She recommended that, after getting the emails from the group giveaway, we contact the readers’ email addresses and give them a chance to opt in purposefully instead of being looped in automatically.
I had just participated in a group giveaway in May and hadn’t yet integrated the addresses into Mailchimp. I decided to give Mel’s advice a go.
It was a large list, so I sent an email to 500 at a time (gmail’s limit). I basically said that I appreciated them taking part in the giveaway, but that I didn’t want to bother anyone if they didn’t want to hear from me. I gave them the link to sign up for my newsletter, told them they’d get a free book if they did (which is my standard giveaway for each new subscriber), and mentioned that my newsletters included release info and recipes. Then I waited.
I got responses right away. One woman said that she really appreciated being given a choice; that she was a Luddite that mistakenly thought the giveaway was for print copies–that she didn’t read ebooks.
Another woman said that she so appreciated my email that she would not only sign up for my email but would start reading one of my books right away.
Mailchimp reported 308 people had elected to join my list. While this is a fraction of the 1000 that I contacted the first couple of days, these are 308 people who wanted to hear from me. To me, that’s worth it.
A caution: within several days (and understanding the number of potential subscribers I was reaching out to), most email providers had blocked my email address, assuming I was spam. One way around this problem may include using different email handles. Another way around it may be to go ahead and add them to a group on your newsletter list (maybe ‘potential subscribers or XYZ giveaway subscribers), send a message asking them to confirm their subscription…and then dropping those who don’t open their email or request to be removed. The only downside of that solution–for me, at least–is that I’d have to pay for that newsletter to be sent. I’d like to hear other ideas about workarounds. I have a feeling there’s something quite simple that I’m overlooking.
What are your thoughts on group giveaways? Have you participated in any?
Group Giveaways: Asking New Subscribers to Confirm Their Interest: Share on XPhoto via Visual Hunt
I’ll admit – I unsubscribe to almost every newsletter I’m signed up for without me actually signing up for it. I’d accidentally participated in two giveaways, Tweeting about them – more to help the one author I knew. After that, I was signed up on at least thirty newsletters. I’m still opting out of them, months later. You’re wise not to just sign people up.
The IWSG hasn’t hit that level -yet. So, let us know what works best.
Wow, I didn’t think you could sign up by tweeting! That’s a little too unobtrusive in terms of signing people up for a newsletter. Right now, looking at Deborah’s comment, I really like her approach.
This is what I’m doing:
+ I’m now using MailerLite, which is cheaper than Mail Chimp if you’re past 2000. Their automation features are also easier to use.
+ I’ve integrated that account with Instafreebie, so I’m getting a discount to boot.
+ I’m getting just about all of my new subscribers from Instafreebie. All of those people go on a list called Instafreebie Entries.
+ As soon as they’re added to that list, they get a Thank You email plus a link to the Amazon version of the book they signed up for, which is also free.
+ The next day, they get another free book, but this is a newsletter exclusive.
+ Both times they’re told they can Unsubscribe.
+ If they open the first email within seven days, they’re added onto my primary list; if not, they’re added to a group called Instafreebie Resend.
+ As soon as they’re added to that group, they get another email with the two free books AND a message that they’ll be automatically Unsubscribed unless they click a link.
+If they click the link within five days, they’re subscribed to my primary list; if not, they’re unsubscribed.
+ I wonder about using segments instead of three different lists, but this keeps my stats cleaner.
Deborah, this sounds like a great plan! I like the way that you’ve segmented your list and that you’re giving lots of opportunities to opt out, but are also giving incentives to stay in.
I’ve been reluctant to shift over from MailChimp (learning a new program, designing a new newsletter template, etc), but I have the feeling that my frugality is ultimately going to win that battle. :) It is expensive to send out newsletters, although I do it infrequently.
I hear you re the pain in the neck factor, but after what I went through to put the link to my newsletter in the book, this was a piece of cake by comparison.
I send once a month, though I’ve warned that I’ll send more frequently when there’s a new release. (I have a list for people who only get a new release email.) There are some lists that send out every week (or more), and it’s eye-rolling. One month feels good to me because that’s frequent enough that they won’t forget me, but not so often that they’ll hate me (I hope).
What I really need to work on is my sequence after someone signs on. People like Nick Stephenson recommend things like subscriber-only giveaways, book recommendations, etc., but I’m not sure how to automate them. Right now I send out regular sales freebies.
So, when you’re sending them free books when they sign up, you’re directing them over to a perma-free or to a book that’s temporarily marked down to free?
Does MailerLite host attachments? MailChimp will host files and then you just attach the file to the newsletter for that segment.
Or you could get a link generated from InstaFreebie and just send the link to the list. You can limit the number of copies that are claimed (in case a reader shares the link with 30,000 of their closest Twitter friends. :) )
A slightly more complicated way (and the one that I use, since I’ve been doing this since before MailChimp hosted files) is to have Amazon Prime’s cloud host the files. https://elizabethspanncraig.com/3197/offering-free-ebooks-to-subscribers/
I started out with the process you outlined a couple of years ago :-) Subscribers said the instructions for download were very helpful.
This process is for people who have signed up for a free book (the first in my series) via Instafreebie. That book is also free on Amazon, so in my thank you email I give them the link to the Amazon listing if they had a problem with the download. That has the added benefit of raising my ranking on Amazon. Since it’s permafree, I’m not planning on a limit (and I’m nowhere near 30K downloads!).
I don’t think MailerLite hosts files but I’m not sure. I’m using Instafreebie to host my free books. However, I’ve heard from other authors that readers have trouble downloading the files from Instafreebie (I presume because they have trouble following all of the steps), so some authors are also using BookFunnel. I’m reluctant right now to spend extra money on this right now though.
I don’t want to sound too successful or like I know what I’m talking about :-) After about three months of putting some work into this, I have about 1450 subscribers, with maybe 200 more coming next week. I’ll get excited when I get to 10,000, which is my goal.
I see. That’s a good idea, giving them two different links in case of any issues. And it probably saves you from having to respond to a bunch of emails, too!
I’ve heard good things about BookFunnel, but I haven’t felt up to experimenting with it. And I’m never happy about spending money (thus explaining my mental block against BookBub, ha!)
Oh, I’m not sure that any of us know what we’re talking about, ha! And once we *do* know what we’re talking about, something changes over at Amazon or there’s a new bit of software for the book industry, etc. It always keeps us guessing!
Very true!
I’ve never been in BookBub, but I think it would be great for you. I’d be surprised if you didn’t get in, and it seems like almost everyone makes their money back and then some.
I think it must be my attitude. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around basically querying to send someone money. About 1 1/2 years ago (? maybe?) they rejected me for an ad. I think I put out some bad karma… :)
Ha ha–I know. “Please take my money!” I have mixed feelings myself; it’s not smart, I think, to set your entire marketing strategy around one newsletter that you don’t control, but then again their subscribers have a proven track record of actually buying…
I hear such good things about it. You might have motivated me to try again soon. :)
Interesting information that I appreciate and will use in the very near future. I’m about to participate in two very different list building ventures – one where a group of similar authors pulled together short stories and excerpts for an e-book giveaway in exchange for email addresses and one where I and another author contacted multiple indie authors and solicited signed paperbacks for a giveaway in exchange for email addresses. I’m interested to see how others handled lists that were generated as a result of similar activities.
I too use Mailchimp and I do segment my lists. New subscribers get a series of 4 welcome/introductory emails that spread out over 3-4 weeks depending on when they subscribe. People who have received that series get newsy emails as I publish them and those are typically once or twice a month.
Those are 2 very different giveaways! Let me know how those go…I’m curious. I had at least one person who emailed me back (after I’d sent the email asking the InstaFreebie folks if they wanted to opt out) who said that she didn’t even have a way to read a digital book and thought she was signing up for a print giveaway. My readers tend to range older, but there may be some folks who enter your second giveaway not just because the books are autographed, but because they’re print.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Elizabeth. I haven’t done group giveaways, myself, I admit. But I do really like the idea of giving readers an opt-in email. The more empowered readers feel, the better, in my opinion.
Most definitely! I’ve been signed up to so many newsletters…and I did nothing whatsoever to sign up for them (realizing this is a violation of the newsletter software’s TOS, but I never report that I didn’t voluntarily signup. I feel as though some writers just don’t know the rules).
I’m not a fan of the instant sign up. Like you, I’d rather have 100 people who are interested than 1000 who probably aren’t.
Exactly. Too expensive otherwise (and too annoying for the newsletter recipients).
Hi Elizabeth, I’m always interested in hearing how other authors gain/manage email subscribers. Thanks for this!
I use MailPoet, which is integrated as a plugin on my wordpress.org site and is super easy to use. I’d been using the free version because I had fewer than 2K subscribers. This spring I participated in two group giveaways to boost my subscriber numbers (which were pathetically low): Instafreebie (with Misterio Press, my indie co-op publisher) and an amateur sleuth group giveaway sponsored by Henery Press but open to anyone (some vetting involved, but they are indie-friendly).
Instafreebie got me around 900 subscribers and the HP giveaway got me 2500! There was about a 10% drop off of subscribers right away, but I was warned to expect that. The nice thing about HP is that they do the heavy lifting for you: before sending me the email addresses, they confirmed with each one that they still wanted to be on the list, which was great.
I also give away a novella (available for Kindle for 99 cents) to new subscribers, so the intro newsletter (once they’ve confirmed the subscription) includes the link to the password-protected page where they can download the appropriate format. I had several people email me saying they really appreciated having a freebie when they didn’t expect one.
So, now that I’m over 2K subscribers, I’m paying $99 a year for MailPoet Premium, but that’s fine with me! BTW, they don’t have a maximum number of newsletters or subscribers per year. It’s a good deal.
MailPoet sounds intriguing! I’ll have to take a look. $99 a year is a steal!
Oh gosh, I think we did the same giveaway! At least, I did one in May with Henery Press. Good giveaway! I like the folks over there.
I like the way you set up an *unexpected* freebie. That sounds like a really nice approach.
I was actually part of the April giveaway. Such a great opportunity, and I think it helped my sales numbers, too – they’ve been up since then!
Definitely check into MailPoet when you get a chance. I’ve been very happy with them.
Thanks!
I switched to Mailerlite. It is just as easy as MailChimp to use. I like your idea, but I never want to unsubscribe a potential reader/buyer. If they are savvy enough to sign up for giveaways, they are savvy enough to unsubscribe if they are not interested in hearing from me. There are lots of situations where it may look like a reader didn’t open the email when he/she actually did. I send a welcome email after a group giveaway with a Bookfunnel link to the freebie. I guess I’d rather pay for some non-buyers than risk losing some potential customers. An email list is your most valuable commodity next to the books themselves. It also goes along with the “7 Touches” strategy of marketing. It might be that 7th email that they eventually open and read then buy then love then become a fan!
Thanks for giving MailerLite another good review. :) Good to know of other options!
I think yours is a great approach for many writers and I’d agree–when I announce releases to my list, my Amazon ranking responds immediately.
I’m definitely more of a reluctant newsletter sender, and that has affected my approach. I email only when I release books…mainly because I tend to be shy with readers and reluctant to show up in their inbox too frequently (this despite the fact that they deliberately sign up!) I’m sure more robust development and connection with my list would lead to stronger sales, but my leisurely pace makes me less stressed out. :)
I’m new here and enjoyed the article but the comments are as good as the article! I too had issues with struggling with the email list but I worked very hard on improving my newsletter posts on bringing good pertinent information that readers should find informational. I have a pretty low opt out because of this.
My articles are longer now and take a great deal more research and time to write but they bring more to the reader that I get several thank yous.
I do believe in giving multiple opt outs at the beginning. If no other reason, than it makes me feel better.
Sounds like you’re delivering quality content and ensuring you’re not bloating your list with people who really don’t want to be there!
I learn a lot from the comments, too!
Hi Elizabeth – brilliant post, but as you say equally brilliant commenters – a rounder picture ensues. Thanks for this – I enjoyed the read … and I know it’s here for me to look at again when it’s relevant. Cheers and thanks – Hilary
Thanks for coming by, Hilary! The commenters here are so helpful, aren’t they?
That’s definitely the right strategy, Elizabeth. I’ve been writing a ReedsyLearning course on email marketing over the past few weeks and been looking at the advice of Nick Stephenson, Mark Dawson, and other marketers out there — plus studying the differences between Mailchimp, MailerLite and Convertkit. I’ll drop you a line when that course is ready :)
In the meantime though, I can confirm that everyone out there recommends “confirming” your giveaway subscribers before adding them to your main list, usually through a “sign up to my main newsletter and get X free book(s)”, which is what you’re doing.
Mass-mailing through Gmail is dangerous (I know Streak makes it tempting!). I’ve personally experimented with it and you can have your email address then automatically marked as “spam” by most servers and email clients. So I’d definitely suggest doing that with an email marketing service. If you’re hesitant to switch to MailerLite, you could just set up a list over there for giveaway subscribers, whom you then move to your main Mailchimp list (if they want to). That way it gives you a chance to test MailerLite and maybe slowly transition to it :)
Excellent advice! Thanks for weighing in. I had the feeling that using Gmail was going to be risky–it sounds like a great solution to set up a MailerLite just for giveaway subscribers. :)
Let me know when the course is ready. I’ll be interested in taking a look!
Definitely bookmarking this page!! So much good info – thanks!! :)
Thanks, Jemi! Hope you’re doing well. :)