An author newsletter swap can double or triple your audience in an instant. A newsletter swap is free, easy, and gives you a chance to simultaneously broaden your audience, author network, and your subscriber list.
Author newsletter swaps are an excellent book marketing strategy for authors with email newsletter lists of any size.
How Does an Author Newsletter Swap Work?
Your single most important valuable book marketing tool is an email newsletter list. But, it turns out, other authors’ newsletters can be just as helpful. Swaps are a simple type of mutual marketing that can really pay off.
This video discusses the value of a newsletter vs a blog. It’s worth a watch too:
For an author newsletter swap to work, all it takes is a newsletter and a willingness to promote other authors in exchange for them promoting you. To put it simply, you pair up with another author and agree to include the link to each other’s book, reader magnet, or website in the next newsletter.
You should each include:
- the book’s cover image along with blurbs,
- an author bio, and
- a clear call to action to check you and your book out.
When to Do An Author Newsletter Swap
Newsletter swaps are the most effective if you have at least a few hundred subscribers.
The more subscribers you have, the more swapping opportunities are available to you. But having a small subscriber base shouldn’t scare you away from engaging with other authors to do a swap. There isn’t a financial cost associated with a swap. So really, you’re not risking anything by having a minimal fan base.
The worst you might experience is a little bit of rejection, which might sting, but you’ll go on. Now, first, you have to find folks to swap with.
How to Find Authors For a Newsletter Swap
There are a few ways to find authors for a swap. If you already have an author network, you can ask those who write similar books if they would be interested.
Going to events like 20 Books to 50K is a great place to meet other like-minded authors. Hopefully, I’ll see you there in 2022. We’re going to have a big Book Launchers community meet-up, so if you do register shoot me an email to let me know!
Social media is another excellent place to find newsletter friends, especially in professional groups like LinkedIn or Facebook. You can even check out Goodreads or Reddit to see if similar authors would like to swap.
Of course, the authors you choose for a swap with must share the same or similar genre as your book. A fantasy lover most likely isn’t going to jump at the opportunity to promote or buy a finance book or a how-to business guide. To swap most effectively, stick with authors with the same readers that you have.
Self-Publishing with Dale and I have had great success with swaps because we share a lot of similar people in our audience. Find someone that has a slightly different approach to the same genre and make friends!
Turn to Book Marketing Websites
You can also use sites specially made for this type of networking, like StoryOrigin and BookFunnel. Sites like these do the hard work when it comes to connecting you with the right author for your swap.
StoryOrigin offers a ton of useful features for an author looking to up their newsletter game, most notably, the ability to connect with other authors to swap mentions in upcoming newsletters and group promos. This is where you team up with multiple authors to promote your books on a single landing page. Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Golden Knights. Yeah.
Another site you can leverage is BookFunnel, which is similar to StoryOrigin. It gives you a toolbox of custom landing pages, ebook and audiobook delivery, and direct email integration.
The difference is that BookFunnel is a paid subscription plan. Still, even their most basic beginner author plan gets you a one-to-one author swap organization, along with group promos and a ton of other pretty sweet features.
How to Do a Successful Author Newsletter Swap
Once you find authors to swap with, simply exchange the info you’ll both need. They’ll provide you with their link, a picture, a reader magnet, and you should provide them with yours.
When sending links to authors to promote your work in their newsletters, consider what exactly you want to share. Do you like to send a link to your website directly? Or perhaps your opt-in page to entice potential readers to get your lead magnet so you can build a relationship. Maybe you want to go straight for the sale and send them to your book’s product page on Amazon.
Most of the time, I’m a fan of reader magnet promotion. But if I’m having a 99 cent sale or doing some other promotion during the swap, I would send them straight to the book sales page to make the most of that promotional event.
Final Tip: Always Include Notable Information
Be sure to include a brief blurb about your book and a short author bio. If you have accolades like awards, be sure to include those, or if you have a really juicy editorial review or an endorsement, you can highlight a line from that too.
Here’s a good example:
“Self-Published and Succeed: The No Boring Books Way to Writing a Non-Fiction Book that Sells is a complete course of DIY instructions for aspiring non-fiction authors wanting to be commercially successful in their efforts.” – Midwest Book Review
That’s just a snippet from a more extensive review. You wouldn’t want to include a big long review for these kinds of swaps.
Finally, before sending your materials to your newfound swap friend, check to ensure that your links work. Let me say that again. Check to make sure the links work and your pictures are in the correct format before sending them to the author.
Make Yourself Easy to Promote
You have one chance to make an impression on the subscribers you’re appealing to. So make it count. You also want to make it easy for your friend to promote you.
Plan the timing of your newsletter swap, and make sure you include everything you’ve agreed upon with your swap partner. Then, send it out in the hopes that both of you reach a wider audience and gain more subscribers and readers.
Of course, I think this goes without saying, but let’s say it anyway, just in case, follow through on your side of the swap with enthusiasm. Don’t get disheartened if you gain and lose some subscribers while participating in a swap.
Sometimes potential readers don’t enjoy your work like they thought they might. You won’t please everyone.
Final Words
There are times when you need a little help from your friends to get ahead in the publishing game. Readers are always on the lookout for new writers and books to follow, which is why Author swaps remain a powerful way to reach out to new people and grow your reader base.
Of course, you can’t do an author swap if you don’t have a newsletter. So I’ve covered the basics for you in this video right here.
Creating a money-making book that delivers a meaningful impact may be daunting on your own. If you’re looking for a complete essential guide to writing a non-fiction book that provides value, one that readers will surely love, why not grab your copy today of Self-Publish and Succeed: The ‘No Boring Books’ Way to Write a Non-Fiction Book That Sells.
