Cozy Mystery Authors: Some Ideas on How to Succeed in the Cozy Marketplace!

By James Moushon and 16 outstanding Cozy Authors

 

So, you have written a Cozy Mystery. Or you want to start writing in the Cozy genre. You ask: What do I need to do to be successful?

Your ready. You have strong woman who wants to solve the crime. And your small town with likeable characters is filled with suspects. Your fiction novel is ready to market. Oh, and your dog is ready for the hunt and your recipes are ready to cook. What's next?

As more and more authors tackle the Cozy marketplace, I needed to get some ideas from some Cozy authors. Of course, I knew the best source for information was from my Spotlight Crew. I have interviewed over the years (10 years, 1300 interviews and book showcases). 

What is a Cozy mystery?
What are the usual characteristics of a Cozy Mystery?
How to Succeed in the Cozy Marketplace!

Cozy Mysteries are a sub-genre of the Crime and Mystery genres. Here is a list of the common elements found in a Cozy.

An amateur sleuth - likeable person – usually a woman
An unsuspecting victim
A quirky supporting cast - characters are likeable
A trail of clues and red herrings are put out there for the readers
Small town or village setting
Several twists and turns - reader has the opportunity to solve the murder
Food or animals and a cartoonish cover are a part of a Cozy

As all marketplaces this genre is changing. It is a long way from Agatha Christie, Nancy Drew, and Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote.

Here are some ideas the group came up with:

 

Dianne Harman

We will start with Dianne Harman. She has written will over 100 novels included in 10 Cozy Mystery series.

Dianne is an Award-Winning Bestselling Cozy Mystery, Suspense and Romance author.
Website - Twitter: @DianneDHarman - Facebook - Goodreads

I won't go into the obvious, good book, good cover, covering the basics, etc. I think a strong newsletter list is crucial. I discount my preorders and let my readers and Facebook followers know. The day before a launch, I send out a newsletter and again, put it on Facebook, that that day is the last one for them to save 20%. I can always count on a number of buys from it.

Some authors are afraid of competition and don't want to work with others. One of the best ways to reach new readers, and we all need them, is to promote one another's books through newsletters. And I think just putting out one newsletter a month isn't worth it. I put one out several times a week, and I have never had a complaint that it's too often, because I give them value. Almost every newsletter has news of an author's sale or new release. My open rate is quite high because of it.

It's very important to cultivate influencers. I have several people I send a gift certificate to each time I publish a new book. And always send a gift certificate. If you send them the book, Amazon doesn't count it as a sale and it doesn't help your ranking. Almost always, these influencers will promote my book in their newsletter, on their blog, or on their Facebook pages. It's a very cheap way of advertising. 

My audience:

I'm not sure it's a "one size fits all" type thing. My readers are predominantly female, over 50, well-educated, and generally well-off. I think that may be because my books tend to have women in them who reflect my readers' lifestyles, so they feel a sense of connection with the protagonists. Another cozy author may write with much younger people in their books and would appeal to a younger audience.

Too Good To Be True - B0B4KR6G4J - Dianne Harman
Northwest Cozy Mystery Series Book 25
Available at Amazon

Ellen Mansoor Collier

Ellen feels a unique setting or hook is important.

Ellen is the author of a Jazz Age mystery series set in 1920s Galveston. She is a Houston-based freelance writer and editor.  Facebook - Goodreads

I think what’s most important is standing out from the crowded cozy mystery genre, especially if you’re self-published.

Does your mystery have a unique setting or hook or feature that captures a reader’s attention?

Does your character like to play sports or travel or have a fun hobby readers may like? Consider offering your books in alternative retail outlets like gift/hobby/sports/coffee shops, not just bookstores.

My Jazz Age mysteries are set in 1920s Galveston and feature Jazz Cross, a young society reporter whose barkeep brother is constantly dodging crooked cops and the local Prohibition agent. 

Lucky for me, Galveston is a historical beach town that draws visitors from all over the world (my target market). My books have sold in various retail outlets in or near major tourist attractions on the island and in the Southwest region, including a museum, hotels, restaurants, gift shops, resorts, and for a while, even a casino in Louisiana.

I know several authors who create fictional towns which does give them creative license but I enjoyed writing about a town with such a rich and colorful history—and an illicit gangster past.

My audience:

My Jazz Age series seems to attract a wide variety of readers, from teens to seniors. Since my protagonist is 21, I think younger readers can relate to her as well as the 50+ group. I’ve had all sorts of people come to my book signings, from high school girls to middle-aged women and men. I think the Galveston setting has something for everyone! 

Deco Dames, Demon Rum and Death by Ellen Collier
A Jazz Age Mystery #5
Available at Amazon

Dianne Krogh

Dianne feels a unique setting and the target age group is critical part of her novel.

Dianne is a self-published Contemporary Fiction Author who writes Family Sagas.
Website - Twitter: @kroghdianne - Goodreads

Why I Wrote The Yellow Belles

I had been intrigued with the idea of writing a novel where the setting is a critical part of the plot. The Yellow Belles is a mystery set in an over-55 community, a setting that provided an opportunity to explore a whole new cast of characters in an environment unfamiliar to many readers. A late-night assault in an exclusive retirement neighborhood leads to the investigation of a group of feisty elderly ladies known as the Yellow Belles. As the investigation careens through accusations of attempted murder, blackmail, fraud, and the improper wearing of a Speedo, the Yellow Belles gives the readers an amusing but thoughtful look at aging and an inside look at the lifestyle and characteristics of the people who live behind the gates of retirement communities.

The Yellow Belles by Dianne Krogh
Available at Amazon

Meg Mims

To Meg writing Cozy is a craft that is very important to an author's success.

Meg is an Award-winning mystery author and a part of the writing team of D.E. Ireland with Sharon Pisacreta.  Website - Twitter: @megmims - Facebook - Goodreads

LEARN THE CRAFT -- how to write beginning, middle, end using Michael Hauge's plot structure (very helpful) or other kind of outline. Do in-depth studies of your protagonist and antagonist. Nothing hurts the flow of writing if you get stuck, not knowing where to go in the plot. Make sure the motivation of the killer is strong enough.

LEARN HOW TO EDIT AND PROOFREAD -- relying on others isn't always a good thing. Catch as much as you can by revising, revising, and revising again, giving yourself a breather between each step. Run the Word Tool "Spelling and Grammar" as well. 

My audience:

Cozies usually have an audience of older teens (we hope!) up to 100+, mostly women but why not men also! 

With A Little Bit of Blood by D.E. Ireland
Available at Amazon

RJ Blain

RJ likes the comforting feeling of a Cozy Mystery.

RJ is a Fantasy and Cozy Mystery writer. She is the author of Requiem for the Rift King and Witch & Wolf series plus the A Magical Romantic Comedy collection.  

Website - Twitter: @rj_blain - Facebook - Goodreads

More than anything else, Cozy is about the tone and vibe of the book. Readers picking up a cozy want to feel like their book is giving them a warm hug. Anything that disrupts that mood may turn the reader off. 

Cozies are comforting, which is what I like about them.  

My audience:

One thing I do quite like about the Cozy genre is that it typically is more age friendly; most of the ones I have read are 13+ With some minimal risk of adult subject matter or themes of the non-sexual variety. 

But that isn’t a guarantee. But most of the time, that is usually how it rolls. 

Plaidypus by RJ Blain
A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count) Book 19
Available at Amazon

Debra S. Sanders

Debra feels character development is the key.

Debra writes thrillers and mysteries. She is a member of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths.
Website - Twitter: @DebSanders01 - Facebook - Goodreads

Keep a character bible. Cozy mysteries are series with recurring characters. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to keep track of every detail from the color of a character's eyes to the flowers planted in a garden. Cozy readers are vigilant amateur sleuths who look at every element in your story as a clue. They'll be the first to catch a consistency blunder and are not shy about letting you know.

Know the subgenre. No gore. Crime and violence occur off page. Your main character is an amateur sleuth, typically a woman. Settings take place in a small town or community.

DEAD MEN CAN'T DANCE by Debra S. Sanders
Available at Amazon

Heather Day Gilbert

Heather feels a readers expectations are important.

Heather is an Amazon Norse Bestseller author. She is the author of Hemlock Creek Suspense, Vikings of the New World Saga, and A Murder in the Mountains series. Heather writes Historical Fiction and Mystery Novels.  Website - Twitter: @heatherdgilbert - Facebook - Goodreads

I would strongly recommend reading bestselling cozy mysteries (indie cozies, if you're an independent author) and writing down the popular tropes (ie: pets, inheriting a business, etc.) to replicate to a certain extent in your own books. Cozy mystery readers have clear expectations for the genre, and they are not happy when expectations are not met (for example, never kill a beloved pet!). When I launched my cozy series, I modeled the series pricing and the Amazon landing page/book blurbs after bestselling indie authors, and I have found that works very well.

I participate in cozy reader groups online and have made connections with cozy mystery authors over time. 

My audience:

I know the typical cozy reader skews age 40s and up. I do have teen readers, however, since my cozies are clean and I think my sleuth’s “hobby jobs” also appeal to younger readers (exotic pet-sitting, cafes, video gaming, etc.). It really depends on the sleuth’s job/locale, I feel. So I have readers from teens into the 80s (maybe 90s!). I’d say the majority of my readers are in their 30s-80s.

Cold Drip by Heather Day Gilbert
Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 6
Available at Amazon

Emma Jameson

Emma feels lovable character development is the important.

Emma is the NYT bestselling author of the Lord & Lady Hetheridge series and the Dr. Benjamin Bones Mysteries.  Website - Twitter: @msemmajameson - Facebook - Goodreads

To love and respect the genre. There's a curious belief out there that cozies are easy to write, and that the market is easy to break into. While it's true that mystery readers are very open to new voices, which is wonderful, I caution authors not to jump into the genre because it appears simple. Any actor will tell you that drama is easy, but comedy is hard. It's the same with cozies. You need a light touch, engaging and loveable characters, and a little bit of magic. Those things are acquired by reading lots of cozies over many years.  

My audience:

Cozy mysteries are for anyone who loves a good read, or for anyone who likes engaging characters who seem like old friends.

The real answer I'd tell a fellow writer is, women 45 years old and up. But a male reader or younger reader might take that the wrong way!

A Death at Silversmith Bay by Emma Jameson
A Jemima Jago Mystery Book 3
Available at Amazon

If your just starting in the Cozy marketplace, here is some good feedback from some award-winning authors.

Lucinda Race - Starting Cozy

Award winning author Lucinda Race writes about family, love and happily ever afters.
Website - Twitter: @LucindaRace - Facebook - Goodreads

I would love to read this report when it's complete as I'm just entering the genre of Cozy and plan to release my first book in a series. 

But I will share what I've done so far. 

I'm part of 2 groups on Facebook, cozy related. Which has been a great help. 

I plan on using a reader magnet with BF to garner interest for the books. I plan to release the first book at a regular price of 3.99 and when I'm getting ready to release the 4th put the 1st on sale for a bit hoping for read through. 

I'm hoping my romance/ romantic suspense readers currently on my list will cross over to my cozy. We shall see.

I'm just adding a new section to my website and updating my tag line to include both. As I don't want to create and pay for 2 websites.  

My audience:

I think cozy mystery readers are any age range due to the non-graphic violence and the absence of sex in the books. I read a lot of Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew growing up and they both fit in the genre. 

I would say teenage to elderly can read and enjoy a cozy mystery. 

BARRETT by Lucinda Race
Last Man Standing - Book 2
Available at Amazon

S.R. Mallery - Starting Cozy

Sarah is the award-winning author who writes Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Mysteries.
Website - Twitter: @SarahMallery1 - Facebook - Goodreads

I've been relatively new in the Cozy World compared to many others!
First a preview about starting out in a new genre: When I started my Brooke Abby
Cozy series I decided to make my books somewhat different from so many others in
that genre. After all, there is SUCH a bevy of cozy authors out there who are far more
knowledgeable in this specific genre promotion area than I.
 
Since I’ve been basically an historical fiction writer, I wanted to include time
traveling back in time in order to get answers to modern murders. Besides that, I
definitely wanted a very different looking cover than the usual cozy fare.
 
I’ve also been doing a lot of Newsletter Swaps with various authors I know in
general and working with the site, StoryOrigin.com, specifically, both of which have certainly helped with Eyes On and buys/downloads. 

My audience:

“Despite some push a few years back toward cozy mysteries reminiscent of Nancy Drew, or more targeted for younger readers, the profile of a typical cozy mystery reader is “overwhelmingly female, and overwhelmingly over 40,” says Josh Getzler, a literary agent with HSG Agency in New York City.”

Tea, Anyone by Sarah Mallery
Available at Amazon

Toby Neal - Starting Cozy - Kindle Vella

Toby is starting in the Kindle Vella environment with her Cozy writing which could be a great opportunity for others.

Toby is a bestselling Author. She is author of the Lei Crime Series. 
Website - Twitter: @tobywneal - Facebook - Goodreads

I'm venturing into cozy mystery for the first time with COCONUT WIRELESS, Paradise Crime Cozy Mystery #1. 

Here's the blurb and link to the story on Kindle Vella, where I'm market testing it...with great results!

link: https://tobyneal.net/z91w

 

Escape to Hawaii with a funny cozy mystery!

"The coconut wireless is humming in Ohia, Maui, and the latest topic of gossip is me, Kat Smith. I'm Secret Service, not Postal Service, but what I feel like is a criminal when I'm appointed postmaster to a cozy little town on Maui. 

 

Important to know:

 

This is my first venture into cozy, but I'm going all in with a trilogy planned to start. I think it's really important to study how this genre differs from regular mystery or thriller, which I'm very familiar with.

 

To get ready, I read several "how to write a cozy" books, and then dove into reading in the genre exclusively for months. I have also never written "funny" before, but I knew I could do it because I wrote vignettes on my travel blog that were well received with chuckles, the highest compliment!

 

The response to my Vella story has been phenomenal and writing Coconut Wireless has been the most fun I've had in ages. I was really craving something lighter after so many years of exploring the "dark side" of human behavior, and though this genre does do that with similar themes, there's no gore and more time is spent on character development, small town life, romance "lite" and pets. ALWAYS A PET which I had in my regular mysteries and thrillers, but this time I came up with a grumpy cat sidekick that I'm just loving.

 

So what's important? Study the genre and write until you're familiar, and then test with readers! I have had them vote on covers, give input to blurbs and scenes, all in the name of teaching me about the genre.

 

 I tested a scene with readers in my fan group (discovery of the body) and got feedback that it was "too detailed and creepy" so I dialed back the icky info, which readers LOVE in my regular mysteries. 

 

There really are a lot of key differences and it’s important to know them. 

My audience:

I believe that the main group of readers for Cozy Mystery are 40+ older folks who may be nostalgic for simpler times and more positive themes. 

When I ran ads for my cozy on Kindle Vella that was the audience that clicked most, even though they generally don't love phone reading. 

COCONUT WIRELESS by Toby Neal
Paradise Crime Cozy Mystery #1
Available at Amazon

Patricia McLinn

Patricia feels that being entertaining is very important in the Cozy Marketplace.

Patricia McLinn is an award-winning,best-selling author. She writes Romance, Women's Fiction,and Mystery novels.  Website - Twitter: @PatriciaMcLinn - Facebook - Goodreads

The most important thing for any author -- cozy or not/new or not -- is to write sustainably. For me, that means writing what entertains me, so I'll (happily) continue writing.

The other area I see facing cozy authors is the nomenclature. It feels like "cozy" has been narrowed to a very specific type of book . . . which would exclude the original cozies of Agatha Christie and other authors of her era writing non-bloody/violent, non-procedural whodunnits.  I've been told my books aren't cozies because my titles aren't cute, the sleuths don't own small shops/bakeries.

I wish cozy would widen again to include those and other variants.

Cross Talk by Patricia McLinn
Caught Dead in Wyoming, Book 11
Available at Amazon

Wendy Corsi Staub

Wendy feels the reader wants to meet engaging people.

Wendy is a New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author who writes Mystery & Thrillers.  Website - Twitter: @WendyCorsiStaub - Facebook - Goodreads

The publishing landscape is constantly changing, so from a business standpoint, the approach that might make you successful now might be entirely different next year. But creatively speaking, if I'm writing a series, I focus as much on world-building as I do on plot. Readers hope to meet engaging people and spend time in places they'll want to revisit. That means zeroing in on the unique and memorable details that will bring to life your characters and setting.  

How did you create the reader list?  Through Social Media, my website, my email marketing list, reader feedback through different media, etc.

The Other Family by Wendy Corsi Staub
Available at Amazon

Abby L. Vandiver

Abby is an Amazon Bestsellers author. She is the author of Logan Dickerson Cozy Mystery Series and the Mars Origin "I" Series. Abby writes Cozy Mystery novels.
Website - Twitter: @AbbyVandiver - Facebook - Goodreads

You have to produce a lot of books. In the traditionally published world, to catch the eye of an editor, you have to have a good hook.

I have an email subscriber list. I contract with promotion groups, I ask people to sign up on my website and I get emails from people at in-person events. 

My audience:

All ages. Especially now. Where cozy mystery demographics were older women (40-65), publishers are now seeking books that appeal to Millennials

A Ticket To Murder by Abby L Vandiver
An ABC Murder Mystery Book 1
Available at Amazon

Have you developed a reader list? How did you create the list?

Meg Mims

Meg is an Award-winning mystery author and a part of the writing team of D.E. Ireland with Sharon Pisacreta.  Website - Twitter: @megmims - Facebook - Goodreads

Using my Facebook page and website, plus posting on Instagram, I sent out "quarterly" newsletters to readers who subscribed.

With A Little Bit of Blood by D.E. Ireland
Available at Amazon

Patricia McLinn

Patricia McLinn is an award-winning,best-selling author. She writes Romance, Women's Fiction,and Mystery novels.  Website - Twitter: @PatriciaMcLinn - Facebook - Goodreads

I have a reader list. I generally send newsletters to both mystery and non-mystery readers. I offer a list for those who want only mystery info, but fewer than 80 people of 17k opted for that.

That combined with polls of my reader list -- Patricia's ReadHeads -- asking their favorite (other) authors to read. It's always a wildly eclectic list ... and has persuaded me that readers are not as niched as we sometimes believe they are. At least mine aren't. 

Cross Talk by Patricia McLinn
Caught Dead in Wyoming, Book 11
Available at Amazon

Emma Jameson

Emma is the NYT bestselling author of the Lord & Lady Hetheridge series and the Dr. Benjamin Bones Mysteries.  Website - Twitter: @msemmajameson - Facebook - Goodreads

I have a newsletter that I've grown over the years by offering a reader magnet in exchange for an email address. Of course, the individual can unsubscribe at any time. Over the years, I've developed real friendships with some readers, and lovely cordial relations with many more. There's no shortcut that I know of. You ask readers to sign up, you send them updates from time to time, and see what happens. It's better to have 10 subscribers who really like your books than 10,000 names you bought from an author or gained through a series of giveaways.

A Death at Silversmith Bay by Emma Jameson
A Jemima Jago Mystery Book 3
Available at Amazon

Debra S. Sanders

Debra writes thrillers and mysteries. She is a member of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths.
Website - Twitter: @DebSanders01 - Facebook - Goodreads

It's important to engage with readers these days, especially cozy readers! They want to build a relationship with authors beyond the marketing/author appearance/book sales type newsletters. I utilize a reader magnet option for my newsletter that sends a free short story each month to my subscribers. I know another author who sends out a short segment of one of her backlist titles each week. They're teasers and readers love them. 

I am in the process of setting up a couple of promos to build my newsletter list but want to make sure I'm targeting my demographic. No one should waste their time or money on platforms that are not reaching the right market. I have a successful TikTok platform but cozies are not one of the more popular genres on BookTok. The amount of time it took to build my following just hasn't produced results that warrant a continued media assault. 

DEAD MEN CAN'T DANCE by Debra S. Sanders
Available at Amazon

Dianne Harman

Dianne is an Award-Winning Bestselling Cozy Mystery, Suspense and Romance author.
Website - Twitter: @DianneDHarman - Facebook - Goodreads

My feelings about readers lists are above. I spent money over the years advertising my books with advertisers who asked people to sign up to my newsletter in order to win a free book or whatever. At the conclusion of the sale, they would send me the list of people who signed up, and I would send it to my newsletter server. At the end of each of my books, I ask for a review, and I leave the Amazon link. Also, in the beginning and at the end of each book is information for signing up for my newsletter, where they can get free books for doing so. Lastly I run a cheap ad on FB daily for signups. 

Too Good To Be True by Dianne Harman
Northwest Cozy Mystery Series Book 25
Available at Amazon

Heather Day Gilbert

Heather is an Amazon Norse Bestseller author. She is the author of Hemlock Creek Suspense, Vikings of the New World Saga, and A Murder in the Mountains series. Heather writes Historical Fiction and Mystery Novels.  Website - Twitter: @heatherdgilbert - Facebook - Goodreads

I've developed my reader newsletter over time. I have participated in a couple of Booksweeps giveaways to increase my mystery reader list, but many are organic subscriptions from readers of my series (this can't happen until you have books out, although some will giveaway a novella connected with the upcoming series and build a newsletter list that way).

Cold Drip by Heather Day Gilbert
Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 6
Available at Amazon

Cozy author support groups

Debra S. Sanders

Debra writes thrillers and mysteries. She is a member of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths.
Website - Twitter: @DebSanders01 - Facebook - Goodreads

I am a member of Sisters in Crime National and Grand Canyon Chapter, as well as a SINC break-out marketing group. They've been so helpful in keeping me focused and accountable for my efforts. We all write mystery/crime of some sort so most of the programs provide useful information that applies to my genre - and the presenters are top-notch. Plus Sisters in Crime National offers an online library of genre-specific resources that are available with a click of my mouse.

DEAD MEN CAN'T DANCE by Debra S. Sanders
Available at Amazon

Dianne Harman

Dianne is an Award-Winning Bestselling Cozy Mystery, Suspense and Romance author.
Website - Twitter: @DianneDHarman - Facebook - Goodreads

I think the most important thing is getting an email list and continuing to make it grow. I also think another thing that's important is to cross-promote with other authors. Because of that, I send out emails when I have something, and it can be anywhere from once or twice a week to three or four times. I don't put a lot of fluff in or personal things, and I've never had a complaint that I send out too many.

I belong to several cozy groups, but I'm not particularly active in them. I am the moderator of a cozy tweet team where we retweet each other's tweets regarding something or other about our cozy books, like a new release or price drop. I don't know whether it's really effective, but it does get my name and books out and it takes very little time.

Too Good To Be True by Dianne Harman
Northwest Cozy Mystery Series Book 25
Available at Amazon

Rhys Bowen

Rhys thinks knowing your audience is very important to an author's success.

Rhys is the New York Times bestselling writer of the Molly Murphy Mysteries and A Royal Spyness Mystery series.  Website - Twitter: @RhysBowen - Facebook - Goodreads

Most important is to know your audience. No graphic sex or violence and try to come up with. Unique heroine/ situation

Make use of all aspects of social media. Post regularly on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter. Interesting posts about you not your book. The cozy audience likes a personal connection with their authors 

Offer giveaways and build a newsletter list from the answers

Sisters in Crime, especially the Guppies are invaluable to a new writer

And finally be prepared to build your audience one reader at a time by writing good books. 

Wild Irish Rose by Rhys Bowen
Molly Murphy Mysteries Book 18 
Available at Amazon

Terry Ambrose

Terry is the author of the McKenna Mystery series and the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series.  Website - Twitter: @terryawriterguy - Facebook - Goodreads

These days, it feels like most cozy mysteries are rehash together with the same old characters—curious heroine, detective boyfriend, etc. While this formula currently works, I suspect that the authors who succeed will do so because they find a way to differentiate their characters/series from the competition (of which there’s a LOT!) 

I belong to a blogging group called Booklovers Bench. Our group is currently all cozy writers. The main purpose of the group is marketing. This mostly includes rotating postings to our site, but we also ask the others in the group questions about various marketing topics.

My audience:

While there are no hard-and-fast rules, the majority of my target audience consists of women aged 40-70. Many of those cozy readers held professional jobs and have since retired, however, there are also a good percentage who are still in the workforce. There’s also a bit of a shift going on as younger readers, i.e., 25-40, decide they need a break from the grit and gore found in other genres.

Lies, Spies, and the Baker's Surprise by Terry Ambrose   
A Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery Book 6
Available at Amazon

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How Do You Develop and Use a List of Your Readers? - HBS Author’s Corner STUDY

One of the pieces of information authors are finding invaluable is a list of their readers. If you want to announce a new release, a promotion or a giveaway, the instant access to a list of your readers is priceless. It could mean an instant jump in rankings and an increase in reviews both critical to the success of your book.

The reader list is being used to develop friendships and relationships far beyond the sale of your novels. Building a list is a lot like farming. You cultivate the field. You plant the seed. You watch it grow. Then you harvest the crop.

It is study time again and I am fortunate to have a group of outstanding, award-winning authors whose opinions I value highly. I challenged my HBS Author’s Spotlight crew and over 25 authors responded to the study. Here is what they had to offer.

Why develop a reader list?

There are many reasons to develop a list. Of course, an opportunity to increase sales or obtaining reviews is at the top of the list. Developing relationships and gaining followers is a close second.

Build Relationships and Friendships

NYT and USA Today Best Selling Author Melody Anne @authmelodyanne (Website). She is the author of many Romance and Young Adult novels.

I lean heavily on popular social media platforms to build and maintain reader’s lists. More accurately put, I use social media to engage and build relationships with my readers. Using social media, I allow readers to come into my life and share in experiences that they can relate to, from the view point of one woman to another.

I think heavy engagement with my followers via social media is one key aspect to building my reader list.  Due to the viral nature of things like Facebook and Twitter, if a fan “likes”, retweets or comments on anything I post, the friends of my fans can usually see it, attracting a sort of viral attention to my social media presence. 

Author Carolyn Hughey @ScribBLINGDIVA (K. T. Roberts) (Website) is a published author of humorous contemporary romance and mystery novels.

I frequent Facebook and leave comments about whatever they've posted on various walls even if we've just met. By doing so, I'm building a friendship. The one thing I won't do is become their friend and ask them to buy my book. I've seen that happen a number of times and I think it's sneaky and bad business practice. I never advertise my book on anyone's wall but my own. I also offer contests throughout the year.

What are the methods other authors use to find their readers and build relationships?

Provide something of value

Terry Ambrose @suspense_writer (Website) is the author of the McKenna Mystery series and a member of Murder, We Wrote.

I've chosen the path of using my writing about real-life scams and cons as a way to improve my reach to new potential readers. While some authors are naturally outgoing and can interact with readers about the most minor details, I've found that's not one of my strengths. What is a strength is my knowledge of how to help those same people avoid being taken in by a scam. As a result, that's the focus for the majority of my outreach. 

Author Connie Flynn @ConnieFlynn (Website) is the bestselling award-winning author of many Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal and Romance novels and short stories.

My mailing list was initially grown through my online writing school, Bootcamp for Novelists. When my partner and I closed the Bootcamp we had about 750 subscribers. Since then it dipped to a low of about 620 but is now up to just under 700.

My problem is that I'm not quite sure what to put into each issue. I don't want it to be a 'buy my book," "buy my book" kind of thing and my last major use of it was to solicit readers for my most recent new release. That was very successful and most of my posts on Bootcamp activities (I still do some) are successful. But pushes on my backlist are not so well received.

Brent Hartinger @brenthartinger (Website) is the author of The Russel Middlebrook series. The movie version of his novel: Geography Club was released in 2013.

I offer a free ebook download of an earlier book if people subscript to my newsletter, and people sign up pretty regularly. I know that some people subsequently cancel the subscription, but that's okay. It's also a promotional tool -- if someone is browsing my site, they have a chance to "sample" my work. In the end, I've ended up with a pretty substantial email list, and the "free" book hasn't cannibalized sales at all because the ebooks that I offer for free have continued to sell just as well as always.

Suspense Author Suzanne Jenkins @suzannejenkins3 (Website) is the author of the Pam of Babylon series and The Greeks of Beaubien Street.

HI James, the way I am building my email list is to give those who sign on a free download of a short story that is a prequel to a new series I'm planning. I advertise the download on my Facebook page and have used the paid boost on Facebook, too. I also use Booktweetingservice.com to tweet about it. Here's the link. http://suzannejenkins.net/.

Author Lorhainne Eckhart @Leckhart (Website) is the Author of Kindle Bestseller THE FORGOTTEN CHILD.

The methods that have worked well for me are by offering free books, for example the first book in a series free.  What happens is it drives sales to my other titles in the series. It's a great way to find new readers.  At the end of all my ebooks I always provide an afterword with a link to sign up to my newsletter and I notify my readers of upcoming promotions and new releases.

I advertise every month and always join other authors in giveaways of larger prizes and promote our books together.  I occasionally participate in blog tours for new titles, but when comes down to it, providing the link to sign up for newsletter in the afterword of my ebooks, on my website, Facebook page has had the biggest impact.

How should you use social media programs to develop a reader list?

To me, Twitter and Facebook are a shotgun approach to building your list. I do have a good group of followers and I try to interact but links to them are fragile. Here’s what my crew had to say.

General

Mark Barnes @markbarnes19 (Website) writes Mystery novels and Educational, non-fiction books.

As an education author, my publishers have tight marketing budgets, so I need to publicize my work as much as possible. Twitter is my best network. Over the years, I've acquired more than 10,000 followers, and they have helped get the word out. 

Facebook is another powerful network, and I've created pages for my books and for my blog. Brilliant or Insane is another excellent tool, as I publish education blog posts there daily, and my books are advertised there, too. I have an email list, but I'm not sure it's worth the time and money that goes into it. In the long run, I believe that writing and sharing content, which leads back to your promotional material, is the best marketing a writer can do.

Best-Selling Author Chuck Barrett @Chuck_Barrett (Website) is the author of the Award-Winning Jake Pendleton series.

In the beginning, Twitter was the best, then Facebook. Now neither have much impact in my opinion. I still use them as well as Goodreads and LinkedIn. They are still excellent ways of promoting new books, new ideas, etc., but they don’t really add to the number of readers.

Amazon Best-Selling Author Cheryl Bradshaw @cherylbradshaw (Website) is the creator of the Sloane Monroe series and the founder of the hugely successful Indie Writers Unite group on Facebook.

I'm mainly on Twitter and Facebook. I use Twitter for most of my interaction with fans, and usually only promote on there once a month when I run a BookBub ad. If you're constantly promoting, you'll lose your existing fans, and you'll be unfollowed. Twitter is a great place to connect with fans, meet new people, and meet fellow authors. I resisted signing up at first, but now I have almost 50,000 followers, and I tweet almost every day. You can find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/cherylbradshaw

Twitter

Susan Aylworth @SusanAylworth (Website) is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Rainbow Rock Series.

When people follow you on various social media sites it automatically gives you a link to their profile that they have created. The site automatically compiles a list for you of fans who are interested in your work and you can use that to reach your readers by posting updates.

Author Connie Flynn @ConnieFlynn (Website) is the bestselling award-winning author of many Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal and Romance novels and short stories.

I haven't used these mediums to get subscribers to my newsletter. I do belong to a Twitter tweet team and am convinced it keeps me in front of readers because every time I stop, my downloads dry up. To increase my mailing list, I mostly do occasional blog hops or giveaways that increase new subscribers. Many of these actually stay, but some don't, being they were motivated more by the prizes than because they think I'm a fascinating writer. Most of my stable new subscribers come from programs where I appear personally and do a presentation. The rest of them come from my blog and my website, both of which have subscriber icons. I'll be working harder on making these effective over the next couple months.

Crime and Horror Author Jade Varden @JadeVarden (Website) is the creator of the Deck of Lies book series.

For me personally, I focus most of my efforts on Twitter because this is where I can find the bulk of my audience online. It’s not just about using social media to promote, as an indie author it’s also important to use the right social media sites. I follow certain people on Twitter in order to find more potential readers. Book bloggers, book readers and other authors are often open to buying indie books.

Facebook

Amazon Best-Selling Author Cheryl Bradshaw @cherylbradshaw (Website) is the creator of the Sloane Monroe series and the founder of the hugely successful Indie Writers Unite group on Facebook.

On Facebook I promote through targeted ads which point back to my Facebook author page and sometimes also link to a new book or one of my novels. It's inexpensive and effective, and I've found it's a good way to reach my demographic. Through targeting you can isolate your ad so it only shows to potential readers in your genre, thereby giving you the best bang for your buck. 

Veteran Author Susan Oleksiw (Website) is a bestselling author of the Mellingham series and the Anita Ray mysteries.

I have a Facebook author page, where I post notices about upcoming events, reviews, and links to articles I find interesting. This page is entirely about writing and the writing world. I never post anything about my personal life or views.

Award-Winning Author Jinx Schwartz @jinxschwartz (Website) is the author of the Hetta Coffey series.

Other than the signup link for my newsletter on my website, I build my readership by meeting great new readers on Facebook. I'm getting more on Twitter, as well, but Facebook is where you build a rapport with new readers, and also meet other authors who will share your work with their readers.  I am also on the others, like Goodreads and Google+ but have not quite mastered them. Another great way to meet people are Yahoo Groups.

What other ways can you use to develop a list?

There are other ways to build that list that are more direct. Some of the Spotlight crew weighted in on them.

Newsletters

M. Louisa Locke @mlouisalocke (Website) is the Author of Maids of Misfortune and Uneasy Spirits, bestselling Victorian San Francisco Mystery Series

For the last two short stories I wrote, I also announced on my Facebook page that if someone subscribed to the newsletter they would be able to get a coupon for a free copy of the short story for a limited time before it was published on Kindle.  This was probably my most successful tactic in getting fans to sign up for the newsletter. I now have 420 subscribers to the newsletter.

I have only sent out 5 newsletters--again, only when I have a new publication--but my average open rate is very good (65.5%) and my click through when I offered the coupon for my latest 2 short stories was 70-80% (very high.)

When I published my last book, I was fortunate in having Amazon put it up as a pre-order, and I had 700 people pre-order it. I assume that many of these were people who knew about the pre-order through my social media (website, Facebook, newsletter, twitter, etc.) My goal is to make sure that I have an even larger number ready to order the next book. :)

Using blog tours and Meeting bloggers

Ellen Mansoor Collier (Website) is a Houston-based freelance writer and editor whose articles and essays have been published in several national magazines. Ellen just released the third novel in her Jazz Age mystery series: Gold-Diggers, Gamblers And Guns

I don’t use much social media myself, but I hire blog tour hosts who do—and it works for me. http://abluemillionbooksblogtours.blogspot.com/p/future-tours.html

Also a couple of readers started adding my books to Listopia on Goodreads and I found a few more lists to help categorize my mysteries, e.g. books set during the 1920s, historical mysteries, etc.

I admit, I haven’t joined the Twitter or Facebook craze myself but I have a Facebook page that I don’t update and do enjoy reading tweets from various friends and famous folks.  What’s worked best for me are meeting bloggers via blog tours. When I first wrote FLAPPERS, I approached a few bloggers directly and gotten some positive responses from people who have turned into friends. Since then, I’ve discovered that bloggers are most likely to reply if you have a tour host to help promote your book. For only $25-30. and up, these experienced book tour hosts will do most of the work of setting up reviews/interviews and guest posts.

Sure, there’s a lot of preparation involved on some tours, but you can choose from a wide variety of hosts and services. They’ll tweet about your book, posts and reviews during the tour and often spotlight you on their own blogs. I’d opt for a tour that focuses on your genre (in my case, historical mysteries). Ask around, compare notes and see which tours come highly recommended by fellow authors, and try to find the best one for your book. Amy Metz has a new tour service specializing in mysteries that’s affordable and effective—try it out!

Award-Winning Author Jinx Schwartz @jinxschwartz (Website) is the author of the Hetta Coffey series.

What groups do you use to find your readers?  All of these. (Support groups, Forums, Blogs, Author Networks, etc.) However, I mostly stick with the ones like (links) DorothyL, Murder Must Advertise, All Mystery Newsletter, and the like. I love guest blogging because, quite frankly, I just don't seem to have time to keep my own blog up.

Blogging

Veteran Author Susan Oleksiw (Website) is a bestselling author of the Mellingham series and the Anita Ray mysteries.

Another useful approach is blogging. I blog weekly on my own blog and have been visiting other blogs once a week for my new book; after the first four to six months I cut back on visiting other sites to once or twice a month through the rest of the year. I have a regular monthly entry on Author Expressions, for writers published with Five Star/Gale, Cengage.

The important point about blogs is to write on a variety of topics that are mostly related to my books--travel, India, Indian food, New England features, the New England paper industry, writing and editing, and the like.

Contests

NYT and USA Today Best Selling Author Melody Anne @authmelodyanne (Website). She is the author of many Romance and Young Adult novels.

In addition to this I run numerous contests throughout the year, which in most cases requires a person on social media to like or follow me on social media, and/or identify a specific detail about one of my latest releases, and the prizes are usually pretty terrific which would encourage just about any fan of my genre to purchase one of my books. 

Kindle fire giveaways (Kindle book review)

M. Louisa Locke @mlouisalocke (Website) is the Author of Maids of Misfortune and Uneasy Spirits, bestselling Victorian San Francisco Mystery Series.

One of the ways I built up this page was to participate in period Kindle Fire Giveaways sponsored by the Kindle Book Review. To keep up interest in this page--I post my daily word count when I am writing, link to pictures I have put up on my Pinterest page, and post notifications when I do any promotions of my books.  I will also pay to boost posts when I have published something new or when there is a promotion. I also have a number of Facebook groups that I will post to when I have something like a promotion, new book, or something else like an interview that I think might be of interest.  One of the newest that I am quite happy to have joined is Clean Indie Reads, which seems a perfect place for me to connect with potential readers.

Donations

Veteran Author Susan Oleksiw (Website) is a bestselling author of the Mellingham series and the Anita Ray mysteries.

One activity that is not often mentioned but one I consider important is charitable donations. Whenever I receive or hear of a request for a donation of books, I always send something, with an inscription if I know what it should be. These are always appreciated, and I reach readers I might otherwise never know about. In addition, if my book is remaindered I'll buy a number of copies to sell but also to donate on my own. I choose libraries in small cities that usually have small book-buying budgets and mail them a complimentary copy. The library can add it to their circulating library or pass it along. Some libraries will then buy copies of the other titles in the series.

What online tools and software can you use to record names and email addresses?

The winner by far on this topic was MailChimp. However, some of the authors had some very good alternatives.

Mailchimp

Award-Winning Author Jinx Schwartz @jinxschwartz (Website) is the author of the Hetta Coffey series.

I get fan mail because I put my email address in my books, and people email me all the time. So far, all positive:-) Also, on my website and email signature, I have a link to emailmeform.com. And then I use MailChimp to send out notices about free books, and any new releases.

Author Carolyn Hughey @ScribBLINGDIVA (K. T. Roberts) (Website) is a published author of humorous contemporary romance and mystery novels.

I use my own email GoDaddy contact list and add the name to a distribution list. I also belong to other small groups where I add names to MailChimp for a monthly newsletter. My website has a link for subscribers, ScribBLING Divas wordpress blog signup, The Write Authors on Facebook and blog signups.  At local book signings, I have a guest book sign in where I offer a gift card for signing up.

Author Leti Del Mar @leti_delmar (Website) is an indie author.  She blogs about the craft of writing and indie books.

I like to use MailChimp to create and manage my mailing list. I have reveals to join my mailing list on my website and at the end of every book. When I do blog tours, I always add joining my mailing list as a giveaway option and that has helped it grow the most. Of course, I do get the occasional subscriber from time to time.

Author Connie Flynn @ConnieFlynn (Website) is the bestselling award-winning author of many Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal and Romance novels and short stories.

I use MailChimp, mostly because the price is right, since it free up to 2000 subscribers. Most services start charging at 500 and I'm already over that.

Joseph Lallo @jrlallo (Website) is a bestselling author of the Science Fiction & Fantasy series: The Book of Deacon Trilogy.

I try to cast a wide net when it comes to connecting with readers. Just as I've found that the best way to sell a book is to have it for sale where people want to buy it (wherever that might be), I've found that the best way to connect with fans is to be present on the network they most use, whichever that might be. I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Google+, Tumblr, and Instagram mostly. I've found Facebook and Twitter to be the most valuable, though Goodreads and Tumblr are great too.

As for tools, I do have a newsletter which I'm beginning to work on developing. I use MailChimp for it and it works great. My website is a semi-custom theme built upon Wordpress. I don't do a lot of searching for readers. I'm not as active on blogs and forums as I might be, and I've got this weird notion that showing up on a blog in search of readers is a little like poaching.

M. Louisa Locke @mlouisalocke (Website) is the Author of Maids of Misfortune and Uneasy Spirits, bestselling Victorian San Francisco Mystery Series.

However, in the last year as Facebook has started limited who actually sees any normal (un-boosted) post, I also started encouraging fans to sign up for my newsletter.

For this newsletter I use MailChimp.com, and I recently upgraded from the free version so that I could send a reply letter when someone signed up that offered free coupons for various books. 

I only started developing a newsletter signup a year ago (should have done it earlier!), as I prepared for the launch of my third book. I started out by emailing any fan who had emailed me personally and asked if they would like to sign up--stressing that i would only send out a newsletter when I had an announcement for a new publication. I also added a signup link to the ends of all my books and stories and put the link on my website. I notice after a promotion--when sales (and therefore readers) goes up--the sign-ups for this newsletter does increase a bit.

Chantel Rhondeau @ChantelRhondeau (Website) is a Romantic suspense author. Chantel writes the Agents in Love series.

I'm fairly new to the mailing list thing, not realizing how important it was in the beginning. Now, I have an account through MailChimp and I put the link for the mailing list and the end of my books, encouraging readers to sign up to get information about my new releases if they enjoyed what they read. I also placed a sign up form on my website that is near the top of it. I did all of this before doing a free giveaway on one of my books, and ended up with several sign ups, so it seems to be working. I look forward to seeing what others have done!

Contact form plugin

NYT and USA Today Best Selling Author Melody Anne @authmelodyanne (Website). She is the author of many Romance and Young Adult novels.

For my fans who want even more detailed news and updates on releases, they have the option to sign up for my newsletter via my website.  If you’re looking for a more technical response, I use one of many readily available contact form plugins available on the web.  

Best-Selling Author Chuck Barrett @Chuck_Barrett (Website) is the author of the Award-Winning Jake Pendleton series.

I use every tool available. I have a sign up page on my website. I send out tweets encouraging readers to sign up. Also I try to capture readers at events and book signings then add them to the list.

Software and Services

Author Leti Del Mar @leti_delmar (Website) is an indie author.  She blogs about the craft of writing and indie books.

I just released a newsletter informing my subscribers that extended samples of my books are now available on NoiseTrade for free download.  Since I write in more than one genre, I think it’s a great site to introduce readers to titles they might not of read.

In the future, I would like to put novellas, extra chapters, or scenes from different points of view together and give those away free to anyone who subscribes as a thank you to my readers for subscribing.

Constant Contact

Amazon Best-Selling Author Cheryl Bradshaw @cherylbradshaw (Website) is the creator of the Sloane Monroe series and the founder of the hugely successful Indie Writers Unite group on Facebook.

I use Constant Contact for my emails/newsletter list. 

Excel

Author Dianne Harman @DianneDHarman (Website) is Award Winning Bestseller Romance author.

I have a website, dianneharman.com as well as a blog. I’ve just signed up for a newsletter feature and I have no idea how that will go. I have lists of people on Excel spreadsheets that are notified with a new release. That has proven to be very successful. I generally send it out to friends, acquaintances, and the book list.

Rafflecopter

Tricia Drammeh @triciadrammeh (Website) is the author of Young Adult, paranormal romance and Fantasy novels.

I recently began to compile a list of readers for my mailing list. At some point very soon, I'm going to put out a plea on Facebook and on my blog, but even though I haven't done that yet, I already have quite a list going. I'm one of the authors participating in a Kindle giveaway in which the host of the promotion asked sponsors to provide a Twitter handle or Facebook page for contest entrants to follow as a way of gaining extra points on Rafflecopter. Instead of providing my Facebook Author Page URL like I normally would, I decided to use this opportunity to begin building my mailing list. Readers can earn extra points in the giveaway by signing up for my mailing list, and just a few days into the giveaway, I already have dozens of new potential readers waiting to receive my newsletter.

WIX

Susan Aylworth @SusanAylworth (Website) is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Rainbow Rock Series.

I use an app that I installed through my web provider (Wix) that compiles a list of people who are interested in my website and who sign up for updates.

Weebly signup sheet

Tricia Drammeh @triciadrammeh (Website) is the author of Young Adult, paranormal romance and Fantasy novels.

Right now, I'm using a simple contact form on my (Weebly) website. It's very easy for readers to fill out, and Weebly sends me an email each time someone signs up. In addition to finding readers via giveaways and contests, I also rely heavily on blogging. It certainly hasn't happened overnight, but my readership has gradually expanded. The great thing about blogging is it gives you a chance to have an ongoing conversation with readers. I try to respond to every comment, even if it's just a thank you. Through blogging, I've met both readers and authors, and I've made many new friends.

What groups do other authors use to develop their list?

Groups can be invaluable in developing your reader list. Here’s what some of the Spotlight crew had to say about using groups to develop their lists.

General

Author Dianne Harman @DianneDHarman (Website) is Award Winning Bestseller Romance author.

I use twitter, Google+, Facebook & Goodreads. I do a lot with Goodreads because this is where the readers are. The others are kind of like shooting fish in a pool. You never know what percent of those are readers and what percent of those will be interested in your genre. I am active in several groups on Google+ that are specific to writers. I’m not a huge fan of Facebook. Other than the Authors Social Media Support Group, I’ve had very little luck with involvement. ASMSG has been a huge factor in whatever success I have had as an author, not only for all the subgroups, but for the help I’ve received with all kinds of questions. Can’t recommend it highly enough. Twitter I use, but again it’s kind of a shotgun thing. I have almost 30,000 followers, but what number of those are readers and what number of those interested in my genre? Don’t know. On occasion I take part in the tweet teams on World Literary Café and ASMSG, particularly if I’m offering a reduction in price or introducing a new book.

Award winning Indie Author John W. Huffman @johnwhuffman (Website) writes Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers.

I use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Goodreads as my primary focus social media outlets, as well as the Independent Author's Network (IAN) blog site, Author's Corner, and The Indy Writer's Group as forums for my books. I never attempt to "sell" my books on any of these outlets, but instead focus on inter reacting with old friends and making new ones while allowing them to make their own decisions as to purchase my books or not. I find other authors on these sites who constantly harp on their books and beg for people to purchase them tedious and boring.

Goodreads

NYT and USA Today Best Selling Author Melody Anne @authmelodyanne (Website). She is the author of many Romance and Young Adult novels.

I’m partial to Goodreads forums. Many young book lovers, my target audience, use Goodreads to find other readers and discover books. I have looked at writer forums and Amazon forums before, but I can’t keep up with it all.

I do quite a bit to find new readers, it ranges from very basic in book advertisements to writing and sharing content amongst a close group of fellow self-publishing authors and participation in online (social media based or live chat) release parties.  In addition to this I advertise on various book sites like Goodreads.

Veteran Author Susan Oleksiw (Website) is a bestselling author of the Mellingham series and the Anita Ray mysteries.

I have a Goodreads page, and post reviews fairly regularly. These seem to get a good response from my "followers." I have joined in various discussion groups, but do that less now. I'm thinking of setting up a discussion group on a number of specific topics when I finish a collection of stories I'm working on. I'm also on LibraryThing and LinkedIn, but less active on those sites.

Award-winning Author Mohana Rajakumar @moha_doha (Website) is an author based in Qatar. She has a PhD and has been involved in various foundations supporting young writers.

I really love Goodreads for finding readers. Because those who read your book and like it are likely to read other books by the same author. I have has great success writing to past reviewers of my books in posting early reviews of new titles or even beta reading, which is offering comments on a manuscript in progress. They're often excited to read something before everyone else can and because they're avid readers, they have insightful comments. 

Hope that's helpful as that's the only real list I use for readers. 

Genre Specific

Susan Aylworth @SusanAylworth (Website) is the award-winning, bestselling author of the Rainbow Rock Series.

Sales and other special events are posted to several Facebook groups, specialized to my niche market, such as the Goodreads Clean Romances page. I'd love to find more!

Speaking at conferences

Best-Selling Author Chuck Barrett @Chuck_Barrett (Website) is the author of the Award-Winning Jake Pendleton series.

I have one of the best ways to build my readership and followers is with face time...actual time in front of readers. Speeches at writer’s conferences and book festivals always show a marked increase. Another successful method in reaching out to book clubs, Friends of the Library groups/chapters, writers groups, local women's and men's groups.

Veteran Author Susan Oleksiw (Website) is a bestselling author of the Mellingham series and the Anita Ray mysteries.

I recently participated on a crime fiction panel and was pleasantly surprised to hear a woman in the audience talk about my books. She was a poet, not a fiction writer, and was not the kind of person who would normally read my books. This has happened quite often.

I go to a few conferences, participate in panels, comment regularly on lots of blogs, post reviews, and generally try to keep my name alive. I don't think reaching readers is a matter of working with any one site but in general maintaining a level of participation in the online world. I've tried to track e-book sales according to certain activities, but I can't identify any correlation.

Wattpad

Author Connie Flynn @ConnieFlynn (Website) is the bestselling award-winning author of many Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal and Romance novels and short stories.

Good question. The truth is I've been using a scattershot method of enlisting new readers and I've taken a new direction. Currently I am advertising heavily and have seen a nice uptick in my sales. I've also put my first WIP up on Wattpad and am waiting to see how that turns out.

What I have discovered is that my newsletter is important because since enlisting the subscribers as beta readers I've also made them into fans and I want to create more of that. Not only is it good for sales, I've already made some new friends.

This reply is pretty scattershot itself and I hope it's of value. If you choose not to use it I'll understand. Your support has already been invaluable to me. 

Veteran Author Susan Oleksiw (Website) is a bestselling author of the Mellingham series and the Anita Ray mysteries.

Wattpad is an interesting site that I have used a bit. I post a sample chapter from a book, for example, and then link to the whole book on Amazon. I've posted a short story, related to one of my mystery series.

I use these sites to introduce readers to my books. I'm less interested in putting their email addresses into a program for a newsletter, etc., than I am in making them curious enough about me to follow a link to my books and try one.

Support groups

Award winning Indie Author John W. Huffman @johnwhuffman (Website) writes Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers.

I am constantly in contact with support groups as I come across them, such as this one, and respond to them on a daily or as requested basis.

Are there problems you should avoid?

Author Jake Needham @jakeneedham (Website) is a best-selling Mystery & Thrillers Author.

I have an opt-in mailing list and people who visit my website can add their names to the list. I don’t use any online tools to capture email addresses. My list is strictly opt-in and the only way to do that is by filling out a short form on my site. After I set up the mailing list, it very quickly ran up to about a thousand names, but over the last year or so growth has slowed to a trickle. I have no idea why since I’ve changed nothing and the number of visits I get to my website has steadily increased. Maybe newsletters have simply gone out of style and few people want to receive them anymore. That’s easy to understand since most of us already get far more email these days than we know what to do with.

I should also say that I have the sense that my mailing list is worthless as a marketing tool. Most if not all of the people on it are fans who have already read most of my books. I do get a lot of nice email back whenever I send out a newsletter that has any substance at all. Clearly many readers do enjoy hearing from me and reading my thoughts on things that touch on the subject matter of the books I write, but I don’t think the newsletters actually sell any books for me at all. Trying to sell more books through an opt-in mailing list is almost the definition of preaching to the choir.

Terry Ambrose @suspense_writer (Website) is the author of the McKenna Mystery series and a member of Murder, We Wrote.

I, like most people I know, am annoyed by the constant promotional efforts many writers use. As a result, if I am friends with someone, but the majority of their posts are promotional in nature, I'm going to distance myself from them. Everyone has to do some promotion, but that promotion should be a small portion of the social interactions, not the majority.

NYT and USA Today Best Selling Author Melody Anne @authmelodyanne (Website). She is the author of many Romance and Young Adult novels.

To me the term “capture” implies some sort of unwanted data collection to somehow spam my fans with news they don’t necessarily want.  Typically all news of new releases is available through social media platforms, so any fans that follow me will receive updates as they occur. 

Unwanted email

Veteran Author Susan Oleksiw (Website) is a bestselling author of the Mellingham series and the Anita Ray mysteries.

There is so much unwanted email these days that I have decided to stay away from this. I have a list of about 1500 names and addresses, but these change so often that I felt it wasn't worth the effort to keep up the list and then send newsletters or announcements to people who are already complaining about unwanted email.

Amazon Best-Selling Author Cheryl Bradshaw @cherylbradshaw (Website) is the creator of the Sloane Monroe series and the founder of the hugely successful Indie Writers Unite group on Facebook.

I'm mainly on Twitter and Facebook. I use Twitter for most of my interaction with fans, and usually only promote on there once a month when I run a BookBub ad. If you're constantly promoting, you'll lose your existing fans, and you'll be unfollowed.

Time

Liliana Hart @Liliana_Hart (Website) is a NYT and USA Today Bestselling author of romantic mysteries and suspense.

Thanks so much for emailing me. I want you to know I read each and every email from my readers, and those emails are awesome and keep me going and motivated. Unfortunately, I've reached the point where I just can't respond to them all in a timely manner. I wish I could respond faster and stay on top of it all, but I've realized I'm not Wonder Woman, despite what my favorite coffee mug says. Just be assured that I'm using my email response time to get the next book out faster. Thank you all so much for your support and for reading. 

Spam

Brent Hartinger @brenthartinger (Website) is the author of The Russel Middlebrook series. The movie version of his novel: Geography Club was released in 2013.

In my experience, people are so overwhelmed with spam and emails that it's really difficult to get them to subscribe to email lists. They have to be (a) really passionate fans and/or (b) given something valuable in return, to entice them.

How should you use the reader list?

Now that you have laid all the ground work, planted the seeds, it’s time to harvest the crop. What do I do with my list?

Usage

Author Leti Del Mar @leti_delmar (Website) is an indie author.  She blogs about the craft of writing and indie books.

For now, I use my mailing list to alert my readers about the following: cover reveals, new releases and promotions. I send one out every three months or so. I like to be able to give my subscribers a reason to join, so I let them know of any promotions before anyone else.

Search engines/rankings

Terry Ambrose @suspense_writer (Website) is the author of the McKenna Mystery series and a member of Murder, We Wrote.

Because I'm reaching out directly to my audience via search engines, which are now ranking my posts on the first page for the search terms, my website traffic is up and I have more opportunity to garner a potential reader's interest. With that said, the majority of those visitors are looking for something in particular, so converting them from a visitor who is looking for a specific type of information to someone interested in books can be difficult. 

Best-Selling Author Chuck Barrett @Chuck_Barrett (Website) is the author of the Award-Winning Jake Pendleton series.

There is no single sure-fire method that works 100% of the time. Social media has had its heyday. Readers want more substance. They are overwhelmed with the preponderance of authors and books saturating the market. It’s confusing when there are hundreds (or thousands) of new authors flooding social media every month. Readers tend to stick to their favorites and sometimes it’s difficult to get them to break that habit. What works best is to have the best product you can have and get out and reach the readers. Face time with readers is important and that helps word of mouth...and word of mouth sells books. Advertising is only so-so effective and must be well-placed & well-timed or it’s a waste of money. Today’s author must try everything they can to sell books. When something works, stick with it until it stops working then find something else that works.

Brent Hartinger @brenthartinger (Website) is the author of The Russel Middlebrook series. The movie version of his novel: Geography Club was released in 2013.

What do I do with the email list? I send out a newsletter, but I try really hard not to annoy people, so I try to make it (a) substantive, with some actual "content," not just all about me and please to buy my books, and (b) I don't send it out more than five times a year. When I have something substantial to announce, I send an email, and I know from MailChimp.com (the e-newsletter service I use) that I have a very high "open" rate compared to other marketers, so I think I'm doing something right.

Best Selling Author M. R. Cornelius @marshacornelius (Website) writes post-apocalyptic thrillers. Marsha echoed several responses I received to this study.

Looking forward to this post James, because I do a terrible job of finding readers. I could use some tips.

Throughout this study the authors have echoed how they use their list. They not only use the list to announce new releases, promotions and giveaways but to build relationships.

The communications should be well-timed and not overdone. The primary theme the authors used was ‘give them something of value’. There is no silver bullet here. Write a good book. Cultivate it. And then reap the rewards.

Here are the questions you need to answer.

Do you have a reader lists?

What methods would you use to develop the list?

How would you use the list?

To check out the complete responses to the Study from each author, click the link below.

How Do You Develop and Use a List of Your Readers? - HBS Author’s Corner STUDY Detail

eBook Author’s Corners  Related Posts

Indie Authors: Your Copyright Page Needs Work

eBook Marketing: Include Live Contact Information in Your eBook

Author Blogs: Are You Hiding Your Contact Information From Your Readers?

Authors: Finding Your Readers On-line: A group of Award-winning Authors speak up. – A Study

Some of the sources of information offered by authors follow:

Crime and Horror Author Jade Varden @JadeVarden (Website) is the creator of the Deck of Lies book series.

Slowly building a fan base through interaction.

Who to follow to build your fan base.

What days and style are most advantageous for social media updates?

What should you tweet to sell books?

Follow me:

Follow Me on Twitter: @jimhbs

Or EMAIL at: jim@jamesmoushon.com

View my website: James Moushon – Mystery Writer

Or visit my blog: The eBook Author Corner

Take a look at my Author’s blog: HBS Author’s Spotlight

Or my Mystery blog: HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle

Check out the Jonathon Stone Mystery Novel: Black Mountain Secrets

NEW RELEASE: Another Jonathon Stone Mystery: Game Of Fire