A few weeks ago, Facebook suddenly logged me out.
Foolishly, I tried to log back in.
It didn’t work.
My stomach dropped, thinking I got hacked.
When I couldn’t access my ads manager, I scrambled to see if I could figure out what was happening.
You may recall the outage that happened a few weeks ago. Millions across the globe were affected. Chances are, if it happened to you, you had the same feeling as me. Especially if you’re running a lot of ads.
Email marketers love when social media fails.
They’re annoyingly quick to remind you not to build your list on rented land.
We’ve all heard it before.
You don’t own Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or any of the other platforms we use to promote our books, and they could disappear overnight, but…
You do own your email list!
While it’s true that your email list is your greatest asset (because you own it and can take it with you wherever you go) that’s not what today’s message is about.
This email is about sending traffic in the wrong direction.
Too many authors are making this mistake.
They’re building an email list only to encourage their subscribers to go follow them on their favorite social media platform.
*palm to forehead*
Since I can already hear your objections, I’ll go ahead and answer them.
A one off message to cross pollinate your channels is perfectly fine.
But if you do this too many times, what you’re essentially telling your subscribers is that your emails aren’t as important as your social media content.
^^ BIG mistake ^^
Instead, you should do the exact opposite.
Here’s what I tell the authors I work with to do:
Get as many people OFF of social media and onto your list as possible.
Why?
So that when the next time Facebook goes down (like it did again last week)…or the clowns in Washington want to play politricks with platforms like TikTok…
You have a list of readers who are already familiar with you, like the types of books you write, and are lining up to be the first to read your latest and greatest.
Just don’t forget about nurturing that relationship with the readers who asked to be emailed. It does you no good to show up only when you need something.
Need help with your email marketing? Apply to work with me.
