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With the new changes on our blog, I’m a bit delayed getting the final part of this series out to you. But here it is.

Now that you have designed your newsletter and linked your freebie, you’re ready to send it out into the world.

Design the Mail Chimp sign up forms.

Slide #1
From the dashboard, click on the Lists button (#1).
When this screen comes up, click on the “Signup Forms” button (#2)







Slide #2
When this screen opens,
click on the General Forms button.

Slide #3
This screen is where you will design the look of your sign up form.
 
From the drop down menu (#1) you can choose which form to design: sign up,  confirmation, unsubscribe, etc. The bottom half of the page has all the design elements you need. Under build it, you will choose which fields you want. Under design it, you will choose the colors and overall look. If you need more explanation after exploring this portion, go HERE.

Once it is designed and you’re ready to share the sign up form, the box labeled #2 has the link you can share to take people to your form.

~ ~ ~

If you want to embed the form onto your website, go back to the screen shown in slide #2 and click on Embedded Forms.

Slide #4
This screen will come up. In the #1 line, type in the title of the form as you want it to show up. Then copy and paste the code from box #2 to the location you want your sign up form.
If you want to integrate a sign up form into your Facebook page. Go HERE.
 
~ ~ ~
slide 5
Send it. Go back to the campaign tab and choose your campaign (slide 5).
From the design screen below (slide 6) if you have done all the steps, choose the confirm button at the bottom of the screen. From here you can preview the newsletter as well as send a test email to verify the newsletter comes through looking just the way you want it. Test all the links.You are only allowed a few test emails, so be sure you are ready with all your content and buttons. For tips on sending out your test email, go HERE.
slide 6

With the free service, you will have to check back for new subscribers to send out the welcome edition to them. If you have a paid service you can use an auto-respond and not worry about it.

 
If you have any questions, feel free to leave it in the comments below. Or visit the wonderful tutorials that Mail Chimp provides.

Give yourself a pat on the back. You now have a newsletter and can start building your email list.

I hope you’ve started to design your newsletter and worked on your incentive for sign ups. If you missed last week’s post, catch it HERE. Today, we’ll pick up where we left off after we hear from Jeanie.  

Jeanie is a fellow Wordsower and newly published author with a story appearing in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles Happen. Released February 4, 2014. Every week, she shares her journey experience of building a platform. 

Connect with Jeanie: website (you can sign up for her newsletter here as well) Facebook



Jeanie tell us about your WIP: King Elyon. The first chapter is one of your freebies and the book is the reason you’re building your platform. Tell us what your book is about. 

Orphaned twins Asher and Zadok slave in a nightmare world ruled by the brutal Overlord. A mysterious Voice in the night propels the teens on a daring escape. Pursued by vicious Watchers and other savage creatures, the brothers seek out the forbidden Wise Woman. Her startling revelations point them toward refuge with King Elyon, the powerful ruler of Galya.

Along the way lies and deceptions drive the brothers apart. With danger pressing on every side, each must decided who to trust. Will their journey lead to freedom…or destruction?
Who is your audience? 
I originally envisioned King Elyon for 5th-6th graders. Based on input I received from several authors, I have expanded it to a young adult fantasy novel applicable for both the CBA and ABA markets. I’m writing it as an alternative to the Harry Potter and Twilight type books.
Why this book? 
I’m praying that people who don’t know God will be drawn to him through it. At the same time, I shy away from being “preachy.”
You are going the indie route with self-publishing. Why not look for a traditional publisher? 
Julie Christensen’s self-publishing class struck a chord with me. The market is changing. Bookstores are closing.  A traditional publisher may be less likely to publish my work, given the wide range of established authors they already have. Self-publishing gets manuscripts to market quicker, and I have more control over my content.
  
Are you looking forward to Lee’s presentation at our monthly meeting next week? 
Lee has years of experience in the market, both as an author and as an editor, so I’m eager to hear what he’s sharing. I hope he touches on the editing aspect of self-publishing. I’ve seen self-published books that would have been great had they been edited. Even the most beautiful gems need to be cut and polished to make them shine.
How-to Link your freebie to your newsletter. 
1. Have your document in PDF form. 

2. Open the text box where you want the link to your freebie to appear.  Within the text in your text box, highlight the word(s) you want to link your document to. 


3. Click on the link button.


4. When this box appears, click on the arrow for the drop down menu. Choose “file”.

5. When the file manager box appears you can now upload the PDF document you have ready. Click on browse for a file then upload. For future issues, if you already have the file uploaded, you can choose “files” on the bar across the top and choose it from there. 


6. Once you have chosen the file you want uploaded, this box will appear. Click “insert”. Your document is now inserted into your text. 


7. At the top right of the design frame click on the preview and test button. On the drop down menu, click on “enter preview mode” (NOT send test email). From here you can make sure it looks right and test the links. 


I do not recommend sending a test email until you go back and check all your text, pictures and design. You can preview and test links at any time through the design process.

Next week, we will cover sign up forms, scheduling your newsletter and sending out a test email. 

If you have any questions, please leave them below. 
Jeanie is leading the charge on building your platform.  Let’s touch base with her and see how it’s going with her newsletter.
Jeanie is a fellow Wordsower and newly published author with a story appearing in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles Happen. Released February 4, 2014. Every week, she shares her journey experience of building a platform.

Connect with Jeanie: website (you can sign up for her newsletter here as well) Facebook

After you figured out how to work with Mail Chimp, how long did it take you to put your newsletter together?
4.3 seconds. In my dreams.
Here again I turned it into a horrific process. I came up with an overload of ideas unrelated to anything. I’d write a segment, then delete it. Rewrite. Delete it again. Days of furious writing wound up in my computer’s dungeon.
Instead of one Spring story, I wrote four. I agonized over what to offer as a sign-up incentive.
I didn’t want to take 5-10 minutes to choose a template (which can be reused for subsequent campaigns). Heck no! Instead I spent hours creating my own plain-Jane one. Bad idea for someone whose artistic skills are limited to drawing stick figures.
What should have been a few hours work turned into 2 weeks.
How did you decide on what to offer in your newsletter? 
I looked at other authors’ newsletters. Took advice from experienced writers. Prayer interspersed with hair-pulling sessions.
What kind of signup response have you had?
My mom and I comprised my first list. (Thanks Mom. You’re fabulous!) So even though I don’t have a huge following yet, I’m excited to see people signing up every week.
Is there anything you will do differently next time?
Absolutely. My first newsletter is such a homely baby even this momma can’t pretend any differently.
My next edition is brighter, bolder, and easier to read. I used a MailChimp templates. In about 30 minutes I finished the basics of the Summer newsletter (including finding the pictures). It looks sooooo much better.
Plus, I’ve chosen the perfect gift card for the next drawing.
Any advice for those who are just starting to consider a newsletter?
Don’t panic. Keep calm and write on.
Read other author’s newsletters to see what you like about them. Utilize the things that resonate with you…and I’m not talking plagiarism here. Check out their sites to get an overall feeling for what you want in yours.
People are inundated with online invitations daily. Offer an incentive for them to join you.
Think your content through, but don’t second (and third…and fourth…) guess yourself.
Ask for help. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.

Now it’s your turn – let’s get started. 

You’ve decided on the content. What’s next?

1. Choose your service and set up an account.

Since I use Mail Chimp, all illustrations for this article will be from that service.

2. Get familiar with what your service has to offer.

Let’s start at Mail Chimp’s dashboard. The two icons you need to know about for this post are the campaigns and lists icons.

3. Create a list:

Lists are the groups of people who sign up to receive your newsletter. You can have multiple lists. For example. Here it shows my two lists. One is for my RSS driven campaign, sending my blog posts to my readers by email. The second list is my quarterly newsletter.

Click the list icon on the dashboard and you will be sent to this page. To create your list, click on the create a list button in the top right hand corner of the list page. The instructions will walk you through this.
Once you have a list and you click on that list on the lists page, you will be able to manage your subscribers.

4. Create a campaign: 

Campaigns are the batch of newsletters you send out via emails. For each edition of your newsletter you have to create a new campaign. If you send out welcome editions in between your scheduled newsletter, you have to create a new campaign.
Click the campaign icon on the dashboard and you will be sent to this page. To create your campaign, click on the create a campaign button in the top right hand corner. At the bottom of the next screen in the black band, you will see  the buttons to click on to guide you through the process.
Once you have a campaign, if you click on one of the campaigns you can see all of the stats. How many people opened your newsletter. How many clicked through for what you are giving them.

5. Choose your recipients 

Once you click on the create a campaign button, the first thing you will be asked to do is to choose the recipients. You will have a choice between the different lists you have created.
If you notice the buttons along the bottom in the black band, you will be able to tell which stage of designing your campaign you are in. The great thing? Until you hit the send button at the very end, you can change anything or scrap it all and start over. So, relax and have a little fun.
The first campaign you want to set up will be the welcome edition of your newsletter. The reason you want to have this ready is so that when you have new subscribers you can send this out to them ASAP even if you are between regular campaigns. If you wait, they may not remember they signed up and quickly unsubscribe. You will be able to resend this same welcome edition as many times as you want, only changing the recipient. More on that next week.
In the next few steps you will be plugging in all that wonderful content you have decided to include. My instructions today are fairly simple, but Mail Chimp has some great tutorials if you need more information. Take advantage of them. Or feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer the question.

6. Set up the campaign.

That is when you name the campaign and choose a few social media options if you want them – let it post to FB and Twitter are two. I didn’t like the way those posts looked, but it may work for you.

7. Choose your template to work with.

Nose around and see what you like. Once you have a design you like, you can save the template to use in the future to make it simpler. I’m going to walk you through the Basic template choice. I like this selection because you have greater freedom to personalize it. However, as you read in Jeanie’s Q & A, she prefers the pre-designed template. Find what works for you and go for it.

8: Design your newsletter.

When you click on Basic you will go to this screen next:
Have fun and play around. Click and drag the boxes on the right into the sections on the left. Click the edit button to add content. In the top right hand corner you can click on the preview button at any time. DO NOT test at this stage. In the free service you only get a few tests and you want to save those for just before you actually send the campaign.
Next week we will pick up with the “confirm” stage of the design. But you want to have everything in place before we get there. So between now and then, be working on the steps we have covered so far.
About the freebie. You want to give people a reason to sign up for your newsletter, that’s why you offer something free just for signing up (sent with your welcome edition). Work on your freebie. Make sure it looks professional. Next week we’ll talk about how to link your freebie to your newsletter.
We will also cover designing your sign up form and where/how to share those. Scheduling and putting it out there.
Of course, don’t feel like you have to wait on us. Step into the adventure and forge ahead if you are so inclined.
If you have any questions, be sure and leave them in the comments below.
See you next week.
You’ve decided to embark on building a platform. You know a blog is important and you are in process of getting that set up and deciding what to blog about. But are you ready for company to drop by?
As you design your website/blog, there is an important factor you don’t want to forget. Getting permission from your readers to contact them in the future. This is how you build an audience that will want to buy your books.
Building a mailing list is the best way to get that  permission. But people won’t just give you their email address for no reason. You have to give them something in return. Enter the newsletter.
Never fear, services like Mail Chimp (which is free up to 2000 subscribers) make it easy to design and mail out newsletters to your audience.
To get you thinking, here are a few things to remember as you put together your newsletter:
  • Have a welcome edition subscribers will get right away, or they may forget that they subscribed to you, then opt out once you send the next issue.
  • It doesn’t have to be weekly to be effective. Just enough to keep your name in front of them. I send mine quarterly.
  • Be consistent and follow through on promise of delivery.
  • Give them something free right up front to encourage them to sign up.
  • A collection of devotionals you have put together in a PDF format for them to download. A free short story. A free ebook (PDF download) of some sort of “how to” advice. A collection of your own poetry. ETC.
We will be writing more details next week about the newsletter. Our Google+ Hangout in April will cover newsletters, as well. Until then:
Brainstorm ideas for what to  write about offer as an incentive to sign up.
Look at those newsletters you have signed up for and see what others are doing.
Sign up for an account with Mail Chimp. Nose around and get familiar with it.
Check out these resources (sign up for their newsletters):
Michael Hyatt * Jeff Goins * Tim Grahl

Before we go, let’s ask Jeanie about her newsletter experience. 
 
Jeanie is a fellow Wordsower and newly published author with a story appearing in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles Happen. Released February 4, 2014. Every week, she shares her journey experience of building a platform. 

Connect with Jeanie on her website or on Facebook .

How did you first feel at the thought of starting a newsletter?
Confused. “How often should I send one out? What would I include? Can’t I just hide in the corner with my Hershey bar?”
Reluctant. “Do I really need to do this?”
Overwhelmed. “I don’t understand the technical aspects of getting it to people. Where do I even start?”
What benefits are you looking for with your newsletter? Instead of screaming into the vast virtual world, “Hey, look at me,” my heart is to give people hope and encouragement. I want to engage people by offering them things they can use. For example, my first newsletter came out March 20th. In it I shared:
  • 3 different organizing methods to speed up Spring cleaning
  • A 4-in-1 story, “Perspectives.”
  • A fun interactive editing/voting opportunity.
  • A drawing for a $20 Visa gift card.
Did you run into any roadblocks along the way? Yes, an epic battle with Evil MailChimp. Actually, it’s a wonderful email marketing service…once it’s mastered. MailChimp and I wrestled like God and Jacob. Except for my nose getting out of joint, I came away fairly unscathed. I bogged down watching tutorial after tutorial, but the monkey’s off my back.
How easy/hard was it to start? I made it harder than it should have been. I was convinced that it would be a drawn-out, painful process. So I turned it into one.
What is the link for people to sign up for your newsletter? Go to www.jeaniejacobson.com Sign up before March 31st to be eligible for the Visa gift card drawing. (Cha-Ching)
 
Last week, we had a great Hangout. You can still catch it here. We talked about building your platform starting with the basics: your website or blog. Today, you’ll find tips to make that website or blog look professional.
But first, let’s hear from Jeanie Jacobson about her progress building her platform from the ground up.

Jeanie is a fellow Wordsower and newly published author with a story appearing in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles Happen. Released February 4, 2014.

You can find at:

What are you working on this week? I’m learning how to put email sign up buttons on my blog and website. According to the video  tutorials, it’s a quick and easy task.

How is it going? Well…you’ll get a good idea from this piece of my last blog post: I started this blog last September by admitting I felt like Little Red Riding Hood wandering cyberspace with the Big Bad Blogging Wolf hot on my trail. I’ll be honest even though it’s embarrassing. That wolf is still breathing down my neck.
I need to set up an email sign-up form so nice people like you have access to my newsletters and fun insider stuff. It should be so easy to create, but I keep getting arrested by the techno-police.
At this moment I’m lost in cyber space on Planet MailChimp.
Danger Jeanie Jacobson! Danger!
MailChimp is owned by a conglomerate of out-of-work flying monkeys, bitter because the Wizard Of Oz was their last gig. To me their tutorials read something like:
“Link the snarfbladt with the poofathon utilizing the source code. However, if you plan to use a RSS feed, copy the 1st line of HTML into your rebakalator before dancing a jig in your pajamas. If that doesn’t work paste the last 3478 lines of code into the fizzmutter after pulling the flying giraffes from your doughnut maker.” Read Jeanie’s full post here.
What would you tell our readers who are reluctant to get started? Don’t let fear hold you back. Pursue the dreams God planted in your heart, no matter what your starting point is. I’m sharing my computer ineptitude publicly to encourage you. I’ll get better as I push forward. And so will you.
You’ll be hearing more from Jeanie as she shares her adventures in platform building.

As you build your platform, you want it all to look professional, starting with your blog/website. Remember, little things can add up to a great website experience. Here are 10 tips to keep you going in the right direction.
  1. Develop your tag line.This will help guide the direction of your website or blog. It’s that short sentence that tells the purpose of your content.
  2. Offer quality content. Be consistent, whether you post once a week or more. Start with what you know you can handle. You can always add extra posts.
  3. Make sure any links on your website open in new page, especially if these links are to another site away from your own. Check to make sure no links are broken.
  4. Add a picture to each post. Get permission to share and provide appropriate attribution when required. You don’t want people to randomly share your content that you worked so hard on, don’t share someone else’s even if it’s not the written word. There are lots of great places to find quality photos for free that are legal to use.
  5. If you have several pages, make sure tabs are easy to find so people can make their way around your website without frustration.
  6. Once you are on other social media sites, provide easy links to connect with you there.
  7. Have a professional photo to use for your publicity picture. The high resolution is important. What you start showing up on other places, they will ask for one. And you want to look professional.
  8. When you have books for sale, make it easy for people to find them for purchase. Also make a page about your writing, so people can decide whether they like your book right in the moment, before they leave your site and get distracted.
  9. Create an about/bio page. Readers want to know about you. Be authentic.
  10. Make your newsletter sign up easy to find. Best place, top right corner under your header.
Here are some great go-to websites with great information on building your online platform.
 Jeff Goines
Author Media
Michael Hyatt
Blogging Bistro
Next week, we’ll talk specifically about your newsletter. If you have a question you would like addressed leave a comment below.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it….make a goal of one  thing you can do to build your platform. And DO IT!
Now, do tell, what is your goal for the week?

If you want to connect with Jeanie, visit her website http://www.jeaniejacobson.com