You have an email list, right?! Yes. Great!!! No? Let’s talk! You NEED a list!! NOW!
Seriously, an email list is imperative for authors. Whether it contains family, friends, ex-whatevers, co-workers, local chamber of commerce members, attendees from your book signing or reading, wherever you get them you need a list!
You can sign up for MailChimp.com for free. It’s free to use for lists (that mean a combination of lists or a single list) of 2,000 subscribers. You can upload what you have in a CSV file. The cool thing about MailChimp is it won’t import duplicates. No more comparing lists of hunting for duplicate email addresses. Nice.
MailChimp also offers a very user-friendly interface so that you create a newsletter, simple announcements, etc., to stay in contact with your readers. You can break up your lists into personal contacts, reviewers, newsletter, etc. With each list you have the ability to create a signup form that you can send in an email or announcement or embedded on your website. MailChimp also integrates with Facebook! Now you have no excuse for not starting and growing a list.
MailChimp Disclaimer: I love MailChimp.com and have set up several authors with this application. I am not affiliated in any way with MailChimp.com. I just like the simplicity and ease of use. There are many, many other applications that have the same and/or similar features so please do your homework and research the best option for you.