Give Added Value to Your Author Newsletter with Valuable Freebie

by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

How many newsletters do you subscribe to? Did a free gift entice you to subscribe?

I enjoy finding free content that has great value for my needs and interests. Like a free Bible study on Philippians. Three steps to hand lettering (for artwork and journaling). A PDF guide to pitching a book. I couldn’t resist any of these. I gave my email address as they asked, and in my inbox appeared the “happy” I wanted. 

Do you give subscribers a freebie for signing up for your blog or newsletter? 

Writers like to entice readers to subscribe by giving them a free e-book or PDF up front. It’s satisfying to open that welcome email and download the gift. 

But what about in the weeks and months to come? What if a writer gave a free wonderful something every month, even if it was a one-page PDF? Would you sign up for that newsletter? I would. 

The trouble is that giving something of value every month or quarter on top of blogging regularly, takes time. The wonderful something we share regularly are the messages that God writes on our hearts. Those messages are likely to appeal to our target audience because we’re talking about how to handle the challenges they are facing. Or we are giving ideas of how to walk with God to the fullest. Of how to know Him more, love Him better, and serve Him well. 

So why would it be worth it to add a freebie every month on top of that? Added value. 

How many bloggers are in the world right now? Don’t cringe. A couple of years ago, in the United States alone, an estimated 31.7 million bloggers existed.¹ Now there are 32.7 million.² For all topics and audiences. We may wonder if anyone will find our blog with that many bloggers on the web. But the number of people in 2021 who viewed just WordPress blogs every month was 409 million people.3

People do read blogs. 

How many bloggers do you know who give free resources throughout the year, on top of the blog posts they share? I can think of a handful. 

Help your blog to stand out by giving an extra happy to your subscribers. You can include it in a monthly or quarterly newsletter that is sent separately from your blog posts. Or pick a week to add the freebie to the end of your post in your newsletter service (for automatic blog updates). For me, it would be adding a block of text in my Mailchimp newsletter giving a link to a PDF or including one of the freebies listed below. 

Creating freebies doesn’t have to take a ton of time. If you want to give a free e-book, go for it! What a gift. If you only have an hour to create something, that’s an hour well spent. Here are some ideas. 

12 Freebies Writers Could Send to Subscribers

• 1. Encouraging quotes from your books or blog

• 2. Inspiring memes of Bible verses to share on social media (Please be mindful of which Bible translation you use—the World English Bible [WEB] is in the public domain and has modern language.)

• 3. Wallpaper graphics, related to your brand and message, for subscribers’ phones or computers

• 4. A PDF of ten Bible verses related to your go-to topic, like peace, hope, God’s faithfulness, and so on

• 5. An invitation to gather in a Facebook group or Zoom meeting to discuss _____ (fill in the blank for your target audience) or celebrate _____ (a holiday)

• 6. A PDF page of a beautifully designed “to-do list” planner (using Canva.com) that includes time spent with God and space to record that day’s Bible verse and prayer focus

• 7. A PDF page of five ideas for daily quiet times 

• 8. A series of memes featuring great quotes from friends’ books (Please be sure to look at the books’ copyright pages for information on what is OK to quote or not.) 

• 9. A thirty-day Bible reading plan for a topic related to your writing

• 10. A witnessing tool like a list of a dozen questions someone may have about God or the Bible with answers and Bible verses

• 11. An e-book or a PDF of a topic your target audience is craving, five to ten pages long, based on Scripture and sharing from the heart

• 12. A PDF of seasonal recipes (A friend enjoys sharing these.) 

When you promote your blog, you can share that you not only provide encouraging posts every week (or how often you blog), but also a freebie every month (or quarter) in your newsletter. Not only will readers be blessed by your stories, Scripture verses, and strategies for the Christian life, but they will look forward to the extra “happy” that they will find in their inboxes on a regular basis.

Of the dozen ideas I shared, which one would you want to receive the most? I’m leaning toward #9—a Bible reading plan related to a writer’s brand or main theme. Tell us in the comments, and join the conversation!

TWEETABLE

Give Added Value to Your Author Newsletter with Valuable Freebie from @KatyKauffman28 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of LIGHTHOUSE BIBLE STUDIES. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Feed Your Soul with the Word of God, Collection 1 which is a 2020 Selah Awards finalist. She also enjoys encouraging writers and giving writing tips in her monthly writers’ newsletter called THE LIGHTHOUSE CONNECTION.

In addition to online magazines, Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.COM, thoughts-about-God.com, and three blogs on writing. She loves to spend time with family and friends, create art and make crafts with her group MY ARTSY TRIBE, and tend the garden in the morning sun. She makes her home in a cozy suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Connect with her on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.

¹ Ogi Djuraskovic, Blogging Statistics 2021: Ultimate List with 47 Facts and Stats, First Site Guide, https://firstsiteguide.com/blogging-stats/. (First accessed in 2021. The title and some stats in this article have been updated.)

² Ibid. 

³ Ibid.

Featured Image: Photo by orva studio on Unsplash