Thanks Lynne!

And here’s how this column came to be—

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our publishing house team shares many marketing tips with our authors, including the creation of an automated “email signature” that will help promote their work, especially their books. Often, we point to marketing-expert-and-author Lynne Golodner’s emails as ideal examples. So, we wound up asking Lynne to explain these best practices in a column we could share with our readers. She was happy to do so. (And, please, also spend a moment reading about Lynne’s latest writing project in our ReadTheSpirit magazine cover story this week.)

emails can share your story ‘over and over again.’

By LYNNE GOLODNER

As a marketing expert and entrepreneur, learning to promote myself hasn’t been as easy as you’d think. I advise clients and fellow authors all the time about how best to present themselves, from their email signature to their social media footprint and tone, to their marketing emails and more.

But I think one way that I’ve nailed it recently is in my email signature (see above). I’m pleased with this on so many levels, not only because I find it aesthetically alluring, but because it’s succinct, thorough, and full of hyperlinks. My name, followed by the three ways I want to be known—author, writing coach, marketing entrepreneur—in order of importance.

I’ll admit, I sometimes tweak that, depending on what I’m emphasizing in my work-life at the time, and that’s a good practice, to change it up at least a couple times a year to align with your current focus.

But then I go into detail, with hyperlinks, below the explainer, guiding recipients on how I’d like them to connect with me.

First, a link to my Substack, which is my twice-monthly newsletter. I want people to read it, to subscribe, to engage. There, I share my accomplishments, announce book launches (with links!), offer classes and retreats, and generally present to the public meaningful ways to connect with me.

Next my websites. Now, I have three websites—my main author site, my marketing company site, and my publishing imprint site. I’ve chosen my author site to appear prominently in my email signature because that is my foremost identity these days. I want people to discover my books and classes and coaching opportunities, so I share the site that houses it all.

Next comes my business, then my socials: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

Then, in the bottom portion of my email “signer,” there’s first a text link to “Buy My Books” in one place. Right below that link, I display the beautiful book covers of my four most recent titles. Now, those book covers used to be hyperlinked individually, but they’re not lately displayed that way—because now I have that simple link to “Buy My Books.” I am trying to send people to that one place—but, at the same time, I still want them to see the beauty of the book cover designs for my latest titles.

When I advise clients on how to build an effective email signature, I say the following:
• Keep it simple, with clear, direct text in order of importance
• Hyperlink the most important options for easy access
• Avoid quotes! Lots of people include a quote that inspires them in their signature, but honestly, it’s wasteful because you’re giving important marketing space to someone else. And, it’s hard to discern why you chose this one quote, what it says about you and what you do or offer. So, I tell clients: Skip the quote.
• Graphics should be small and uncluttered.

Do people look at email signatures, you may wonder? The only research I found said that an email signature is an important marketing opportunity, though most people email the same folks again and again. 

Still, I think it’s a waste not to have something in the field below your email—some way of identifying you or sharing important information.

How to Build Your Email Signature in Gmail

My email is a custom gmail, so I created my signature easily in the gmail settings tab (the little wheel at the top of the screen).

Click “See all settings.” Then scroll down until you get to the Signature field. There, you can “Create new” and name it.

Write the text the way you want it to show up in the box. You can choose font style and size in the navigation bar below the text box.

When you want to hyperlink something, highlight the word(s) and then click on the chain link icon and add the URL.

If you want to add images, click the square with the little mountain outline in the navigation bar and upload the image from your computer. It’s important to reassess the size of the image! My cover files are quite large, and that will bog down your emails, and also clutter up the email. Using your preferred image-editing program, ensure that your images are the optimal size. Gmail helps with this process. Once an image is uploaded, click on it. Below, a field of options will pop up, offering Small, Medium, Large, Original Size, Remove. Click on Small to size it as tiny as it can be while still being readable.

I add a single space between each book cover to give a little “air.”

Impact vs. Effort

Marketing clients have long asked me to quantify the value of marketing efforts. Marketing is never a dollar-for-dollar return on investment. Clients need to know this up front, so they can set realistic expectations.

So, too, authors must recognize that all the effort and expense they pour into marketing at the outset will not be immediately matched by robust book sales or an instant soar to the top of the bestseller chart.

Marketing is always slow-and-steady-wins-the-race—and really, it’s more like a marathon.

Research reveals that most authors need to have at least five books in a genre published and in the world (and cleverly marketed) before they start seeing a substantial, steady income from book sales. And for some authors, it might be more than five books.

So it’s a lot of effort for a long time before you see the steady payoff.

It’s like that with any career, really.

I’m in it for the long haul. I plan to write and publish a book a year, and since I made this pledge, I’ve released four books in two years actually, so I’m on my way.

I build time in my weekly schedule for book marketing, and that includes this email signature and also Substack, digital advertising, social media, media relations, speaking engagements and readings, and more. I am trying to curate how I show up in the world, teach people how to know me and engage with me.

Every author must do this, make time for marketing as part of your regular schedule. At least, if you want to build an author career that supports you. It’s not enough to just write a book and hope people will find it. You have to lead them to it, and continue engaging with them.

Establishing an author brand and telling that story over and over again in every marketing channel, including your email signature, is the way to succeed as an author.

Lynne Golodner is the author of 12 books and hundreds of essays and articles. Her third novel, I LOVE YOU, CHARLIE TANNER, hit #2 in contemporary fiction on Amazon within a month of release and has already sold more than 4,000 copies. Her first novels have won several awards including the American Fiction Award for multicultural fiction for WOMAN OF VALOR and a bronze medal IPPY award for multicultural fiction for CAVE OF SECRETS. 

(And, please, also spend a moment reading about Lynne’s latest writing project in our ReadTheSpirit magazine cover story this week.)