Tap into the Power of Collaborations

Experts continue to tell writers that their email list is one of the best ways to turn followers into book buyers. Therefore, growing your email list is great strategy for promoting your writing. Here’s a simple way to expand your reach and potentially gain new email subscribers—Author collaborations.

Collaborating with other writers enables you to leverage off each other’s followers, so you can quickly reach a whole new audience. Here are some tips to make collaborations work for you.

• Look for someone who writes for a similar target audience. Your audiences don’t need to be identical, but they need to overlap. For example, a writer who targets young moms overlaps with a writer who targets healthy family relationships.
• Look for someone who writes about similar topics or themes. Your book topics, lead magnets, or blog themes need to be something the other writer’s audience will find interesting and useful.
• Avoid a collaboration where both writers are promoting almost identical products, such as two authors who both wrote books about gluten-free diets. The idea is to overlap so the audience wants both products rather than competing for the same purchase slot.  

Don’t forget the goal

If your goal is to build your email list, you need to have a lead magnet to promote. Without an incentive to join your list and a clear call to action, the other writer’s audience isn’t likely to visit your blog or sign up for your newsletter.

If your goal is only to promote your book, being featured by your collaboration partner may be sufficient. Again, don’t forget an enticing call to action that includes links to purchase your book

Types of collaborations

• Guest post swap. If both writers have blogs, you can agree to exchange guest posts. Don’t forget to mention your lead magnet in your guest post!
• Newsletter lead magnet swap. Both writers can agree to share each other’s lead magnets in their newsletters.
• Newsletter (or blog) book review swap. The collaboration partners can agree to review each other’s books for their newsletter. Don’t forget to disclose that you have agreed to swap books. NOTE: Amazon does not approve of authors trading reviews, so if you swap book reviews, don’t post them on Amazon. (It’s probably best to skip other review sites as well.)
• Interview swap. Bloggers, podcasters, or YouTubers can choose a pertinent topic and take turns interviewing the other on their blog/show.  
• Gift Guides. Two or more authors can create a book gift guide on a particular theme. The guide includes one or more of each author’s books plus other excellent books that fit the theme. For example: Great Action Books for Middle Schoolers or Powerful Books to Help You Overcome Negative Thinking.

Always keep the audience in mind

Whatever collaboration you try, always remember your first goal is to serve your partner’s audience. (Not to promote yourself or sell something.)

The better you meet the needs of the audience, the more those people will be interested in your work, and the more likely the other writer will want to work with you in the future. Collaborations can be the beginning of a fruitful and long-lasting partnership.

You can be a collaborator

Even if you are not yet published, you can still begin to collaborate with other writers through swapping guest posts or lead magnets. It’s a small, doable step even beginning writers can try.

Who will you reach out to this week to discuss a possible collaboration?

Lisa E. Betz is an engineer-turned-mystery-writer, entertaining speaker, and unconventional soul. She inspires others to become their best selves, living with authenticity, and purpose, and she infuses her novels with unconventional characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her Livia Aemilia Mysteries, set in first-century Rome, have won several awards, including the Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021).

She and her husband reside outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Scallywag, their rambunctious cat—the inspiration for Nemesis, resident mischief maker in her novels. Lisa directs church dramas, hikes the beautiful Pennsylvania woods, eats too much chocolate, and experiments with ancient Roman recipes. Visit lisaebetz.com.