A mailing list is a powerful marketing tool for authors. Unlike social media platforms, your mailing list is entirely within your control. You can leverage it well to keep your readers and turn them into die-hard fans. This article is a brief beginner's guide with six steps you can take to build your mailing list. 

1. Choose a mailing list provider: The first place to begin is to choose a mailing service provider to assist with managing your list. You can get free service from some mail providers when you're starting with a small list. But most providers that can effectively handle large mailing lists charge a subscription fee. Popular providers include MailerLite, ConvertKit, Flodesk, Active Campaign, and ConstantContact. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and you can research each of them to find which one is the best fit for your marketing plan.

2. Launch an author website: An author website ensures that anyone looking you up learns about your work directly from you. It allows you to control the narrative of your writing career. It is also a perfect place for your email list sign-up box, without the need for a different sign-up page with nothing to encourage sign-ups on it. You can place your sign-up section on your home page or your About page. Make it prominently displayed for users. Many of your visitors may be wary of giving you their email addresses. You can reassure them by stating what you intend to send them and how often you intend to send it to them. 

3. Use a reader magnet to attract subscribers: A reader magnet gives people a reason to sign up for your mailing list. It can be a free book or other gifts instantly emailed to anyone who signs up to your mailing list. This book can be a practical guide, a short story, a novella, or even a complete novel. The practical guides work well for nonfiction authors. Here, they offer brief guides on subjects related to their full-length book, which their readers will be interested in. Feature these magnets on the homepage of your websites and post them on your social media.

4. Get more attention with giveaways: Giveaways are an efficient way to get enormous attention for your mailing list. To attract readers interested in your genre, select books similar to your work and give them away to one of your subscribers. This technique helps you generate lots of interest and make friends with other authors in your genre. You can reach out to relevant influencers or invest in Facebook advertising to promote your giveaway. Afterward, the giveaway promotes itself. Giveaways can also attract subscribers who are only interested in the gifts. Weed them out by announcing at some point that the giveaway is over before you campaign for your next release. 

5. Don't forget to welcome your subscribers: A welcome message is the first step toward engaging your subscribers. They should receive this message immediately after they subscribe to your mailing list. An easy way to welcome your new subscribers is through welcome automation, a series of automatic emails you intend to send them. Usually, the first email will say something like, "Hey, thank you for signing up...." Then you outline the content they can expect in your newsletter. You can set up a second email to follow a few days later that lists some blog posts, interviews, or resources they may have missed.

6. Learn more on how to engage your readers: A lot is required to manage and engage your subscribers effectively. You need to segment your subscribers to know the type of email to send to different categories. Ask them questions, interact with them, email them regularly and work out a strategy to build hype for your book launch. To do all these, you can access various free and paid online resources that educate you on the proper ways to manage your mailing list. Or hire a professional internet marketer.