"What is this, Holly? Are you okay? This didn't even sound like your voice!"

This was a statement made to me by an editor. An editor that I trust and who knows my voice. This was from a book I wrote 3.5 years ago. And what she didn't know was I was going through a divorce from my then-husband of 19 years. And I'd written a love story during that process on autopilot. I did stop short of killing off all the men in the book and I'm very proud of myself for that restraint.

This month we're examining elements of email marketing that scare us. There are four common excuses I hear from creators when it comes to being all-in on writing emails. Last week, we talked about the feelings that come around when I ask authors to up their frequency.

This week, we're talking about inserting our voice into our emails.

This can look like a couple of different things. Inserting your voice into your emails can be like an echo of your writing voice. And regardless of what style of email writing you adopt, this should always be present. That connection between your email voice and your writing voice creates continuity, comfort and trust. The reader picks up a book you wrote because you highlighted it in your emails and right away recognizes your voice. This is building trust. And people buy from brands they trust.

The second thing it could and should look like is storytelling. This is the one that trips most authors up.

"I'm not interesting."

"No one wants to hear about my day."

"My life is so boring."

Here's a hot tip. None of these facts are true.

Here to remind you of another fact: People buy from people they know, like and trust.

The fastest route to getting your readers to know, like and trust you is to storytell inside your emails. You're a writer! You're uniquely set up to succeed here. And if it really feels awkward, you can adopt the personality of a character. Or even just write from a character's POV on those days you are tapped out.

Listen. No one is as boring as I am. I've written emails about my toilet seat, the mice that are always trying to move into my house in the winter and the bees nests in my backyard. I have writer friends who have written about their special toy collections, dogs and cats, kids, trips, dating and their neighbours. The possibilities are endless.

The only thing you have to remember is to link the story back to a book.

I have a character in a book. Her name is Eleanor. I named her after my grandmother. That's been in an email. Eleanor is divorced. Guess what? Me too! Eleanor has a labrador retriever. Me too. Eleanor is an entrepreneur. Me too. Eleanor is headstrong and looking to be independant. Me too. It's not hard for me to tell any story and link it back to Eleanor and her book.

Now, you might be thinking, I write about serial killers. That's not a good look for me saying my life is like my villain's.

Have you ever thought someone was following you? Couldn't see in the rain late at night? Heard a national news story that felt like your story? Or needed to get inside the mind of your killer and so wrote from their POV?

You can do this. Your life is exactly what your reader needs to hear about. So many of us are desperate for a connection. Lets start connecting. It doesn't have to be long. 1-3 paragraphs. But it has to be in your voice.

Get paid to be you.

It's why your readers are actively reading your books. They like you. Your style. Your voice. So let it be heard.

Next week, we're going to talk about how it feels 'icky' to write emails sometimes and how to shake that feeling off.

See you inside your inbox next Tuesday,

Holly

PS There are THREE new modules coming in early 2024 inside of Email Marketing For Authors. Grab it now with my newsletter exclusive discount of 23% using the code FOCUS and get the new module when it launches soon! Modules will include:

• Email Focus
• Creating a Standard Operating Procedure For Your Email Funnels
• And one I'm SOOOOO excited for coming in Feb/March - Lead Gen FB Ads to grow your list. (I'm in a course for this starting in November. Then I'll test everything I know. Facebook will change the rules. Then I'll teach you LOL. And then Facebook will change the rules again. So I'll for sure update the module!)

Make sure you grab this course now as the price will go up in 2024!

Also of note for the romance writers in the crowd...

2024 is shaping up to be a busy teaching year for me and it's easily, the best thing I get to do. I could create a billion courses but getting to target a niche inside my area of expertise and talk about it to an audience of peer romance authors? Priceless!

I've signed on to the online to teach a class that author education school that author Hope Ford has founded, Instalove University.​

Everything you need to know about this program can be found via the link below, which btw, is my affiliate link where I will earn a small commission when you register.

I think you're going to love my workshop. I'm building out a workshop that hasn't been seen before on...Advanced Automation. This is a concept that I take you through in a lot of my one-on-one sessions and my audits, but now you can learn it in a step-by-step, never seen before in my space, action plan.

You'll also get access to some very unique workshops that I haven't seen before by authors you probably already know and love! It's a completely virtual, self-guided conference and it's a great way to kick off 2024!

Click HERE to learn more and register.

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