As an author, your newsletter serves as one of the most effective means to engage directly with your readers. Unlike social media platforms, where algorithms determine the visibility of your content, your newsletter arrives directly in your audience’s inbox.
It provides a unique space for you to cultivate relationships, generate enthusiasm, and transform occasional readers into devoted fans. This guide, will show you how to create and grow your own author newsletter step by step.
What is an Author Newsletter?
An author newsletter is a consistent email update that you send out to readers who have opted in to receive news from you. It serves as your online hub where you can share news, updates, personal anecdotes, and exclusive content. A thoughtfully designed author newsletter goes beyond just promoting your books. It’s a platform to engage with your audience, provide real value, and foster enduring relationships.
Why Every Author Should Have a Newsletter
1. Take Control of Your Audience
Social media sites often tweak their algorithms, which can significantly cut your reach in an instant. With a newsletter, you can reach your readers directly in their inboxes, making sure your message gets through without any interruptions.
2. Directly promote to engaged readers
Your newsletter subscribers are individuals who have already shown interest in your work. This makes them much more inclined to buy your books, join your events, or back your projects compared to a typical social media crowd.
3. Enhance Your Brand
A newsletter gives you the chance to communicate in your own style, share behind-the-scenes insights, and convey your values. This allows readers to connect with you on a more personal level and remember you beyond just your books.
4. Cultivate Loyalty
Consistent, genuine communication through a newsletter helps build a sense of community. Readers who feel a personal connection to you are more likely to become devoted fans, recommend your books, and support your career in the long run.
Great Author Newsletters Examples
1. 10 Things Worth Sharing”: Austin Kleon
“10 Things Worth Sharing” is a weekly newsletter created by bestselling author and artist Austin Kleon. In it, he gathers ten intriguing and often quirky discoveries—from books and art to music, creative tips, and personal thoughts. Since 2013, each Friday edition brings a lively blend of links, visuals, and insights aimed at igniting creativity and curiosity in daily life.
Why subscribe: It provides a steady stream of inspiration and new ideas for writing, while also showcasing how to craft a genuine, engaging newsletter that builds a true connection with readers.
2. The Curiosity Chronicles-Sahil Bloom
“The Curiosity Chronicle” is a weekly newsletter published by Sahil Bloom, a writer, investor, and entrepreneur. He provides actionable ideas into personal development, wealth accumulation, productivity, decision-making, and business, all delivered in a simple, entertaining, and curiosity-driven style.
Since its debut, each edition has presented readers with practical frameworks, thought-provoking concepts, and timeless truths to help them live more full, meaningful lives.
Why subscribe: The newsletter distills complex ideas from diverse fields into clear, actionable frameworks and thought-provoking narratives, helping you sharpen your storytelling and critical thinking skills.
3. The Audacity: Roxane Gay
“The Audacity” is a bi-monthly newsletter and book club hybrid on Substack that started in January 2021. Every edition features a literary non-fiction article by an budding writer (defined as someone with fewer than three prior publications) published twice a month, along with one of Gay’s incisive, culturally important pieces. It also contains The Audacious Book Club, which promotes minority voices through monthly discussions and community interaction.
Why subscribe: The newsletter features Roxane Gay’s own thought-provoking essays alongside bi-monthly contributions from emerging nonfiction writers, providing fresh perspectives on social issues, identity, and culture.
4. Brandon’s Updates: Brandon Sanderson
“Brandon’s Updates” is a monthly newsletter from the bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson. Sometimes, there are extra updates for special announcements. Each issue features exclusive sneak peeks of upcoming books, writing progress updates, event and signing news, and personal touches like travel stories or book cover reveals.
Why subscribe: It gives you access to writing tips, industry insights, exclusive content, and a supportive community, all from one of the most respected figures in modern fantasy.
5. The Terribleminds Newsletter: Chuck Wendig
“The Terribleminds Newsletter” is Chuck Wendig’s occasional but packed-with-personality email update, delivered through the blog Terribleminds. While it doesn’t follow a rigid schedule, subscribers receive new blog posts and rambling essaysranging from writing advice to unfiltered cultural commentarydirectly in their inbox, consistent with his irreverent, no-holds-barred style .
Why subscribe: You get brutally honest, humor-infused insights about writing, creativity, and navigating modern life, straight from a bestselling author with attitude. It also demonstrates how an authentic, unpolished voice can resonate deeply with readers and build a fiercely loyal following.
6. Rupi’s Letter: Rupi Kaur
Rupi’s Letter” is the weekly (or periodic) newsletter by poet and artist Rupi Kaur, affectionately referred to as her “love notes” to subscribers. In these emails, she shares personal updates, exclusive news, and occasional weekly giveaways, inviting readers into her creative world and life events .
Why Subscribe: Rupi’s Letter provides an honest glimpse into the creative journey of one of the world’s bestselling poets, offering inspiration, authenticity, and insights on how to balance art with audience engagement.
7. Daily Stoic: Ryan Holiday
“The Daily Stoic” is a free, daily newsletter by modern Stoicism advocate Ryan Holiday, delivering around 500-word meditations each morning inspired by ancient philosophers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus .
With over 750,000 subscribers and more than 3,000 issues sent since its inception in late 2016, it blends concise philosophical teachings with practical, modern-day applications aimed at helping readers cultivate resilience, clarity, and virtue
Why subscribe: It offers a structured, daily ritual of wisdom that can sharpen your discipline, sharpen your mindset, and inspire thoughtful, meaningful writing.
8. 3-2-1 Thursday: James Clear
This a popular weekly newsletter from James Clear, the best-selling author of Atomic Habits. Subscribers receive three short ideas from James, two quotes from others, and one thought-provoking question every Thursday, all of which are about habits, productivity, and personal development. The content is simple, useful, and intended to be read in under five minutes.
Why subscribe: This masterclass will teach you how to regularly deliver high-value, thought-provoking content while also improving your attitude, decision-making, and daily habits, which are vital for any writer.
9. Letters From Love: Elizabeth Gilbert
This is a heartfelt, deeply personal newsletter from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love. Written as intimate “letters from Love,” each issue offers reflections on creativity, loss, resilience, and self-compassion, often accompanied by gentle wisdom and creative encouragement.
Why subscribe: It’s an excellent example of true storytelling and emotional vulnerability, both of which are crucial attributes for authors who wish to connect with their readers and write from the heart.
10. “Monday Musings”: David Perell’s
This is a weekly newsletter by David Perell, in which he discusses the “coolest things I learned” each week, including links to articles, videos, and podcasts, as well as personal stories and musings on writing and media.
Why subscribe: It showcases how to curate ideas and narrate your intellectual journey, offering a practical blueprint for writers to infuse personality and value into their newsletters.
How to Start Your Author Newsletter
1. Choose Your Email Platform
To start your author newsletter, you’ll need an email marketing platform. One of the most affordable and beginner-friendly options is ConvertNow. It’s user-friendly, with no tech skills required, and offers a simple drag-and-drop editor that makes creating your emails easy and fun.
With ConvertNow, you can also set up automation to send welcome emails and regular sequences that run smoothly in the background, helping you stay connected with your readers without extra effort. It’s an affordable option, making it perfect for authors on a budget, with generous free plans to get you started.
On top of that, ConvertNow gives you access to helpful analytics, so you can track how your newsletters perform by monitoring open rates, clicks, and subscriber growth to help you improve over time.
2. Set Up Your Signup Form and Landing Page
Once you’ve chosen your email platform, the next step is to set up your signup form and landing page. This is where people will subscribe to your newsletter, so it’s important to make it clear, inviting, and easy to use. With ConvertNow, you can create a clean landing page or embed a signup form on your website without needing any design or coding skills.
3. Craft a Welcome Email Sequence
After someone signs up for your newsletter, the first emails they receive set the tone for your relationship. That’s why creating a warm, thoughtful welcome email sequence is so important. With ConvertNow, you can automate this sequence so it’s sent out automatically to every new subscriber, saving you time while keeping things personal.
4. Plan your newsletter content.
Now that your welcome sequence is in place, it’s important to consider what content you’ll include in your regular emails. Consistency is crucial, so select how frequently you want to appear in your readers’ inboxes once a month, every two weeks, or even weekly. The main thing is to create a schedule that you can realistically adhere to.
5. Promote your newsletter.
Once your content plan is complete, the next step is to start building your subscriber list by promoting your newsletter. The more people who know about it, the better chance you have of building a loyal community around your writing.
Start by adding your signup link to your author website, blog, and social media profiles. Every time you publish on your writing, casually mention your newsletter and include a link.
6. Send Regular Emails and Engage with Your Reader
Once you’ve started gathering subscribers, the most important thing is to stay consistent and keep the conversation going. Regular emails help you build trust and keep your readers interested in your writing.
You don’t need to send long updates every time; even a short, heartfelt note about your current writing project, a book you’re reading, or a personal reflection can go a long way in making your readers feel connected.
7. Review Your Progress and Keep Improving
As you continue sending newsletters, it’s helpful to regularly check how things are going. ConvertNow makes it easy to track key details like how many people are opening your emails, clicking on your links, and subscribing or unsubscribing. These insights can help you figure out what’s working and what might need a little tweaking.
Conclusion
Starting an author newsletter may seem intimidating at first, but it is one of the most rewarding ways to establish a lasting connection with your readers.
Start simple, stay authentic, and with time your newsletter will become more than just an email; it will be a community of readers who care about your stories, your journey, and your success.
Are you ready to start your Author Newsletter journey? Join ConvertNow for free and start crafting attractive, engaging emails.