By Eileen Coleman
A mailing list is the single most important way for an author to reach and connect with readers. In this article I will share with you how to use your mailing list to get more engagement (e.g. likes, comments and shares) from your Facebook posts, potentially reaching hundreds more readers without having to pay for a boosted post.

Now before I share this simple little tactic with you, let me first state that I don’t recommend you do this with every single post you publish on your Facebook page. You’re going to want to use this tactic sparingly; otherwise you run the risk of alienating readers by emailing them too often.

So when should you use the tactic I’m about to share with you? Below are three short examples:

1) You are releasing a new book.
2) You are running a contest on your Facebook page.
3) You would like feedback on a book title, excerpt, or cover.

For the purposes of this article, I’m going to use the third example.

Let’s say you are trying to decide on a title for your new book, and you publish a post on your Facebook author page asking your readers to help. You might give them two or three title options and instruct them to vote on their favorite one in the comments. Depending on the level of organic engagement you are already receiving on your page, you might get a few comments, you might get hundreds of comments, or you might get none at all.

Facebook may then prompt you to boost your post. And since you naturally want to reach as many of your readers as you can, you may decide to go ahead and pay Facebook the sum required. But what if you could engage more of your readers without having to pay for a boosted post?

Here’s what you do in six easy steps:

1). Publish your post on your Facebook page.
2). Log in to your mailing list distribution service, and create a short and to the point email asking your readers to help you decide on a title for your next book.
3). Copy your Facebook post link (not your Facebook author page link, but the link to your specific post).
4). Paste the link to your Facebook post into your email and direct your readers to click on it. A simple “Click HERE to help me decide on a title” will do.
5). Once you have checked your email for grammatical errors (and made sure you’ve used the correct link), send it off to your subscribers. Wait patiently for feedback to start coming in on your Facebook page.
6). Check your Facebook post for likes, shares and comments, and engage with your readers! Like their comments, reply to their comments, and make sure you invite them to like your page.

That’s it. If you’re lucky you’ll get a decent amount of likes, shares and comments, and Facebook will then take notice and start showing your post to more people who like your page. For even greater visibility, try adding an appropriate hashtag to your post. For example, if you write thrillers you might add “#thrillers” to your post, and that way people who like thrillers (and who follow hashtags) may see your post and decide to learn more about you.

Now remember: I don’t recommend you do this with every post. This is just one tactic out of many you can use to reach more readers, but it shouldn’t be one you use too often.

Good luck!

Eileen Coleman

Eileen Cruz Coleman is an American writer and online marketer. Her award-winning short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals both online and in print. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two children and two dogs.