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Introduction:

Several people on a few different Facebook groups have asked about Author Reach. So, I figured I’d tell ya a but about my experiences with them. I’ve been on Author Reach through beta, but only really started using it regularly within the last month or so.

What is Author Reach?

It’s an email marketing system that sort of combines ideas of Bookfunnel with Mailchimp/mailerlite. You can upload books you want to use as a reader magnet and create a lead generation page that automatically puts the subscriber onto whichever list you wish that subscriber to go to.

Top 5 Reasons to Join Author Reach:

• 1 several different styles of lead generation pages
• 2 connect with other authors in a similar genre
• 3 top-notch customer service
• 4 risk-free first month – First month is $1 and subsequent months are$19 for lists under 1K
• 5 connect with new subscribers
• Bonus – I can almost guarantee you’ll pick up some subscribers just by having AR run one of your books by their list of subscribers. (I can’t guarantee they’ll do this for you, but I got about 800 subscribers from them that way.)

Pretty Lead Generation Pages:

You can create pretty nice lead generation pages with one of their easy-to-use templates. I don’t think there’s a limit to the number of lead generation pages you can make, but ideally, you’d probably want one for each of the type of list you create.

Connect with other authors:

Facebook groups are awesome, but having a system in place that will let you connect with authors who write in the same genre or a similar genre should be amazing too. Why? Because not everybody sees every post that goes live to a particular Facebook group. It gets buried under 25 other threads if you’re not on at the right time.

These are additional connections you wouldn’t make otherwise.

Excellent Customer Service:

Part of the company model must be to connect with each author personally. I don’t think your signup’s even complete until you have a conversation with one of the people from Author Reach. I had a problem with one of my lead generation pages, emailed customer service, and got it sorted within a few hours. As the company grows, I’m not sure they’ll be able to keep the standards quite that high, but I’ve been very impressed with the personal touch.

Risk-free $1 month-long trial:

If you’re looking to grow, this is a great starting place. Check it out for a month and see if it’s for you.

Other Pricing Comments:

If you have a very large list, Mailerlite’s got the best prices, hands-down. There’s no way most companies out there could compete with that. However, there’s nothing saying you can’t use both. Set up an Author Reach account and use it and the many beneficial features to funnel people through a filter then make Mailerlite your massive list.

Connect with new subscribers:

Success is going to vary. That’s an unwritten rule in this business. Newsletter swaps, giveaways, and paid promos work for a while, but you need to mix it up from time to time anyway. We’ve all heard that email lists are where it’s at, but this is a company trying to help you do that right.

Comparison to Mailchimp/Mailerlite:

First of all, I love Mailerlite. Mailchimp has its uses too, but they’re on the pricey side once you go above 2K subscribers. (Mailchimp’s customer service is hit or miss on efficiency. The company’s just too big to really care about the little guys/gals.) Haven’t tried Mailerlite’s customer service – guess that says something too – that I haven’t needed it.

Email Creation: Probably easiest and prettiest on Mailerlite, but you can upload a template you like working with into Author Reach. Or if you’re really in a bind, you can ask and they might be able to do it for you. I’ve made nice emails on Mailchimp too, but they’re not quite as easy or intuitive as Mailerlite.

Price: Mailerlite – cheap, Author Reach – medium, Mailchimp – free or super expensive

For any of these, it comes down to how many subscribers you have, so you should be highly motivated to keep only people who are actually engaged with you.

Learning Curve:

Author reach has probably one of the higher learning curves because it’s not just about the email side. It’s about the growth side. Mailerlite and Mailchimp aren’t going to be much help in terms of grow your mailing list. If used properly, AR has that potential. That said, the system is a little intimidating and takes a lot of getting used to. It’s not as flashy or polished as Mailerlite or the mail monkeys. They’re getting better all the time, but you’ve got to be willing to really poke around and play with things.

What they’re working on at Author Reach …

Author Connect – the more official and automated way of getting in touch with authors who write in similar/compatible genres. As far as I know, this is still coming soon. Although it’s hard to pin down a time with anything, I’d say they’ll have this functional in a few month’s time. Meanwhile, they are connecting authors informally because they actually take the time to get to know the people who sign up with them.

Soap box moment: This matters a lot. We’re in a business where you need to get to know the people on your mailing list, so working with a company that does the same is vital.

More templates for lead generation pages – I believe there are about 4 right now, but there should be more soon.

Drag and drop email creator – Pretty sure they’re still a few months out from this, but it’s in the works.

Conclusion:

If you have a relatively small list or are looking to move it beyond the 1K mark, you’re at a stellar place to join Author Reach. Give it a shot, and let me know how it goes. ([email protected])

 

Sincerely,

 

Julie C. Gilbert

Prime Student – Oh, how I wish I was still a student.

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