Like many authors, I run an email newsletter as a method to engage with readers and market my book. Building an audience for that newsletter is a slow process and there are few shortcuts. Most of the time, it’s about engaging online through your blog or social media and encouraging people to sign up. Yes, there are places out there that will sell you a list of email addresses, but it’s a bad idea. Purchasing such a list typically breaches privacy legislation in several jurisdictions due to lack of consent, and the list will often make you fall foul of spam traps (fake or abandoned email addresses monitored by spam companies to identify offenders).

So, you want to go to a convention. Maybe you’ve attended conventions before, but now you want to go professionally — to make contacts, sell books, or to be a celebrity. Depending on the convention you attend, a booth/table could set you back a lot of money, so how do you make sure your con is successful? My latest article is up on the Writing Bloc exploring this topic with input from several community members.
Read it here.