Because Authors Are Our Greatest Assets

Nearly six months ago, Savas Beatie did one of the best things it’s done since the company was founded in 2004. We held an Author Conclave. (“A what?” you might ask, probably followed by a “Why?”)

After our July event, Savas Beatie Managing Director Ted Savas was asked to write an article addressing these questions for the Independent Book Publishers Association. The article ran in the November edition of IBPA’s Independent magazine, and was also featured on their website. I encourage you to spend a few minutes reading the article, which explains why we did what we did, how we did it, and what we learned from it. Good food for thought as we all start looking toward 2014 . . .

December Special from Savas Beatie

Our best offer ever: Order ANY in-stock title on our website, then simply use the coupon code in the image and get The Complete Gettysburg Guide 2-disc Audio Tour for only $10... order TWO books and get the Audio Tour FREE! Start browsing now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What's in a name? Or, more accurately, what's in an email subject line?

Like many companies large and small, we use Constant Contact (an online marketing company program) to create emails for our readers and accounts. We use it to send out a monthly newsletter to a nice number of subscribers, email readers each time we have a special offer on a new book or an announcement about an upcoming author event, and to send pitches to media suggesting authors as source/guests.

We give a lot of thought to email subject lines. What works? What doesn't? What makes people click to open it? This post on the Constant Contact blog has great examples of different types of subject lines, their purpose, and how to use them to engage your audience. (Or, let's face it, just to get them to open the email.)

I looked back through our archive of marketing emails and here is a handful of different types of subject lines we've used recently:

• Civil War presentation in NYC - or get a signed copy no matter where you live!
• Only $3.99 for U-boat book Steel Boat, Iron Hearts - Limited time only! 
• Interview Idea! New York City, the Civil War, and the 150th Anniversary. Wait--What? 
• 150th Chickamauga Anniversary Offer - SIGNED copies of the new book!

The majority of our email subject lines use "The command" or "The teaser" approach. Maybe we should give "The list" a try . . . "Top Five Savas Beatie books that should be on your Christmas list" perhaps?

TODAY ONLY: Get an eBook version of Once a Marine for just $2.99!

Once a Marine: An Iraq War Tank Commander's Inspirational Memoir of Combat, Courage, and Recovery by Nick Popaditch is available for download on your Kindle (or with any device that has a Kindle app) for just $2.99 on November 7. Download now.

Please help us spread the word. Forward this offer to your friends and SHARE it on your FB page too! A perfect way to start celebrating the Marine Corps Birthday a little early!

Click here to get your copy TODAY ONLY!

Only $3.99 for U-boat book Steel Boat, Iron Hearts - Limited time only!

Get an eBook version of  Steel Boat, Iron Hearts for $3.99.

Steel Boat, Iron Hearts by Hans Goebler with John Vanzo is available for download on your Kindle (or with any device that has a Kindle app) for just $3.99 through the month of November. This deal is just too good to beat! Download now.

Act now before the promotion ends. Don't forget to forward this offer to your friends and family, or treat them to this great read!

Click here to get your copy today.

Sharing Our Authors’ Content

Many of our authors have blogs and write some great content. We frequently share their posts on the Savas Beatie Facebook page and in our monthly newsletter to customers for others to see. Recently, we thought of a more effective way to make sure that our readers see this great content.

We sent out an email to our authors who have blogs and asked them to send us a link to a recent post on their blog with some historical content (preferably one that mentioned their most recent book by name with an image of the book cover). Or, write a new post and email us that link. We collected these links for a week, and then put together an email listing these posts, plus the name of the author, a link to his blog, and the name of his books that we published.

Click on the image above to view the email we sent out. Make sure you let the author know you appreciate his blog and posts by leaving a comment. Sometimes being an author is lonely work, and they always appreciate knowing you are there, and supporting their work. Happy Reading!