Friday Five: Q&A with ‘Mailed It!’ authors Ashley Budd and Dayana Kibilds

Today’s Friday Five deviates from our usual fare — Q&As with literary types — to introduce two outstanding marketers and recent co-authors who can help all of us who struggle to promote our writing. Their tool is nothing mysterious; it’s that workhorse of modern communication, email.

Ashley Budd and Dayana “Day” Kibilds are the authors of the new book Mailed It!: A Guide to Crafting Emails That Build Relationships and Get Results.

I became acquainted with them both during my higher ed career and have followed their progress through the creation and recent publication of this handy and very readable guidebook, mainly through Ashley’s enewsletter (which you should subscribe to if you aren’t already a reader). Since email plays such an essential role in our work as writers, I thought it would be great to get Ashley’s and Day’s thoughts on how we can leverage this tool to help spread the word about our great work.

1 – Why do you think email is such an important marketing tool?

Ashley Budd: Email is today’s primary communication utility. It is not dead. It is where we trust our most important messages to be delivered. And it’s where transactions are triggered. Email can be used to build relationships and drive people to take action. 

Day Kibilds: Email has an incredible return on investment for marketers, 3,600% percent to be exact. It’s the place where conversions happen. But in addition to that, it’s an owned channel that isn’t at the mercy of an algorithm or site ranks (though you do have to know your way around spam filters). And email can be so personal that it’s a great place to build long-standing relationships. 

2 – Let’s say you’re a self-published writer, and you’re ready to promote your new book. What would be the ingredients of the killer email to announce your new book to the world?

AB: Know your network and be prepared to enter your shameless era. Plan a two-week marketing campaign leading up to your book’s on-sale date to raise awareness and explain to potential readers why they need your book. Leverage your network as ambassadors by giving them early access to sample chapters or sending them a copy of your book in advance. 

DK: Take your synopsis and shorten it to 6-9 words — that’s your subject line. When I open the email, tell me how this book is relevant to me. Give me a clear and obvious link about how to buy it. Then give me a short table of contents of what’s in it.

3 – Writing collaboratively can be a challenge at times. Talk a bit about the challenges you faced. Were there any specific sticking points or disagreements? And if so, how did you resolve them?

AB: It took us about four months to find a publisher. Relying on professional editors smoothed over any challenges we might have faced writing on our own. We’ve both spent years writing and editing marketing copy. So, we’re good at taking feedback and coming up with alternatives if something doesn’t sound right. 

DK: One of the strongest things about our partnership is that what we each bring to the table is very complementary. In retrospect, I think that’s crucial as co-authors. I respect Ashley’s experience and she respects mine, and when we bring it together we fill in each other’s gaps. That respect is key, because it makes you willing to learn from each other. Before I started working with Ashley, I thought emails should be sent only if there is an action to ask people. I was wrong, and she taught me why. 

4 – What advice would you give to others who want to write collaboratively?

AB: Own your strengths in the subject matter and assign topics to write about based on your individual expertise. If there is a topic that you need to cover that you’re both weak on or both feel passionate about, don’t sweat who writes the first draft. Each writer can review the other’s work and add their take. We didn’t end up identifying “Ashley’s chapters” or “Day’s chapters” for our readers. It’s all ours, and we’re proud of what we made together. 

DK: Don’t tiptoe around assigning work. From day one, Ashley and I have been very clear with each other about who is doing what and by when. We never made assumptions. Take ownership, commit to the work, and be honest about your capacity. 

5 – You both have busy, demanding full-time jobs, and you’re both parents. How did you find the time to write this book while juggling your career, family, and other responsibilities?

AB: First, I don’t know how to function if I don’t have fourteen jobs. I also outsource things that take time away from the things I love, like cleaning my house and grocery shopping. I drove around a car with chipping paint while the book was in production. It was under warranty to be fixed, but it was one of those things that just wasn’t on my priority list. 

DK: Project management! We used Basecamp, set tasks with deadlines, and stuck to them.

We kicked off our writing phase with a 3-day retreat in Montreal. We workshopped our content and created an outline. We each chose the chapters we would write, and set deadlines for each chapter, giving ourselves about 2 weeks to write each chapter.

My husband is very supportive of all my projects, and he created the space and opportunity for me to be able to work 4-6 hours on weekends.

After the writing was done things became less clean-cut. Book stuff seeps into my regular workday now too, but I do project-based work for an amazing agency with the flexibility to fit it all in.

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Ashley and Day offer workshops, are available to speak, and offer email templates and other resources. You can find out more about all of these things and Mailed It! at emailbook.co.