Above is a diagram of most of the moving parts involved in setting up a give away using a double opt-in email and automation at Mailerlite. Seeing it visually will help you understand all the bits and pieces I talk about in the video that goes along with this post.
The video below is a comprehensive tutorial about setting up a giveaway using a double-opt-in email, and sending an email containing a link to a download for an infographic.
For self-publishers, building a reader list, sometimes referred to as a newsletter list, it is important to find ways to build your readership. By offering occasional giveaways, you can build your list a little faster.
People love infographics that organize and simplify information, so that is what I decided to offer as a giveaway in the offer in the video.
WHAT IS A DOUBLE OPT IN EMAIL?
A double-opt in email is one where the person signs up but then they must go and retrieve the email in order to confirm it is a live email. It presents you from gathering made up emails. It keeps your reader list clean of fake emails.
WHAT WILL BE COVERED IN THE VIDEO?
Like the picture above, I will cover the entire process from uploading the giveaway to Google drive and getting the proper link for the ultimate email form.
Then we go to Mailerlight and I walk you through the system as I set up a give away using the double opt-in email.
At the end, I then show you how it works. I also give a secret tip at the end about what to do with all the links you have gathered in order to put something like this together.
VIDEO TIMELINE:
00:01 – What we will cover in the video
Outlining all the components and links we will need
07:57 – Uploading the document at Google Drive
11:17 – MailerLite – First Form, the Sign up form and Success Message
15:20 – Email Settings (I leave them all unchecked)
16:00 – Creating the automation, the workflow
17:50 – Create the Email that is launched when the form is filled out
18:40 – Selecting a Mailerlite Template
20:00 – Creating an Email Template
20:50 – Adding the Google Drive link to the Email Form
22:00 – How to save the finished Email as a reuseable Template
23:00 – Set up the double Opt in
24:00 – How to find the direct link to the Mailerlink Form
27:00 – How the form works
Here is the video for your review:
If anyone is interested in getting a copy of the Infographic about How to Create a Character Arc in a 4-Part Story Structure, you can sign up below!
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I use a four-part plot structure, so I break my character arc into four sections. This allows me to keep up with the character development and also don’t resolve the inner conflict too early.
If you are stumped for a main story, or if you are stumped for what happens now, or even if you have written yourself into a bit of a corner, this instructional will help, along with your own creativity and thinking, to bring about new possibilities. 
Once you have a perpetrator and the cast of necessary characters, then it’s time to answer the following questions:
Before you exert too much energy fleshing out any character or story details, be sure to check to make sure you can design a three-prong storyline out of this budding storyline. One prong will be a red herring storyline, someone who may look guilty, but is exonerated in the middle or end of the story. The second prong is a second suspect or a wrong suspect who will look guilty for a large segment of the storyline. And the final prong will be for the real culprit. In order to have a story that works, you will need a believable crime that can meld these three prongs into one suspenseful story.
As you use this worksheet and these techniques, a crime skeleton will emerge. Some attempts at this will go flat in the early stages for any number of reasons. But some storylines will begin to almost shape themselves.
Pulp Fiction become popular during the depression of the 1920s and 1930s. Publishers at the time used a very cheap “pulp” paper in order to produce these short stories and magazines that cost about a quarter. Yes, twenty-five cents!
This book is for beginners who are publishing their first or second novel and they are still a little skittish about what else goes into a book. I’ll lay it out so you can easily follow the list and be confident that you’re not forgetting anything. These page suggestions are taken from the publishing industry. These are the pages that appear in a book published by a publishing house.
When I self-published my first novel, I finished it and uploaded it and waited. That’s when I learned how important marketing the book is. I also learned through the next several books how important it is to take advantage of each tiny phase of a book launch for marketing. That’s what this blog post is about.
Writing a novel is a huge undertaking. There are many things that go into the writing of a fiction story. The best tip I can pass on is this: Break everything down into little bite-sized pieces. By doing this, you can reduce a huge project down to do-able portions that can be done whether you have 2 hours a week to write or two full days! It only requires a little planning and organization.
It’s important to keep reading as your own journey as a writer continues. Each author has a different style and uses different storytelling techniques. The stories don’t even have to be great. You can learn from the good, the bad and the bland. Just analyzing what made a book bland is a great lesson in itself. Did the story need more action? Did the story get stuck somewhere? 
or other books you read. Reading other authors is crucial no matter where you are on the writing spectrum. However, when you’re new, you can learn a lot from watching mystery or crime noir movies. I like movies from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The movies in these decades didn’t have CGI and the directors had to use the stage to tell the story. They used wider shots and props to assist the storytelling. By watching these older movies, you can learn a lot regarding writing. 
It’s a good idea to read the synopsis before you view the movie. Knowing at least a basic outline of the story will allow you to absorb more as an author. If you go into the movie blindly, you will be “experiencing the movie” as a viewer only. By knowing ahead of time what story will be unfolding, it will allow you to watch specifically for certain scenes to unfold. You can watch what tools are used to move the story along. 
If you are looking for a suggestion, I would suggest Rebecca for the first movie. This movie was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and it has a lot of gothic atmosphere. There is also a psychological plotline in this story so it is a goldmine for learning storytelling tools. 
In the last installment, I described how to start your duties and obligations list with realistic times associated with each one. The list will prove itself over a week or so. Then you will be ready to expand on that list and make a series of workflows, templates, and procedure lists or diagrams. I have posted my own above to jog your memory as to where we left off.
veryone writes for a reason. Knowing why you write is important, especially as a beginner writer. Writing a book is not hard, but it can be a long process. If your purpose for writing is clear, this will give you the energy and inspiration to spur you on if and/or when the going gets a little tough.
I'm old enough to remember 'phone guys' that worked for Bell South or whatever the phone company was called back then. These men -- they didn't have phone women back then -- would show up with big toolbelts and gaffs or lineworker boots on. These boots had cleats or little metal spikes in them that was a safety feature. These men know everything about the phone system. They would climb the wooden telephone poles and they could fix phones outside on the pole or inside in the houses. They were familiar with the entire system. That is one group of technical workers that have fallen away.
Very often life dishes out some hard times to some of us. Did you experience, survive and prosper through some difficult times that you feel compelled to write a memoir about? You don't have to have been a famous celebrity or someone with a Moses-like mission. You may have fell on hard times and you want to share your experience, strength or faith that kept you going. People love inspirational stories.