How to build your audience (1)
This is the first part in my blog series about how to become rich and famous (!). You can find the second part here.
As someone who is trying to spread the word about his writing and build the all important platform - without which no agent or publisher is going to give you a chance - I've looked for information and advice on how to build my audience.
The following is a very nice article by Kerrie Flanagan that I recently read on The Writer.
Readers need to know when a book is available, and that doesn’t just happen by itself. Let’s face it: Getting on social media to post “Buy my book!” doesn’t exactly inspire readers to purchase it. So what’s an author to do? Take the time to strategically and patiently build a loyal “tribe” of readers through an email newsletter list. As Seth Godin, best-selling author and marketing expert, says: “Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t.”
Why send email newsletters?
“Marketing used to be about advertising, and advertising is expensive,” says Godin in his book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. “Today, marketing is about engaging with the tribe and delivering products and services with stories that spread.”
In other words, it’s about connecting with your audience. People want to feel a part of something, and when they do, they are compelled to share that with others.
This form of communication goes beyond sharing about your next book or event. It is about engaging with the reader.
Who is your tribe?
Although many different types of people may read and enjoy your books, keep your ideal reader or target market in mind when building your email list.
Children’s authors, for example, should target parents and teachers and librarians i.e. the people who make the buying decisions for the children.
Guillebeau has a slightly different strategy. “You should imagine that you’re writing your newsletter, or anything else, to one individual.”
How can you build your tribe?
When building your email list, your goal should be based on the quality of your subscribers and not the quantity. A list with 50 devoted readers who love your writing is more valuable than a list of 300 who signed up because you gave away a free short story.
To begin collecting email addresses, you need a website, somewhere for readers to find you and a place to host your sign-up form. Once that is live [right at this moment, mine is almost moribund - Gianni] and you start getting traffic to your site, you can encourage people to sign up for your newsletter.
Social media is a good place to start, but on her blog, publishing expert Jane Friedman says social media appeals should not be a long-term strategy. “They require active marketing on your part and are reliant on time-based feeds and platforms controlled by others. Putting a sign-up form on your website is an essential marketing strategy: the list should grow without you having to do anything, assuming your site gets even a small amount of traffic.”
Once you begin building your list and sending out newsletters, pay attention to what works and what elicits responses.
What should you include in your newsletter?
Everyone is busy. If you send out a newsletter, make it easy to read and one that has value for your reader. Think about what will make it visually appealing. A long page of dense text is daunting and will probably be deleted. But if you break your information into short paragraphs or sections and add photos, it is more likely to entice someone to read it.
In his book Content Inc: How Entrepreneurs Use Content to Build Massive Audiences and Create Radically Successful Business, author and entrepreneur Joe Pulizzi believes one of the biggest reasons content marketing fails is because people stop doing it. “I’ve seen business after business start a blog or e-newsletter or white paper program or podcast series and stop after a few months…Success does not happen overnight. You must commit for the long haul if you want to be successful.”
One strategy Pulizzi has is to create a content calendar. You don’t need a fancy program. A spreadsheet or even a notebook to track your ideas works fine. Once you decide how often you want to send out your newsletter, create your calendar with ideas and notes for each one you plan to send.
Think about your audience and your goals. Then add notes for your content ideas, links, book news, photos, and anything else you might want to include. It doesn’t have to be detailed but enough to give you a head start when you sit down to create the actual newsletter. Doing this planning legwork ahead of time – that is, before it’s time to build the actual newsletter – ensures you are more likely to continue doing it.
You want to be genuine with your tribe to create a real connection, offering a variety of content that feels authentic for you. Pay close attention to what people respond to – and then evolve your content in that direction.
When you get ready to send your newsletter, create a subject line that is intriguing and encourages people to open the email. Avoid terms like free offer or read this right away or any other words or phrases that might be seen as spam. You don’t want your hard work to end up in the junk folder.
How often should you send a newsletter?
Think about the newsletters you receive and the ones you take the time to read. Do they arrive daily, weekly, monthly? Also, think about your workload and consider what you can realistically accomplish and maintain. You will be excited at first and may be tempted to put one out more frequently, and then lose your steam. Whatever you decide, you need to be diligent and stick with it.
If you are consistent with your frequency and authentic with your content, a newsletter is the perfect way to stay connected to your readers and build a loyal following.
You can find the original article here.
Kerrie Flanagan is a freelance writer, publisher, writing consultant, and author with seven books published under her label, Hot Chocolate Press. Web: KerrieFlanagan.com.
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