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[…] I have written on this blog and on various social media about my take on how to write a good book and publish it successfully. Now Rachel Thompson at Bareredhead Media takes a stab at it here. […]
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Mentioned you at the end of a little rant of a piece on my own blog–after months of absence there. http://tianobookdesign.com/blog/?p=794
Reply Hi Stephan! Thanks for the mention on your post. I appreciate it! Giving practical, helpful advice is always my goal.
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Rachel, thanks so much for answering my question. I definitely agree that it starts with confidence. Whether you’re a beginning writer or a beginner at platform building, you have something to say and you have to embrace that. Also, relationship building is so important. You have to find your people. And nowadays that’s easier than ever on the web. Thanks again for these key insights.
Reply Quite welcome and thank you for asking a great question. I have many authors come to me after their book is out, wondering why nobody is engaging with them or why book sales are low. I also hear that ‘author platform’ is a BS term — usually from people whose books aren’t selling LOL.
In future posts, I’ll discuss more about ‘finding your people’ and specific ways to do that. Thanks again!
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I’ve asked this question many times. My blog page as options at the top to subscribe to RSS. And the numbers look nice when I see the number of feed subscribers I have. However, no one is liking my FB author page via the blog, nor do I get comments on the blog posts. So I don’t know if I’m getting nameless auto-subscribers who really don’t mean anything to the relationship-building game. FB friends and other readers don’t subscribe to my newsletter, either. Here’s the thing, I usually don’t myself because I’m tired of being inundated by “read my stuff.” There are select people I’ll go check out automatically. For example, I’ll go look at Anne Rice’s FB page daily or a few times a day. She has all kinds of topics going on. I’ll check out Chuck Wendig or Joe Konrath on occasion because they have interesting insights into the industry of book-publishing and writing. I feel like my blog posts are more than just snippets of my work or all about me. I do have many posts where I’m sharing my own thoughts on a subject matter or my opinion. Still no contributors. One author said: “Keep Showing Up.” He said he knew he was blogging to himself for several years before others started participating. Now he had a huge fan-base. Any thoughts on this. M. J. Kelley shared some of his ideas on the RSS issue. 🙂
Reply Hi Scarlet! It’s a process, that’s for sure. I actually started blogging in 2008 and didn’t release my first book until 2011. I think it’s a good idea to have a plan in all things marketing — whether it’s a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly plan. For example, I know that daily I will follow 750 targeted people on Twitter. I will comment on 5 blogs. I will like 10 FB pages. All those activities take me maybe 15-30 minutes, are all ‘other-centric,’ meaning they don’t ask people to do anything for me. Again, it’s about building relationships.
As for getting more blog exposure, that’s why I created #MondayBlogs — share blog posts (new, old, whatever) on Mondays, retweet others (again, other-centric), no book promo — the focus is on bloggers and blogging. The increase in traffic is amazing, and you connect with bloggers, follow each other, increase traffic and engagement, etc. Again, it’s an investment in time. All this doesn’t happen overnight. Keep showing up is great advice from your friend and applies here as well!
RSS feed subscription isn’t as important as a newsletter — email marketing is still #1 when it comes to engagement. Plenty of info out on that. Make sure your newsletter sign up is easy to find on every page (including your FB tabs). Do you have guest contributors? Not sure what your blog is about but I find that having experts guest (here on practical advice, and on my personal author blog RachelintheOC.com sharing real-life stories which is my branding there), gives me a chance to share my platform with others (again, building relationships), and brings their followings to my blog and vice versa.
Long answer — hope it helps! Thanks for visiting Scarlet.
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Great post. Very useful advice for independent authors. I learnt all this after publishing, but it’s never too late to start blogging! And I’ve met in treating and supportive bloggers and writers.
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GREAT POINTS! So much is about relationships (and having a great book behind it all of course!
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One of these days, I’m going to be taking notes like the “super nerd” I am. Today, instead, I will be researching mailchimp. Thank you for yet another informative post!
Reply […] Another great post from over at Bad Redhead Media […]
Reply […] Speaking of platform, Brooke Warner describes the makeup of a successful author platform, while Rachel Thompson explains how to build an audience before you have a product. […]
Reply […] as you start building. Kimberley Grabas has some great resources, and Rachel recently shared a fantastic piece about some of the building you’ll want to do BEFORE you have a […]
Reply […] Because of your behavior and your language. I’m watching it happen as I write this. Come on, guys: be professional. Don’t hurt your chances. Say your piece — this isn’t Big Brother. But be polite! This is business. […]
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My dilemma is that I have two completely different books. one shows people just how easy it is to teach English in China, the other is an epic fantasy. I have looked at some of the common factors with the two different books. Both are geared toward collage students between 20 and 30 years old, while enjoying travel and adventure. I am not sure how to market myself as the author of both one FB page.
Thank You
Robert
Hi Robert! Well, you’re still the author of both books. If you choose 5 to 6 keywords or phrases — just taking a stab here but you could go with fantasy, books, reading, travel, adventure — and share articles, quotes, pictures, videos, etc having to do with those topics. Remember, it’s not about solely promoting your books, but connecting with your audience through common interests.
Think of it this way: you’re at a party. What will you talk about? If you only discuss yourself and your books, you’ll run out of conversation pretty quickly, or people will start avoiding you. Ask questions, listen, find out what others are interested in. That’s how you connect with people, right? So, social media is no different. Go from there. Hope that helps!
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Well said. It’s difficult, but I’ve been trying to put just me out there for four months now. Free book to be released in two more. And it has given me time to figure out, at least for now, which things I’m comfortable sharing with the world.
Reply […] Do You Build An Audience Before You Have A Product? A Guide – https://badredheadmedia.com/2014/08/17/how-do-you-build-an-audience-before-you-have-a-product/ – Emphasis on building real relationships with people who like us for being […]
Reply […] if you only write and ignore the pre-marketing, who’s going to know about your book when you release it? Busy is an excuse. You have to make […]
Reply […] trick to pre-marketing is understanding what you want people to know about you, your book, your brand. (The suggestions […]
Reply […] a post from Rachel Thompson at Bad Redhead Media that is a few years old, but still worth a read. How Do You Build An Audience Before You Have A Product? is great for anyone who is preparing to self-publish or who hasn’t signed a deal with a […]
Reply […] career if you don’t market your work, regardless of how you are published (even if your book isn’t even out yet); you can still be networking (ugh, i hate that word — let’s go more with building […]
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Great advice Rachel! I wish more people would get the concept “build relationships!”
Reply […] ask for help. In terms of social media, I think it’s a great idea to learn a few key lessons from social media strategists and then experiment with how much of this task you can do yourself and still maintain a regular […]
Reply […] Total SharesThis is Why Your Books Aren’t Selling: 4 Ways To Improve Now3K Total SharesHow Do You Build An Audience Before You Have A Product? A Pre-Marketing Guide2K Total SharesThe 4 Most Effective Book Marketing Strategies That Work2K Total SharesHow To Succeed as an Author? […]
Reply […] **Note: this information applies whether you have a book out yet or not. Part of book marketing is PRE-marketing.** […]
Reply […] a previous post, I discussed how to pre-market your book and create buzz. Many writers are tentative about this process: how can I market a book that […]
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