Whether you self-publish or publish traditionally, you’ll sell more books if you have a platform. This is where many authors fall short and unfortunately, it really can make a huge difference. Selling books is about positioning and marketing and that’s where your platform comes in so let’s take a look at what an author’s platform is and why it makes a difference in your writing success.
It’s About Connections
Your author’s platform can be summed up in a quick sentence – your platform is your connections. It’s the list of people you’re going to announce your new book release to. So that automatically includes family and friends but presumably you want to sell more than a hundred books.
That’s where the work begins. Even if you haven’t begun your first book, it is smart to begin building your platform. It’s time to reach out and make connections. You can begin by:
- Blogging
- Joining writing or niche groups (I’ll explain that in a minute)
- Networking on social media
- Commenting on blogs
- Publishing articles and guest blogging
- And anything else you can think of to connect you to people who may be interested in you and your books.
Back to that niche groups idea…
What are you passionate about and what common theme do your books share?
For example, maybe all of your books take place in the desert southwest and you have a passion for the area. Your platform can embrace that niche and tie it into your books. Maybe your hero and heroine get together when their airplane crashes in the desert. You can take photos of the area, talk about the plant life and the history of the area. You’re now attracting people who are also interested in the desert southwest.
Check out Nora Robert’s blog, http://fallintothestory.com/. She talks about her garden, her travels, and other ideas that are connected to storylines. She even connects some of her posts to books.
You can of course blog about the writing process and your writing life. However, know that most readers don’t care too much about how you write. You’re writing to attract readers so write about topics that they’ll be interested in. Blog, create content for your social media pages, and connect via visual sites like Pinterest and Instagram.
In the next few days I’ll share a bit on how to create your author’s platform. For now, start thinking about who your audience is and how you can connect with them online. What social sites do you enjoy using and what information can you share about yourself, your interests, and your stories that your readers might connect to.
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