By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I read many posts online where writers worry over centering their platforms on writing and writers. ‘Marketing to writers’ is the phase I read over and over.
This is because many writers (well, most of the writers I see, actually…me included) are blogging to writers, commenting on other writers’ blogs, and sharing writing tips with other writers. We make friends through our blogs and those writing friends of ours follow us onto our other hangouts online (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.).
I’ve read a lot of advice lately that we should avoid focusing our online efforts on writers. That we should seek out readers online or blog with a reader focus.
I understand the advice and do agree…to an extent. Obviously, our online time in terms of marketing would be better spent in targeting our audience.
But I think it’s okay. I have no intention of targeting my readers in any way and yet they’re searching me out and communicating with me. And buying my books. I’m not losing out in the visibility department, either.
Why writers tend to focus their online efforts to other writers:
We want to connect with other writers online—for support, for resources, for encouragement. Like anyone else, we want to hang out with those who relate to us. We need writer friends, and our frequently introverted natures love the fact that we can so quickly connect and retreat online. And reaching out to readers online can feel like a weird type of author intrusion. Many of us are eager not to seem spammy.
What marketing experts recommend:
That we blog on issues relevant to our books or writing them in a way that resonates with readers.
What we could do if we wanted to reach more readers but not change our overall focus:
Guest blog on sites where our readers might hang out (book blogger sites, for instance).
Engage with our readers on one social media platform. Have that be the place where we avoid discussing the writing craft (maybe a picture-oriented venue like Instagram or Tumblr…particularly if we have younger readers).
Devote certain days of the week to readers and the others to writers.
Or…do nothing at all.
I doubt that I’ll be making any changes at all to my approach. Because I don’t feel that I’m marketing to writers—I’m connecting with them. And this helps me connect to my readers by increasing online visibility, improving search results for my name or my books’ titles, and making it easy for readers to locate and connect with me online. To find my email address and drop me a line. My readers know where to find me. And their favorite way to connect with me is email.
For me, my blogging and connecting online is incredibly important to keeping me motivated and informed as a writer. I talk to my readers through my books.
As a writer, who are you blogging and connecting with online? What are your thoughts on your approach?
Image: MorgueFile: veggiegretz
“My readers know where to find me. And their favorite way to connect with me is email.
For me, my blogging and connecting online is incredibly important to keeping me motivated and informed as a writer. I talk to my readers through my books.”
This! Couldn’t agree more. Thanks for reinforcing that for me, Elizabeth. :)
Vicki–Thanks! And glad you feel the same.
I was about to quote the same passage, Vicki beat me to it :-)
I also love this:
“I doubt that I’ll be making any changes at all to my approach.”
Good for you, Elizabeth. Thank you for the post.
Sasha–Thanks so much for coming by.
“I don’t feel that I’m marketing to writers—I’m connecting with them.”
And what, pray tell, is the difference? Not much, I’ll wager. Folks buy your books for the same reason writers (like me) come here to read your posts: because they feel a connection.
I blog for readers at my personal blog, and for writers at my Someday Box blog. But it’s quite simple (especially with WordPress) to do what Steven Pressfield does: put posts in categories which you can access from the menu; some for writers, some for readers, some for other groups who follow him.
You could easily write a weekly post just for your readers, put it in a category listed as a menu item, and give them an easy way to read just those posts.
And I suspect that most of the authors here are also readers who wouldn’t mind that approach at all.
Joel–That’s a very smart idea. I have seen a few blogs set up that way, although I wasn’t sure of the mechanics behind the set-up…thanks for listing that here!
I’m connected with a lot of writers, both through my blog and the IWSG. That has provided more support and encouragement than I ever imagined. As for reaching readers, I focus more on guest posts. I don’t post about writing topics, but I probably won’t change much of the way I blog either.
Alex–You’ve got a fun blog that works well for everyone. For those who don’t follow Alex, he blogs on his interests…so he does movie reviews, talks about music, goes into some TV as well. Interesting stuff that appeals to all.
Elizabeth – That’s an interesting question: how do you communicate with both other writers and with readers? Some readers are interested in the craft of writing, especially when the author is writing about how s/he created a certain character or something similar. But readers and writers are different audiences. For what it’s worth, I try to reach both by writing slightly different kinds of posts. I write a lot of posts the focus on books. I write some that focus just on writing, and I clearly mark them that way. I guess you could say I try to use my blog to reach both audiences.
Margot–Like Alex, you’ve got a successful approach that works well for all audiences. For those unfamiliar with Margot’s blog, she has an encyclopedic knowledge of crime fiction (I’m not just saying that….go to her blog and you’ll see what I mean). So she goes in depth on elements and themes in crime fiction. Obviously, this works well for crime fic readers as well as crime fic writers.
*Blush*
Lovely post, thank you. I don’t think of myself as marketing so much as celebrating and participating in the conversation of books.
Cynthia–A perfect way of putting it! I love that. Thanks for coming by today.
For me, the key has been balance. Because writing is such a solitary activity, it is always beneficial to connect with others experiencing a similar path. It is also important to connect to the reader who has no intention of writing but simply in enjoying a good book. I write some posts for writers and some for readers and it seems to be working quite well for me – but I have to constantly remind myself to stay in balance between the two.
Trish–Absolutely. Yes, that solitude is tough sometimes and no one can *really* know what we’re going through as writers…except other writers. For me, connecting online with writers is too valuable to give up.
Very thoughtful, as always, Elizabeth. I have a teensy point to make. Writers are readers, too!
Karen–Very good point! And I know I do make sales to writers, although I’m not directly marketing. :) Thanks so much for coming by!
Elizabeth, your blog is unique in that you provide information and a service to writers, and you do it so well, you get recognition elsewhere and across so many platforms.
I’ve done pub & promo tips for a long time, but it’s only been this past year that I’ve really started to connect it with my writing since I have a book on the subject available.
Diane–Thanks for saying so!
What you’re doing with your blog makes a lot of sense to me…especially with your non-fiction book.
I think your blog shows the reader the mechanics of your writing. You know, how you get from idea to a published work. For the writer, it shows…how you get from idea to a published work. Same information, but each person processes to meet their needs.
Teresa–Thanks! I think I’m not ever sure how interesting the mechanics are to readers…but when I’ve gone to conferences/spoken on panels, they *do* seem interested.
Elizabeth–
I second L.Diane Wolfe: your site is unique, in that it offers readers consistent rewards and value. There’s every reason to come back for each new post–and if that adds to the long list of those who buy your books, so much the better.
Barry–Thank you! And you’re right…a sale or two here and there is a nice byproduct, and an unexpected one!
Ha, I don’t think I have any readers, just writers.
Greg–That’s what I think about mine, too. Although writers do buy books, too (probably at a higher rate than their budgets should allow…at least in my case!)
I am of two minds on this.
On the one hand, blogging for writers can give one a false sense of audience response: because writers are SO very responsive compared to other internet audiences. Readers who aren’t writers tend to like being invisible. It can be easy to get sucked into a loop of seeking feedback. (They say your brain releases a little hit of dopomine every time someone retweets you, or you see page views on your analytics.)
On the other hand…
These days, everybody writes. That is, our audience may not want to compete with us, but that dream of writing a book is quite a lot closer to everyone’s doorstep due to self-publishing and the web. And anyone who is really geeked out about stories is at least a little interested in maybe making one up for themselves.
So maybe the difference between blogging for writers and blogging for readers isn’t as much as we think.
Camille–I would very much like to think that’s true! If writing for writers can serve double-duty and be material that readers will enjoy…so much the better. I guess as long as we’re not going on and on about really, really technical stuff (formatting issues, website mechanics, and other rather boring stuff), then we have a shot at the reader audience, too.
And who knows how many lurking readers we might have?
A very useful post as I am in the process of rethinking my blogging habits.
I haven’t really blogged for a couple of years, but I miss the community AND all the generous and helpful writer friends I got in touch with.
I don’t know how successful I will be, but my plan is to vary my posts. Some reviews, some pictures and some posts about my own writing. I have noticed that especially American readers like pictures from Denmark, and for me as a writer they serve two purposes: my blog guests come back for more, and I can rouse their curiosity by posting lovely pictures from the places where I set my Scandinavian mysteries. Besides, it may take time to take the pictures, but afterwards you can make a nice post in two minutes :)
Dorte–I miss your blogs! Yes, I think pictures are a great way to connect with readers…or, really, everyone. For you, it would be an especially good approach because Americans do love their Scandinavian mysteries and you’ve got these alluring photos. :)
I agree with this. I’m not going to change what I’m doing. Though I share writing links for writers, I also share links for readers on another day.
Traci–Very smart! I’ve never thought of doing links for readers…makes a lot of sense and it could be great for readers who love links/news for their favorite genre.
Such a great conversation! I definitely don’t think of my blog as a marketing tool. I’ve always thought of it as a way to connect with other writers: to learn from other writers and share what I’ve learned. I also think of it as a way to chat about my passions–reading, books, and life in general. A few sales probably happened because of the blog, which is a side benefit.
Julie–I think that’s becoming a consensus…the fact that it’s *not* marketing to writers. That we’re connecting there and a happy by-product is an occasional sale. What we’re doing also helps raise our visibility, which does help us find readers (and vice versa).
Thank goodness for this post! :D
I’m waiting for my website to move over to its new theme before I make the final decision on whether to blog or not. The blog orientation (for writers vs vs just being myself for readers) has been weighing heavily on my mind.
Currently, most of the people I connect with through Twitter, Google+, and Goodreads to an extent are other authors or individuals related to the writing/publishing world.
Facebook is where I interact the most with my readers.
I think a “just being myself” blog will be another good way to connect with readers.
AD–I think it’s something we all tend to stress over when we’re starting out a blog. Fortunately, it really *doesn’t* have to be an either-or situation. Several writers have done a great job reaching out to both writers and readers. For me…somehow I tend to be shy around readers. Much better for me to build my platform around writing.
Readers *love* Facebook…that’s a great place to interact with them.
Twitter is a huge hangout for writers..so is Google+. I think readers like to hang out on Facebook and Pinterest. And Goodreads, but Goodreads is a bit scary for writers (lots of really tough, tough reviews there).
Hi Elizabeth — I don’t mind hobnobbing with writers at all. Writers read books, and they buy books as gifts, and they make amazing friends because they understand us. Most of my writer friends are happy to spread the word about my work, as I am about theirs.
Patricia–And writers read a *lot* of books, too. It’s always great to have friends to share release info…good point.
Great post, Elizabeth. The cool thing about blogging is that we don’t have to have a set of rules to follow. You’re so right–our readers will find us. But it’s nice to connect with authors, as well, and bring relevant tips/posts to the table (as you ALWAYS do!). I appreciate your indie-oriented posts and I know many others do too. In fact, I’m quite sure some authors have built their platforms equally on writing tips and their own book marketing. Keep it up!
Thanks, Heather! It’s great not to have rules, isn’t it? Whatever we choose to do online, it’s so important that we enjoy it enough to keep it up. Yes, I know a few writers who’ve done a great job with tips and marketing–Debbie Ohi, Joanna Penn, Janice Hardy. Some excellent blogs for authors from those writers.
It kind of seems like we’re talking about two groups of writers.
Those that are happy with the way their blogging and social media are going shouldn’t change anything.
Those that aren’t happy because they’re trying to achieve a different result, which seems to always be along the lines of better marketing to readers. This appears to lead to all the discussions we have on what do readers want, finding the balance between too much vs. too little promotion, etc.
I kind of think the issue is that it’s not easy to attract the readers you want just based on social media and blogging. Sure, it’s possible that someone becomes interested in your books because of your online interactions, but depending on that happening is a whole other thing.
All of this is a long way of saying that things seem to work better when you’re happy with the process of connecting online, and not just the result. :)
Jason–I think you’re right. And it’s nearly impossible to equate blogging and social media directly with sales. All we know is that it helps raise our visibility. Whatever we choose to do online and however we choose to connect, the important thing–as you point out–is to enjoy it. If we pick the platforms we’re more comfortable with, we’re going to keep it up.