Your Author Platform: Finding Your Audience

You’ll sell more books if you have a platform. That is to say, you have a visible brand and an audience that is following you. It’s one of the reasons why identifying your genre is so important. You need to know who you’re going to connect with and what they like to read.

For many writers, the concept of marketing their book feels overwhelming and uncomfortable. However, think about it like this. It’s an opportunity to have discussions with the people who are going to read your book. These conversations are enjoyable and educational. There are two primary ways to reach your audience and begin having these conversations.
The first is to create an author’s blog.

Register your name, or pen name, as a URL. For example, www.stephenking.com. You can register quickly through Google Domains or any number of other domain registration services.

This is your author blog. WordPress is the easiest content management system to use and it can be installed quickly. You’ll also have to find hosting for your blog. You can do this through any of the dozens of hosting sites. We recommend HostGator. You can save 25% on your hosting account using coupon code SouthernAuthors.

Start Blogging

Write posts that you think your readers will be interested in. Many writers find that they blog about writing. Unfortunately, not only are there thousands of blogs and websites about writing, your readers don’t really care about the writing process. Instead, consider writing about:

• Your characters – post interviews with your characters. Talk about who they are and what they do.
• Snippets – Share short stories that are inspired by your characters. Share chapters or scenes. Begin building interest for your soon to be published novel.
• Relevant information – Do you write historical fiction? Share information that you learn in your research. Write paranormal? Share spooky “true” stories that you find online or have experienced. Write crime fiction? Talk about a recent case or investigation.

One mystery author’s heroine works in a bakery and the author shares recipes both in her books and on her blog. You can also share images that inspire your characters, scenes, and plot. Blogging doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Create and publish at least one post each week, more if you can manage it, and start promoting those posts.

Social Media

If you’re not using social media, start using it now. If you’re writing under a pen name, then create a profile page for your pen name. If you’re writing under your name and you already have a profile page or account with social media networking sites like Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter, that’s great.

Start sharing snippets from your blog. Link to your blog and other relevant information, which may interest your audience. For example, if you’re writing a children’s book then you might start linking to articles and news that parents are going to be interested in.

You might share statistics about early readers and the benefits of reading for children. Follow other writers in your genre and participate in conversations. Make sure that there is a link to your author’s website or blog so that potential and current readers can learn more about you.

Create a Following

Consider building an email list from the contacts you make on social media and on your blog. You can accomplish this in a number of ways. Here are a few ideas:

• Create a weekly newsletter and invite people to subscribe to it.
• Hold a contest, drawing, or sweepstakes and ask for email addresses to enter the event.
• Give something away like a free eBook as motivation to sign up
• By collecting email addresses, you can continue to build relationships with people who are interested in your fiction. When you do publish your book, you can send them a special announcement, offer them a promotional price, and reward them for being part of your community.

Okay, now that we’ve talked a bit about building your platform and starting the process of connecting with your audience, next week we will get back to your book.

If you are a Southern author, we can help you build your WordPress blog and/or help you with your social media promotion. Learn more here.

You can read the other articles in the series here.

How To Find Your Audience With Your Author Platform