Jessica Russell's Blog - Posts Tagged "fans"
Networking! (But...with WHO?)
The term that means everything and nothing. Networking. It's important for sure. We all know THAT. But what does it mean exactly? Hmmm. Nobody really knows. Here's why. Networking, in reality, probably means something different to every person and no two "networks" are the same.
One BROAD definition of networking is "the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts."
So... Some people network to climb socially, some network to get clients, some network to sell something. However, there are what you might call "subdivisions." For example, for networking to sell something, you want to make sure you’re hitting the right demographic for the product you want to move. If, like me, you network at times to promote your novel, you want to network with the people who (drumroll) might enjoy that type of book. Not just book lovers in general. If you get too general, you waste a lot of time.)
Figure out the demographic, and half the battle is won.
The rest is just being a sociable person and being able to talk to people, be likable–even on those days you don’t feel like it–and subtly bring up your book (or the reason you are networking) WITHOUT OVERDOING IT. That way, if the person is interested, you may get a new reader, client etc., and if not, you may at least have a new business associate or even a friend–can always use another of THOSE. But either way it’s a win-win as long as you know who to target.
So be careful if you are just following a "they say you should" formula that might not be what you need. I wrote historical fiction, murder-mystery/romance. The fan base I want to build isn't going to be the same as that of a 25 year old who released a fantasy novel set in 2066. My demographic is primarily women–even though my book isn't a fluffy romance–but overall, I target women between 28-70, because stats show that's the primary demo for my novel.
Well, the moral of the story is...network in a way that will get you in touch, in any way, with the people most likely to be interested in what you want to share. It sounds simple, but when you sit down and work it out, you may find that you’ve been wasting a lot of time on “connecting” with people who don’t really share any interest in what you are promoting. Really scrutinize it, fine tune your market and you will get a lot more yield for a lot less blood, sweat and tears.
One BROAD definition of networking is "the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts."
So... Some people network to climb socially, some network to get clients, some network to sell something. However, there are what you might call "subdivisions." For example, for networking to sell something, you want to make sure you’re hitting the right demographic for the product you want to move. If, like me, you network at times to promote your novel, you want to network with the people who (drumroll) might enjoy that type of book. Not just book lovers in general. If you get too general, you waste a lot of time.)
Figure out the demographic, and half the battle is won.
The rest is just being a sociable person and being able to talk to people, be likable–even on those days you don’t feel like it–and subtly bring up your book (or the reason you are networking) WITHOUT OVERDOING IT. That way, if the person is interested, you may get a new reader, client etc., and if not, you may at least have a new business associate or even a friend–can always use another of THOSE. But either way it’s a win-win as long as you know who to target.
So be careful if you are just following a "they say you should" formula that might not be what you need. I wrote historical fiction, murder-mystery/romance. The fan base I want to build isn't going to be the same as that of a 25 year old who released a fantasy novel set in 2066. My demographic is primarily women–even though my book isn't a fluffy romance–but overall, I target women between 28-70, because stats show that's the primary demo for my novel.
Well, the moral of the story is...network in a way that will get you in touch, in any way, with the people most likely to be interested in what you want to share. It sounds simple, but when you sit down and work it out, you may find that you’ve been wasting a lot of time on “connecting” with people who don’t really share any interest in what you are promoting. Really scrutinize it, fine tune your market and you will get a lot more yield for a lot less blood, sweat and tears.
Fans and Other Beings
A trap I’ve seen a lot of writers fall into, especially new ones, is to sit there wondering why they don’t have more momentum since they have so many “fans.” I think this is primarily a conceptual interpretation problem. Believe it or not, I think a lot of people just don’t know what a fan actually is.
You can have a mailing list that just won’t quit. You may have hundreds or thousands of people who get your newsletter every month. You may have your own YouTube channel or podcast with a decent number of followers. You may have thousands and thousands of social media “friends.” Unfortunately, that’s not a fan base for your book. Especially if all those people were in place BEFORE you even wrote it.
Fans are very specific people. Number one, as elementary as it may sound, they have to be people who read your book. Everyone on your mailing list, all your social media connections, and your podcast and blog subscribers probably didn’t read your book, did they? Therefore, they can’t all be fans.
Fans are people who read and enjoyed your novel, are interested in you as the author, and are hoping for more of the same in the future. Ask yourself how many of THOSE there are. If you’re just starting out, it’s probably not that many. But never let that discourage you. A certain percentage of people who read your book will like it. It may be a large percentage or it may be a small percentage, but you WILL get fans if your book gets read. So don’t put the cart before the horse, focus on getting your book READ as opposed to trying to get fans based on your “resume.” It just doesn’t work that way.
Even your author page on Amazon is irrelevant until someone likes your BOOK. Once they like the book, THEN they want to know more about YOU. If you’re trying to do it the other way around, well, that’s only going to work with mom.
Selling books is all about marketing and distribution. Once sales are where they should be, fans will be there too. As far as reviews? Good luck and God bless you with that one. Even most fans don’t leave reviews. Not sure why. But that’s a topic for another day. Properly market and distribute your book, and this time next year, you will have fans. I guarantee it. Write on!
You can have a mailing list that just won’t quit. You may have hundreds or thousands of people who get your newsletter every month. You may have your own YouTube channel or podcast with a decent number of followers. You may have thousands and thousands of social media “friends.” Unfortunately, that’s not a fan base for your book. Especially if all those people were in place BEFORE you even wrote it.
Fans are very specific people. Number one, as elementary as it may sound, they have to be people who read your book. Everyone on your mailing list, all your social media connections, and your podcast and blog subscribers probably didn’t read your book, did they? Therefore, they can’t all be fans.
Fans are people who read and enjoyed your novel, are interested in you as the author, and are hoping for more of the same in the future. Ask yourself how many of THOSE there are. If you’re just starting out, it’s probably not that many. But never let that discourage you. A certain percentage of people who read your book will like it. It may be a large percentage or it may be a small percentage, but you WILL get fans if your book gets read. So don’t put the cart before the horse, focus on getting your book READ as opposed to trying to get fans based on your “resume.” It just doesn’t work that way.
Even your author page on Amazon is irrelevant until someone likes your BOOK. Once they like the book, THEN they want to know more about YOU. If you’re trying to do it the other way around, well, that’s only going to work with mom.
Selling books is all about marketing and distribution. Once sales are where they should be, fans will be there too. As far as reviews? Good luck and God bless you with that one. Even most fans don’t leave reviews. Not sure why. But that’s a topic for another day. Properly market and distribute your book, and this time next year, you will have fans. I guarantee it. Write on!
