Marketing isn’t so hard when the connections you make are real.

For awhile now, I’ve been concentrating on marketing my book, Mission Possible, and the advice that stands out to me forms around integrity. When reaching out to authors and readers, I believe in being genuine.

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Building a brand is all about how you interact with your audience. You first must obtain an audience and the surmounting advice is to focus on a target audience; those who read works like your writing style. Then analyze steps to develop a strategy, and execute a plan.

Sure, but I’m also about using everyday opportunities to talk about my book. As an example, I honed in on a group of sorority girls at a recent college homecoming who were interested in what their “sister” had done since graduation.

Upon learning that I had written a book after spending decades as a journalist, their interest piqued. And, when further learning the book was based on my own history, they wanted to know more.

I decided to drop off a copy on my next drive through the college. Soon, I was pleasantly surprised to find a thank-you email in my inbox showing appreciation for my efforts in showing them their interest was genuine and heart-felt.

We all like to feel appreciated and when connection happens, that’s when the iron is hot. But making connections that resonate go further in my experience.

Will I make any sales based on this experience? Maybe not right away. But in the long term, I developed a trusting relationship with the girls, who may mention the interaction to their parents. They may discuss the interaction at a chapter meeting or talk about it in class with their professor. Whatever the happenstance, there’s opportunity for buzz and that’s where the magic happens.

The difference is, it was genuine and didn’t spark from a desire to just get on their radar for the purpose of only marketing my book. In discussing changes within the sorority chapter and noting what practices were in vogue when I was in the sorority house, the interest in each others’ lives organically came about.

That view of positive human interaction has always been used in my writing style, even as a columnist for the daily newspaper I previously wrote for. My audience, and in this case subscribers to the daily, couldn’t wait to read the next Her Voice column because it would revolve around their lives and what was happening in the community. Once that connection is formed, you’ve built a reader base that trusts what you have to say and they want more of what you have to offer. Building trust is so important.

When the opposite occurs, readers can fall off your radar. Recently, I came across a negative example on Facebook that left me at first reeling with disgust, and then I simply admonished that trust was lost. Responding, I esteemed, wasn’t worth my time.

The person proceeded to post that they had made a mistake and the police had notified them of their plan to make an arrest. They had been warned to put their life in order before spending the next 15 years in prison.

They went on to explain their regrets and how they would miss their friends. After the long exposition, they then gut the reader who stayed reading to the end with a claim that they had been fooled by the post and called them “nosy neighbors.”

While the tough-girl persona may have raised a laugh emoji among some in her friend group, it’s my guess that most were left with the same empty empathy lost in the message.

Again, trust isn’t something to be tampered with and when writing, whether it’s a Facebook post or any other type of publication, words stick. An impression is made and that impression can either be one that resonates or quells the relationship.

We are always seeing in life how trust matters when it comes to words. It can be in any way, while speaking, while writing, while listening, or while reading.

Authors build trust by being authentic and consistent, both in their writing and in their interactions with readers. This includes using clear, straightforward language, respecting the reader’s intelligence by leaving room for interpretation, and maintaining a consistent message and publishing schedule. Being transparent about their writing process, and consistently providing value also fosters loyalty and connection.

In all the things we aspire to do as authors, we try to make connections. A recent Fiction Author Summit pointed out ways to make the process fun. Moderator Derek Doepker described the ASPIRE Marketing Framework as a method to accomplish this with each letter standing for a topic:

· A – Advertising. Done through promotion sites, Amazon or on social media sites like Facebook. Reedsy book promotion sites and others can also drive up sales.

· S – Social Media. Use sites to bring people into your life and let them know where your writing area exists.

· P – Platform. Leveraging various platforms to speak may include podcasting, reading at book signings, conferences, book clubs and more.

· I – Influencer. Influencers are individuals who will recommend your book to their audience and will give you more exposure.

· R – Referrals. Authors recommend your book when you offer a sincere compliment about their work without expecting anything in return.

· E – Email. The most effective strategy is by writing email newsletters as a way of storytelling. Grow your list by using reader magnets, book funnels and more to make it entertaining.

Overall, while there are plenty of ways to shape a story and share it. Just make sure it’s consistent, reaches a definitive resolution and stays close to a story line that coincides with readers. The connections will resonate with your audience and your work will stand on its own merit.

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