Recently I got a message, which I thought posed such a good question:
How do you talk about what you do, when you feel like most people who follow you don’t really give a s**t about what you’re sharing?
I have had a version of this question from so many different authors I’ve worked with, so thought I’d share what works for me :
1/ Remember why you are doing it in the first place.
You don’t have to be on social media. Sometimes it might feel like there’s no alternative, but businesses have existed and been successful since long before social media, and there are many big companies now who are lowering its priority level within their marketing mix. (In fact, if you want some ideas for marketing you can do without social media, you can download a freebie all about that right here.)
So, if you are choosing to spend your time there – why are you prioritising it? What do you want to get out of it? How is it helping your book? How is it helping you personally?
When you have a good reason for showing up, sometimes having that core reason in mind can be enough to battle through your difficult feelings.
2/ Decide who you are talking to.
It’s not the people who you were friends with in primary school, who follow you out of nosiness!
Try to ignore them and focus on the people who you think will really love your book. THOSE are the people you want to connect with. I sometimes pick one person and focus on them, so it’s not just sharing stuff into a faceless sea of people (or into a void).
What does this person enjoy? What do they hate? What are their hopes and dreams? What other books have they read and loved? Which TV shows are they watching right now? How does your book fit in to their life?
Your ideal reader wants to hear from you, and loves the content that you share. Talk to them, and ignore the other people.
3) Think about how you are helping them (and entertaining people = helping people).
When you know who you are talking to, and really focus in on those people, then you can start to create content with those people in mind.
Think about how you can help them or entertain them or create content that they relate to – that takes the pressure entirely off you, shouting about your thing, and makes it more about helping others.
When it comes to fiction, authors can feel like their books don’t help people, but your books are essential! We need entertainment and escape and safe ways of processing our emotions more than ever these days! People need to know that your books exist, because their world will be a richer place for reading them!
The internet can be a super noisy place, but your voice matters.
Do you have any tips that help you share it, if you’re feeling a bit uncertain?
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