Tag Archive for: self promotion

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Building Your Platform as a Non-Fiction Author

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BONUS FREEBIE: I have a resource for you that will help you prepare to talk with media and audiences. It’s the 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. You can grab the fiction and nonfiction lists here.

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Building a platform is one of the most important things you can do to invest in your career as a non-fiction author. Creating a platform is how you build authority and credibility with your readers — and with publishers and the media!

A platform is how you reach your readers and connect with them. It’s all the channels of communication you use, from email newsletters to social media to speaking engagements. Think of your author platform as a central hub with lots of access points. 

1) Identify your audience.

Before you narrow down your strategy for building your author platform, think about who you’re trying to reach. As a non-fiction author, you’re presenting your readers with something new and novel — a solution to a problem, a creative way of considering an issue, or a toolkit for improving some aspect of their lives. This is true whether you’re writing a cookbook or a history book. 

Think about who is looking for the message that you have to offer. Who can benefit from this knowledge?

For instance, if you’re writing a cookbook about easy and affordable veggie-forward recipes, your audience might include busy parents, older adults trying to be more health-conscious, and college students. Those are specific groups who will come to your work in different ways. The college students might find you on TikTok — but the health-conscious grandma probably won’t. So how are you going to connect with all of these groups?

Use Video to Grow Your Audience with TikTok

2) Define your narrative.

Before you decide which online and in-person channels you want to focus on, you need to decide what you’ll do with those opportunities. Defining your narrative before you dive in head-first means your author platform will be well-considered, coherent, and professional.

One of the best ways to approach this task is to sit down with a pencil and paper (or a blank Google Doc!) and write down answers to these questions:

  • Why did you write a book?
  • Why are you the right person to tell this story?
  • How will your book improve people’s lives?

These answers should get personal!

10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer

For instance, if I was doing this exercise, I’d write about how I wrote my first book, Listful Living, because lists made my life as a busy TV producer so much less stressful and more manageable. I’d write about how I’m the right person to tell the story of lists because I’ve been using them for over twenty years now, and I’ve been blogging about productivity for nearly fifteen years. I’d write about how my books are packed with actionable tips that help readers manage their tasks and introduce more joy into their lives.

Look for a narrative arc in your answers. Are there defining moments that emerge?

For me, one defining moment is when my appendix burst after my first book came out. I knew I had to prioritize my well-being and for me, that meant using productivity strategies (including list-making!) that I’d written about. I talked the talk — and then I had to really walk the walk. That experience shaped my second book, Listful Thinking. 

Once you know the story you want to tell, you can use online communication channels more effectively. This story should come across in all your content.

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3) Curate your online presence — and be consistent.

Create author profiles on all the major social media platforms (Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook). If you think TikTok would be a good fit for your audience, create a profile there too. And make sure to follow other author accounts!

It’s also a good idea to create an author website. Your website should have information about your background, links to your social media profiles, and an option to sign up for your email list. Email lists are a great tool for creating a channel to get in touch with your readers about blog posts, videos, events, and media appearances. 

Website Tips to Amplify Your Brand

You might also consider a podcast (I have tips on this here!), short videos (here’s how to create great ones), or a live-stream show. 

But… don’t start doing all these things at the same time!

Take it slow and think about what your audience is most likely to connect with. What types of media does your audience already consume? Find them there first. If you start a whole bunch of projects at the same time, it’s going to be difficult to keep up with all of them. Which brings me to my next point — consistency!

Consistency is key to building an online following. I suggest creating an editorial calendar for yourself. You can plan out social media, blog posts, newsletters, live streams, and more. Come up with a schedule that’s reasonable and then stick to it. 

4) Find opportunities to connect with other authors.

The internet is great for connecting with readers and fellow authors. And you should definitely follow other authors in your area of expertise. In-person events are also important for forming these connections.

Attend book events in your area. Check out speakers at local universities. Go to conferences. Join a writing group. These are opportunities to learn from other authors about how they communicate with their audience and with their colleagues in the world of non-fiction authors.

Having an author platform is related to being a good literary citizen — so check out these tips for being an engaged author. 

5) Be your own advocate.

Building your author platform means acknowledging the fact that no one is going to come up and catapult you to success. You need to build authority and credibility yourself. So toot your own horn!

Lots of people feel uncomfortable about self-promotion. They think it comes across as self-centered or braggy. But it’s essential to reframe self-promotion as positive and necessary. Remember, you have a message to share. Your audience needs the knowledge you have to share. Advocating for your work is an act of service!

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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How to Keep Momentum Going After Your Book Launch

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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If you’ve always wanted to be an author, your book launch will be one of the most exciting stages of the publishing process. Getting recognized for your work and connecting with your readers is so rewarding. 

When you’re launching a new book, all of your strategy is focused around your book –the newness of it and the content. But what happens when the launch wraps and your new book is no longer new?

This is the stage when I meet many of my media-training clients. They’ve had a successful launch and they want to keep the momentum going. 

I shared some of my best tips for authors dealing with this in my Writer’s Digest column. 

These are the same strategies I’ve used myself for years as an author of two books, Listful Thinking and Listful Living!

1. It’s not (just) about the book anymore.

When you’re in the book launch phase, you’re really invested in the book itself. That’s only natural. It should be the focus of attention at this point! But once your book is a few months old, you have to shift your focus and start to consider how your book can support you as an author and expert — not how you can support your book!

This does not mean you shouldn’t talk about your book. Of course you should! You just need to find new ways of framing and contextualizing how you talk about your book. The attention needs to be on how your knowledge (and by extension, your book) can solve problems or shift people’s mindsets. This is something I talk you through in my free resource, 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. 

2. Keep in touch. 

The relationships you build with journalists, reporters, and producers are some of the best resources for you as you consider your post-launch strategy. Thank you notes (paper ones — yep!) go a long way in demonstrating your appreciation.

These really do make an impact on fostering positive relationships between you and members of the media! You can then leverage those relationships to pitch again from a new angle. 

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3. Open yourself up. 

You might be wondering what exactly you should pitch — how can you use your book as a jumping-off point that inspires the next stage of your media strategy?

Well, here’s a little secret: everything you talk about doesn’t have to be in the book.

In fact, it can actually be counterproductive to limit yourself to only things you covered in your book. You are an expert on a topic that includes what you talk about in your book. You can absolutely pitch on related areas within your expertise that didn’t fit into your book — and you should! This is essential to any sustainable media strategy. 

For even more tips on how to keep media momentum going, you can check out my column in Writer’s Digest. 

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BONUS FREEBIE: I have a resource for you that will help you prepare to talk with media and audiences. It’s the 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. You can grab the fiction and nonfiction lists here.

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Book Launch Highs and Lows

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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A book launch is a lot of work. There’s speaking engagements, there’s events, there’s media and so much more. It can be exciting and exhausting to prepare.

I learned so much from writing and launching Listful Thinking and Listful Living. And from keeping the book in the media long afterwards. (My first book came out almost a decade ago and I’m still talking about it in the media!)

And I love sharing my knowledge with authors to get them ready for their big launches. In fact, I just lead a group training called Media-Ready Author to help authors get ready to launch their books in the media.  You can check out the replay here.

On a recent episode of Inside Scoop I brought one of my media-training clients, Chelsea Conaboy, on to share her experience launching her new book, Mother Brain.

Here are three lessons Chelsea learned from the book-launch process.

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Media Training 101: When Things Go Wrong on Video

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BONUS FREEBIE: I have a resource for you that will help you prepare to talk with media and audiences. It’s the 10 Questions Every Author Needs to Answer. You can grab the fiction and nonfiction lists here.

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Be honest. Is the reason you’re not “going live” because you think something will go wrong? Well, I’ll share a secret with you…

Something will go wrong.

Not all the time. But chances are, if you shoot enough video or appear on enough television shows as a guest, at some point, something will go wrong.

It even happens to me! Yep – it happened on my show Inside Scoop and while I was producing for network television.

Here are four types of things that can go wrong and how to handle them.

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The Business of Being an Author

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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If you want to be an author (or already are one) I’m going to let you in on a secret: You are also a business owner.

Yep! Having a book means you have a business (like it or not)!

Writing for fun is great but being a professional author means you need some business know-how to be a success.

I learned a lot about this after my first two books Listful Living and Listful Thinking were published and since I media-train authors I get a first-hand look at what happens in the book world.

And as I start the publishing process on my first fiction book, I’m already learning that the business opportunities are different.

Book publishing and business expert, Jane Friedman, joined me for my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to teach us all about The Business of Being an Author.

Here are four insights she shared to help you make the transition from amateur to professional.

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Use Video to Grow Your Audience with TikTok

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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As you know, I’m a former television producer so I love video. I’ve been talking about it for years and people are finally catching on and understanding what a powerful tool it can be. And one of the most powerful (and newer) video driven social media apps is Tik Tok.

I have to admit I’m mostly a TikTok stalker. I have not created one thing on it. (Yet! My guest has inspired me to get started.)

I brought expert TikTok-er, author and speaker, Selena Rezvani, on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to teach us how to grow your audience with TikTok. She has nearly 200,000 followers.

Here are Selena’s top five tips for getting started on TikTok.

(Don’t worry, none of the tips are about dancing!)

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Creating Content to Impress Potential Employers

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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Many of you are looking for new jobs. But are you trying everything you can to attract your dream opportunities and employers? Are you doing more than just applying to job ads online?

I talk a lot about creating content and have spoken to several experts about how to do that consistently on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop. But my conversation with executive coach and career strategist, Susan Peppercorn, was a more in depth look at using content to strategically attract the professional opportunities you want.

Here are four ways to create content to impress potential employers.

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Generating Buzzworthy Videos

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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What is it about the videos you watch while scrolling social media, that makes you stop and watch? A better question is: How can you create a video that makes others stop and watch?

Recently, chef, author, mom, and TV host, Nikki Dinki joined me on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to share her secrets on making buzzworthy videos and chat about her newest cookbook, More Veggies Please!

More Veggies Please! is a cookbook targeted towards families, but is for everyone!

“It’s our classic American staples, your mac and cheeses, your chicken nuggets, your chicken tenders, your meatloaf, with a surprising veggie twist. It’s really a way to just get more variety of vegetables in your diet, while still having things like queso,” Nikki explained.

This is Nikki’s second cookbook. Her first was Meat on the Side. So you might say, vegetables are her brand. We first met when I was a senior health producer for Fox News and interviewed her about the first book. I’ve been following her journey ever since and it’s her videos that have kept me engaged. So I wanted to know her strategy.

 

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Building An Online Following

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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What good is it to have an amazing business, book, or creation if no one knows about it? You have to get yourself out there!

I know it’s not always easy to toot your own horn. But it’s essential. There’s no point in doing all those wonderful things if nobody can find, enjoy, and learn from them.

That’s why I invited book publicist and President & Co-founder of the publicity and digital marketing firm Pacific & Court, Kourtney Jason, on my live-streaming show Inside Scoop to chat about Building an Online Following.

Here’s a quick list of our top tips for building your following.

1) “Be your own amplifier.”

That’s the first thing Kourtney said. And she’s right.

You need to be sharing content across all of your social media platforms consistently. Just because you shared something doesn’t mean anyone saw it.

“There’s so much new content coming out online everyday. It’s so easy for things to be overlooked,” Kourtney added.

 

And while we’re on the topic of sharing your content on all your platforms…

2) Get on multiple platforms.

I feel like I’m constantly opening apps, looking for something I saw earlier, and saying “oh, where did that go? Oh, I should have saved that.”

People will follow you in multiple places. Sharing your content in multiple places will help your followers find the content they’re looking for.

Another way to do that is to think beyond social. As we saw recently, you need to have an alternative way to communicate with your followers in case Facebook or Instagram go down. Create your own website. Have your own email list. No one else will ever own those and you’ll be in complete control.

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3) Understand your platforms and create your content accordingly.

Not all the content has to be exactly the same on all the platforms.

“The big misconception for a lot of people is that they think, okay, I’m going to do this one thing. I’m just going to blast it everywhere. In the exact same form in the exact same way. And that’s actually not great,” Kourtney said.

Look at the analytics on each of your platforms.

Kourtney says to ask yourself when is your audience online? Also you should know how many likes and comments you are getting. She also suggests doing your own social media audits.

Know when people online are engaging with you. Use the platform analytics to figure out the best time to post. Because it might not be what you think.

“It’s a good time for us [Pacific & Court] to post on the weekends. And you wouldn’t always think that for a company, but that’s when we are getting good engagement,” Kourtney said.

There are so many different services on each platform. Make sure you’re using them.

Instagram is great for photos. The Instagram algorithm recognizes faces so Kourtney suggests posting photos of yourself and videos there.

Share Articles or Press Hits on Twitter Kourtney says Twitter is great for links and sharing things that take you somewhere else.

Facebook is great for events and calendars. If you’re hosting an event, doing a speaking engagement, or a book signing that people can attend, Kourtney says to  create an event and your audience can add it to their calendar.

Hashtags work everywhere. Kourtney suggests that you, “really know what the popular and engaging hashtags are.” If you’re not sure what those are, check out Social Media Examiner.

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Join me for my NEW LinkedIn Learning Course “Be an Effective Hybrid or Virtual Employee” streaming now!

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Kourtney and I also discussed podcasts and best practices for authors looking to build a following online. Check out our entire conversation here.

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”
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How to Get the Media Attention You Deserve

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BONUS FREEBIE: Your message deserves the media’s attention. So how do you get out there in a bigger way? I’ve got you covered. CLICK HERE to grab my free “Checklist to Become a Go-To Media Expert.”

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I’ve always loved the idea of “standing on the shoulders of giants” — learning from the experiences and knowledge of others so we can succeed.

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