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3 Marketing Tips for Writers · The Daily Writer

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, welcome to episode 115 of the Born to Create Podcast.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Kent Sanders, and this is the show where we explore the mindset, habits, and skills to help you make a bigger impact in your life and creative work.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: We are in the middle of a series where I'm answering some listener questions for a couple of months here on this weekly show, and I love doing this, and I hope this has been helpful for you as well.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Today's question is sent in by Katherine Hackman.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: She is an author who writes in various genres, and you can find her website at CatherineHackman.com.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: And the way you spell that is C-A-T-H E-R-I-N-E H A C K M A N dot com.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Katherine Hackman.com.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: And Catherine asks this question Do you have any tips for marketing or how to build a platform?
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Catherine, thanks so much for your question.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And the answer is yes.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely have some tips for marketing and platform building.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, though, thank you for asking about this.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: The fact that you're concerned about building a platform and marketing shows that you have some awareness of the need to do this.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of writers and artists and creative types don't even think about marketing.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: They just think that they're going to create stuff and somehow magically people are going to be interested in it without them doing any marketing at all.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And remember that marketing is just telling people about something you are excited about.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: All that marketing is, is sharing your enthusiasm.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now there's all kinds of ways you can do marketing, which we'll get into in s in a second.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that's kind of a core principle to keep in mind about marketing, is at its core, it's just about sharing something that you're excited about.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into three specific principles about marketing.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm greatly simplifying things here just for the sake of brevity, but these three things have really helped me.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is define who you want to reach with your creative work.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now in this case, we're talking about books, but I guess this could apply to other types of creative work like painting or music as well.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: So number one, define who you want to reach.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Remember that your message is not for everybody.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now this can be really hard for us because it means we're saying no to a lot of people.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, in my case, my audience is basically creative entrepreneurs.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: That involves artists, musicians, writers, creative leaders, etc.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that means I filter everything that I do business-wise through that lens.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Creative entrepreneurs are my target audience.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: So, Catherine, I would ask you, and I would ask everybody listening, who is your target audience?
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Who specifically are you trying to reach?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: So you've got to get really clear on that.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, build an email list.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Email is still amazing because most people check their email, and an email message is going to go directly to a mailbox that that person's going to check.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: So on your website, I see that you do have an opt-in box.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So what I would do is create a lead magnet that you can give away in exchange for their email address.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And for email marketing, I definitely recommend using Convert Kit.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I personally use, and I love ConvertKit.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Their customer service is awesome.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, when I talk about a lead magnet, that is some type of giveaway, like a checklist or a PDF or an ebook or some type of digital file that people can download in exchange for them giving you their email address.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I would recommend building an email list for sure and having some kind of lead magnet that you're giving away there.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that's tip number two.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: And tip number three is expand your network.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now there's tons of ways to expand your network.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Here are uh several ways to do this.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is pitching podcasts to be a guest on their show.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: But when you do that, make sure that the podcast you're pitching to is a good fit for your potential audience.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: So for example, if your ideal audience is people who love uh, let's say Bible type fiction or Bible stories, you probably don't want to pitch a podcast that's focused on uh like computer programmers, because that's not going to be a good fit.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the way number number one, pitch podcasts to be a guest in their show.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, introduce people to each other who could help each other.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: I do this frequently.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: I will think of two friends who I think could help each other, and I email both of them and just make an email introduction, and that's just a simple thing that I do on a very, very regular basis.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good way to expand your network.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, you can attend speaking events and also speak at events.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: And in fact, that's how we met at a small library event last fall in Havana, Illinois.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: So even small events like that can have really cool results because that's in fact where we were able to meet each other in person.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Number four is do guest posts on other people's blogs and also have them do guest posts on your blog.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can kind of swap blog posts, which is a great way to build up your audience.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then number five, under this major point of expand your network, get active in a few relevant Facebook groups around your topic.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: So for example, if again, if your topic is, let's say, people who are interested in Bible fiction or historical fiction or something like that, get involved in three or four Facebook groups that deal with that topic and answer people's answer people's questions, get active, comment on posts, don't just market your own stuff, but get in there and be active and just be a resource and be helpful to people.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Those are a few ways to expand your network.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: So again, let me kind of rehash all these three main points.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is define who you want to reach, number two, build an email list, and number three, expand your network.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I gave you five ways to expand your network.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: The most important thing here overall is just pick a few things and do those things consistently.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Don't let it stress you out and just focus on the things that work for you.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: The reality is that you can't do everything, particularly for those of you who have day jobs, and that includes myself.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: You can't do every marketing thing under the sun.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Just pick two or three or four things and do those things on a super consistent basis and do what you enjoy.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I think what you'll find is that things can build faster than you thought possible when you just take consistent action.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Well, those are my thoughts, but I'd love to hear what you guys think about this episode.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can do that by going to KentSanders.net slash one one five, or you can also go to Apple Podcast and leave a rating and a review for the show.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely appreciate those.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's all I've got for this episode.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, my friends, remember that you were born to create and designed to make a difference.