The Overwhelmed Writer’s Two-Step Checklist For Staying Connected to Readers
By Dan Blank | December 18, 2013 |
Image by Len Matthews.
I want to address this head on for the busy writer, and also share some simple end-of-year tips for ALL writers at the same time.
Okay, it’s a very short checklist, after all, you are busy. Just two steps here:
- Be clear about your messaging
- Make it easy to stay connected with you
Boom. Done. Right? Okay, okay… let’s dig into each:
Shore Up Your Messaging
When is the last time your checked your Twitter bio, your Amazon profile or the About page on your website? Did you just cringe because it’s been so long? I thought so.
Step 1: Get your messaging down, keep it simple, make it consistent wherever people find you. I know you are busy, so this is what I recommend: Give yourself a single hour, and a single cup of coffee, tea, or wine. Yerba Mate will do as well. Write a letter to your ideal reader as to what you write, why you two should be besties, and a bit about who you are. Write from a blank sheet of paper or digital document.
Now: post that to wherever you have a presence online. What you want here is two things:
- Alignment. To communicate the FEELING that your work speaks to their heart, or that your viewpoint as a writer is something they cherish.
- Consistency. You want all guideposts to say the same thing. Too often, people’s messaging is confused and wildly divergent across the web.
Where do you do these things? Some places to start:
- Google your name. What comes up? Ensure the messaging in these places feels right.
- Your homepage
- Your about page
- Twitter, Facebook, and other social media, both personal and professional
- Goodreads, Amazon, and other places where people find (and perhaps purchase) your writing
Yes, there is a craft to writing the perfect About page. What I find is most people put that task off, and settle on the boring vanilla thing that they wrote 3 years ago that sounds vaguely professional. Writing a letter to your ideal readers – the folks you would love to sit down and have coffee with is a nice way to make this process easier, quicker, and keep it human. A key thing you want to keep in mind is: avoid promoting yourself.
If you have a hard time finding that line between being descriptive and being promotional, then change the context. Instead of viewing this as “marketing copy,” think of it as a conversation. Imagine yourself in a real place, a real situation, with a real person. E.G.: Imagine that you are stuck inside a vacation home with a single ideal reader on a snowy day. All you have is a pot of coffee, a couch, and a few hours to kill while chatting with this person. What would you say?
Shore Up Your Communication Channels
Are you simple and clear about how people can stay connected with you?
A lot of writers I see take the shotgun approach: trying to juggle updates across 10 social media channels, plus a languishing blog that mostly consists of updates apologizing for not updating more frequently.
Bleh. Who needs that?
Why not just KICK @$$ with a single channel – a place where you are fully and truly present; where your sense of humor or wit comes out; where you feel you can truly connect with others in a way that is honest. Maybe that is Instagram or a newsletter or Tumblr or Twitter. But wherever that is, make everyone you know – new readers and already engaged fans aware that THIS is the place to find you.
This time of year, we tend to have more perspective on the value of lasting relationships. Let’s be clear: this is work. Sure, Facebook has made it easier to stay connected with their daily prompts reminding you of people’s birthdays – but if you want people to not forget you, you have to be present in their lives, and they have to KNOW the best way to do that.
Do you have a newsletter? Then point everyone to it consistently. This means mentioning it in your email signature, website, social feeds, at the end of your book, etc.
This not only focuses their attention, but focuses your own as well. I’d much prefer to see you develop a personal and meaningful email list than bend over backwards to find some excuse to begrudgingly pin stuff on Pinterest because you read some article that a bazillion people are on Pinterest. Is there anything sadder than a half-hearted pin?
Okay, to recap: If you don’t have a lot of time to connect with folks: be clear about WHO YOU ARE AND WHY FOLKS SHOULD ENGAGE WIH YOU, and give them a SIMPLE AND CLEAR PATH to do so.
(*Dan resists urge to link to his own newsletter sign up form*)
Whew.
Bonus Tips
Here are two other “housekeeping” tasks to consider doing before the year is up:
- Backup everything (your blog, website, newsletter list, photos, contacts, computer files, writing, and sync your phone)
- Automate backups for the future (via WordPress plugins, Dropbox, Highrise, backup drives, etc.)
- Update your software (wordpress, computer software, phone OS, apps, etc)
- Clean your keyboard (seriously)
Are there a million other things you should put on a proper checklist like this? Yep. But to me, these are the core few things that we too often skip past. We mean to get to, but we don’t, and over time, it sends things wildly off track. We aren’t clear on our messaging, aren’t clear as to how folks can connect with us, and we put our work at risk by never backing up.
Simple actions.
Oh, and if you missed it, Keith Cronin posted some lovely advice of his own for 5 things to keep in mind as you approach the new year.
What else is on your checklist?
Thanks!
-Dan
Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia, where he helps writers share their stories and connect with readers. He has helped hundreds of authors via online courses, events, consulting, and workshops, and worked with amazing publishing houses and organizations who support writers such as Random House, Workman Publishing, Abrams Books, Writers House, The Kenyon Review, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, and many others.
Thanks Dan, I’ll archive this for the future.
Thanks Brian!
Writing used to be considered an art form, now it’s simply a business. That distinction dies hard in many arenas, such as medicine or religion for example. We never used to see billboards advertising heart surgeons or churches. Now we see them all the time here in north Texas.
Professionals in all areas of life have had to wake up to the fact that they are in business, too.
The sooner we come to the complete understanding that we are entrepreneurs exhibiting our talents and skills, not unlike a heart surgeon, the sooner we get on with becoming a successful writer.
Mia,
I think there is a distinction here. Writing IS a craft, and CAN BE an art form, depending on the writer, their process, and goals. One can write without a deep need to publish or develop a large audience.
But if one DOES have that expectation, a clearly defined metric of “success,” then yes they do need to understand that many aspects of publishing are a business.
Huge topic, and one that is often overlooked. Thank you!
-Dan
Thanks Dan,
I just signed up for your newsletter, liked and followed and all that.
The timing of this post was perfect. I was sitting on my couch pondering whether I needed to ditch an extra website I’ve shared with someone else for a few years and all the social media that goes along with it, or spend energy and time shoring it up.
I think I have my answer.
Excuse me, I have to go write a letter to my ideal reader now.
Best,
Greta
Thank you so much Greta!!!
-Dan
It’s nice to see a simple checklist. It is indeed overwhelming to try to develop a social media presence. The advice of choosing one channel that you enjoy, and rocking it, is a good one.
Thanks also for the reminder to back up our work. I failed to do so while traveling and lost over a thousand photos. But I learned my lesson. :)
Marialena,
Sorry to hear about losing those photos! I have backups of backups – I am terrified of losing stuff, esp photos. Thanks for the positive feedback!
-Dan
Dan, I got interrupted posting above, and didn’t get to mention that when you said, “Imagine that you are stuck inside a vacation home with a single ideal reader on a snowy day. All you have is a pot of coffee, a couch, and a few hours to kill while chatting with this person. What would you say?” I got super excited.
I’m actually going to use that scenario to write out a conversation with my ideal client/reader. Thanks so much for this great idea! I can just see the ski lodge in Keystone CO where we’re sitting and chatting…
Happy Holidays!
Awesome – thanks Mia!
-Dan
I like your business mindset, Dan. Very crisp and clear.
Thanks Paula!
-Dan
Guilty as charged, Dan. I have so many online bios, it is hard to keep track of them. I recently discovered my Amazon bio, the one that people read when weighing whether to buy my novel, was woefully outdated. Yikes! Writing a bio that speaks to who we are is one of the most difficult, but important, tasks for a writer. Thanks for these great tips.
Thanks – I think we have ALL been there.
-Dan
Dan,
Great post for those who wish to have a platform.
When I saw the title of your post and started reading, I was thinking this was about connecting to your readers through your writing, drawing them into your story world–how overwhelming that can be, especially for the busy writer.
Call me crazy, but to me being a successful writer has everything to do with the writing and nothing to do with the business of selling it. My strategy is to focus on the former, and when the time comes, hire you to help me with the latter.
I suspect I will be the rare blank canvass for you, as I have no facebook page, twitter feed, web page or blog–nothing to distract me from my writing, except for my daily visit to this Writer Unboxed world. This blog is like the one piece of chocolate I allow myself each day.
Cal,
Thanks so much for the kind words, and I think the daily Writer Unboxed habit is the best kind!
The nice thing about success as a writer, is that there are many paths. Glad you are finding yours!
-Dan
One of my favorite writers barely has a web page (really, it’s pathetic), but she posts regularly on facebook and replies to those who comment. This is the day of direct marketing. It’s one on one and personal. It’s not just writing. My family sells trailer hitches and we have to be one on one with our customers. So before we all feel sorry for ourselves because of all the effort it takes, remember this: we are more in control of the marketing of our books than ever before. It lives or dies by our efforts, not some recent college grad in an office a thousand miles away. Personally, I love talking to people. Facebook was made for me. Now everyone gets to hear my opinions. What cold be better?
Thanks Ron! And I always love looking at other businesses to see what aligns to the business of publishing. Much appreciated.
-Dan
Dan – Can you please elaborate about “automatic backups” for WordPress? I’m not sure what you mean by a “backup plugin.”
Hi Laurie,
Google these words:
WordPress backup plugin
A plugin is a little piece of functionality you can automatically add to WordPress, and one of those is a bit of code that will send you a backup on a schedule. So for some of my blogs, I get daily, weekly, or monthly backups automatically.
Thanks.
-Dan
Dan – THANK YOU! I appreciate this information.
Wonderful, Dan, simply wonderful. :)
Denise Willson
Author of A Keeper’s Truth
Thanks Denise!
I love to blog but was feeling guilty because I wasn’t more diversified across a score of other social networks. After reading your article, Dan, I logged on to my Twitter account, edited my bio to add clarity and then reaffirmed my commitment to blogging. It works for me (over 188,000 page views since it was created on October 10, 2010). And now I know I don’t have to fix what isn’t broken. Peace of mind–it’s a great way to ease into the new year.
Leanne,
Wow – taking an immediate action is so powerful, right? Thank you so much!
-Dan
Hi Dan,
I relate to your post, having just done a huge purge of my platform. But, with “less is more” in mind, I still have lots of work to do, so thanks for these useful tips – I’ve added some to my checklist.
:)
Thanks Graeme!
-Dan
What a specific and helpful post! I’m going to try and do all of these things before the new year and try to KEEP doing them in 2014. Thank you!
Thanks Liz. I find that even if you “merely” check on them once per year, that is more than many folks do.
-Dan
The letter sounds like an excellent exercise, Dan. I’m curious how the results will differ from what I’m using at present.
Can you comment on whether writers are generally good at understanding the qualities of their voice without feedback? I’m thinking of us unpublished folk who haven’t been told by an editor or agent about our voice’s strengths.
Jan,
Well, there are different voices here. Your voice WITHIN YOUR writing is one thing. The voice within the book.
But your voice as a person – as an author, is often something different, even if related.
So one way to interpret your question is whether you “find your voice” as a solitary process (soul searching, and the like) or a as an interactive process by gauging reaction from others. I think the honest answer is that it is an amalgamation of both.
I do think that each side of that is pretty essential. For instance, I take the last month of each year to reflect on what I am building, how I communicate what I do, etc. That is an internal process, where I gain more perspective on what I do based on my entire life.
But I also make a huge point to gather feedback throughout the year, and to reach out specifically to people to get their ideas. Earlier in the year, I hired a friend to help me more effectively communicate what my work is about. Other times, I will send things to specific people to get their feedback.
It’s sort of like choosing a hairstyle, isn’t it? Part what feels comfortable and represents our identity, and part based on how others react?
:)
-Dan
Thank you for elaborating, Dan, and yes, that approach feels holistic and complete than what I could do on my own. Appreciate it.
This was a wonderful perspective on whittling down what can feel overwhelming. The link to one of the most well-prepared book launches–Bittersweet, coming in May–was also fascinating. Thanks!
Thanks Jenny!
-Dan
Dan, just what I needed as I begin to look forward to setting 2014 goals and cleaning up from 2013. You have answered one HUGE question for me — how many social media outlets does a writer really need? Thanks so much!
Thanks Sherrey!
“Write with feelings, keep it human, don’t promote yourself.” Sound like something Dan Blank would say. I would also add, “Be yourself.”They add up to a good foundation to build on. Thanks for your spoonful of wisdom.
Thanks Jim!
As always, a great post, Dan, and one more reason that reading your weekly newsletter is one of my priorities. As the year draws to a close, I’m taking a blogging break and thinking about the big picture of my writing and social media and how/where/when to invest my energies. Thanks for the encouragement.
THANK YOU April!
-Dan
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