Your author or writer online platform is all about numbers and reach. It’s about how many people are aware of you within your niche and how many of those people think you have authority within your niche. In other words, it’s about how many connections you have. You might equate it to a popularity contest.
Unfortunately, there are millions of contestants in the online platform arena trying, as you are, to get the golden subscriber email address and get the emails they send opened.
Because of the sheer number of marketers, people are bombarded with marketing emails on a daily basis. This in turn has caused a drop in email opt-ins and a drop in marketing email open rates.
So, what can you do to fight the odds and keep moving forward to reach your goals?
There are four strategies you can use to keep you connected to people and keep you on the visibility radar.
1. Connection frequency
You need to connect with your subscribers and target market on a regular basis.
This doesn’t mean adding to the email inbox bombardment, it means to be visible in multiple places. How many times a week are you connecting with your subscribers and your target market?
This matters.
Are you taking advantage of the different venues you can reach people? Are you being active in groups? How about social media, such as Facebook, Linkedin, GooglePlus, Twitter, and Pinterest? Are you offering valuable information on a regular basis?
Each of these connection venues is another layer of visibility and familiarity. This frequency helps establish a relationship and helps it grow.
2. Consistency
Everyone when first starting a platform is determined and motivated. You diligently keep on top of social networks, blogging, article marketing, sending out a newsletter on a regular basis, and so on. But, then, when results aren’t what was expected or don’t come quick enough, the motivation and effort slows down.
Well, being consistent is what will help you reach your goals. In fact, without being consistent you most likely will never reach your goals.
Coleman Cox says it best: "Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts."
Create a plan of action steps and stick to them. Be consistent.
3. Authority and Usefulness
According to pro-marketer Travis Greenlee, statistics show that published authors have a 300% higher credibility rating than non-published authors.
That’s quite a difference and gives the published author a big advantage in authority. If you’re not published yet, a quick remedy is to create an ebook and get it out there. With that said, your ebook needs to be a quality product.
But, having an ebook isn’t the cure-all. In addition to this, you need to deliver quality (useful) information to your target market on a regular basis.
The point here is that you need to be perceived as a person of value to your target market. Your actions and offerings need to demonstrate that you can help them with their problem, need, or want.
If you are perceived as having high authority (knowledge and experience) and value (capability and usefulness), people will want to be connected with you.
4. Visibility
Visibility and frequency go hand-in-hand. While you need to make frequent connections, you need to know where and how to make those connections. That’s where visibility comes in.
How many different formats are you using to be visible to your connections and make new connections?
There are a number of marketing formats you can use to generate visibility, including:
• Blog posting
• Guest blogging
• Creating podcasts
• Creating videos
• Creating e/books, reports, etc.
• Sending out newsletters or ezines
• Offering webinars, teleseminars, or workshops
• Staying current on social networks, such as Facebook, Linkedin, GooglePlus, and Pinterest
You get the idea. Keep it fresh. Don’t use the same formats to bring information to your subscribers, readers, and visitors.
You need to use all four of these strategies to keep your online platform moving forward.
Karen Cioffi is an author, ghostwriter, and online marketing instructor for authors and writers. Get her weekly newsletter with must-know writing and marketing tips at: http://thewritingworld.com
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8 comments:
Oh boy, you said it--we all get inundated with blog articles and "buy this" and so on. I certainly don't want to add to all this bombardment. I've wondered how much effect my own attempts is having.
Karen, I found your article to be very helpful. I was unaware of email marketing waning, but not surprised since I agree with Heidi - we are bombarded!
I keep plugging away with consistency with my blog 3x a week for 2 years. Go me!
But I can take it up a notch with social networking and the e-book.
A great checklist and good tips for keeping the author brand alive, Karen.
Heidi, it's certainly true that we are all overwhelmed with the amount of information online and the amount of marketing we should be doing. It's important though to measure your ROI, whether financial, time, or effort.
With the limited time we have it'd be a shame to work hard and not see results.
Kathleen, you're doing amazing. I'm so happy for you for all your accomplishments - you've come a long way. :)
Keep up the good work.
Maggie, glad the list is helpful. The one thing about marketing is it's always evolving.
Thanks for such an informative article, Karen. I'm saving it for that big day when I can move forward with marketing. I just finished a terrific online fiction course with Joyce Sweeney (anyone interested, check out her website by Googling her name). It was a big help in getting my book marketable, which has been a goal for quite some time now.
Linda, glad you found the article informative! You take such great writing courses and share what you learn with us - thanks!
Writing a marketable book is what it's all about.
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