I’ve had friends publish traditionally and independently, and what I’ve noticed is that the burden of promotion falls on the author more than it used to, no matter which publishing route you go. Having a social media presence and a newsletter are vital to becoming a successful writer. Building relationships with your audience is essential. Here are some tips for building relationships with your audience through a well-crafted newsletter.
Know Your Audience
Appeal to the people who will read your work. If you’re a mystery writer or a poet, tailor your posts to people who are looking for compelling intrigue or beautifully written metaphors. If you try to grab everyone, you’ll appeal to no one. Identify your niche, know what brings readers to your subject or genre, and focus on hooking them with relevant, reader-focused content.
Offer Practical Help and Guidance
Whether it’s about writing or reading better, people seek enlightenment and encouragement. Maybe you want to advise your fantasy readers to create a list of players and places to help them keep track of all the details in those kinds of intricate worlds. Or you might tell readers what it was like for you during the world-building stage of writing and give tips on how you made sure you didn’t contradict yourself in your timeline. General advice such as “How to Write Better” may attract some readers, but “How to Keep Track of Timelines in Your Fantasy Realm” is going to be a bigger hit with fans and other writers of that genre.
Build Personal Credibility
Write regularly and often. Talk about personal struggles and failures as much as your successes and victories. Credibility is built through real experience, dependability, and relatability. There’s not much you can learn from someone who is successful right out of the gate, but you can learn a lot from someone who has worked through the same problems you’re facing right now.
All of these tips are related. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or to write about them. Select the lessons you’ve learned that will benefit your readers most. Connecting on a personal level is what attracts people to you, and they discover this through your daily posts, reflections, and regular newsletters.
I write a weekly Substack, Future Trends and Science Fiction where I share posts on technology that was previously only science fiction and today is science fact or much closer to science fact. My goal is to attract an audience who might be interested in my near future military political techno-thrillers.
I focus on awareness of my writing and as a way to connect with readers and provide value. Maybe they’ll buy my book and maybe they won’t but they’ll certainly know who I am and maybe recommend me to others.
I'm a Substack beginner and have yet to figure out how "outsiders" find Substack. All my writing friends know about it, but how is it spread to readers?