How to Build Your Author Platform - Part 6 - Give it Away

Give It Away!

About now, you might be scratching your head in puzzlement. Say what? Give it away? What away?😊

Building a strong author platform can start with free content. 

Every word you write is a tool for promoting your brand and driving book sales. 

While it may sound counterintuitive, giving away your writing benefits you in the end. 

The main principle of marketing with free content is that all publicity is good publicity. The more you get your name and writing out there, the easier it is to create brand recognition and gain a following.

WHY Give It Away????

Say What???

As is true in most any profession, networking for authors means building reciprocal

relationships. 

re·cip·ro·cal

/rəˈsiprək(ə)l/

adjective

adjective: reciprocal

1. 1.

   given, felt, or done in return.

   "she was hoping for some reciprocal comment or gesture"

   synonyms:

   given/felt in return, corresponding;

2. 2.

   (of an agreement or obligation) bearing on or binding each of two parties equally.

   "the treaty is a bilateral commitment with reciprocal rights and duties"

   synonyms:

   mutual, common, shared, joint, corresponding, correlative, give-and-take, exchanged, complementary;  rarereciprocatory, reciprocative, commutual "reciprocal obligations and duties"

In the world of being an Authorpreneur, the idea is that you want to build relationships that will benefit you in the future. As with life itself, it cannot be one-sided.

When you offer free content to others, giving them free access to your book, often they will, in turn, share it with their own fans, followers or friends, and perhaps even give a review or even an endorsement. 

Additionally, readers are far more likely to take a chance on a new author when they

don’t have to pay for the content. 

By offering free articles, stories, videos, or blogs, you will begin to grow a fan base that will be much more likely to purchase your book or books, than someone who has never read anything written by you. It's called proving your salt or your worthiness. 

The added bonus is that these same people know people, who know people.

Looking at the bigger picture, serve them well and they are more apt to become your client!

Well, all of this may begin to sound completely and utterly overwhelming. But it is not.

This is where you...

Start with What You Have

You probably already have pieces of writing you can use as free content to market

your work. Look through your book manuscript for chapters or sections that work as

stand-alone articles or stories. 

Reach out to websites, podcasters, magazines, and specialty news sites that cover your topic, and offer them a polished piece with your author bio and link to your author website and books.

(Watch for our upcoming blogs on these topics!)

Building a Strong Author Platform

There are many ways to use free content to gain a following. 

Here are just a few:

• Guest posts

Cultivate relationships with bloggers and, after you get to know them, offer to contribute guest posts. Your post will include an author blurb that links to your site and information about your published work.

• Publish on general interest websites 

Publish pieces on sites like Examiner.com and Howto.com. These sites have wide readerships and they can help you gain a following with new readers who otherwise might not find your work.

• Use social publishing

Harness the power of social publishing to create community. Develop your market with social publishing sites like Wattpad and Scribd. Sharing drafts and works-in-progress will help you create a community that can be a huge source of feedback and support for your work.

Don’t forget that you’ll need to read and participate in the development of other

authors’ works as well. These are communities, after all.

• Cross-post 

Whenever you publish free content on another website—a guest blog, an article, etc.—cross-post it on your own website and social media accounts.

• Offer a freebie with an email newsletter signup 

A great way to get people to sign up for your email newsletter—perhaps your best marketing tool of all—is to offer a story or ebook in exchange for their email address. 

Provide a collection of stories, a small how-to book, a writing guide, or whatever you think will be irresistible to your target audience. Then you have permission to talk to them

directly.

Offering segments of your existing writing can be a great way to connect with your

audience and market your books. Providing free content will allow readers to get to

know you and, hopefully, to share your writing with others. 

In this way, you’ll gain a larger following and strengthen your author platform.

How's it going on your journey to becoming a top-notch...

Authorpreneur?