How to Build an Audience

One of the hardest things for most writers is establishing an audience. This is an extremely important issue that needs to be solved; without an audience, you are writing to the ether. Without an audience, you have no one to build a buzz for your book, no one to buy your book, and no one who cares. Even if you are just posting pages to be read online, you need someone to read your pages; that's your audience.

As such, you need to find a way that works for you when it comes to building that audience. Obviously, not all ways work for every writer; not everyone speaks well or is able to be everywhere. That's fine. Not every writer will be using every method, and no one is expecting you to. You need to figure out what works for you and go for it. Figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are then which methods work for that combination. Once you know which methods work for you, charge into it and have fun with it.

However, keep in mind that once you start building an audience you need to keep doing it. You need to spend a good percentage of your time marketing your writing, and this is what you will be doing. No matter how big an introvert you are, this is something that you need to do in order for your book to be a success. Yeah, there's no question that this is probably one of the most irritating parts for anyone, but it is nonetheless something that needs to be done. So figure out what you can do and charge into it.

Book Sites

There are a lot of excellent book sites, from Book Bub to Good Reads. These sites allow you to choose how you want to market your book, be it mutual reviews, making promotional copies available, or just sharing news between readers. While they do tend to be more passive unless you pay for promotions, they can be a good stepping-off point, especially if they allow links to external sites, such as your personal site or where you are selling your books. As such, they are a great stepping-off point, especially if you are looking to find an audience geared to your book.

Book Launches

While it's easy to look at this as just the real-world version, more and more authors are looking at the virtual version. The real-world version allows you to meet your audience personally, establishing a personal link with everyone; it also gives the local media something to focus on and thus can elevate your media profile that way. While it can actually be sort of fun, even for introverts, it does require a bit of preparation and cost, especially as you need to have a number of books on hand and you need to make sure you have pens. Overall, it is worth the experience.

The virtual version is easier to set up but may lack the personal touch unless you are ready to keep up with all of the messages. The major advantage is that you can set up a room in Zoom, Discord, or any sort of conference, and anyone from anywhere can attend, while the live version is limited to those at your location. However, you can also set up a link to your book and site that anyone can go to so that you do not need to deal with an inventory. You can also choose to offer signed copies, even though that means funneling them through your site.

Either way, a book launch is a great way to pull focus onto your book and thus help sell your book. Oh, and you're not limited to just one or the other; you can do both.

Giveaways

Giveaways can be a little complicated, but if you can pull them can get you a lot of buzz. There are three stripes here: Copies to reviewers, free copies to subscribers and others, and giving out physical copies. The first is necessary to get the word out while the second can be somewhat risky as not everyone will give you the desired reviews. However, the third needs to follow a lot of rules; if you can make the giveaway based on a trivia game or some other game of skill rather than a game of luck then you should be okay.

Working with Local Bookstores

It can only help to work with any local bookstores. While the big bookstores are always looking for new books, especially if they have been well-reviewed, local bookstores are especially supportive of writers and artists from the local area. It is a point of honor among them to tell their patrons of whatever books are being produced by local artists, and most even have special shelves for local artists. This also applies to used bookstores, although there is the catch that they may be more interested in a consignment deal than buying your books outright. However, it is still a great way to get your foot in the door.

Amazon Author Page

For those using either KDP or Vella, Amazon does offer an author's page. This is easy to set up and can provide not only a great way to link to all of your stories and vellas but also your blogs and podcasts. You can also provide some quick videos and other messages. In short, the Amazon Author page is a great way to show everyone what you are up to and where they can read your stuff. While it isn't a substitute for a real website, it is still a pretty good way to get the news out.

[For those who want to link their vellas, you do need to contact Amazon directly.]

Website

So let's take that Amazon Author page and build on it. This allows you to have links to sites beyond Amazon, making it great for those trying the get subscribers to their newsletters and blogs, as well as all of your social networking. Have a podcast or vlog? Here's where you mention it. Have a book on a huge number of sites? You can have as many links as it takes. This would also be where you can drop links to reviews or interviews. You can also run a blog and even monetize the site.

In short, you need a website if you have a lot of news to get out and you have enough books to start a small library.

Newsletters

Suppose a website is good for general information. In that case, a newsletter is good for specific information, such as where you will be appearing, what interviews you will be giving, and any new releases. Having a sale? Now you have a place to announce it. Have something interesting going on? Here's how you let people know. Want a soapbox? You have it, but you should debate using it; people just would prefer not to have to deal with politics more than they need. But, overall this allows you to keep your audience and fans in the loop and they usually appreciate that.

Appearances

Part of your marketing plan should be to appear on various podcasts and vlogs; this does not include your own podcasts and vlogs (note them in your newsletter, of course). This is more that you are appearing on someone else's, using them to advertise your own projects. Your goal should be to show that you are a human being and worth looking into; people just prefer to read books from a real human being than a name on the sleeve of the book. So have fun, have a little fun with the interview, and just be you; don't try to be someone you aren't because people will figure out the difference and resent you for it.

Commenting

This is a weird one, and you have to be really good at it for it to work. The idea is pretty simple: Just comment on a lot of different things, such as blogs, podcasts, and even Youtube videos. If people do not get a lot of comments then yours will be noted, and thus your stuff will be looked into, especially if your comments come off as at generally intelligent. Admittedly, it takes a little work, but if you can be a conversation starter rather than a conversation ender it goes a long way to establishing you as someone to be interested in, and with any luck that will translate to your books becoming more popular.

Consistency

Make sure that you deliver your projects on time and on a regular schedule. You need to train your audience to expect when your projects are coming out; this creates a certain amount of anticipation in order to sell the most books. Conversely, if your schedule, well, isn't and you release sporadically, if it all, and you prove incapable of keeping to any kind of schedule then you are likely to lose your audience and no one will be looking forward to your books, no matter how good they may be.

When it comes down to it, your schedule is something that you need to worry about if you are serious about people reading and buying your books. If you're running a crowdfunder, then you had better get your books in the hands of your supporters as promised if you want to be able to run more than one.

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As noted above, marketing sucks. Few writers enjoy doing it and almost all of them see it as something that they would prefer having their eyes gouged out to marketing their books. However, it is something that you need to do: No one can read your stuff if no one knows about it. You need to figure out what works for you and go for it; otherwise, you are more likely to die unknown and unread, and that would be a shame.