Make More Money When You Let Your Passion Show
Marketing is a lot like matchmaking, after all.
I love marketing! Lots of people don’t — especially writers. Perhaps you’re shy, or it just feels weird to sell something you’ve created yourself.
When I first started writing, I was uncomfortable charging for an ethereal product—something conjured out of my head. But if we want to make money, we must acknowledge we are selling something, which in this case, is our writing.
When I opened my first bookstore, advertising intimidated me.
I imagined begging people to buy what I sold, constantly being annoying.
All my money had gone into buying books and getting the store open. I’d delivered flyers, had yard sales, painted houses, and worked two jobs to collect $10,000.00. I rented a building and organized the inventory.
Never owning a business before, I naively assumed I’d open the doors and people would show up to buy books.
On the first day, I sold $26.00. I needed to find out how to get people in the doors, and fast! As a book believer, I did the logical thing.
After I locked the doors that evening, I ran down the street to the new bookstore, straight to the business section. A title caught my eye. Guerrilla Marketing. The word guerilla even sounded kind of exciting. Jay Conrad Levinson inspired me to think of a new marketing definition based on human-connection, not a splashy ad budget.
Rather than the dreaded hard-sell, I realized I’m helping people when I tell them about what I do. I want them to meet their goals and make their life better.
Marketing is matchmaking. It is what you do to meet the customer’s need and form a connection.
Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t have money to spend on advertising.
No newspaper ads and pricey TV spots. Yes, this was pre-digital back in the stone age, so I had to become creative and use my imagination. I learned to connect to my customers and give them what they needed.
Levinson’s book has been reprinted many times; it now includes digital marketing techniques, along with the tried-and-true ‘easy and inexpensive strategies’.
The early version was full of inexpensive tips to develop a relationship with the people who needed my books. I created the coupons, a store newsletter, a Birthday Club for the kids, and a big year-end pizza party, from the book’s suggestions. We became a community.
Customers crave empathy and connection, even with a business.
And this connection became the key to my store’s success. I knew my customers so well I’d predict which book they wanted almost before they did! Within a few years, the bookstore had become the largest in the state.
Over the last 25 years, I’ve added more methods and ideas to come up with some inspiration to convince you that marketing can be fun and rewarding.
These same principles can help you sell your book, your articles, or get readers to your blog.
There is plenty of brilliant advice on how to market your book now that you’re excited about the process and ready to learn more.
Check out The Creative Penn, Tim Grahl, and Marika Flatt when you’re ready to dig in and exercise your marketing muscles.
I have one caveat.
You must be passionate about
- what you write
- finding out what your readers need
- and connecting and listening to your readers
Passion is in rare supply these days. This is a shame because excitement is contagious, and when you’re fired up by what you write, you inspire your readers.
How does your writing solve the customer’s problem?
To answer this question, you must know who your customer is and what they want. If you are writing only for yourself, face facts: Writing is likely just your hobby.
- What are your reader’s goals, problems, and needs?
- Can you describe how your book or article helps them fill these needs?
- How do you most effectively communicate with your customers?
Creating a customer persona is an essential step to clear marketing. The more you know about your potential reader, the better.
Read this article and learn how to create your ideal reader avatar.
How can you help the reader?
How do you meet your customer’s needs for information, entertainment, or inspiration?
When you write your Elevator Pitch, the answer becomes clear — a 10-second description of what you do as a writer.
Trust me. You need to take the time to get this down.
As a content writer convincing a business owner why they should hire me to write their content, I might say:
I find out what your clients need, and then I write articles to educate, inspire, and entertain them. They become more enthusiastic fans of your company, buy more products, and you make more money.
This statement identifies both what the business owner needs and how I can help.
To describe what I do as a fiction writer:
Do you know those stories that intrigue you and immerse you in another world where you fall in love with the characters? I write books that let you relax, escape daily life for a few hours, and perhaps drift away in a tub filled with bath salts.
Again, it acknowledges the reader’s desire to relax and explains how my product meets their need.
Most of the time, your user’s needs are met as a result of what you do.
There are three types of customers you must connect to.
The first doesn’t know you even exist. Your goal is to attract that person, interest them, and get them to read your work.
There’s a second group of people who are vaguely familiar with you and what you do. You need to nurture that interest so they’ll take the next step.
And there’s a third group that has purchased your book, read your article, or hired you at least once. They already trust you, so you need to continue to deliver what they expect and wow them with the experience. You want them to become raving fans and refer you to friends and family — the highest form of praise.
Now the big question is: How do you talk to all these people?
If you confuse them, you lose them.
You’ve identified what your customer wants and needs and how you can help. Now, you need to be consistent in how you relate to your reader.
Imagine you are craving an authentic wood-fire baked pizza from your local restaurant. The same sign is outside, but when you walk inside, it’s become a barbeque joint. Are you a satisfied customer? Not at all. You expected to get what you’ve gotten there before, and you were disappointed.
The same is true of your reader. You’ve committed to filling a need for a specific experience, and your customer insists you fill it, or they’ll find it somewhere else. Your brand and your product must match, and you must deliver.
Every customer has three choices; buy from you, buy from a competitor, or buy nothing at all. Help them make the first decision.
Now — to reach your customer, you must get to know them.
Here’s the fun part! Connecting to your potential customer is your goal. It’s what you do as a writer.
You’ve already done the research, and you know where this person gets their information, whose opinion they value, and the emotional cues that will motivate them.
When you have a deep understanding of your reader and write books the reader loves, they’ll eagerly buy them.
Assume that if this person met you, they’d like you. After all, you understand them and can help them get what they want and need. Be authentic and share the things you have in common. This is your brand.
I’ve never met an author who wasn’t passionate about the characters and stories they create. Once they start talking, the enthusiasm flows, and that’s what you need to share with your prospective readers.
I recently read the 4th edition of Guerrilla Marketing, and the 200 tools in the back are just as relevant as I remembered. Yes, the details of your platform, website, mailing list, and social media are essential.
Still, they are only the tactics used for connecting. Genuine connection is your strategy. I promise you it works. Remember this, and marketing will be a lot more fun.
I love business and marketing and can help you target your readers with my Reader Avatar creation services.
Cindy has been a farmer, teacher, bookstore owner, and writer. She loves books and is intensely curious about life. Join the conversation.