[00:00:00] Welcome to Beyond the Book presented by Juxtabook. I'm Zach Kristensen. It's our weekly, Q&A episode. Answering your questions about writing publishing and launching your book. Let's begin.
[00:00:13] I don't love being on social media, but I've heard that to become a author and really promote your books, you must have a really strong following on social media. What's your advice to someone like me who really doesn't want to spend a lot of time on social media, but knows it's vital to their career?
[00:00:30] I am thrilled by this question because it challenges a common assumption that to succeed as an author, you need a massive social following. Let's go deeper. Let's go deeper into the underlying assumptions underneath this question
[00:00:48] So what do people really mean when they say they need a large social presence to promote a book or any product for that matter? I would argue it's because they believe that's [00:01:00] where their potential buyers are. And maybe if you're not thinking that maybe it's just because everybody else is doing it. So that must be correct.
[00:01:09] But here's the real question for authors. Where are your buyers actually hanging out? That's why it's crucial to understand your audience. If you don't know who your audience is, you are not going to know where to find them.
[00:01:23] If you do know that it could mean that you need a large following to reach those buyers and engage with them. But there are always many different paths to engage with your audience.
[00:01:34] Once you identify where your buyers are hanging out. You can figure out how to engage with them. This could be just posting, posting consistently on social media and interacting with your audience on the comments and likes on your posts. Beyond that it could be. Engaging with your audience on their posts and commenting on liking and doing it sincerely and [00:02:00] thoroughly. It could be finding the groups where your audience hangs out, attending events, whether they're virtual or in-person
[00:02:07] And by engaging in each of these events or groups or with these individuals, if you do it consistently. You'll become known as the expert in the group as a high contributor.
[00:02:19] If you're doing this on Facebook or LinkedIn, you're going to see that there's different badges being awarded to people that have top contributor voices or within Facebook groups there's ones that show top contributors and on the admin back end pages of Facebook groups. You can see who's contributing the most and those who are the admins over those groups may see, oh, you know, this person's contributing a lot. I want to feature them for an event that I have coming up.
[00:02:49] So if you're hesitant about spending time on social media, my advice is this, whatever time you do have and whatever you have energy for, be consistent with it.[00:03:00] Ensure that the content that you are sharing. Resonates with your audience and that you're providing value. Remember posting more doesn't necessarily equate to more book sales.
[00:03:13] Dovetailing on that as an author, you need to understand what it is you are providing. If you're a coach or consultant, your book might be a tool for building your business. If you're a fiction writer, you're offering a story, a form of entertainment. Knowing what you provide and where to talk about it is crucial.
[00:03:30] Even if you have a large social media following you need to strive to capture your audience's attention further. I advocate for an email list because you have more control over what is being sent and what is being seen. People still have to choose to open it but you know, that it's landing in some view of your audience without being subject to an algorithm that is changing daily.
[00:03:56] So to wrap up, do you really need a large social [00:04:00] following? Perhaps, perhaps not.
[00:04:03] Again, the deeper question is understanding why you're using social media and the assumptions you're making underneath it.
[00:04:09] Once, you know where your readers are, consider how you're going to engage with them.
[00:04:14] And finally move people from casual engagement to a more highly engaged environment. Where you can communicate directly with them Those people are going to become your raving fans and they're the ones that are going to buy your book can be your promoters and help you get where you want to go.
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[00:04:38] If you have any questions about a recent episode, I'd love to hear from you. Visit juxtabook.com/beyondthebook and click the appropriate button to leave your question and we will include it in our weekly Q&A episode.
[00:04:54] Your book is just one chapter in your author journey. Think beyond the book [00:05:00] as you craft your path. Thank you for your questions and thank you for listening.
