Imagine always having a guaranteed audience for your writing. And not a small audience. Thousands of people who eagerly await your words, every single day.<\/p>\n
I can tell you, it is a very gratifying thing. I know, because I experience it every day.<\/p>\n
I’m writing this, because I want you to experience this too.
\n<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Sure, I have achieved success with my writing and my business. I run multiple successful websites, each earning a substantial income, and gaining wide attention.<\/p>\n
But what about other people?<\/p>\n
My wife, Caitlin, now has an audience of 109,871 people (and counting).<\/p>\n
My business partner, Ian Chandler, regularly reaches 27,271 writers with his words.<\/p>\n
Another writer I work with, James Montgomery, has an audience of 21,282 people. Every week, his writing is read by many, many people. Guaranteed.<\/p>\n
Is this type of success so obvious and so possible that it is easy to overlook?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
When I got started writing and publishing online, most people were very<\/i> confused when I told them what I did. Sure, some people knew what a \u201cblog\u201d was, but many people just gave me blank stares. Others assumed I was doing something illicit or illegal.<\/p>\n
Wow, has the world changed.<\/p>\n
Now, everybody knows what a blog is. When I tell people I run a website they simply nod their heads.<\/p>\n
Every day, billions of people browse the internet, reading a vast variety of content covering endless interests.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s such a massive amount of people that the scale is almost impossible to imagine.<\/p>\n
Completely fill a thousand stadiums. You wouldn\u2019t even make a dent in the number of people online, every day. It is truly mind boggling.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s good news. Because writers like you and me don\u2019t need billions of readers. Just a few million, or even a just few thousand, is all it takes to make a living with your words.<\/p>\n
I am incredibly fortunate. I can write literally anything, and know that I have an audience waiting to read it. And not just a few people, but thousands of people, many of them eagerly waiting to read my next piece.<\/p>\n
How many writers have a guaranteed audience for *all* of their writing?<\/b><\/p>\n
Even highly successful writers, with fame and fortune, don\u2019t always have a guaranteed audience.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m writing this, because, for some of the people reading this, I know I can offer the support and guidance needed to become a successful and profitable writer.<\/p>\n
I have a confession to make\u2026.<\/b><\/p>\n
I have another reason I\u2019m writing this: I\u2019m fed up with my current business. Maybe I\u2019m just a flawed human being. I get bored easily. Restless. (My wife certainly knows this!)<\/p>\n
I love building successful websites. I love building audiences for my writing, as well as for other people\u2019s writing. I love marketing, publishing, social media, etc.<\/p>\n
But, after a while, I\u2019ve gotten bored.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve decided, it\u2019s time to shake things up.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve decided to share my secrets. Have more fun.<\/p>\n
And, for those of you who decide to join me, I\u2019m hoping you\u2019ll have some fun too.<\/p>\n
I got my start when I was still in college. I didn\u2019t have any major advantage. No pre-existing audience, and not much experience in terms of marketing. But I had this idea in my head: I wanted to be a writer, and I wanted to start a business.<\/p>\n
I was a bit naive. I didn\u2019t know what was possible, or what wasn\u2019t possible.<\/p>\n
So, I just jumped in \u2014 and started exploring.<\/p>\n
I knew that there were endless opportunities on the internet, I just didn\u2019t know what they were, or where to find them.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, I was able to avoid one of the biggest mistakes people make when getting started building an audience for their writing.<\/p>\n
Let me explain.<\/p>\n
As the editor of Freedom With Writing, I often get submissions from writers who are very passionate about their writing. They want me to publish their writing \u2014 and they\u2019re sending me articles on a wide variety of topics. Sometimes these article are deeply personal, evocative, wonderful pieces of writing on topics such as love, depression, family, etc.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s a huge problem here. At Freedom With Writing, we simply don\u2019t publish that kind of writing. They may as well be asking my 8 month old daughter to read those articles. It doesn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n
The mistake they\u2019re making is quite easy to avoid. They\u2019re blinded by their own writing. Instead of focusing on their audience, they\u2019re simply blasting their writing into the world, hoping it makes an impact.<\/p>\n
This leads to perhaps the most important point I can make: Before you build an audience for your writing, you have to start looking at the world differently.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve got to start looking at the world in terms of communities of potential readers.<\/p>\n
What groups of people might be interested in your writing?<\/p>\n
What are their defining characteristics?<\/p>\n
Where do these groups tend to congregate?<\/p>\n
If you want to build a dedicated audience of loyal readers \u2014 people who are passionate about reading and sharing your work \u2014 then the most important thing you can do is put your readers first\u2026<\/p>\n
Which means giving up a lot of control.<\/p>\n
I learned long ago that I don\u2019t get to choose who is in my audience.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not up to me whether or not someone reads what I have to write.<\/p>\n
Building an audience is not about empowering myself \u2014 it is about empowering my audience.<\/p>\n
Every time someone reads what I have to write, it is their choice to read (or not). It\u2019s not up to me! It never will be.<\/p>\n
Instead of forcing people to read what I have to write, it is much more powerful to focus on the value I can give to potential readers.<\/p>\n
This is best done with humility \u2014 and a desire to understand and support the people who I am attempting to reach.<\/p>\n
There are two things that you must do, in order to successfully build your audience.<\/p>\n
First, you have to find a group of people who you would like to reach.<\/p>\n
Second, you have to present them with an opportunity to raise their hands and say \u201cyes, I want to read more from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The internet has made this more possible than ever before.<\/p>\n
People are able to gather in groups on social media platforms such as Facebook, tumblr, LinkedIn, and Twitter \u2014 and as writers, we are able to reach them using these platforms.<\/p>\n
As I wrote before, it is very important to start looking at the world in terms of communities of potential readers.<\/p>\n
Facebook is incredibly powerful, because it has done so much to organize communities. Using their platform, you can find people interested in nearly any topics, whether it is romance novels, or urban forestry \u2014 there is an audience on Facebook.<\/p>\n
With Facebook, as some of you know, I\u2019ve managed to build massive audiences. Freedom With Writing has over 300,000 followers. Authors Publish has over 100,000.<\/p>\n
Not only that, I\u2019ve managed to turn those Facebook followers into email subscribers, so that I can reach them directly.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot that goes into using Facebook to successfully build an audience for your writing.<\/p>\n
Let me lay out a few basics.<\/p>\n
Many people, when they get started with Facebook, complain that their posts don\u2019t reach anyone.<\/p>\n
The reason is this: Facebook analyzes every single post, and \u201cpredicts\u201d how likely people are going to interact with it. The more likely someone is to comment, \u201clike\u201d, or share a post, the more likely Facebook is to show it to more people.<\/p>\n
Facebook is hyper-focused on putting engaging content in front of their audience.<\/p>\n
This is actually good news for those of us who want to engage with readers. We can use Facebook to learn a lot about our potential readers.<\/p>\n
When you post on Facebook, think of it as a test: Does this post connect with readers, and inspire them to take some sort of action?<\/p>\n
This is wonderful because Facebook makes it very easy to learn about what your audience cares about.<\/p>\n
And once you know what your audience cares about, you have a huge advantage. You can win them over by connecting with what matters to them.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t get me wrong: There are many pros and cons to Facebook. I could spend hours talking about them, analyzing the advantages and the pitfalls of Facebook marketing.<\/p>\n
But, despite the pitfalls, Facebook continues to be an incredibly powerful way to build a massive audience.<\/p>\n
This is where many people go wrong. They find a potential audience, learn what their audience cares about, and even publish meaningful writing for the audience, but they never take it to the next level.<\/p>\n
You have to give people a chance to raise their hand and say \u201cyes, I want to hear more from you!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Perhaps the biggest reason for my success over the years has been my hyper-focus on asking potential readers for their email addresses.<\/p>\n
Think about it this way: Imagine you meet someone, fall in love with them, and never even ask for their name. Or their email address. Or phone number.<\/p>\n
That would be a tragedy.<\/p>\n
This is very important: Getting a \u201cfan\u201d on Facebook, or a follower on Twitter is not enough.<\/i> You absolutely have to focus on getting the ability to reach your audience directly.<\/p>\n
Hence, the hyper-focus on getting their email address.<\/p>\n
If you want to someone to give you their email address, there are a few things to keep in mind:<\/p>\n
People, in general, are happy to give you their email address<\/b> if you give them a good enough reason. If you\u2019ve been focused on learning about your audience, you can use that knowledge to give them a powerful reason to give you their email address. At Freedom With Writing, we offer detailed listings of opportunities to get paid to write. That\u2019s what our audience wants, and that is what we give them if they give us their email address.<\/p>\n
You have to ask very directly.<\/b> Many websites have an option tucked away somewhere not very intrusive; a small form on a sidebar, or an option at the end of an article. This doesn\u2019t work very well. Imagine asking someone out on a date by mumbling something to them from across a crowded room. Maybe they\u2019ll hear you; odds are, they\u2019ll just ignore you! It\u2019s much better to walk up to the person, and ask them directly. The same is true for asking for someone\u2019s email address: There should be zero ambiguity about what you\u2019re asking for. There should also be zero ambiguity in terms of what you\u2019re offering.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the thing: Just like asking someone on a date, some people are going to say no. And that\u2019s just fine. Remember, you want readers who are connecting with what you have to offer. On the internet, we don\u2019t have the opportunity to get to know people very well before<\/i> asking for their email addresses. However, There are a lot of things you can do to make sure you\u2019re asking the right people, in the right way, but even then, many people will say no. That\u2019s perfectly OK. It is just part of the learning process; as you get to know your potential audience better, more and more people will be willing to give you their email addresses.<\/p>\nHow to Win Lifelong, Loyal Readers<\/b><\/h2>\n
OK — once you\u2019ve managed to get someone\u2019s email address, your job is not over. It\u2019s merely the next step in a lifelong process.<\/p>\n
Because if you want someone to read everything you write, you\u2019ve got to build a profound relationship with them.<\/p>\n
And that means winning over their hearts and their minds.<\/p>\n
This is why clickbait never works in the long term!<\/b>
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b>When I started to get momentum with social media marketing, I quickly learned that I could get a lot of attention by posting over-the-top \u201cclick-baity\u201d content.<\/p>\n
Yes, that kind of stuff can get a lot of attention, fast. But it also stands in the way of the long term goal of winning loyal readers.<\/p>\n
Do you want someone to read something once, or to become a loyal reader for the rest of their lives?<\/p>\n
For some of my websites, I have people who\u2019ve been readers for over a decade.<\/p>\n
How does that happen?<\/p>\n
By consistently focusing on providing value to your audience.<\/p>\n
Give them what they want. Pay attention to their feedback, and focus on the long term job of building your relationship with your readers.<\/p>\n
Consistency, a focus on providing value, and the humility to listen will set you apart.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t worry if you get it wrong at first.<\/b><\/p>\n
Just like a real-world relationship with someone, it takes time to get to know them. It\u2019s a process. And sometimes, part of that process means getting things wrong. The important distinction here is that you\u2019re paying attention.<\/p>\n
There are a few things you can do to make sure you\u2019re providing value to your audience.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re first starting out, get as much direct feedback as possible. That means, try to get people to reply to your emails. Listen to them. Send thoughtful replies.<\/p>\n
Heck, even talk to them on the phone.<\/p>\n
Loyalty comes from real relationships.<\/p>\n
In the digital world, it often seems like real relationships are impossible.<\/p>\n
However, that\u2019s just not true.<\/p>\n
Once you have some momentum, start paying attention to the numbers. You should be using email software that tracks how many people read each email, and click through to read your writing. Those numbers are extremely valuable. They are as important as eyesight. They tell you whether or not people are actually reading what you have to say.<\/p>\n
Over time, you\u2019ll learn which things people tend to read, and which things people tend to ignore. Use this feedback to hone your topics. Remember, these numbers are \u201cshallow.\u201d They won\u2019t tell you how your writing made someone feel, but they will tell you whether someone actually got far enough to read your writing, and actually respond to it.<\/p>\n
Remember, building an audience for your writing is a journey. It starts with searching for groups of people who may be interested in your writing. You then give those people an opportunity to raise their hand and say \u201cyes, I\u2019m interested.\u201d Then you work hard to win them over, again and again.<\/p>\n
I urge you to think long-term here.<\/p>\n
If you can win over just one<\/i> lifelong reader a day, you\u2019ll have much more success than getting hundreds one-time readers a day.<\/p>\n
Over time, you can gain a legion of loyal readers, who not only read your writing, but provide meaningful feedback to you.<\/p>\n
This article has covered a lot of ground, but as you can probably tell, there is a lot more that goes into this.<\/p>\n
What are you biggest questions so far? I\u2019d love to answer them. Just post them in the comments below.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Jacob Jans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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