Are you an aspiring author who has always wanted to publish a novel or non-fiction book but are scared about receiving negative reviews? Maybe you’ve already written and published a book…only to be disappointed by its lackluster sales and lack of interest on sites like Amazon.
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You’ve perchance wondered why a certain someone earned $95 million for fan-based fiction riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes, not to mention a ludicrous storyline concerning 50 shades of a certain color. You may have even asked yourself how this person has so many followers when her writing isn’t even that good?
Whether it’s fear of criticism, lack of popular interest, or just a lack of understanding about how to create the right platform for your book, something has been amiss in your campaign to become a published author. As a result, that great American novel gets put on the backburner for tomorrow, or next week, or next year. Never today or right now.
Meet Jeff Goins of Tribe Writers 2.0
Jeff Goins is a self-published and traditionally published author who believes that every writer needs a tribe if that writer is to be successful and actually sell his books. In fact, Jeff believes so strongly that every writer needs a tribe that he developed a multi-lesson course on building one; this course is called Tribe Writers.
The Tribe Writers course was so successful that it is now undergoing a re-vamp and is about to be released in 2.0 format.
What is this ‘tribe’ stuff all about?
So, what is a tribe, at least according to how Jeff views it?
“A tribe is a small group of people that share a common interest,” he says. However, “a tribe is not everybody.”
In his book Tribes, Seth Godin defined a tribe as a small group that has a leader, a message and a way for members to connect to one another.
As a writer, you need to establish yourself as the leader of your own tribe, hone your message to that tribe, and empower your members so that they have ‘social currency.’ In case you’re wondering, social currency is a kind of psychological parameter that’s measured in how smart or popular or interesting your members look to those people they are influencing.
However, the idea of having a tribe isn’t just so you have some online fans. Publishers work with authors based not so much on their content but on the following that they have. Literary agents also look at how much marketing they will need to do after taking you on as a client. If you’re not well-known in the social media and blogging world, and you have no followers, who exactly is your book audience going to be?
The measure of a tribe isn’t what you think.
Your tribe isn’t defined by the number of Facebook friends or Twitter followers you have. It isn’t even defined by the number of comments on your blog posts.
Your tribe members are actually defined by your email list.
Why?
Because email is personal, and thus it’s still the best way (outside of postal mail) to reach people directly.
As marketers say over and over again “The money is in the list.” Likewise, the people who are most likely to support you, to recommend you, and to inevitably buy your book, are your email subscribers.
Jeff notes that one of the first questions he was asked when discussing marketing strategies for his upcoming book was, how big was his email list?
In other words, how many tribe members actually subscribe to regular messages from the tribe leader? How many tribe members are available to recommend the tribe leader’s published book, or even the leader herself? Without referrals and recommendations from loyal tribe members, it’s unlikely that people unfamiliar with a book are just going to buy it.
How do you find and grow your tribe?
Jeff talks about how writers need platforms in order to legitimize and to amplify their message. In today’s age, that platform is a blog.
Jeff Goins describes how he reluctantly quit his 4-year-old blog, a blog that had maybe 100 subscribers. He then started a completely new blog.
Within 18 months, Jeff’s new blog had amassed over 100,000 subscribers and several book publishing offers.
How did he do it?
In a nutshell, this process involved the following:
- Targeting a small, defined community of readers with a similar mindset.
- Not just operating a blog, but operating a blog that provided value for its readers.
- Pursuing passion, not profit or popularity.
- Creating and offering an incentive for readers to sign up to the blog’s email newsletter.
- Offering readers a sense of involvement and ownership in the blog and its content.
- Establishing personal expertise by selectively interviewing other experts.
Jeff describes the process he followed in Tribe Writers 2.0, which is launching this week; he also outlines the principles in his free e-book called Every Writer Needs a Tribe.
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Take your next step today.
If you have always wanted to publish your novel, short story or non-fiction book, what’s holding you back? Time waits for no one. If you have doubts about being “good enough” or finding an audience that shares your passion, then Jeff’s e-book Every Writer Needs a Tribe is for you.
Download it today.
Read it.
Find your tribe.
Write your passion.
Publish your work.
