My
favorite part of writing (by far) is getting to know my readers. But how can I show them how important they
are to me? That was a question I asked my
Facebook community, and (with a little help from my friends) I came up with more
than 50 ways! This is the first of
three blog posts that highlight ways writers can show their readers some love. Enjoy, share, and add to the list in the commetns. I hope it sparks some creative ideas!
Day 1: Thank
them! This one seems like a no brainer, but we
often forget. Mom always said, when someone does something nice for you, say
thank you! From writing reviews, to
retweeting our tweets, to sending us e-mails.
The varieties of kindnesses bestowed upon us by readers are
impressive. And I’m always surprised by
how delighted readers are to hear from me.
So, my author friends: Have you
thanked your readers lately?
Day 2: Send them
an Authorgraph!
Many readers love autographs, but they can’t necessarily meet their favorite
authors in person. How about an
Authorgraph! This fun app allows authors
to send autographs to fans whether they read the old fashioned paper way or on
their favorite electronic screen. Better
yet, it’s free to both parties!
Day 3: Wish them
a happy birthday on Facebook! Maybe it’s just me, but I love it when
people contact me to wish me a happy birthday.
And Facebook makes it so easy!
Sign up to get an e-mail stating which of your friends has a birthday
each day. Before you know it, you’ll have a daily e-mail reminder. Your quick Happy-B-day might make one of your
reader’s day!
Day 4: Create a
fan page for your books: I have both
a personal page on Facebook and an author page.
I prefer my personal page, because “friending” my readers lets me learn
more about them and their lives. But
there’s an entirely different page readers might enjoy: A Fan page for their favorite series! I haven’t done this yet, but it seems like a
fab way to connect readers with their favorite series. This page by fellow Inker Sheila Boneham is a
great example.
Day 5: Share
information about other books they might like. Chances are you also read the genre in which
you write, and you may know great authors that your readers haven’t heard
of—yet. If you love a book or an author, why not post about them on your author
page or fan groups? You’ll help a fellow author and your readers at the same
time!
Day 6: Chat them
up at conferences.
As authors, it’s really easy to hang out with your clan when you travel to a
conference. How about hanging out with
readers? Invite your readers to have a
drink, a coffee, or even just take a few minutes to introduce yourself. Some of my favorite people are readers I’ve
meet at conferences!
Day 7: Friend them! Author pages are
great—I have one myself. But personal
walls are more, well, personal. When readers become friends, instead of just
fans, the dialogue changes. It’s less
about promoting your work and more about building connection. Once you’re a rock star, you’ll reach the
5000 limit for your friends, but until then, why not reach out to your readers,
or accept their requests when they reach out to you? If you want to friend me, I'm at this link.
Day 8: Share more with them than “buy my book!” Believe me, I
know that finding readers is hard, and that most of us well outspend what we
make on our books trying to market them.
But who wants to have a friend who only reaches out when they need something?
What information would interest your readers? Think of how you can serve them, and then when
you do post an occasional “buy my book,” they might be more interested in
supporting you.
Day
9: Post
a video of you reading from your newest work!
OK—I’m going to admit—this is not
one I’m likely to do, because I HATE to see myself on video. But how about creating a quick and easy
youtube video of you reading a scene from your work? Readers who can never see you do a reading in
person may love the opportunity to do so in video. Plus, it can double for one of your blog
entries! Everyone wins!
Day 10: “Like” the reviews they
write for you on Goodreads or mark them as helpful on Amazon. Most readers don’t
have a review blog, and even posting a review on Amazon or Goodreads is adding
one more to-do item to their busy schedule.
A simple click lets them know that you noticed, and that you appreciated
it!
Day 11: Speak at their book clubs. You may not be able
to be there in person, by Skype is a wonderful thing! You’ll get to see the happy face of your
reader and meet a few more at the same time.
I’ve only done this a handful of times myself, but it’s been a blast!
Day 12: Send them an autographed bookmark! Not every reader can
get your autograph in person, and Authorgraph (see day 2) isn’t everyone’s cup
of tea. But many readers love
autographed bookmarks. For the price of
a postage stamp and a minute of your time, you can make a reader’s day.
Day 13: Host a discussion
of one of your books on Facebook! On Day 11 I suggested speaking at your
readers’ book clubs. What if they don’t belong to one? Why not create a discussion event of your
own? An hour-long Facebook event at which readers are invited to discuss your book, learn more
about its background, and ask you questions about you, your work, your writing
process—maybe even the meaning of life!
Sounds like fun to me! This is
definitely on my to-do list for the future.
Day 14: Write a short story involving your series’ characters. This
one isn’t accessible to all writers, depending on contract stipulations you may
have with your publisher. But if you’re free to write about your characters,
why not write a short story for readers to help tide them over between
books? Your readers might really love
it!
Day 15: Write
about them in a blog article!
Got some favorite fans that have supported you? Give them their own 5 minutes of fame. Picture them or write about them in a blog article. (With permission, of course.) My fabulous
street team sent me some great photos before my last launch, as well as
distributing bookmarks and sharing my news. A thank you blog article about them
was the least I could do!
Day 16: Pose for a photo! I’m photo-phobic, unless I’m posing with
friends. And every reader is a
friend! Cuddle up close with your fans
and smile pretty. If you want a photo with me, a hug is the price of
admission! (Consider yourself forewarned!)
Day 17:
Have a birthday group! Author Kathi Daley has a special birthdaygroup set up for her readers in which they receive something special on their
birthdays. How cool is that? What a great way for readers to feel (and be)
acknowledged!
Day 18: Be real.
We all want to show our best face in public, but no one has a perfect life all
of the time. Share your struggles as
well as well as your successes. By sharing your own humanness, you might make
your readers feel less alone in theirs.
Day 19: Make them feel (en)titled! Believe
me, we writers aren’t the only ones who are creative. Show your readers that you value their
opinion by asking them to help choose your next book title. Even though I say this helps show you love them
(and it does) it helps us even more. Who
knows what titles will reach out and grab readers better than the readers
themselves!
Day 20: Comment on their posts. I post on Facebook pretty
regularly, but I hold no illusions that people want to talk only about me. Connect with your readers by sharing in their
joys and sorrows. It takes a second (at
most) to like another post and a few more seconds to hit a reply. (Readers, please know that with my lovely
(and growing) collection of friends, I don’t see much more than 1% of my
friends’ posts. So if you wonder why I don’t comment on something, I likely
didn’t see it.) If you want to see
something, be sure to tag me. Then it
will go to my e-mail inbox!
That’s
the first 20 in at least 50 ideas. More
to come next month. How about you? Authors, how do you show your readers some
love? And readers, what other ideas do
you have?
Tracy
Tracy Weber is the author of the award-winning Downward Dog Mysteries series featuring yoga teacher Kate Davidson and her feisty German shepherd, Bella. Tracy loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. Her first book, Murder Strikes a Pose won the Maxwell Award for Fiction was nominated for the Agatha award for Best First Novel. The second book in her series, A Killer Retreat, was released January, 2015 by Midnight Ink.
Tracy and her husband live in Seattle with their challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha. When she’s not writing, Tracy spends her time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house.
