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Building an Author Platform | Igniting and Engaging Your Audience

A key element to building your business, and let\’s be real here-being an author IS a business, is creating visibility here your ideal client is hanging out; on social media.

The phrase \”building an author platform\” has made many an author cringe because it means doing work…a lot of it…to put yourself and your work \”out there\” for the world to see. NOt always an easy task for the introvert who just wants to write.

Like it or not, social media is critical for getting your books in front of those who are most likely to click the \”buy\” button. But just creating an account on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram isn\’t enough. Authors need to Ignite interest and Engage their Audience as much as possible.

In a nutshell, social media is just that; social. It\’s about engaging with your audience not just blasting your buy links all over the WWW. Posting for the sake of posting won’t get you where you want to go. The goal is to capture attention and motivate people to not only become part of your business community but to also become lifelong customers. This requires both seizing attention and then retaining it.

Let’s take a look at strategies to both ignite and engage your audience on social media.

Building an Author Platform | Identify the Trigger Points

The first step to engaging your audience is identifying the types of content that they respond to. You’ll need to perform a bit of research and testing to accomplish this. You can use keyword searches to start. Using hashtags and your own analytics you can determine the popular topics and the content that draw people to your website.

Once you know what they’re looking for, try various content formats, topics, and headlines to identify the material that generates attention and creates conversation and clicks.

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Building an Author Platform | Create a Strong Platform

Your audience wants to know what to expect from you. Your platform should ideally support your brand and your voice. That being said, you can be creative with your platform. For example, you can use your social media profile to provide a daily tip for your readers. You can share commentary and make your platform one that is primarily editorial. Identify what your audience wants and how you can offer them value, and then format a platform around that opportunity.

Building an Author Platform | Invite Conversation

One cannot engage others without asking questions and inviting feedback. Whether you publish polls, ask for opinions, seek advice or incite controversy and start a dialogue – the goal for social media is to motivate your readers and followers to get involved. This requires a call to action. Tell your readers what to do next. If you want them to answer a question, ask them to answer a question. If you want their opinion, ask, “What’s your opinion?”

Finally, be sure to test and track your efforts as you learn and engage. Track the posts that people really get excited about. Track the material and links that generate the most clicks. And by all means, track the material that results in conversions. The more you know about your audience, the more you can provide them with the right material – the material that not only provides value but also encourages them to become an active member of your business community.

One More Thing

COMING SOON! The much-anticipated sequel to JIAB intern, Hannah Rials\’ runaway YA hit, Ascension. Book Two in the Ascension series is Clandestine and its already bringing in raves reviews.

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“Gripping until the very end.”Scott Reintgen, author of Nyxia

“Dark, surprising, and full of twists, the Ascension series is a delectable addition to vampire canon. Rials paints a rich and engrossing world of vampires, half-vampires witches– each with their own agenda. Cheyenne’s struggle to be free is one that every girl will recognize, and I rooted for her as she bristled against the roles cast for her by society. It’s the story of a girl yearning to come into her own powers, powers both frightening and beautiful.” ~Maggie Thrash, author of L.A. Times Book Prize nominee Honor Girl

Clandestine by Hannah Rials\
Cheyenne Lane never believed it could come to this—imprisoned by her own family, who are plotting to overthrow the vampire Council. Ripped away from the happiness of her summer romance and friendship in New Orleans, Cheyenne is forced to begin her education at Clandestine, the secret Deuxsang University, one year early.
She is guarded constantly, separated from her best friend Anne, and desperate for any word from Eli and the witches. Meanwhile, her cousin Lilith has discovered that Cheyenne possesses all four vampiric abilities—unheard of for a Deuxsang—and intends to use her in the Ascending’s rebellious scheme.
At 17, Cheyenne finds herself the center of a centuries-old conspiracy involving the vampires, Deuxsang, and witches, and everyone is telling her who she should trust and what she should do. Her head is too full of voices and opinions, and it’s time for Cheyenne to make up her own mind.
Is she ready to step into the role she was made for? Who can she trust? Who is her friend and who is her enemy? Is she really a born leader? All questions that only she can answer. As the information and scenario gets more confusing, she knows she must listen to her intuition if she is going to shift the truth from all the lies.

Pre-order Clandestine HERE (release date: July 21, 2018)

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