Content Marketing for Authors: An Effective Strategy to Build Your Author Platform

Content Marketing for Authors

If there’s one low-cost marketing strategy that’s perfect for writers, it’s content marketing.

Content marketing is a marketing strategy that is known by various names such as branded content, branded storytelling, content strategy, contract publishing, custom publishing, custom media, inbound marketing, private media and other variations.

Content marketing for authors is the process of creating and distributing valuable content to attract readers to build an audience, and attract ‘employers’ for writing or career opportunities.

I think of content marketing as an author’s untapped superpower. Authors already have a preference (and skill) for communicating through words.

What do I mean by ‘content’? Here, it means any media you could publish on the web. The simplest, low-resource, and most natural to writers is text. A blog.

Authors cringe at the idea of marketing because they associate it with selling. But I like to think of it this way: you’re sharing your passion for your books, in a way that’s helpful and/or entertaining.

You don’t need to become a sales person. You need only indulge the best aspects of your character. You have everything you need for building a relationship with your audience. Teach and entertain, don’t sell.

People don’t buy from websites or promotional fliers, they buy from people

~ Beth Buelow

Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable content to attract an audience and promote your work. For authors, it’s an ideal way to build your author platform without a big marketing budget.

Your Author Platform

Establish Your Brand

Writing regular articles and blog posts shows your expertise and personality. This helps attract readers who want to follow your work.

Promote Your Books

Share excerpts, background info, and tie-ins to promote your titles. Content gives new readers a taste of your work.

Boost Social Media

Fresh content provides material to post and share on social platforms. This expands your reach.

Develop Writing Opportunities

Position yourself as an expert to get freelance gigs and speaking engagements.

Connect With Community

Engage with your peers, readers, and fellow writers through your content and the discussions it sparks.

Get Started with Content Marketing

Follow these steps to launch your content marketing plan:

Set Your Goals and Target Audience

Be specific. Do you want to drive book sales, land freelance work, engage fans? Define your ideal reader too. A niche target audience ensures your content stays focused.

Brainstorm Content Ideas

Map out the journey you want to take readers on. What do they need to know first, next and last? Turn each step into a blog post topic.

Create Valuable Written and Visual Content

Aim for 500-1,000 words per post. Break up text with images, quotes and lists for easy scanning. Optimized images also help content spread on social media.

Promote Your Content Across Channels

Share your posts on all your social profiles. Repurpose content into different formats like quotes or Q&As for additional sharing.

Engage Influencers to Widen Your Reach

Ask social media influencers to share your content with their followers. Share and comment on their content in return.

Grow Your Email List

Use your website and content to collect email subscribers. Email marketing helps build a lasting relationship with your audience.

Performance and Reach

Review analytics to see what content resonates. Support other authors, bloggers, content marketers, and continue creating content that provides value.

Execute Consistently Over Time

Regularly publishing quality content and promoting it through multiple channels compounds your results. Content marketing for authors takes effort but delivers a real payoff in building your author platform.

Are you a writer looking for guest posting opportunities to showcase your talent, gain exposure or to boost your author platform? Look no further than our guest posting platform! We are searching for talented writers who are experts in their field and passionate about sharing their knowledge with our audience. By submitting a guest post, you can reach a wider audience, increase your online presence, and establish yourself as a credible voice in your industry.

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