by Lisa Norman

In Part 1, we covered why you want a newsletter and some of the key basics of the technology that you need to have in place to collect email addresses and send emails that will reach your readers’ inboxes.

For this part, I want to dive deeper into finding your audience and connecting with them so that they will open those emails.

Much of the available advice on this topic is generic because the actual steps need to be unique for each author or person selling a product. Here’s the problem: this advice isn’t wrong, but it often lacks direction on how to apply it to your business. Because it’s generic.

And your connection to your fans is unique.

There is a lot of advice out there for corporate marketing that does loosely apply to authors, but only in the process, not in the actionable steps. So let me start by outlining the steps, then I’m going to take a stab at showing you how to apply it.

The generic steps:

• Identify your audience.
• Identify your audience’s pain points. (If you don’t know what these are, keep reading!)
• Clarify how you can meet those pain points.
• Build a relationship with your clients.

Who are your fish?

When I teach social media marketing, I refer to your ideal fans, your superfans, as your “fish.” Your fish are the fans who are going to love your work so much they’ll share it with anyone they know. I chose fish because I wanted to set off what I was describing from other examples in the market, and because so many authors had described trying to find followers as fishing. (Spoiler: fish are friends, not food. We want to swim with them, not catch and fry them. If you cook them, they don’t school and bring their friends.)

The past few weeks, we’ve had a hilarious disaster in my household, and as I was preparing to deliver a talk on marketing for authors, I realized this story was the perfect metaphor for how to grow your following.

My fish story—a true story!

One of my sons loves all things ocean related, and as a young boy he had a fish tank. Platys are a type of live-bearing fish that he decided he wanted to try raising and breeding. Platys are also fairly aggressive, and they eat their young. We bought special tanks, separated the babies, did everything we could think of. I think we may have raised one baby fish while he had that tank. My point: it seemed like we’d never get babies, and for years, we were experimenting and failing.

He’s now grown and lives as much of his life underwater as possible.

But back to that tank. I’ve now taken it over and I decided I would try platys again. I bought three of them and put them in the re-established tank. We had these three for a few months. No babies. They seemed unhappy and aggressive. We had two males and one female, so we should have had babies but didn’t. One of the males died. Now I had two fish.

Researching platys, I discovered they liked to be in larger groups of about six fish. My small tank will only support about five full-grown platys, so I bought three more platys. Now I had two males and three females. Platys’ pregnancies last about four weeks. I watched several pregnancies come and go with no babies anywhere visible. Five fish.

Frustrated, I went and talked to a fish expert who agreed that the babies were being eaten immediately upon birth. He suggested things I’d tried before (baby isolation tanks, etc.) but I knew these didn’t work. Then he suggested making the tank more baby friendly. How about adding grass? He sold me some aquarium grass and I planted it in the tank.

Counting Fish

Finally, two juvenile fish appeared! They were already about four weeks old before I saw them for the first time. How had I missed them? Platy babies are really tiny. I’d been staring at that tank every day and hadn’t seen them at all! Now I had seven fish.

I added a log that had lots of hiding spaces underneath it. Another juvenile appeared. Eight fish.

This was exactly what I’d set out to achieve. These small fish were big enough not to be eaten. At this rate, they’d mature about the time the older ones died, I hoped, and I’d have something resembling a stable population.

My delight was shorter-lived than the average platy.

A few weeks later, I had about 10 more babies. The adults didn’t seem at all interested in eating them. Eighteen fish.

Note: platys can have between 20 and 90 babies every six weeks. A couple of weeks later and I can no longer count the fish in my tank.

I’d succeeded in making my tank too baby friendly! Three of my adults and as many babies as I could catch have been rehomed. Yes, this is the point at which the analogy starts to break down, although I will say that having a rapidly growing fan base can create a few technological challenges you’ll need to deal with.

My tank is full of fish, and I’m going to have to deal with the overpopulation issues.

Let’s get practical.

Who are you?

If I gave the same writing prompt to all of you, you’d each come up with a different story. Each of you would have a unique take and a unique style. The first thing you need to do is to identify what that style is. What makes you special?

Here’s where imposter syndrome can pop in. I need you to fight that impulse. You are unique and you have stories to tell. Don’t waste energy on whether or not this uniqueness is real. It exists; believe in it. Find it and try to define it. You may not get it right at first, but try.

Who are your fish?

Based on your understanding of your uniqueness, I want you to think about who your ideal audience will be. Who will love your stories?

Don’t try to please everyone. Don’t say your book is the next Harry Potter. Focus and try to define your ideal fan. The way this experiment works is that your fan should be a specific person with as many unique characteristics as you can come up with. They should be as unique and real to you as any character in your books. You’re looking for one fish. One very special fish.

The thing about fish is that they aren’t monogamous.

Your fans may also be fans of other writers, TV shows, movies, etc. Figure out where they are and what they love.

You want your potential fans to feel right at home when they connect with you. When they read your articles, blogs, social media posts, etc., you want them to nod. You want them to feel a connection with you.

Readers’ Pain Points

The term pain point is hard to apply to our fans, and yet they do have them. They’re bored. They’re seeking adventure, or romance. Readers are looking for a sense of being seen, or they want to feel validated. They want to feel hope. Some just want to feel anything. What is it that your readers are seeking? What do you offer them?

Some Examples of how this works:

Example 1

Let’s use an adventure-seeking fish as an example. This fan may live a fairly boring day-to-day life, but they long to see exotic places.

Now let’s suppose that you are a writer who uses exotic locations in your stories. This is a connection between you and your fish.

What sort of articles would this author want to write to attract their fish? How about information on the research they’re doing for their next book? How about sharing interesting details that you found that brought the setting of your last book to life?

Example 2

This fish is a geeky office worker who feels lonely and ignored.

We have an author who writes thrillers where the office desk jockey is faced with a challenge, rises to the adventure, and saves the day.

What sort of articles would this author write? Possibly funny office anecdotes? Stories that would make this reader feel seen? Anecdotes that they could laugh about while dealing with coworkers? Stories about the boss who misses out on the brilliance of their employees? Can you see how different authors might connect with this same fish in different ways?

Moving from connection to fandom

When it seems like no one is listening, keep going. Keep writing, keep reaching out. But if your list isn’t growing, experiment with other topics and approaches. Watch your statistics, but also give your fish time to discover and share your content. Remember that our goal is to write sharable articles, so we want to see our existing fans bringing in their friends. This won’t happen overnight.

One of my favorite examples is a client whose email list grew from 8 to 16 in a month. He was disappointed, but our marketing guru was excited. 100% growth! Keep doing that! The next month he had around 40. It would have been easy to say this growth was too slow and to try something else, but we advised him to continue, because he’d found his niche. 3 years later, he had a traditional book deal and bought a house. He’d found the secret to growing his audience, and it continues to grow.

Make your tank fish-friendly

As you begin to connect with your fish, reply to comments. Answer their emails. Make them feel special: because they are! In these comments and messages, they’ll give you more information about what they like and want to see. Pay attention to every hint they give you. Remember: baby fish are hard to see!

Pay attention to the topics that bring in fish, the special food they like, and the things they share with their friends. Once you have found something they like, give them more of it!

This extends to more than just your email list

It is easier to learn what attracts your fish through a mailing list than it is through writing books. Some authors write to market. They have a defined market or trope (for example: werewolf shifter romance) and they start out knowing what their readers want. This makes marketing much easier. If you’re in this pond and not attracting fish, consider if you have fully understood the genre or if you might have violated some key aspect of a trope that readers want.

Others write the stories they want to tell and are then required to define and find their audience. This is where marketing can be difficult, but also rewarding. Remember that even a small growth in your list is promising. First, find what your fish want through experimentation. Then, give them more of it and watch the list grow!

Do you have a newsletter? What has your experience been with it? Share your wins AND your horror stories!

About Lisa

Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.

Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of Deleyna's Dynamic Designs, a web development company focused on helping writers, and Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.

Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her brand new classroom where she teaches social media, organization skills, and marketing for authors!

All images courtesy of Lisa Norman.

by Eldred “Bob” Bird

Now that the country has pretty much opened up again, the opportunities to present to writer’s groups in person are opening up as well. I recently had the chance to get back up in front of a group for the first time since the shutdown and I must admit, it felt a little foreign.

I hadn’t been in the spotlight for over three years and my presentation skills needed some serious dusting off. As I pulled my materials together and created the outline and slide show, I thought it might be a good time to share my process with the WITS crowd, so here we go!

Getting Started

The first step I take when putting a presentation together is to get a clear idea of what the expectations of the hosting group are. Here are a few of the questions I usually have:

• How many people are expected to attend? – This helps me plan for things like the number of handouts I need to print, how much promotional material to have on hand, and so on.
• How much time am I going to have? – In addition to the actual presentation, I like to make sure I leave enough time for questions. I also like to have some interactive exercises when time allows.
• What kind of technology will be available? – There’s nothing worse than showing up with an amazing audio-visual presentation only to find out that there’s no support for that kind of thing. Find out what the venue will provide and what you need to supply. If it’s a large room, will there be a PA system? What kind of inputs does the AV setup have? Some older technology may not play well with new systems. I always carry a wide selection of adapters in my laptop case for just this reason.
• Will I be allowed to display and sell my books? – Most groups allow you to sell your work, but some venues may restrict it. Be sure to check with your host. They may have a specific way to handle merchandising.

Building the Presentation

 Whether I have video capabilities or not at the venue, I still like to build a Power Point presentation. It not only provides a way for me to keep myself on track, but also lets me produce handouts for the group. This gives them a way to follow along in case of the absence, or failure, of audio-visual equipment. I usually print two slides per page with large margins so there’s plenty of room for attendees to take notes.

There are as many ways to build a presentation as there are people delivering them. This is the general framework I use to structure my teaching materials when I’m asked to pass on what I’ve learned to other writers.

Introduction

I use the first couple of slides to introduce myself and my body of work. This might include things like books, short stories, blogging (like I do for WITS), and other publishing credits. You should also mention any awards or recognition you’ve received from the writing community.

While this section feels a little like bragging, it goes toward establishing your credibility as an experienced writer with something of value to share. But don’t go overboard. Like I said, this is about establishing your credibility, not your superiority. You want to make a connection with the group without intimidating them.

Set Expectations for the Session

The next thing I include is a high-level look at what I’ll be covering. This is usually just one slide with bullet points made up of the headers for each section of the presentation. I say a few words about what will be covered in each then move on. It makes for a smooth transition into the informational portion of the presentation.

Delivering the Goods

This is where the meat of the presentation lives. The number of slides and how they are arranged will vary with the subject matter and how much time has been allotted for the session. Building around the bullet points on the slide that set the expectations, I create the rest of the slides for the presentation.

I also use bullet points on these slides to identify talking points for each section. What I don’t do is write a full explanation of each point. Nothing bores me more than listening to a presenter just read the slides to me. I prefer to use the slides as a guide and then talk about the concept. This makes it more personal and encourages interaction from the group.

I finish this section up with a general overview of the material and a Q&A session, if time permits.

Contact Information

The final slide in all of my presentations is a “Where to Find Me” page. This includes my website address, email, social media information, and links to places where my work is available, like my Amazon Author page. I usually leave this slide up for the remainder of my time at the podium.

Interactive Exercise

If time and the subject matter permits, I like to hand out a worksheet and have the members of the group populate it with information from something they’re working on. I’ll ask for volunteers to share their work for input from me as well as the rest of the group. This helps to cement the concepts from the lesson.

It can also lead to building relationships within the group. More than once, I’ve seen writers get together after the session and share ideas sparked by the material and the interactions spurred on by the exercise.

After the Session

If time and the venue allow, I like to make myself available for a meet and greet after the session. This gives people a chance to get to know me and my work a little better. Being accessible can go a long way toward building an audience, as well as establishing relationships with other writers.

I’m a living example of how this kind of networking can pay off. The fact that you’re reading this right now is proof. It was through networking with other writers that I was able to make some long-term connections that eventually led me to guest posting for WITS on a regular basis.

Some Final Thoughts

The above is just one approach to sharing your knowledge with other writers. It’s a good place to start. Next time you attend a conference, workshop, or author talk, I would encourage you to pay close attention not just to the message but to how it is delivered. Over time you will find what works for you, as well as your audience.

Do you teach workshops or speak to writer’s groups? What have you found works (or doesn’t)? Do you have a specific method you prefer when sharing your knowledge and experience with other writers? Let us know in the comments below!

About Eldred

Eldred Bird writes contemporary fiction, short stories, and personal essays. He has spent a great deal of time exploring the deserts, forests, and deep canyons inside his home state of Arizona. His James McCarthy adventures, Killing Karma, Catching Karma, and Cold Karma, reflect this love of the Grand Canyon State even as his character solves mysteries amidst danger. Eldred explores the boundaries of short fiction in his stories, The Waking Room, Treble in Paradise: A Tale of Sax and Violins, and The Smell of Fear.

When he’s not writing, Eldred spends time cycling, hiking, and juggling (yes, juggling…bowling balls and 21-inch knives).

His passion for photography allows him to record his travels. He can be found on Twitter or Facebook, or at his website.

Image Credits:

Top image by Chelsea Ouellet from Pixabay

There’s a lot written about Imposters Syndrome. Most of it attempts to reassure us that feeling like an imposter is normal. I’m not here to argue with that. But too many of us do not realize how deviously imposter syndrome can invade your creative life. Or how to overcome the syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome Defined

Clinical psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes first coined the term Imposter Syndrome (I.S.) in 1978. According to Wikipedia, the Imposter Syndrome is “a psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments. It is not an officially recognized psychological disorder and is not among the conditions described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but it has been the subject of numerous books and articles by psychologists and educators.” 

There was a time when we believed more women suffered from the Imposter Syndrome than men did. Unfortunately, time has shown that no one is immune to these feelings. It happens to all creatives, including writers, to celebrities, to politicians, to tradespeople, and to stay-at-home parents. And the phenomenon has been around for a long time.

Examples:

Remember when Sally Field accepted the Oscar with her statement, “You like me. You really, really like me!” Yup. That’s a sign of that Imposter Syndrome. Aw, you say, she’s an actress, she doesn’t count. So how about Albert Einstein who said, “The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” Or former President Woodrow Wilson when he said, “I use not only all the brains I have but all that I can borrow.”

Signs of Imposter Thinking

Imposter Syndrome is sneaky. It’s not always the same signs or the same way of thinking. Your brain is clever that way. It devises new ways to “protect” you. Here are some thoughts that suggest you have Imposter Syndrome.

• Diminishing your accomplishments by saying something like “it’s not a big deal.”
• You quit your job soon after a promotion that you felt you didn’t deserve.
• Creating a perfect story, aka perfectionism, keeps you from completing your work. 
• You procrastinate on things to be done. If it isn’t done, then you can’t be “found out.”
• Insomnia and migraines have been called symptoms of imposter syndrome as well. (Please, if you are having physical symptoms such as insomnia or migraines, seek medical attention to rule out other causes for those symptoms.)
• You look at another writer’s awards and accolades or best seller rank and think you will never be as good. You are suffering from comparison-itis, another form of imposter thinking.
• Writer’s Block has many causes. But it can be a sign of this syndrome, especially if your thoughts are leading you to believe this temporary stoppage means you aren’t a real writer. 
• Finally, in extreme cases, there are some who take refuge in more destructive behaviors like addiction to alcohol or drugs. Please seek professional therapy for these types of behaviors.

The Neuroscience of Imposter Syndrome

Psychologists have identified four main primal drives that helped all animals, including humans, survive. They are: fight, flight, feed, and mate. 

Few people dispute humans would not have survived much of the last two thousand years without our fight and flight mechanism. Fortunately, early humans developed a very strong, instinctual way of reacting to the threat of death that they lived with every day. 

This means that our brains instinctively give the highest priority to these drives. Instinctively, our brains look for reasons we must fight to survive first, and if fighting isn’t survivable, we instantly take flight. Once we no longer need fight-or-flight, our brains will prioritize feeding ourselves in order to survive. Finally, we mate to ensure our survival. 

Luckily, some of us have moved beyond the physical fight for survival. Many of us do not have to fight off a bear or lion or other imminent death threat. But even when we don’t have a physical death threat at our door, our brains still have that fight-or-flight instinct. So our brains look for the next “best” threat and turn it into a life-and-death issue. 

We may know logically that the “threat” is not that kind of situation, but we don’t start with our thinking-brain. We start with our feeling-brain. And we feel afraid. 

When we feel afraid, our brain kicks in the fight-or-flight instinct. We act to protect ourselves. Unfortunately, what we think is protective is not helpful in the least. But we don’t know it because our feeling brain tells our thinking brain what think and those thoughts become what we believe. Notice that there’s no logic built into our instincts. 

The good news is that we can do something. We can learn from our fears and eventually believe differently. 

Ways to Supercharge Your Writing Life Against I.S.

Stop the Argument

If the number one culprit responsible for how we behave is our feelings, how do our feelings usually manifest themselves? Self-talk. Our brains start a running dialogue that reinforces the fear of that death threat (real or not). To combat the Imposter Syndrome, we need to counteract that running dialog based on fear.

There are many ways to address our fearful, negative self-talk. First, we have to notice it. This might mean you need to meditate on the thoughts and feelings you are experiencing. Journaling may help or reading self-help books or courses. Always check the bona fides of any book or mentor or therapist before choosing one. Professional organizations are the best option for finding reputable sources of help. 

If your negative self-talk includes suicidal thoughts, to talk with a therapist now. If you don’t have one or cannot afford one, reach out to your nearest public health department, your church, or in the U.S., call 988 (English and Spanish). Outside the US, try this list of international hotlines. 

On the August 6, 2023 episode of the Writing Excuses podcast, actress and writer, Kirsten Vangsness, discussed Imposter Syndrome. She suggested you can stop the argument by acknowledging you are an imposter. She says she understands that there is a part of her that constantly is trying to destroy her. Knowing that, she can recognize that self-talk and learn how to deflect or defeat it.

By acknowledging that she is an imposter, Kirsten is embracing her fear. Sometimes, simply saying I’m afraid is enough to help diminish that fear enough so you can move through the fear. 

Reframe Negative Thoughts 

Reframing is a psychological “trick” to turn a negative thought into a positive one. 

Example 1: 

Negative: Author XYZ sells more books than I do. I must not be a good enough writer.

Positive: Even though she sells more books than I, I still sell books. 

Example 2: 

Negative: I can’t take a break. If I’m not writing, I am not a writer.

Positive: Surgeons go on vacation and they’re still a surgeon. Ergo, writers can go on vacation (or take a break) and still be writers.

You can use this technique to quell any negative thoughts you wish to change. It’s not an instant fix, but over time, it can make a vast difference in your thoughts.

Self-Compassion 

Recognize your bravery and your persistence. Writer, you are brave when you act in the face of unreasonable fear. Believing you aren’t good enough is a fear. Continuing to write despite that belief/fear is an act of bravery.

You are persistent when you take the hits and keep moving toward your writing goals. No matter how small the hit to your writer's pride or identity, you keep writing. That’s persistence.

Life can derail your writing for a time. But honor what you have done. You have written. Honor what you are doing — you’re still learning, you’re still writing. The derailment doesn’t define you. You are a writer.

Know Your Why

You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t passionate about writing. But do you know your why? Why is writing the thing that makes you feel most alive and full of purpose? Do you have a message you want to share? Do you want to entertain? Why? Dig deep. When you know why you want to write it will help you fight imposter syndrome because it gives you focus. And it will keep you keep coming back to that focus.

If you feel you’ve lost your way, perhaps your why has changed. That’s okay. As we learn and grow and write more and more, our why often will change. 

Find your why and it will be your center and your compass. 

Feed the Writer’s Well

You’ve got to take care of all of you. There are four parts of each individual: Physical Mental Emotional and Spiritual. Nurture these parts of you regularly. Every day is the best, but whatever works for you. The activities you do in order to feed these parts of you are uniquely yours. Don’t do something because someone else says it’s “good for you.” Do what fills your well. 

1. Physical

Get movement into your day. That doesn’t mean run a marathon unless that’s your thing. It can be any kind of movement that you can keep doing for twenty minutes or more. Dance? Stretching? Swimming? It doesn’t have to be a rigorous exercise routine. You can take your dogs on a leisurely stroll around the block or play catch with your little one or indulge in chair yoga. 

2. Mental

The mental well you have will be unique to you. Maybe you read nonfiction to fill your mental well. Maybe you do crosswords or you do math problems. This is about exercising your brain in a way that isn’t writing. 

3. Emotional

Find your joy. Include something that gives you great joy every day or two to three times a week. This doesn’t mean letting your joy steal time from your writing, it means find moments of joy. Some call these moments joypennies. What is it that gives you a moment of joy? 

4. Spiritual

Find what feeds your soul. It can be religion, but doesn’t have to be. What feeds your soul is whatever you decide it is. It can be a walk in the park, music, viewing art by the masters, or petting your animal companion. 

Focus on Progress

When you fear you aren’t a “real” writer, you focus on things that are incomplete or didn’t progress as you wanted. Instead of allowing your fear-motivated-brain to control your focus, focus on the progress you made. 

Did you learn something new? Did you write for ten minutes? Keep a record of your progress. Decide which type of measure means the most to you and track it. Some writers track pages written, some track word counts. You may need to track the time you spent learning or writing. 

Spreadsheets make your eyes cross? Don’t use spreadsheets. A simple list of tasks will work or a special journal for each project. The point is to measure and track for each step, no matter how small it may be. Then, when your Imposter Syndrome flares, you have something to look at and remind yourself that you are making progress. 

Celebrate Your Wins

Congratulate yourself for every step forward, even the small ones. Every one is a win. 

Celebrations stimulate the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine, the “feel-good” chemical, reinforces the experience. It makes you want more of that feeling. So celebrate your writing related wins. Every celebration will feed your writing well positive thoughts and help keep you writing. 

Find (non-food related) ways to reward yourself for the larger wins. (Okay, an occasional food reward is okay, too.) 

Allow yourself time to watch a new movie or to play a game or walk in your favorite park. Make your celebrations proportional, but give it enough time to sink in.

Find Support

Everyone needs support from someone else from time to time. Find support. Anything from one other writer to a writer’s group to a mentor will work. Where do you look for writing support? If you want an IRL person or group, check with your local library or junior college or university. Online groups can be good options. Take an online class and connect with a fellow learner. Check your favorite social media site for fellow writers. 

Give at least as well as you get. Be ready to provide support for your partner or team. Best of all, try giving before you ask for support for yourself. 

Whatever you choose, look for the support that helps you the most. Need an in-depth critique. Look for that ability in your partner. Need specific genre or sensitivity support. Look for someone who has some experience in that area. 

Free Your Writing Life of Imposter Syndrome

Gather the tools you need to fight imposter syndrome. Keep them somewhere you can find them in the throes of self-doubt. Use them when you need to. 

It’s likely Imposter Syndrome will visit you in more than one way. Many of us never completely shed Imposter Syndrome. But you can supercharge your writing life against Imposter Syndrome and keep moving toward your writing goals. 

Have you experienced Imposter Syndrome? How did you free yourself from it?