Writers Tricks of the Trade Issue 1 Volume 8 | Page 37

S MARTER A UTHOR P LATFORM (C ONT ’ D )
own platform is to team up with someone (or a group of someones) who reaches the same audi-
ence you want to reach.
Y OUR N EXT S TEPS
Publishers (and authors) know that a social media following doesn’t equate to book sales. In-
stead, an engaged readership that spreads word of mouth leads to book sales. As you think about
how to build your platform for the next stage of the digital era, use analytics to identify how and
where you get the best engagement, and what tools help you find the right readers, rather than the
most readers. Ultimately, this is the most powerful feature of digital media: its ability to target just
the right person who will enjoy your books.
Here are specific articles that can help you find new readers and grow your platform:
 SEO: How Much Does It Affect Novelists?(The Hot Sheet)
 Audience Research Needn’t Be Costly or Time Consuming(Digital Book World)
 Researching Reader Intent to Fine-Tune Book SEO(Digital Book World)
 Finally, A Social Media Strategy That Puts You Right in the Middle of Your Target Mar-
ket (ConversionXL)
 How to Hack the Amplification Process (Moz)
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE
P AGE 29
S PRING 2018