Author: Dan Blank

We share our writing and art because we hope it will inspire, entertain, or educate someone. And it is easy to consider that this impact is greater the more people it reaches. We may aspire to reach an audience — masses of people who we don’t know.

Yet too often, I worry that the concept of “an audience,” actually gets in the way of your goals. Instead, I encourage you to focus on one person, not an audience.

This entire month I have been focusing on the topic identifying your ideal audience. Earlier this week I shared an exclusive post to my paid subscribers: The secret to learning about your ideal readers: befriend guides. Next month I am focusing on how to connect with your ideal readers. Join us here.

Okay, let’s dig in to today’s topic…

The Concept of “An Audience” Can Actually Feel Restricting

While many who write and create dream of a large group of people admiring their work, that same concept can also stifle writers from actually sharing their work. A crowd can sometimes feel fun and freeing, and other times feel terrifying and restricting.

I remember attending the first Lollapalooza tour in 1991, and getting right up front to see Jane’s Addiction perform. The evening had been magical so far. As I waited for the band to come on, it started to rain, and the venue played Peter Gabriel’s “Red Rain” over the PA system.

But the instant Jane’s Addiction came on stage, elation turned to terror. The crowd surged forward, then back, then again. I lost my footing as did everyone around me. I struggled to stay upright, as my feet no longer touched the ground, knowing that if I went down, I could be trampled. After a few minutes of struggle, I escaped, rushing to the back of the venue, shaking. I am not someone who minded crowds, and had been in plenty of pits at concerts before. But that moment taught me something about how quickly one can lose control in a crowd.

It’s reasonable for a writer or artist to have their own fear about stepping in front of a crowd. Fear of being seen, of saying the wrong thing, or simply feeling out of our element. Seasoned performers learn how to feel a connection with a crowd, but for many writers, they have no desire to be performers. They simply want to share the work that means so much to them, and have a meaningful moment with readers.

When someone is first beginning to share, it is easy to say, “Having 10,000 followers/subscribers is the dream!” Yet, I have spoken to many writers over the years who have 10,000 or 100,000, or 250,000 followers who feel distant from them, unsure of who they are, or convinced they want something different from what the writer truly wants t share. Or they fear disappointing some segment of their audience, so much so, that they stop sharing altogether, frozen in apprehension.

Likewise, I have known many artists who feel confined by their audience’s expectations. Perhaps the they were successful with one specific style of art, and now fear that their audience will ditch them if they try a different style.

If this sounds rude (that a fan of an artist would pine for a certain style from them), consider if you saw your all-time favorite band or singer in concert. Maybe it’s a legend like Joni Mitchell or Stevie Wonder — and they only want to play songs from their brand new album. Sure, you want to support them and their artistic freedom, but after awhile you may begin to feel let down spending hundreds on a ticket and parking, traveling time, and staying out past your usual bedtime, and you don’t get to hear “Clouds” or “Superstition.” I’ve been to plenty of Bob Dylan concerts where I hear fans groaning that he doesn’t sing his songs in the same style that he recorded them.

If you are just starting out, the concept of “an audience” can actually feel overwhelming, and like a lot of pressure. And as your audience does grow, somehow, it may never seem like enough because there are always others around you that have a bigger audience.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spoken to a writer and they say something like, “Oh, I only have 100 subscribers, it’s such a waste of my time.” Or “I only have 600 followers,” no one reads my stuff. It’s easy to dismiss a number, because it is just that: a number.

Every Interaction Matters

When you stop focusing on “an audience,” and instead focus on individuals, everything changes. You are no longer trying to please a mass of different expectations, and instead using the skills you have spent a lifetime developing: how to be present in your own aspirations, and to meet someone where they are.

To see an individual demystifies what scares us so much about the concept of developing a platform as a writer or artist. A decade ago, I first shared this photo of Amanda Palmer at a launch event for her book, The Art of Asking:

Photo by Jimmy Franco

Amanda is on the left, reaching over the table and gazing into the eyes of a fan of hers, Sarah Staalesen. The setting for this book signing is typical for managing a large crowd. There are handlers in the background trying to ensure everything runs smoothly, and fans have a brief moment with her, before they are whisked off so the next person can get their book signed. In her typical style, Amanda did away with those expectations.

At the time, I was able to contact Sarah (the fan in the photo) and ask her about this experience. This is what happened:

“I nervously knelt down in front of the desk, lost for words as Amanda began speaking to me, complimenting my outfit and asking what my name was. Then there was hesitation, because I have always been very bad at answering that question.”

“I don’t like my name,” I quickly blurted. My face was tomato-red.”

“Why don’t you like your name?” Amanda was so gentle with her questions.”

“I was not able to give her a proper answer because that would take up way too much time, and I had already froze by then, and I didn’t want to have her waiting all night. I was silly to say anything in the first place. “It’s Sarah,” I was finally able to say after a lot of stammering.”

“Then, very suddenly, she leaned forward to look into my face & took my wrists into her hands, and of course I was speechless. She was seeing me. I don’t have a lot of experience with really being seen. It was breathtaking and shocking to be held by Amanda.”

“My face started to crumple. “I’m sorry, I can’t look at you without crying.”
“Just try to,” she answered.”

“As she saw me deeply, I saw her as well. No more words were exchanged. I couldn’t even remember to breathe. After the moment, she signed the books I brought and blew me a kiss goodbye. My heart was soaring & I was quick to blow one back, hurrying off the stage for the next fan, feeling light as air, and ready to have a happiness-induced breakdown.”

Now, you do not need to do what Amanda did in this photo, and of course, I encourage you to have clear boundaries of what you are comfortable with. You do not need to physically hug anyone, or even shake their hand. This photo shows the choices that Amanda and Sarah made in that moment.

Yet, it also embodies something important, illustrating how a writer becomes a gateway for the work that moves someone touched by it. It is a place where the boundary of artist and fan is broken, and you are two human beings sharing something unique together.

You can learn so much from each interaction you have with a reader, another writer, or supporter of books and the arts. These moments matter. Showing up fully to them and seeing the individual not the audience, will teach you so much of what you need to be better at sharing your work.

Truly See Each Person

An audience is really just is many, many, many one-to-one connections. When I stand in a stadium of 50,000 people, all of whom are mouthing the words to the same Bruce Springsteen song (I’m from New Jersey), we are “an audience,” all performing the same action. Yet, that same song means something slightly different to each of us. We each have a personal connection to it.

Back in 2012, I waited for hours and hours in line to situate myself in a spot where this could happen — Bruce holding out the microphone towards me:

He understands the that this each person here has a personal connection with his music, that each voice in the stadium is unique.

When you share online or off, I encourage you to do this: leave room for the reader. This could mean asking a question at the end of your newsletters or on social media, or doing a Q&A at a book reading. It is about being present with people, instead of talking to them.

Likewise, I encourage you to use people’s actual names when possible. One simple way I try to do this is to reply back to everyone who comments on my Substack posts, and when I do, use their names. It is such a powerful way to illustrate that you see them as human beings, not just as “comment number 9.”

A Community is Formed One Person at a Time

If you hope for a community of support around your writing or art, remember that this is forged one person at a time. I spend a lot of time each week studying the journey of successful creators, and in nearly every case, it happened incrementally as they developed a community of people around them. Each person mattered deeply, and are the people they talk fondly of decades later.

This is what I notice when I look at #BookTok or #Bookstagram — those readers who share about books on TikTok or Instagram. I see passionate fans advocating for books. Sometimes they are crying, proclaiming, “This book wrecked me in the best possible way!” Other times they are holding a book sideways so you can see the dozens of Post-it Notes they used to mark passages they liked:

Source

As you share what you create, I encourage you to not be an island. Truly see those around you who care about writing or art similar to yours. Take a chance to start a conversation, ask a question, and consider what you learn about readers in the process.

Please let me know in the comments: can you share one moment that you connected with someone around writing or art, and why that moment truly mattered to you? For example: this can be a celebrity encounter, an experience with an author you love, or a reader who expressed something meaningful to you.

Reminder: each Tuesday I share an exclusive posts for my paid subscribers and engage in my private Chat on Substack. Join me and hundreds of writers here.

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

How do you get a new reader to become aware of your writing, buy your book, subscribe to your Substack — or otherwise take a meaningful action to support your work? That is what I want to discuss today, exploring the multi-step process involved, including a critical difference in doing this effectively that reduces frustration and disappointment.

To understand this in a nuanced way, I will discuss two primary themes:

• The concept of the marketing funnel, how it can help you truly understand what Human-Centered Marketing is, and how to harness it.
• The importance of craft, and becoming a student of the process of engaging your ideal readers.

Today’s post is a part of my fall curriculum, which I’m calling the Joy & Connection Marketing Plan. This month’s posts are all focused on identifying your ideal reader. For my paid subscribers, these are the posts in the exclusive series I have shared so far:

• Define your creative identity: What beliefs drive your writing and creative work?
• Write your mission statement or short bio! Defining who you are as a creator is not easy! Let’s demystify it…
• The art of great headshots or profile photos for writers & creators: Why allowing yourself to be seen forges a human connection with readers
• How to identify your ideal readers: The step-by-step research process
• Listen to the voice of your ideal reader: Your readers are real people. If you want to reach them, listen to what they say.

You can access these posts and others coming out, and join us in my private community Chat here.

Okay, let’s dig into today’s topic…

“Please just tell me what works…”

So often, a writer or creator simply wants to know “what works” when it comes to reaching their audience. And that sounds great, right? Their goal:

1. Do a thing. (e.g. Take out an ad, be a guest on a podcast, post to social media, pitch an essay, host an event.)
2. Look to see if it sold books, and if so, how many? (Or look to see if it lead to new Substack subscribers, and if so, how many?)

In this scenario, what one feels is missing is this: information. (e.g., “What is the right information to get to the result I want?”) They may feel that if they had this missing piece of information, a highly complex set of actions would happen automatically, as if they are just tipping over the first domino in a long chain of dominoes that falls effortlessly. This is the hope:

• Domino #1: I do a thing.
• Domino #2: a potential reader becomes aware of my writing.
• Domino #3: they get interested and begin exploring it.
• Domino #4: they consider if it is exactly what they want more of.
• Domino #5: they buy my book (or subscribe to my Substack, or whatever result I wanted.)
• Domino #6: they tell others about my work and how much they like it.
• Domino #7: they keep tabs on my work, looking for more ways to support it, or buy more of it.

In this case, the “thing” that you did would be measured by proving it lead to this chain of events, if this sequence can be repeated often and on command, and if you get enough people to do these actions to make it worthwhile to you financially or otherwise.

For example, “Wow, I ______, and it lead to 10 more book sales! Plus, it only cost me $___, which means I still earned a profit. I’m going to do that again and again.”

Now, I love this, and this does happen. But something I recognize is that it can be a pretty big expectation for taking out a simple ad, for a single pitch, for an individual social media post. This is why so many writers may end up frustrated with the idea of marketing. They do a thing. It doesn’t work. They do a different thing. That doesn’t work. They do yet another different thing. That doesn’t work.

They keep knocking over single dominoes, frustrated that more don’t automatically fall behind them.

What is a Marketing Funnel and How Does it Work?

Below is a pretty standard marketing funnel, which is meant to illustrate the many steps involved in getting someone to become aware of what you offer, then actually buy it (or subscribe, or show up, etc.), and become an advocate. The idea is that someone enters the funnel from the top, and moves downward through the phases:

This aligns with the domino analogy above. Let me give another example to illustrate this as a human-centered process, not just some weird marketing theory:

• Step #1, Awareness: “Oooh, I saw another friend mention this book, and that’s the third time I heard about it in a week. Hmmm, I wonder why they are all raving about it?”
• Step #2, Interest : “Let me check it out on Amazon. Okay, that kinda sounds up my alley, but not exactly what I normally read. Let me see what reviewers said about the book…”
• Step #3, Consideration: “Okay, I can totally see myself getting into this book. But do I have time for another book right now? How many pages is it? Hmmm, what can I move off of my TBR pile to make room for it?”
• Step #4, Conversion: “Okay, I worry I don’t have time to read, but then I saw it on sale, so I’m buying it. Can’t wait to start reading!”
• Step #5, Loyalty: “That book wrecked me in the best possible way — my friends were right. Who the heck is this author and what else has she written? Wait — is she on Insta?”
• Step #6, Advocacy: “I’m making a Reel about the book that made me cry the most this autumn, and it’s this one! I can totally see why my friends were posting about it, I know so many others who should read it too…”

To me, the primary thing that the marketing funnel illustrates is the very human process of how we take action. It takes time for someone to be aware of something, consider if it aligns to their goals or identity, and to feel a sense of trust to move forward. This trust takes time! As does the confidence needed for an action.

The Myth of the One-Step Marketing Funnel

Is it reasonable for a writer or artist to want to compress the time it takes for someone to move from awareness to conversion? Of course! And that is sometimes where marketing strategies come in, something I work with writers on every day.

Now, when someone asks that question I mentioned above: “Please just tell me what works…,” they are not looking for a traditional marketing funnel. Instead, what they want is what I call the “one-step marketing funnel.” This is a compression of the top and bottom, where the person hopes that a simple action will lead to immediate and meaningful results:

An example here would be, “Oh I took out a Facebook ad promoting my book, and I was pleasantly surprised that it lead to 30 sales in the first week! It only cost me $30, so that is totally worth it. I’m going to actually increase the spend so I sell 50 books a week for $50. That’ll be 200 sales each month, and I can consider increasing from there. Also, I want to see how many of these sales translate to book reviews on Amazon and Substack subscribers.”

The expectation is that the whole marketing funnel — all the human-centered communication and trust — will happen quickly via one simple tactic, and for it to be easily repeatable. While there are examples of this happening, it is not the norm. It is not to be expected. “Easy and repeatable” is what we want in life, but not simple to find.

Trust and Conversion Rates

That’s right, I’m using more sales terminology! But I want to use it to help focus on the real people involved in this process. Because this helps you to not have outsized expectations for very common marketing practices. And it helps you understand what doesn’t work and why, as well as what may work for helping you find more readers for your writing.

A conversion rate can be described as the percentage of people who move from one step of the funnel to the next. Again, let me give you an example:

• Awareness: You create a Reel on Instagram and Facebook to promote your book, which 1,000 people view.
• Interest: Of those 1,000 views, 200 people (a 20% conversion rate) actually click on the link you provided, which offered a compelling giveaway. Of those people, 40 actually enter the giveaway (again, a 20% conversion rate).
• Consideration: Those 40 people are then automatically added to your newsletter list as part of the giveaway entry, and they receive an automated email from you offering a discount code for your book.
• Conversion: 2 of those people actually buy your book using that discount code, a 5% conversion rate.

Something to keep in mind here:

• Low awareness and trust may lead to a lower conversion rate.
• High awareness and trust may lead to a higher conversion rate.

What does that mean? Someone who has followed your work for two years and really likes you and your writing is more likely to take a direct action to support your work than someone who discovered you a minute ago from an ad in their Instagram feed.

It’s reasonable that 100 people who know you really well could lead to 60 book sales, whereas 100 strangers walking past you at a table with your books at a Barnes & Noble may lead to one book sale.

What seasoned business owners and managers know is that conversion rates tend to be lower than you expect. This works on both ends of the spectrum: a 2% conversion rate on a social media ad can be considered really good! And if you invite 100 friends to buy your book, you may be surprised that only 20% actually do.

I’ve spoken to writers who are shocked by this, and even a little hurt. “I sent an email to my friends — people who say they always have my back — and barely anyone bought the book when I asked!”

Knowing this helps you better plan for meaningful ways to share about your work, and it underscores the importance of developing a platform around your writing and creative work. One that increases communication and trust with your ideal readers. It also points to the value of repetition — that people need to hear things multiple times before they understand it or take action. I know, it would be nice if you could send one email to everyone you know, and they all immediately came out to support your writing. But sometimes they need to hear things again and again, or with different emotional cues.

So if you are inviting people to join you at a local launch for your book at a bookstore, one Facebook post may not be enough. They also may need to know why this matters, not just to you, but to their identity (e.g., “By coming out to my author reading, you are shouting to the world that indie bookstores matter — you are part of the solution, not the problem. Plus: there will be wine and cake!”).

The wine and cake is meant to increase your conversion rate. As is the appeal to their identity and inner needs of being good people by supporting a local bookstore. Another post may include a prompt such as: “Remember when we all used to gather with friends and just chat about books and movies we loved? This event is your chance to do that again. Please join me and make sure I’m not sad sitting at my author reading all by myself.” (I have written before about amazing and successful writers who hold events that no one shows up to. It happens all the time.)

Become a Student of the Process of Understanding Your Ideal Readers

When I work with a writer, we tend to get very specific about their ideal reader. So if we continue looking at the marketing funnel, we may consider things such as what attracts your ideal readers, what objections keep them from being open to work like yours, what inner narratives would likely get them to take action to support your work, etc.

My post this past Tuesday focused on listening to the voice of your ideal reader, and something to consider is how you can slowly learn about your readers one meaningful experience at a time. Some steps to consider as you do this work:

• Take small actions each day or week to focus on the craft of communication and connection.
  Challenge yourself to make improvements in how you try to engage
• our readers. For instance: consider 10 different ways to write a newsletter subject line, 10 different ways to write a podcast pitch, and 10 ways to ask a question that might get replies on social media.
• Experiment. I have often found that what works are the ideas you least expect to.
• Track what you do. It’s common to get to the end of a week and feel as though you didn’t do as much as you hoped. I have had so many writers say to me, “Ugh, I didn’t do anything this week.” Then when I explore this further, I find out that they took 20 distinct actions to share their work, but they simply didn’t recognize that they did so.
• Track what you learn. When you take action, there are often little lessons along the way. Write these things down. You will quickly learn what feels right to you, what works, and most importantly, you will pull valuable lessons from what didn’t work as you hoped they would.
• Celebrate milestones! The process of sharing, connecting, and growing one’s audience is in the service of something important. You should honor that work.

What I find is that people who are experienced in their field embrace this idea of becoming a student of the process. They know that the learning never stops and that you often need to try new things, and become very comfortable with risk and failure.

Every week for years, I have had a long conversation with my friend Jennie Nash, who writes The Art & Business of Book Coaching here on Substack. She’s a writer and book coach with more than a decade of running a successful business. She has launched hundreds of programs, run (by my estimate) thousands of live calls and presentations, and published again and again. She is ridiculously smart and experienced — it is an honor and joy that I know her.

Yet, the learning never ends, and Jennie is a student of the process. Even though she is a very experienced coach, she recently signed up for a $15,000 coaching program. The other day she was taking me through what she has been learning, showing me the actual screens of her business dashboards — real numbers, real promotions, real conversion rates — and telling me what experiments were working, and how she keeps honing this day by day.

I will say this: it is work!

But in the process, she is demystifying that distance between herself and her ideal audience. If you are concerned that you don’t have the time or energy for this, I totally understand. That is why I encourage you to think of this as a craft. One where you attend to it through small habits each week. Where you focus on taking clear actions and consider what you learn. If you are able to have even one small moment with an ideal reader each week, that is a huge win. I mean, that is 52 times per year that you learn about your ideal readers.

This process is meant to reduce overwhelm, give you a sense of clarity, and connect you with real people who will resonate with your writing.

Jennie and I were texting about this earlier in the week, and she said this:

“The big thing is being willing to get things wrong. That’s what learning has to be about. You have to be willing to take action that doesn’t result in exactly what you are hoping for. [People] want to know the straight and sure path to [their goals] — getting a book deal, getting thousands of raving fans, building a business. There is no straight and sure path! So you have to be willing to embrace those risks while learning.”

Please let me know in the comments: What is one teeny tiny thing you can do this week to learn one thing about your ideal readers, to try to connect with an ideal reader?

To get access my exclusive series and all the Joy & Connection Marketing Plan content, become a paid subscriber here.

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

My posts this month are all about how to identify your ideal readers. This is an essential step to ensure your writing is actually read, and moves the hearts and minds of your readers.

On Tuesday, I shared a post (and 24 minute video!) for my paid subscribers where we walked through how to identify your ideal readers in a step-by-step process. More exclusive posts coming up for my paid subscribers this month — join us here.

Today I want to talk about some common misconceptions that many writers have in finding their readers. I don’t mean for this to be negative or judgy. But I find that these narratives hold writers back, preventing them from seeing opportunity that is right in front of them to connect their writing to readers. I love this work because it is inherently about completing one’s vision as a writer — when your words profoundly change the life of a reader, giving them a moment of respite in an otherwise overwhelming world.

I will frame today’s post as phrases writers sometimes say to me, where they dismiss the idea that they can or should identify their ideal readers. Okay, let’s dig in…

“My readers should find me. Besides, I don’t want to look desperate by seeking them out.”

As with every statement in this post, I have empathy for why someone would say this. Is it a writer’s hope that readers magically find them? Yep. But I encourage you not to simply expect this to happen. Why? Because I grew up as an artist and have been surrounded by creators my entire life. Again and again, I would see passionate creators painstakingly develop work, and then release it to the world, only to hear crickets. No one buying the book, coming to the art opening, seeing the show, stopping at their booth at a craft fair, etc.

Seeking out readers does not negate the idea of other readers finding you on their own.

The other part of the statement above is often more invasive to our mental health and our goals as writers: “…I don’t want to look desperate by seeking them out.” To me, this translates as fear of shame and embarrassment at the mere idea that people might see you caring about your work connecting with others. It reinforces the concept that one can’t advocate for the ideas and stories that they desperately care about. That they can’t connect with others or bring people together around this work. That if you make an effort, that this means you have “sold out.”

None of this is true.

Having spent so much of my life around writers and artists, I can remember the thousands of moments that they crafted, bringing people to their work, and developing a truly meaningful experience because of it.

In case you need to hear this: it is okay for you to share your own work. I spend so much of my time studying successful writers, artists, and creators in history, and in nearly every case, they took huge steps to share their work and advocate for it.

Can great art magically finds an audience? Yes. But in reading long biographies of creators and listening to long interviews with them, what I hear again and again, is stories of them trying to share their work to ensure it is seen and cared about.

“My book is for anyone ages 18-80!”

Can your book truly move anyone and everyone? Yes! But is that a great marketing strategy? Maybe not.

When you focus on a specific group of people to share your writing with, that does not mean you are dismissing the possibility that others can find and appreciate it. When you get more specific, you ask yourself sometimes difficult questions about who would be drawn to it more immediately and why.

I’ve heard variations of phrases such as “If your book is for everyone, then it is for no one” over the years. Meaning, if you don’t do the work to connect it with those more likely to appreciate it, then you are essentially offloading this work to the reader.

Let’s take an example from another industry:

Me: “Do you want to come eat at my restaurant?”

You: “Um…. maybe. What kind of food is it?”

Me: “People LOVE our food.”

You: “Okay… but what type of food?”

Me: “We have so many types of food! You will certainly find something you love!”

You: “Is it spicy food?”

Me: “If you like! But we also have food that is not! Come try some…”

You: “What is your restaurant called? Maybe that can give me a hint.”

Me: “It’s called Dan’s Place.”

You: “Is it inspired by any kind of cuisine I may be familiar with?”

Me: “Oh, we don’t want to put ourselves into a limited box, we cook from a wide range of influences, I’m positive you will love it.”

In this scenario, I am asking for so much trust from you, and for you to do all the work to figure out the most basic aspects of what is being offered. Yet so many writers frame their work this way. Here on Substack it may look like this:

“Dan’s Substack! Updates and news on what I see in the world and a mix of topics from my writing.”

Consider the themes that your writing focuses on, and who would resonate with that most immediately. While your book may end up with a very wide readership (yay!), don’t be afraid to start small and specific.

“Oh, I’ll get an agent and publisher and they will figure out who my audience is. They are the experts, after all.”

Now, this sounds so logical, right? Akin to: “If I want to wire a new light, I hire an electrician, I don’t want to electrocute myself or burn down my house. So likewise, if I want to find readers, I sign with an agent and publisher, and let those experts tell me who my audience is.”

And in some ways this is true! Agents and publishers are amazing people, and can be incredible partners.

However…

You may find yourself in a situation where they ask you about your ideal readers. Where they ask you who you see this book reaching, about your own personal network of connections, and maybe even about your platform as a writer. Wouldn’t it be great to have an answer? To walk into the room as a partner focused on their goals of considering who would love this book and how you may reach them?

Wouldn’t your agent love it if you could talk fluently about your ideal readers? Wouldn’t your publisher appreciate that you have a literacy of the marketplace that your book is being published into? And of course, wouldn’t it benefit your own aspirations if you understood these things as well? Not just as data points, but as conversations you have had with real people slowly over time.

“My readers are perfect, and amazing, and inspiring!”

I mean, that sounds great, right? What issue could there possibly be here? That you feel your readers are only these perfect people. That they read all the time, visit bookstores constantly, engage with their local arts communities, volunteer for a wide range of causes, and so much more.”

Now, these people do exist. But oftentimes your readers aren’t perfect. They read way less often than they would like. They read haphazardly across a wide range of genres. They want to show up to do good things, but don’t. They are stressed out, distracted, and sometimes choose to stay home and rewatch an episode of some reality show, instead of show up at local bookstore event.

What is the upside in saying any of this? That when you realize that your readers are average people, who have a wide range of distractions, you are more able to see these readers all around you. They aren’t in some distant city, always in a museum and indie bookstore. They are your neighbors, the people in line behind you at the grocery store, and that colleague at work.

Readers are real people, doing the best they can. Look around, you may begin to see a world full of readers.

“I’m only targeting influencers, I want maximum return on investment.”

Wouldn’t it be great if someone with a huge audience told them about your book? Yes!!! Because it can lead to sales, but also the validation that we so often seek. So please pursue that strategy if you like, but don’t make it your only strategy.

This is best seen in my conversations with author Jessica Lahey. A celebrity with 11 million followers shared a photo of herself reading Jess’s book, and sales went through the roof. But Jess is also a tireless advocate for her books. I interviewed Jess twice about her book marketing efforts, and also did a solo episode reflecting on this:

• Human-Centered Book Marketing Strategies & Tactics: My Interview With Jessica Lahey
• “How do you get a book to continue to sell? You continue to talk about it.” My Interview with Jessica Lahey
• How to Get People to Buy Your Book

As you look for big wins with influencers, don’t ignore more places that aren’t quite as glamorous, but may lead you to readers. I will simply say this: sometimes it is better to meet with a group of 11 people in a book club, than it is to attend an event where 3,000 people might walk by your booth.

There is a phrase in business (I have no idea who to attribute this to): “The riches are in the niches.” This is meant to be counterintuitive, that if you want to find success, look for the smaller groups of people who care deeply about something.

Can you pitch yourself as a guest on a huge podcast? Yes, go for it! But also consider reaching out to smaller podcasts, whose host has a wonderful relationship with their audiences. You may be surprised not only how many books it sells, but how good it feels.

“I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. So, I’m waiting until my book is ready to be published before I consider who my readers may be.”

This too feels logical, to not even consider an audience until you know exactly what your book is and when it will be released.

But why not give yourself the gift of time. To slowly ask yourself the difficult questions, to reach out to other writers and ask about their own efforts, to carefully consider how readers find books like yours, and to have actual conversations with real people about reading.

So much of this is about challenging your own assumptions, some of which I tried to illustrate above. We have these assumptions because have each lived and learned, and these assumptions can feel like a way of protecting ourselves and our time.

But this Substack is called The Creative Shift for a reason. I love when writers and creators embrace a (reasonable) risk to share their unique voices. To connect in a meaningful way with their readers. I am endlessly inspired by the writers or artists who take the risk to share what deeply matters to them.

Please let me know in the comments: what is one assumption about creating or sharing that you have since challenged and rethought?

And a reminder to catch up on my fall curriculum, plus the other exclusive content I’m sharing each Tuesday — some good ones coming up!

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

So often when people talk about developing an online platform for their writing or art, they focus on the channels. This may include a website, newsletter, social media, content strategy, Canva image templates, branded colors, and the like. All of these things are fine, and I help writers create them every single week. However, they are not the goal. The most important goals of your platform as a writer or creator are:

1. To share your unique voice through what you create.
2. To develop meaningful connections with readers and others.

Too often, this is framed as a discussion about how many followers or subscribers one has. And while those metrics can be useful, they are not an effective measure of your connections with your ideal readers, colleagues, and those who will fill your life as a writer. They don’t measure how much your work deeply matters to someone.

Last week I wrapped up the first exclusive series of my fall curriculum, with posts focused on defining your creative identity. Now, we will kick off the next series focusing on identifying your ideal readers. I’m releasing the first post in that series on Tuesday to my paid subscribers, where I will dive deep into identifying your ideal readers, provide an assignment to you, and engage with you and my wonderful community of writers in my private Chat. If you haven’t jumped on board yet, for a few days I’m offering a 20% discount on my yearly subscriptions if you join us now:

The most important parts of your platform are the things that are inherently human. This can be viewed from a purely strategic marketing angle, as well as the place of feeling fulfilled as a writer and human being. Connecting with others is not about “sales and marketing” alone. It is about having your days filled with moments, conversations, and experiences that comprise a fulfilling life as a writer.

Can you just write and publish and never interact with anyone? Sure. No problem.

But I have found that something deeply meaningful happens when your writing connects with someone who appreciates it. Being present in that process not only fills your life with joy, but helps you understand how to make these connections happen more frequently.

Let’s dig in…

Don’t Wait for Readers to Magically Find You

If you publish a book, will it be found and read? Maybe. Is that enough for you? I ask this seriously, because for some people, the simple the act of clicking “publish” is enough. They want to go back to their writing desk, and will not worry if anyone reads their work. And that is fine!

I spend my days talking with writers, and I find that many of them hope for something more — for their words to move someone, entertain them, give them hope, make them feel included, and allow them look at the world (and themselves) in new ways.

These writers shouldn’t have to wait for magic to happen, because that puts the fulfillment of their creative vision in danger.

This is why I encourage you to learn to understand who your ideal readers may be, where you might find them, and how you can connect with them in meaningful ways. While these activities can sometimes be categorized as “marketing,” I think too many writers fear that this means “selling out.” That they are putting sales ahead of creativity.

Instead, I encourage you to view this as a craft. One where you care about the ways readers find books, the themes they love to read about, the places they go that inspire and connect them with books. And in the process, what seems like a mysterious dark art slowly comes into focus in practical steps you can take to connect your writing to readers.

Is this work? Yep.

And thank goodness, because it means there is something we can do to advocate for our books, to connect with readers, and to live a thriving life as a writer.

Yes, we hope readers magically find us, become ridiculously curious about our work on their own, buy our books, read those books, and then gush about them to their friends, family, librarian, local indie bookstore, and leave an Amazon review. Does it happen? Sure. But not as much as we would like.

One-to-One Works

Every morning I take a walk and listen to an audiobook. I tend to focus on biographies and memoirs of creators. On a whim this week, I started listening to It’s So Easy: And Other Lies by Duff McKagan about his career as a musician and his life in the band Guns N’ Roses. Am I a fan of the band? Nope. I know their music, but have never chosen to listen to them in my free time. I simply heard this was a really well-written story of success, struggle, and creative growth.

At the part of McKagan’s book where the band is formed, no one is showing up to their shows. He says, “We had to start at the bottom and get there on our own.” What is one of the primary ways he cites for building their audience? That’s right, mailing lists! He shares how Guns N’ Roses used them:

“As soon as we started playing regularly in LA, we started a phone and mailing list. We obsessively made sure that people who came to shows signed up… obviously we had to write good songs and play well live to get a bigger audience… but the mailing list really worked for us. Within 6 months, we had 1,000 names with contact info for each. Other bands had mailing lists, but one of the secrets to GnR’s success was how much time and effort we spent building and maintaining ours. We knew we had to make it on our own… we were relentless about calling the names on our list. As our mailing list expanded, it was easier and easier to sell tickets to our shows.”

What I love about this is that it feels counterintuitive to how we often think a rock band finds success. One could even consider this “selling out,” because here they are making such an effort to pitch fans. I appreciate how Duff talks about the importance of maintaining the list, and that they themselves called each fan directly to encourage them to come out to a show. He said their lead guitarist, Slash, worked at a newspaper stand, and spent the entire day there on the phone calling fans one-by-one, inviting them to their next show.

This became critical for them as they tried to get gigs in “pay to play” venues. What’s that? It’s where the band pays the club in order to play there, instead of vice versa. Again, this tends to buck the notion we tend to have of musicians making it on talent alone. So the venue would require the band to buy tickets for their own shows, then the band would resell those tickets to patrons. This reduced financial risk for the venue, and made marketing the band’s responsibility.

It’s worth noting that this is back in the mid-1980s, none of these things were new then or are new now. Again and again, I hear people bemoan how years ago, creators didn’t have to worry about marketing, they just created. But in all of the books I’ve read, interviews I’ve listened to and conversations I’ve had, this isn’t always the case.

Do most creators dream of reaching the milestone when new people find you on their own? Yes. But please don’t assume that is the only way to begin, or that waiting in silence is somehow “the best” way to approach giving your work a chance at reaching readers.

If you wait for magic to happen, you may find at the end of your life that you wished you made a more concerted effort. Sorry for the drama, but these are really the terms I think of this in — I truly believe that your unique voice can change someone’s life for the better.

Followers vs. Supporters

The toughest part of this is the stuff we often don’t talk about: fear of being seen and being judged. I covered some of this in my post last week. But it underscores this: one of the most important parts of your platform as a writer is your community, who you are connected with, and how they support you.

This goes beyond, “Oh, I have a cheerleading squad of 5,000 followers!!!!” Because sometimes those metrics are fickle and don’t represent a meaningful connection of support.

Instead, I mean those who will truly take action to support you and your work. A few years back, I interviewed a musical hero of mine, Will Ackerman, who founded the record label Windham Hill in the 1970s and 80s. This is the music I actually love. A documentary about the label was just successfully funded on Kickstarter, raising $100,000 for production. How many people did it take for this to succeed? Take a guess: 20,000 people donating $5 each? 10,000 people donating $10 each?

Nope. 575 people. That’s it. They didn’t even make it to Kevin Kelly’s famous “1,000 True Fans” concept. But you know what? 575 was enough.

Two people even spent $9,000 each to have dinner with Will, because that is what supporters do. It is at the intersection of the appreciation of your art, and how their identity and life experience is forged by it.

I remember a similar situation earlier this year when my wife and I saw Moulin Rouge on Broadway. Boy George was the guest star, and after the show the cast made a plea for the audience to donate to a nonprofit supporting workers on Broadway. A bidding war ensued as members of the audience vied for a personal meet and greet with Boy George. In the end, two fans paid $5,000 each to meet with him and have their photos taken together.

These connections take time to develop. I know that many writers reading this may feel discouraged, saying to themselves, “Well that’s just great, another thing I have to do.”

I grew up as an artist, my friends throughout my life have always been creators (writers, visual artists, performers, musicians, photographers, etc.), and my wife is an amazing artist. Because of this, I don’t look at the idea of connecting with your readers as an obligation, but rather as an opportunity of something you get to do. It is an honor, and fills one’s life with the meaningful human moments that make our lives worth living.

The Moments of Our Lives

This week I have been digitizing some micro-cassette tapes I found from my dad, who passed away a few years ago. In 1982 and 1983 he made some recordings of meetings at work. It seemed like this was some important project for him, which is perhaps why he wanted meeting minutes.

At the time, he worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, on the corporate side. He managed teams who did data processing, so his work involved managing projects involving programmers and mainframe computers.

As his son, I can hear these recordings knowing that they showcased a great achievement for my father. He had a corner office on Park Avenue in New York City, just north of Grand Central Station. He loved helping people, and always felt his gift was to see both sides in a situation, bridging competing priorities so that each person felt their needs were met. On these tapes, I hear him working through a difficult and complex situation with colleagues, often pausing to ensure each person knows that they are appreciated.

But to anyone else, these are the most boring recordings in the world — people in a cookie-cutter office in 1983 talking about programs coded in an outdated computer language, on projects that don’t matter now.

Why am I sharing this? Because you are a writer or creator and you do this work because you are sharing something meaningful. You know that the stories or ideas you share may connect with someone in a deep way. That is a huge risk you are taking, and I think it is worth it. If we look back on this moment decades from now, you will feel you were sharing something that was important, with people you cared about.

What will your version of these tapes be 40 years from now? Will it be the newsletters you shared with readers that they loved? Will it be appearances on podcasts that helped new readers discover you? Will videos of when you met with readers at a bookstore event, or a private book club? Again, this is not about the media itself, but the human connections that it captures.

Is this work? Sure. And I’m thankful that we each have the opportunity to choose to do it.

Please let me know in the comments below: tell me how you want to look back on your life as a writer or creator. What experiences do you hope filled those years?

Reminder to consider becoming a paid subscriber at 20% off, and not miss out on my new exclusive series on identifying your ideal readers that begins Tuesday:

Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan

This month I have written all about how to craft your creative identity, and be public as a writer or creator. This kicked off my fall curriculum, where we are focusing on feeling good about sharing your writing and engaging with readers. So far, we have covered identifying the narratives that define you as a writer, how to write your mission statement or short bio, and the art of great headshots or profile photos for writers & creators. Today we need to address something critically important: your sense of safety in being public.

What I share here is just a starting point, I don’t cover all possible concerns, and only you can determine your own priorities around safety, boundaries, and preserving physical and mental health. I think about this stuff all the time, and infuse this into the work I do with writers. Of course, I want to ensure it is a central part of our conversations this month around your creative identity as a writer or creator. I’m going to share some advice below, but strongly encourage you to seek out your own resources as you explore this for yourself.

Besides “I love you,” the most frequent thing I remember my father saying was “Be aware of your surroundings.” He must have said that to me thousands of times in my life. He knew that he couldn’t keep me away from places or situations that may turn unexpectedly dangerous, so he wanted me to develop situational awareness. Doing so would increase the chances that I would have more time to make good decisions around safety by being alerted to dangers as early as possible. That is something I consider for writers and creators as they choose to be public online. It can be scary to step out of the shadows as a writer hoping to engage with readers.

One of my biggest core beliefs is that your voice is unique, and that the world is a better place if you share your voice through your writing, art, or other ways. That is why I do the work I do, encouraging writers to share their work, and to view that as a craft. In order to do that, you need to feel safe. Let’s dig in…

The Many Ways You Must Feel Safe

You must feel safety in many ways that it means to be public as a writer or creator, including:

• Sharing any personal details about yourself, such as your name, photo, and basic details about who you are and where you exist in the world. It could include where you work, or the makeup of your family, where you are from, your background, etc.
• Of course, this can extend to what you share — whether that is a social media update, newsletter, video, or so much else. This includes how you show up — the difference between a written post vs seeing you talk in a video.
• Providing access for people to communicate with you, which may include their ability to follow or subscribe to your updates, email or direct message access, where you show up in-person (for events, etc), and so much else.

This sense of safety can be subtle: wanting to feel accepted, validated, and received with the intention in which you share. But it can also be stark: safety from being attacked, ostracized, misrepresented, stolen from, or canceled.

Your concerns around safety may differ from someone else, which is why it is good to consider what it means to you, and how to take simple actions to protect yourself.

Be Clear About Your Boundaries

You — and only you — get to determine what is public and what is kept private. That means that you can ignore trends, advice, and “best practices.” This works both ways, like when you don’t feel like sharing something that everyone else encourages you to share. On the flip side though, you may choose to share something that everyone else warns you against sharing. Here are two simple examples illustrating both:

• The writer who chooses not to share photos from a big literary event where they took a selfie with a famous author. The writer wanted to keep it as a personal memory and not see the comments of friends and colleagues around it or feel judged by it. Maybe the author is controversial in some way and they didn’t want to risk blowback from those who see the photos. Her friends can’t believe she isn’t sharing photos of the experience online, they think it would be a great way to promote her own books.
• The writer who chooses to share photos of their kids, their names, and even where they go to school, plus the path they walk to get there. A friend warned her otherwise, but she is doing it because this feels authentic to her.
• Who is wrong in these situations? No one. Choose the boundaries that make sense to you. If those boundaries change over time, that is fine too!

It’s okay to feel that you aren’t 100% sure what your boundaries are when it comes to Substack, Instagram, appearing at a literary festival, or some other unfamiliar situation. I simply encourage you to experiment where needed, make decisions that feel right to you at the time, and communicate them clearly to others when necessary.

Many people instinctively set their boundaries as far back as possible when being public as a writer, justifying: “I will publish my book and share about my book, but nothing else. Readers don’t care about me, I don’t want to waste my life sharing photos of my lunch, and my private life is PRIVATE.”

Is that a fine decision? Sure. But I encourage you not to build a thick wall around your public identity as the easiest way of avoiding effort and judgement. Because doing so would mean missing the opportunity to truly connect with readers.

I work with writers and creators because their work is inherently about taking a risk: to create something no one knew they wanted, and share even though it may flop. But when you share aspects of the human side of you — what you create and why — you may find that people who had previous felt distant (and even a bit scary) suddenly find connection with you and your writing.

In this process, you may have to discern between what a sense of safety — true physical or psychological protection — and fear of judgement, where one is simply uncomfortable with the prospect of being seen because they are unsure of what people will think or say. I find that most people have some sort of anxiety around social interactions — this is totally normal. No one wants to be called out, told we are mistaken, or that we don’t belong. But sometimes our fears around these things are bigger than the possibility of them really happening.

You can walk around all day with your head down, not looking anyone in the eye as a way of protecting yourself from engagement and interaction. I remember my dad taking me to his office in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s when the city was considered dangerous. He would tell me before we got off of the bus:“Don’t look anyone in the eye.” I suppose he felt it may give people an invitation to engage with me, and that this may not have a desirable outcome.

But what if you looked up a bit, looked others in the eye, engaged with them, and were open to the possibility of connection? Be clear about what you will share and what you won’t share. And don’t be afraid to give yourself permission to have fun and explore.

Leave Room for Social Connection

In determining how you are public as a writer, don’t forget to leave room for the possibility of meaningful connections with readers and other writers.

It’s worth noting that one way to feel safe is to be a part of a community. To have others that know you, and you know them. Who you can call on when you need advice. Who will support you and your work. This kind of community and professional relationships can increase your safety.

Sometimes it makes sense to treat your life as if you are an island, cut off from the world. But other times, survival depends on meaningful connections to others. As you consider if you are public, and how you are public, don’t just focus on the channels and tools — consider the actual people you want to connect with. What are meaningful (and safe) ways that others can engage with you that helps deliver the experience you want as a writer engaged in a thriving literary community?

I often say that one’s platform as a writer is about communication and trust. That applies here in how you forge new connections and nurture those you already have. So don’t forget to consider the possibility of the good things that may happen as you share your writing with the world.

Ask Others

If you are unsure about what to do, or what not to do, ask those who are also navigating these issues. If you are unsure about what to share on a specific social network, or what the risks are, or where to set your boundaries, email or talk to several people who regularly share there. Be honest with your questions. You may find these people to be incredible resources of advice.

Don’t just assume others have clear easy-to-follow boundaries — ask about the reality of how they manage this. Especially if you have a specific concern or set of circumstances.

When I interviewed writer and artist Meera Lee Patel back in 2018, she said this about social media: “Social media is responsible for making me that accessible to the world. I’m realizing that I’m going to have to have the limits and boundaries if I’m going to keep making the work.” When I asked about comparisonitis — comparing one’s own work and success to that of others seen online — she said this: “It is an absolute daily struggle… You have to push it aside and make the work you want to make.”

Don’t assume other writers and creators have found this perfect balance for how they are public.

Does Meera still share online? Yes, and she has a wonderful Substack where she shares moments from her week that she wants to remember. Again and again over the years, she has made adjustments to what being public means for her.

You Have Permission…

And just in case anyone needs to hear this:

You have permission to not follow someone back.
You have permission to not respond to a direct message.
You have permission to unfollow anyone you like.
You have permission to do whatever makes you feel comfortable and safe.

As I said at the start of this post, seek out the resources that resonate with what you need to feel safe. This post is, at best, a mere starting point. There are so many more issues and contexts one can explore here. I will simply say: I love when people create, and while that has an inherent risk, I want you to feel safe when you share.

Please let me know in the comments: what decisions have you made to help ensure you feel a sense of safety in how you share?

If you want to catch up on the exclusive series I have been posting, as well as the engagement with me and my community in my private Chat, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Join us here:

As always, thank you for being here with me.
-Dan