The power tribe: the power of 1000 true fans

According to a popular theory, a creator, such as an artist or author needs to acquire only 1,000 ‘true fans’ to make a living. A true fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive miles to see you sign a book or read a story. They will buy the box set even though they have individual books. They have a Google alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They are true fans.

How do you build a tribe?

First, you need to build your platform’s foundation. According to Brian Jud, author and consultant, a platform “is a series of career-long relationships with people who find it beneficial to communicate the word about your book, introduce you to influential people who can endorse your book, or get you on major media. As third-party references, these people give you more credibility among those in the larger segment of your platform. Platform building begins with cultivating relationships with a core selection of credible sources in at least five groups.

Good friends. They could be your classmates, fellow employees, relatives and neighbors. This is probably the weakest category in terms of their desire or ability to spread the word about your book.”

How can you find people who might promote your book?

1. Centers of influence. Do you know people that can influence the purchasing decisions of large groups of your target readers?
2. Professional associates. Are you writing to a specific group of people, and do you know people who have a following in that specific niche can spread the word among their constituents.
3. People in your affinity groups. Find and participate in groups of people with similar interests or needs and who know you personally.
4. Fans. These are people in your target audience who have read your previous material or have heard you speak on your topic. They believe that you know what you are talking about and are willing to put their reputations on the line by becoming your advocate.
5. Network – you are only five people (six degrees of separation) away from just about anyone.

• Associations
• Presentations in front of various groups/tribes
• Trade shows
• Seminars
• Social media
• Publicity (free advertising)
• Blogging
• Write articles – become known as a subject expert

Encouragement for the journey:

1. Building a tribe takes time – you have to be persistent
2. Building a tribe may mean being ‘different’. Sometimes it is a completely unique or non-conforming idea that people are attracted to. It could mean that you have to be a little weird.
3. Building a tribe takes effective communication – you are writer after all. Communicate well.
4. Building a tribe takes passion – be sold out about your topic/niche/story.

Authors, what did I miss? More on this topic next week.

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Publishing, after all, is a business. Authors whether or not they are getting the opportunity to publish through a traditional publishing contract,

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or are choosing to self publish their work, need to understand how the business works, especially when it comes to retail. Authors have the opportunity to dramatically affect their sales by working with retailers and understanding their needs. I will write about this topic in next week’s post.

While at the ACFW conference, I had the privilege of hearing Michael Hyatt address a room full of authors, and his topic was encouraging. I recently ran across my notes from Hyatt’s session where he shared five reasons why TODAY, is the best time to be a writer.

1.  It is easier than ever to do the writing. More than ever before, there are conferences to attend and books to read, that teach writers how to craft their projects. Word processing and other computer programs have made is easier to get the words on paper, and go back and edit and polish without have to start over.
2.  It is easier than ever to do market research, and engage with readers. The internet has provided a virtually limitless supply of research tools, and Google has made it possible to find almost any information a writer might be looking for. Social media, through platforms like Facebook and Twitter, have made writing and engaging with other writers and fans, a personalized experience.
3. It is easier than ever to get into print. Traditional publishing with its royalty advances, editing schedules, marketing cycles, and traditional distribution channels, is no longer the only option. Self publishing is a viable and thriving industry for writers who choose to go this route. Self publishing is not the best option for everyone, but the same can be said for traditional publishing. Traditional publishing is also far from dead, however, the model must continue to change with the times rather than run from new ways of doing things. Both of these models are providing writers with new opportunities, which translate to more readers in more places.
4. It is easier than ever to build a tribe. Authors can talk to their fans and have direct access to them through blogs, websites, and social media. Reading has now become a social activity and people engage around content like never before. Authors are engaging readers around their book platform.
5. It is easier than ever to build a business around author content. This is only true, however, if authors take the time to understand the industry, and how to build their business model. The first step in the writing process, before outlines, character development, and research, must be a business plan that helps an author identify a sustainable market (group of buyers), where they can be reached, and what they are looking for.

This is a great lead-in for next week’s topic on the publishing business. Would you add anything to this list?

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The purpose of the Guild is to train writers how to become authors. This is in their DNA. They offer three courses that take a new writer through training and mentoring, with the intent that they are ready to present their writing to agents and editors. I don’t know of any other programs quite like it.

A few weeks ago, Jerry announced a new, advanced course called PUBLISHED. This ‘masters level’ type course adds a fourth layer to his already successful program…with a new twist. For writers who finish the course, and follow their mentoring, the Christian Writers Guild will provide the author services (editing, typesetting, design, etc.) that it takes to craft a quality book for market. The new publishing initiative is called Christian Writers Guild Publishing (CWGP), and takes the best of both traditional and self publishing and combines them in a model Jerry calls ‘come-alongside publishing.’

Unfortunately, as often happens in Christian community, the idea was blasted from a number of sides. Jerry had been on record earlier in his career as being against self publishing (see his announcement for his own admission to this), and many looked at this new initiative as an attempt to cash in on self publishing. It’s too bad that people have chosen to attack what is being offered without understanding the full picture, which is still evolving.

In a Q&A session, Jerry shared that the Writers Guild has always been a labor of love, and struggles to break even every year. This new teaching program is not about making money, but about providing opportunity for writers. He said that that his most recent experience has shown that 1 in 1000 writers makes it to a traditional publishing contract, and that many of the students in the Guild program have publishable material, but for whatever reason, can’t get the traditional deal. It is for these students, that this new program is built. PUBLISHED is not for everyone.

I applaud the commitment Jerry has to writers. I hope this new initiative creates opportunities for Christian writers, and give their voices a chance to be published. As with all new things, there are most definitely going to be changes and updates to the program as it matures. Jerry made a point of telling the conference attendees that the program ‘isn’t for everyone,’  but will be a good fit for some.

I am pretty sure the program will eventually include a robust set of marketing and publicity tools, eBook conversion and distribution to retail, even though the current information doesn’t include this.

I would love to hear what you think about it!

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But the readers have spoken. With more and more regularity, they are saying they want options. They want to be able to download books and read them on devices. They want the flexibility.

At the time, I wasn’t able to help. Now I can.

I want to introduce you to a new eBook company specifically designed to serve Christian authors and independent publishers, along with authors who want a family friendly place to publish their eBooks. ChristianeBookPublishing.com, is the culmination of the desire to offer eBook services with a distinctly Christian worldview and a world class eBook publishing system, now available to authors and publishers.

Authors might only need a file conversion. We offer a tremendous value along with a quality product that is hand crafted by experts here in the US. Other authors might need help with editing and design. We can do that too. And a whole other group of authors and publishers will want to consider the advantages and efficiency of having ChristianeBookPublishing.com distribute their files to more than 30 retailers. We collect the royalty checks and compile the reports, all for a modest upfront fee…and the best part is that we don’t take a penny of your royalties. You get to keep 100%!

We invite you to give us a try and see the difference our professional services can make.

Do you have your books available as eBooks? What has been your experience?

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1. There will be consolidation. From all indicators, this will continue in the wake of the Random House and Penguin merger. Large publishers are looking for ways to trim costs and develop new sales/distribution advantages, including an ever increasing digital backlist.
2. The growth of eBooks will continue to slow. This was predicted for 2012 and has proven to be true. The early adopters and heavy readers may be reaching saturation, and the rest of the market seems to be taking longer to make a decision to invest in a reader/device that may be used to purchase just a handful of books.
3. The price of eBooks will continue to stay low fed in large part by Amazon’s intense desire to own the market. Publishers will work on new ways to increase the sale price in order to pay their bills.
4. Self publishing, once thought of as ‘fringe’ and ‘unprofessional’, is now becoming mainstream. More publisher service companies will offer their services, and more ‘traditional publishers’ will try to capitalize on this market by offering self publishing ‘imprints’ of their own.
5. Printed books will not die this year, and they are unlikely to die in the near future either. In fact, countries like the UK are experiencing higher print book sales than in previous years.
6. More authors than ever, will ‘publish’ their first book. Many authors have decided to publish an eBook exclusively because the barrier to entry (i.e.: cost, tools, etc.) have made this easier.
7. These same authors will quickly learn that there is still a majority of the market that prefers to buy print books, and will turn to POD as one way to offer printed books. POD manufactures are poised to have a banner year.
8. Book retail will continue to move online, as the last of the giant book retailers struggle to keep up. Recent news from Barnes and Noble is gloomy, even with their lower than projected Nook sales. Could this be their demise?
9. Independent publishers will increasingly look to strategies that allow them to engage their readers, sell directly with available print on demand and distribution tools, and build successful businesses.
10. There will be big stories of well known authors walking away from traditional publishers to self publish, as well as success stories from unknown self published (I like the term independently published) authors who write a best-seller.

What predictions have you seen from industry experts that I missed? What do you predict 2013 will look like?

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Many of the topics have been from our own personal/professional experience, with a scattering of guest blogs from other industry professionals and thought leaders. We would like to expand that. If you are an industry veteran, or a new publisher/author, we would love for you to share your experiences with Snowfall and our readers.

Why blog?

1. Share your own experiences!
2. Establish authority and expertise
3. Develop new relationships with readers
4. Improve your writing skills
5. Increase your industry influence
6. Expand your current base of followers
7. And, you get a chance to build your reputation and/or brand

Would you consider guest posting?

Because our blog focuses on specific areas, our readers expect to read helpful information about these topics. We know you have something to say. Everyone does. We would like to hear your story and learn from your own experience.

To help get you started, we have adapted this list of guidelines for guest posting.

1. The subject of the blog post should be one that fits the blog. We want you to write about publishing, printing, writing, books, technology and marketing.
2. Be original. We don’t want to reuse the same content that you have published somewhere else, nor do we want you to republish the same post after we do. Google actually penalizes sites for duplicate content.
3. We want to hear your voice. Don’t try to imitate our style. Be creative.
4. Be concise. Many times length equates to effectiveness. Keep your post between 500-700 words. Or less.
5. Use visuals. The most effective communication includes art, pictures, graphs, etc. They help engage readers.  Just make sure you have permission or copyright to these before using them.
6. Share liberally. Make sure to drive your own people to the post. This helps us, and you. You should use a byline at the bottom of the post with a link to connect back to you directly.
7. Engage your readers when they comment.

Submission Guidelines

If you have a post that meets the guidelines above, you can send it to me on the email david.sheets@snowfallpress.com. Please include the post in the body of the email itself, or as an attachment.

Happy blogging!

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If those reasons were not enough, here are five ‘best’ reasons for using Facebook.

1. As of press time, Facebook is still free. It is free to set up a fan page, and free to load as much information about your book and about yourself on that page. The actual cost to begin marketing your content to others is pretty low if this is part of your strategy. Use your website as your main battle camp, and Facebook as your nimble outpost.
2. More than six BILLION minutes a DAY, (more than an hour per day per user) are being spent on Facebook. Are you able to generate that sort of traffic on your website? Be where your customers are, and learn to get their attention.
3. The average Facebook user joins two new fan or business pages per month. These pages can be used to promote your business and your writing.
4. Facebook tools like Facebook FAN BOX and Facebook CONNECT enable interaction with Facebook, from outside the social media tool. By setting up a Facebook FAN BOX, visitors to your website, newsletter, or YouTube can become a fan of your business page without actually visiting Facebook. This has proved to be a very effective way for business to gain more fans via their website, videos, and newsletters. Facebook CONNECT is a program in which enables Facebook to interact with other sites. There are 80,000 other sites that can be connected through Facebook Connect.
5. Your Facebook posts can go viral. No, not in the disease type of viral, but in the spread rapidly and uncontrollably – viral. This is a good thing. How do you make your posts more viral? Most people post links to things. However, most people engage with pictures and videos. In fact, photos are five times more popular than links, and videos are TEN times more popular than links.

Why do you use Facebook?

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