A conversation we have frequently with new clients about their author marketing goes something like this:

C: I’ve followed a bunch of people on Twitter (or Facebook, or Google+, take your pick), but no one’s following me back.

WWW: Okay, what have you been tweeting (or posting)?

C: Well, nothing yet, I want to have a bunch of fans to see it first.

WWW: Okay, but… Why would they want to follow someone who hasn’t said anything yet?

We understand the impatience of wanting to have a bunch of people find us and our work as quickly as possible. And of course it’s more fun to post news to readers when it’s a big group of readers. But while this might feel like a chicken and egg situation, it’s not.

First comes content, then come the fans with whom that content will resonate. Look at it this way – how many people would buy your book if you told them you’d write it once you had enough buyers?

As Bill Gates put it back in 1996 and many have repeated over the next two decades, “Content is king.” Win the hearts of your readers with good content!

Start sharing information – about yourself, your work, issues and topics that interest you. As you do, people with similar interests will begin to notice. We promise, the more you have to share, the more people will want to engage with you and your work. And that, writers, is where your author marketing will soar…