Recently, I discussed the measures of online influence. In these terms, I learned it’s important to form relationships with influential figures online by providing them with content that impacts them. That’s how we move on to this: the rules of engagement.
At the Social Media World Forum, I attended a lecture by Blitz founder Greg Cargill who talked about the fundamentals of social media. Just to address this first, I’m sure you’re wondering how all this social media stuff is relevant to writing. You may be asking yourself, “Dude, she is writing about becoming a better writer, so why all the huff about marketing?” Two simple answers: First, honestly I’m just trying to get up to speed with the 21st century. I spent about a year and a half living in a Quonset hut in middle-of-nowhere Argentina where I only used email once a week. Second, you want to sell what you write correct? Social media is marketing, we just are using different tools today than before. Tim Ferriss for example, author of 4-Hour Workweek, sent sale records through the roof for his books. Why? Because he knows very well how to leverage tools available to create a brand identity people love, support, and share. So, to be a writer today is not only about being a good writer it’s also about learning how to get seen. We are only as good as the readers who make us.
That aside, these are the things I learned from Greg Cargill during his presentation.
1. People do not buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Create something that gives value. For more information on this, Greg recommended Simon Sinek’s TED talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action, which is awesome sauce.
2. Don’t be afraid to start up conversations with people online. Approach someone on Twitter and ask, “Hey, I saw you wrote/blogged about this … why?”
3. Aim small. For writers, become an expert in a topic with a defined following. For inventors, create something that addresses a specific problem within a community and answers it. I believe it was Tim Ferriss who said pick your target market first and then create something for them. As an aside, I would add, make sure it’s something that interests you that you care about.
4. Stay active. It’s not only about providing quality content to a well-defined niche but also forming relationships and staying up to speed. As Greg said, “Write a novel of conversation.”
Thanks Greg! I feel inspired.
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