Connect with Readers by Telling Your Story

In marketing circles, people talk about how customers like to buy from businesses that they like and trust. The same thing applies to authors.

You still need to write a stellar book, but when it comes to converting readers into fans, your personality and your personal story play an increasingly important role.

Be different

With so many authors writing and publishing, it’s more important than ever to differentiate what you do from the crowd. You can achieve this through your writing style or by employing an unusual take on your genre. Sharing your personal story, however, is an effective way to stand out and come across as 3-dimensional.

Sharing your story

What do we mean by your story? We’re talking about the things that make you tick, the things that make you human, and that make you unique. We’re not talking about how you always wanted to write, or how you like reading, or even how many books you have written.

People want to know what makes you laugh and what makes you cry. What is the question you wish people would ask you? Answer it. Tell your readers and potential readers something personal about yourself and watch them buy into you and your journey as an author.

Tell your story on your website

You will delight a lot of the people visiting your website and clicking your ‘about the author’ page if you provide more than the dry details that are usually rolled out on these occasions. Make your readers feel like they know something about you that people who have not clicked that link do not. Make it something worthwhile that tells them who you are as a man or woman, not just as an author.

Connect with readers and they will become fans

As well as your website, you will want to connect with your readers anywhere that it makes sense to put biographical details. Tell your story in the backs of your books and in conference programs. Wherever people are looking to find out more about you and your books, make sure that you go light on the usual fact list. Open up so that people see you as an individual.

Create a video

Creating an author video is a great way to connect with readers on your website. There’s nothing like being able to see and hear somebody that you are interested in. We get so much information from audio and visual signals that a YouTube video shot on a webcam is enough to give us an idea of who a person is and why we like them.

With more information about who you are, readers can choose to do more than just buy your book. They can invest in you and your success.