If you are like most aspiring and published authors and bloggers, you constantly seek ways to get your work noticed. You write more, publish more, share more on social networks, and generally wrack your brain for ways to get noticed and heard in an every more crowded and noisy marketplace, by which I mean both the publishing marketplace and the cyber marketplace.
When you see someone else’s work go viral—a blog post, a tweet, a photo, a manifesto, a Facebook share, a book—you madly try to figure out how to replicate that person’s success.
I attended the New Media Expo in Las Vegas in January, and there I heard the best advice on this topic I’ve been privy to in a long time. During his keynote speech, Scott Stratten, president of Un-Marketing, said, “You can’t make something go viral. You have to do something worth sharing.”
Well, duh.
Become the Trusted Expert
Now, Stratten is an expert in viral, social and authentic marketing, which he calls Un-Marketing. On his website he explains that this is “all about positioning yourself as a trusted expert in front of your target market, so when they have the need, they choose you.” Isn’t that what I’ve been preaching here on this blog for several years now?
- Blog a great book.
- Stay focused on your topic.
- Publish great blog content—content that informs, entertains, adds value, makes people think, touches readers emotionally—consistently and often, proving to your readers, as well as to those who follow you on social networks, that you have something worthwhile to read.
- Share your knowledge and expertise freely via your blog (and in any other way possible, including video, audio, speeches, courses, books, and social networks) so you become known as the authority and thought leader in your subject area.
- Be authentic.
Focus on Amazing Stuff
If you want to get noticed, if you want to get heard, Stratten, who is also the author of three best-selling business books, recommends, “Focus on amazing stuff.”
What amazing stuff do you have to offer your readers, your customers or the world? How can you show up in an amazing way? That’s really the question you want to ask yourself when someone else does something amazing. Stop feeling jealous of those other people (or criticizing them) or trying to mimic their path to success. Instead, figure out what makes you and your message special. Then show up, play big, and share your amazing, unique, gifts.
Tell Great Stories
And remember the stuff I’ve said about branding yourself with content, your blog (and its design), your series of books, your courses, etc.? Stratten offers this advice: “Focus on brand story, not the logo.” That means, share your story, the story of your clients or students, and stories that explain why someone would want to read your book, hire you, listen to you speak, buy anything from you.
If you want to blog—or write a book—you must become a story teller. Yes, it’s true that you must market your book and your blog, but great marketers tell stories. What kind of stories you tell is up to you. I hope you’ll tell truly authentic ones that inspire, entertain, inform, excite, and touch the hearts of your prospective readers and customers. Those are the stories people want to share.
Are you doing something really worth sharing?
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