How to Become an Author Influencer

Writers are starting to like the idea of creating a social media wave of their own as they watch influencer and digital marketing continue to reach and attract mass markets. Managing a few small social media channels, and making your face an integral and everyday part of each channel, interacting with them nearly all day are two different beasts. It takes equal parts planning and a detailed eye to construct a healthy growth of social interaction as it does to publish a book; the difference is the stamina and consistency required in order to become a true and trusted INFLUENCER.

If you’re an author who’s really ready to dive into the world of influencing, take a page out of the pro’s books and follow some of these points of advice…

Know Your Personal Brand

Know your brand better than the back of your hand! Your brand is transforming beyond colors on a page- it is a living, breathing persona. While growth happens organically and it’s always best to remain genuine, you should nail down your niche, some key phrases (catch phrases), core values of your “brand”, key talking points, and key responses to FAQ’s. While you never want to come off too rehearsed, it’s best to have thought through these things, and know that you’re confident in what this “brand” looks like and is perceived as. In addition, the colors and graphic styles should, naturally, all be seamlessly cohesive across every social media and print material associated with you.

Put In The Time

Nothing works the same as real engagement. Buying ‘likes’ and followers won’t get you far (and people can sniff them out pretty fast, anyway!) Every single audience is looking for the same thing: something relatable. And relatability comes with someone being willing to open up and be vulnerable. Once you’ve opened up and start sharing about your writing process, maybe even writing a block, or an awesome breakthrough, it’s about the hours and quantity over quality as you’re just starting out. You should be posting at least 4 times a week, and showing your face on your Instagram stories every day, engaging with your audience, asking questions, etc. Take a minimum of one hour to interact with other influencers and pages, too. Comment on, like, and share their content! It will help boost your own page in the algorithms.

Limit Paid Partnerships

Of course, one perk of becoming an influencer is going to be that brands will want to work with you as a sponsor. We highly recommend you be very selective with the brands you work with, and make sure to do a deep dive on their history, ethical background, press background, values, etc. before working with them. If you’re a non-fiction writer, it may be in your best interest to avoid all sponsorships completely, in order to keep your integrity out of any line of questioning.

Associate With Other Booming Influencers

One easy way to do this is to hop on an Instagram LIVE with an author or specialist in your genre or field, and give each other some free exposure to each other’s networks. While a portion of your audiences may already overlap, this is an easy and accessible place to network with people of much higher stature than you, for no effort on their part. Instagram and Facebook LIVES can be a sweet 15-30 minutes, or even up to 2 hours, and are not a big ask of another influencer.

Questions to ask in choosing the influencers to align yourself with:

• • Does the influencer’s audience align well with my books’ values and mission?
  • Does this person have genuine authenticity and authority?
  • Does their voice align with mine?
  • Are their visual communications complementary to mine? (not a huge deal, but worth considering)
  • How do they respond to comments? Are they going to be enjoyable for me to interview and chat with? Will my audience relate to this?

Here’s a list of our favorite books to read if you want to learn more about the influencer lifestyle, management, and how to reach those goals:

• Influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media 
• Hashtag Authentic: Finding creativity and building a community on Instagram and beyond 
• You’re Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence 
• Heart and Hustle: Use your passion. Build your brand. Achieve your dreams.