I believe that in order to engage with an audience, you have to provide value to them. People are much more inclined to do you a favor if you do them a favor first.
I’m in heavy research mode right now. I’m trying to learn everything I can about my potential audience. That doesn’t mean that I’m not actively helping clients, but my primary focus is trying to understand this space better than anyone right now.
My aim is to help authors (non-fiction in particular) apply a content strategy to make better connections with their respective audiences. Content strategy is an amorphous term, and can mean different things to different people.
Two paths to providing value (and getting something back in return):
CONDUCTING RESEARCH
In January, I conducted a series of interviews with a dozen non-fiction authors who were gracious with their time to share some insights about how they think of their business as authors. The results of the research confirmed some of my assumptions, but also illuminated a few unexpected things too. I used the results of this qualitative study to create a new qualitative study in the form of a survey.
I hope to get 2,000+ responses, and publish the results publicly, so everyone can benefit from the insight. In my experience, authors need help thinking like a publisher—or thinking like an entrepreneur. My hope is that the survey itself will provide value to participants by framing the issues for authors.
You can take the survey here: http://mboezi.com/research
Please share this link with any and all non-fiction writers that you know—I would really appreciate that.
- Value to you: Indirect help framing the issues (now) / research results (later).
- Value to me: Learning the issues, quantitatively.
FREE CONSULTING SESSIONS
I’m running a series of one-on-one sessions with non-fiction writers called Content Strategy Planning for Non-Fiction Authors. I’m using a tool called Google Helpouts, and offering these sessions FREE for a limited time. As an advisor, I always offer the first “orienting” session for free—just to make sure that I feel that I can help you.
I just launched this last week, and have enjoyed the first couple sessions. I think that I have been helpful to the participants (see a testimonial* below), and I’m learning a lot in return. I’m hearing your issues directly from you.
You can schedule a session with me here: http://helpouts.google.com/+MichaelBoezi
Again, please share this link with any and all non-fiction writers—remember, it’s free!
- Value to you: Direct help with your specific challenges.
- Value to me: Learning the issues, qualitatively.
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I sincerely hope that folks will find these both to be useful, and I will keep you posted on my progress. Here’s how you can stay in touch:
- Join my mailing list: http://mboezi.com/subscribe
- Add my blog to your feed: http://mboezi.com/feed
- Connect via social channels: http://mboezi.com/social
Or you can always contact me directly here: http://mboezi.com/contact
*Testimonial from a Helpouts session:
Seldom have I had the privileged of receiving advice directly from an expert in the publishing and writing industry. When I emailed Michael for advice, he responded extremely quickly with an email inviting me to his free online help forum. Though my video chat wasn’t working, he kindly gave me his phone contact after which point he spoke with me for over half an hour. He was very nice, easy to talk to, and gave me extremely useful advice relating to my aspiration to become an author. At no point did he sales pitch me, but was instead very genuine and interested in helping me. I certainly recommend Michael to others seeking advice about careers in publishing and writing. I am personally now following his blog, which is also very insightful!
—Shahir Masri, M.S.
Research Assistant, Harvard School of Public Health / shahirmasri.blogspot.com
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