You Need a Content Strategy
Let’s discuss why book editors need a content strategy in order to market their business effectively.
Why Book Editors Need a Content Strategy
A while back, I mentioned on a LinkedIn post that for years, my best-performing content for my personal website had been a screed about how I hated wind chimes. That post drew more people to my blog than almost everything else I’ve written. (“For Jessica” was the biggest – it broke my website a couple of times.)
Anyway, on that LI post, someone added a comment about how their biggest draw was a post on how to get a free illegal download of someone else’s intellectual property. I deleted the comment because “I hate wind chimes” and “I help people steal things” are not in the same universe, and please don’t pretend they are.
But it got me thinking about what that person was trying to accomplish. What was the purpose of offering free illegal downloads? Sure, it got people to visit his website, but . . . so what? These are not the kind of people who’ll turn into paying clients. And advertisers don’t want to be associated with scammy websites. So . . . what was the point? Other than to be a jackass?
One of the most essential things your content does, or should do, is attract the right kind of potential clients to your website (and your social media, etc.). What it shouldn’t do is attract the wrong kind of potential clients.
What does this mean in practice?
- If you’re hoping to land clients who want a gentle, understanding editor to help them improve their work, sarcastic zingers aimed at mistakes newbie authors make are a disconnect that will draw the wrong potential clients to you.
- If you aim to attract clients who can pay big bucks for an edit, don’t write posts about hiring an editor on a budget.
- If you’re trying to attract genre novelists, don’t spend all your time reviewing self-help books.
Make sure your content aligns with your vision for your ideal client. Write for that client.
Tips for Editors & Writers
The Fine Art of Copyediting Fiction
When copyediting fiction, it’s common to run up against issues that pit author preference against standard editing approaches. For example, in a story I wrote some years ago, the main character’s neighbor is referred to as “3-B” as that is her apartment number and the MC doesn’t know her name. Fine. She can be referred…
Let the manuscript teach you how to edit it
One of the lessons I’ve learned over many years of editing is that you have to let the manuscript teach you how to edit it. Every manuscript is different and every manuscript needs a different touch. Even when an author does something I’ve seen many times before, I have to edit for that particular manuscript,…
Helping Authors Strengthen Story Settings
The setting of a novel consists of multiple elements, big and small, that nest inside each other like those little Russian dolls. We might show this hierarchy of settings like so: If you think about it, the micro setting of “the living room of 601 San Mateo Road Apartment 16” implies the existence of all…
