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Building an Email List Full of True Fans – 006

May 12, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com

How many fans does it take to make a living as a writer or artist? And do those fans HAVE to be on your email list or can they be spread across your social media platforms?

This week I’m answering Kelli‘s question about whether it is better to build an email list or find followers through other social media platforms. I have a LOT to say about email lists. And audience.

Listen on YouTube to Create If Writing – Episode 006 – Building an Email List Full of True Fans

At a Glance: Email Lists vs Other Social Media Platforms

An email list is integral because it allows you to reach into someone’s personal space in a way that is more intimate than Twitter or Facebook.
Email lists are set up through a host, NOT your personal email account. (I use Mailchimp for one list, but for serious list-building, I’ve moved to Convertkit. Read WHY.)
My biggest numbers in terms of traffic come through Pinterest and Facebook, with Twitter at a VERY distant fourth. My email list brings my blog more traffic than Twitter, but not by too much. Then again, I have a few hundred people opening each email, which makes it about as popular as my second or third most popular blog post on any given day. (Looking at my email list the day after recording, the open rate bumped up to 30%, which is pretty normal for me.)
Other platforms may change (like Facebook’s algorithms that make your visibility disappear), but your email is under YOUR control.
Publishers would generally say that around 10,000 email subscribers is a good number to see for a non-fiction book deal. 5,000 would get attention, but 10,000 is the sort of “golden” number. (More on that in episode 007!)
Kevin Kelly introduced the theory that 1,000 true fans (who will buy everything you make) is enough to make a comfortable living.

My Big Takeaway

Get an email list. Decide what service to use (always use a service, not your gmail or hotmail) and what kind of content/how frequently. Think about what best serves your goals. Do your best to grow your list authentically so you have people who really LIKE you and want to support you and buy whatever it is you sell: book, album, class, coaching. But ALSO keep growing your social media platforms. You may connect with different people in those spaces and find real fans and real traffic.

The email list should be your foundation and your true fans, who will buy anything you create. (So when someone unsubscribes, rather than feeling sad, think about the fact that they are NOT your true fan and it is one less person to pay for when you get to that point.) Having a smaller number of loyal subscribers is great, but those bigger numbers can matter to publishers or for other reasons. Intentionally grow your email list, but definitely use a combination of platforms for growth.

Relevant Links

–Kevin Kelly on having 1,000 True Fans
–The Problem with 1,000 True Fans
-The Blog Tyrant’s 41 Tips to Get over 10,000 Email Subscribers

What I Want to Know from YOU:

If these numbers sound crazy scary to you (they alternately do and don’t to me, depending on that day’s optimism/pessimism/realism balance), don’t fear! What is YOUR goal for your email list or platform growth?

Where are you finding social media or email working for you? Is my experience that I share in the podcast similar or different to yours?

Real Passion Resonates

May 10, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com

I used to sing in a gospel choir. I was the small white girl in the middle whose voice you couldn’t hear and who was a half-beat off rhythm with the swaying. My voice is pretty but small—not a typical gospel choir voice in sound or power. I loved being a part of the choir, standing among the powerful voices in a tiny room where we practiced.

Every so often, something remarkable happened in that small practice room. When we all really got our parts, the timbre and power of the voices in the room fused reverberated deep in my chest. When this happened, there was a sense of power and unity. My small voice joined the bigger voices to create a unified sound and vibration. It was like some giant bell swinging to life and shaking the bell tower with its ring.

In those moments, I felt alive. I felt completely at peace with everything and everyone around me. It felt as though THAT very moment was what life was all about. I GOT it. WE got it.

Real passion resonates with your audience and makes you stand out from all the other voices.

Following our dreams and passions can have the same effect. When we are living in a present moment, doing what we were created to do or what we desire most in a pure sense, that fulfillment rings as truth in our souls. We FEEL it and we KNOW. And others feel it as well. Your passion resonates with their passion and the result is a gathering together and a swelling up and a rising.

Real passion RESONATES within you and to the world outside.

Your passion is what will drive you to create and to create specific things that will resonate with your ideal readers. Passion will infuse your voice and define your brand. It’s what makes you, YOU.

Don’t hold back or bridle your passion. Let it steer your course and help define your way. It will draw people to you and what you are creating. And you will feel more fulfilled along the way.

Need help with applying your passion to your work? Consider my Foundation Series, a mini-course to help you define your purpose and apply it to your blog, images, email, and social media presence. Watch the first workshop for free!

What makes your small voice whole? What is it that makes you feel alive and connects you to something greater?

Intentional Blogging with Paula Rollo – Episode 005

May 5, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com

Not all writers are bloggers and not all bloggers would call themselves writers. (I want to talk more about blogging as a genre soon!) Much to my surprise, I discovered that I love blogging possibly as much as I love writing fiction. If you are blogging, there is a reason. Perhaps you blog for fun. Maybe you blog to support your family and bring in an income. Or you might blog as a way to build an audience for the book that you are writing. The reason WHY you blog will affect HOW you blog and WHAT you blog about.

Do you know why YOU are blogging?

In this episode I talk with blogger Paula Rollo about intentional blogging. Blogging intentionally means blogging with goals and an audience in mind. Blogging with a clear focus will help you as you create content and make decisions about how often to blog or what kind of posts you want to create. Blogging intentionally also makes your blog more accessible to readers because it will help your blog to become more cohesive and unified.

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 005 – Intentional Blogging with Paula Rollo

Paula Rollo blogs at Beauty Through Imperfection and also the newly launched Blogger 2 Business (along with Holly Homer, who joined the podcast to talk about Facebook & formulas in episode 4). She began blogging for fun and then later changed her goals and her blog into something totally new. What started as a sort of outlet for a new mom became a steady stream of income for her family as her intentional blogging transformed how she blogged.

You can also find Paula at What Is That? I Need It or on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

At a Glance

You can start a blog for one reason and rebrand if your life, goals, or plans change!
Set realistic goals and revisit them at timely increments for you.
Many bloggers choose WordPress over Blogger for a lot of different reasons.
Paula made a slow but intentional transition to a new kind of blogging, keeping some things that her readers liked while adding new content. She chose to focus on numbers before monetization.
You can monetize your blog through ads (like Google adsense), affiliates (like Amazon), networks that connect bloggers with brands for sponsored posts (like Social Fabric or Izea), selling a product like a book.
Everyday, mainstream bloggers will have a hard time with large growth writing a journal-style blog. You need a great voice, great writing, some luck or REALLY hard work, and a phenomenally visual site. There is an “it” factor for this, but blogging is too crowded a landscape to write just about you and think you’ll have huge growth. Unless you are a celebrity already.
Re-use and Re-purpose your old content! Make better images and update content for old posts to keep them fresh.
To blog intentionally, you should define what you’re trying to do and what you’re willing to do in order to make that happen.
Great questions for sponsored posts: Does it benefit you? Does it benefit the brand? Does it benefit the readers?

Relevant Links

Bloggers with a great voice: Dooce, The Bloggess, Jen Hatmaker, Ann Voskamp
Blogging on the Side: Book from Paula Rollo & Becky Mansfield about Intentional Blogging
A few Link Parties I Like: Mouthwatering Mondays from A Southern Fairytale, Inspire Me Mondays from Blessed But Stressed
Blogger 2 Business on How to Recycle Old Content

My Big Takeaway

I loved what Paula said about changing a post’s focus. Instead of talking about MY bad day and leaving it there, I can write about my bad day in terms of how YOU can help avoid a bad day. She spoke about shifting the post to make it immediately relevant to the reader. I feel like that is a way that many of us who are writing more personal things can keep our personality. I’m also right with Paula in being inspired by the idea that there are so many things possible online with some inspiration and hard work!

What I Want to Know from YOU

Why did YOU start blogging?
And very importantly, are you a Dr. Who fan??

Holly Homer on Using Facebook without Formulas – 004

April 28, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com

I talked to Holly Homer and finally have the Three Keys to TOTAL DOMINATION online! Simply pay me $50 in three easy installments plus $9.95 for shipping and handling and you can learn Holly Homer’s Three Keys and the secret formula for Facebook success!

JUST KIDDING. But does that sound at all familiar? I feel like I see this sales pitch from different places every single day. Spoiler alert: THERE IS NO SECRET FORMULA IN THIS PODCAST. Holly, who speaks at conferences all over about Facebook and blogging, does share how often Quirkymomma posts every day. (Your jaw might drop.) But this conversation is more about creativity and inspiration. She talks about how she used analytics to make Facebook work, but also how she likes to throw the rules out the window. If you are feeling pressured by the so-called “rules” of social media, this episode is for YOU.

Listen to Create If Writing – Episode 004 – Holly Homer on Using Facebook Un-Formulas

You can find Holly at Kids Activities Blog, Business 2 Blogger, as well as on Facebook at Quirkymomma, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest. If you are a blogger, you MUST check out her newest venture with Paula Rollo & Becky Mansfield (both also coming up on the podcast!), Blogger 2 Business. B2B is all about education and training for bloggers at all levels to kick it up a notch. Or ten. Right now you will get 30 days of tips delivered to your inbox when you sign up!

At a Glance

I personally subscribe to the school of making mistakes until you figure it out, as Holly does. Is that how you work through things? (I also like learning from other people’s mistakes.)
Fun Fact: Holly suspects that she has more domain names than shoes.
Holly said that we are living in an age when you can start with an idea to making a living in your living room. It is a time like no other! Have YOU experienced this? Do you see the possibilities or does that seem like a reach?
For success with Facebook, Holly & her blogging partner Rachel Miller paid attention to the analytics to see what Facebook liked and didn’t like. They tailored posts in that way.
At the same time, they chucked out the “rules” and suggestions from other people. For example: the Facebook page QuirkyMomma isn’t branded to the name of the blog, Kids Activities Blog. They also post a crazy amount per day instead of the two times a day that people were suggesting at the start of their growth.
Blogging was a gift to Holly at a time when her kids were small. It gave the gift of being able to step back and think of how to tell the story even of a bad day with a silver lining.
If you get caught up in numbers and the pressure, take a step back. Strategize about how you can reach your goals without losing your voice.
“The end product is so irrelevant in what we do. It’s more about…the process of sitting down with a child and having and experience, having an adventure.” -Holly Homer

Should you be using a Facebook page or a Facebook group? Read my tips here.

Relevant Links

Facebook Organic Growth – an interview with Holly for the Social Media Examiner
101 Kids Activities book from Holly Homer and Rachel Miller

My Big Takeaway

I loved what Holly said in that last quote. It’s not about making something beautiful that will show well in a Pinterest photo. It should be about the process, the adventure, the experience. Doesn’t that hold true with our art? Though I will say this: I want to find that perfect marriage where I make something I’m truly proud of as an end product, but where I also enjoy the PROCESS. As a writer, I want my words to come together in a remarkable way. But I want to ENJOY writing. Most of the time, I do!

What I Want to Know from You

-Do you enjoy the process of what you do? Or is it more about accomplishing goals and having that end product? (No judgment here! I’m simply curious.)

-Have you found your own “formula” that works for your goals?

Eric T Tung on Twitter – Episode 003

April 19, 2015 by kirstenoliphant@gmail.com

With Twitter tips, tricks, and tools to spare, Eric T Tung joins us for Episode 3 of the Create If Writing Podcast. He is #33 on the Forbes list of global influencers and #1 here in Houston. Currently he works at BMC software and speaks at conferences all around the country. Here is what I LOVE about Eric. He doesn’t ACT like he is on a very short list of global influencers. He will happily take a selfie with you—in fact you BETTER take a selfie if you ever meet him. (I prefer the goofy ones.) He is personable, hilarious, and totally not one of those people who thinks he is all that. (Even though he kind of is.)

Listen on YouTube to Create If Writing – Episode 003 – Eric T Tung on Twitter

You can find Eric on Twitter, LinkedIn, and on his blog. He is a great resource and person to follow! Let’s see what he has to say about Twitter.

At a Glance: Tips for Using Twitter

Snag your name if possible. Use a middle initial if your actual name is taken (or really cool). Consider a fun alternative if your name is John Smith.
Be professional, but also personal. (Clearly his profile picture demonstrates this intersection.) Don’t have two profiles. People want to get to know you.
Use Twitter lists to organize people you follow. You can make them public or private.
Save time by using Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule content tweets. This can free you up to engage in real time.
If your feed gets too busy, you can mute people. (And they won’t know about it.)
Post links to your own content multiple times a day. Twitter moves faster, so it’s not spammy. You can’t post the exact same tweet, so change the order of the link & hashtag or pull different pieces from the content as a Tweet. (But never share JUST your stuff.)
You can schedule old evergreen content (i.e., content that is relevant ALL the time) so that you have more of your own links to share. You can also schedule date-specific content way in advance, like scheduling links to your old Christmas posts in January to go OUT in December.
Three qualities that can boost Twitter engagement: make it interesting; make it entertaining; or make it feel-good. People love that! Visuals whether photos or video are great.

Want to know my tips for using Twitter? Read about my own workflow!

Twitter should be about connections, not sales.

Tweet This

Relevant Links

Find Your First Tweet
How to Use Twitter Lists
Why Twitter Isn’t Just Shouting into a Crowd
Hashtagify (we didn’t discuss this, but this is a great tool to find relevant hashtags)
Eric’s How Social Media Is Like Star Wars
How to Use Buffer (what Eric uses)
How to Use Hootsuite (what I use)
Tim Grahl’s 3 Myths about Social Media Marketing for Authors

My Big Takeaway

In this conversation I really appreciated what he mentioned as far as how to leverage your Twitter numbers (around 30 minutes into the episode). With Tim Grahl’s 3 Myths about Social Media Marketing for Authors in mind, Eric talked about not simply thinking of your number of Twitter followers as potential sales (because often it will be something like 1% or lower), but considering how those numbers can help you secure other things like speaking engagements. (If you’re a writer and want to be published, realize that the likelihood of you getting a book deal is slim without some kind of tangible platform. This may not mean Twitter, but it certainly helps to have those numbers!) It isn’t all about the numbers, but numbers are definitely useful. ESPECIALLY if you think of them as people to connect with, not impersonal numbers.

****Disclaimer! Though I talk about meeting Twitter friends in real life, I would ABSOLUTELY not meet a stranger in person without vetting them seriously. Adults meeting online friends, be careful. Teens? DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT.****

If you want more about social media, I’m embedding this great Slide Share he presented recently here in Houston entitled “Holy Crap! I Can Get Fired for Posting on Social Media Posts?”

What I Want to Know from YOU.

I’m nosy. I want to know all of these things in the comments and I want to know them NOW. (Especially the second one. Use this link to find out.)

-Do you use and like Twitter?
-What was YOUR first tweet?
-Are you making friends online?
-What Twitter tips do YOU have?
-What Twitter questions do you still have?
-Would YOU like a T-shirt with this picture on it? I know I would.