Hello, Inkitt readers and writers! We’ve recently come back from the 20Booksto50K conference in Las Vegas! If you don’t know what that is, check it out here! We had a blast, but the highlight of the conference was the opportunity to sit down with internationally bestselling author Britt Andrews!
If you don’t know who Britt Andrews is, and you’re a fan of a paranormal romance, you’re in for a treat! Britt Andrews, author of The Magic of Discovery, started writing in 2020 after being laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A mother of three, she did what she could to pay the bills, including publishing her very first novel!
She thought her writing career was going to be a flop, but within her first year, she made $225,000, and in her second year, she brought in $470,000 in book sales! More than she’d ever made in her previous professional career!
Building a community is essential for any published author and aspiring author, something Andrews learned and perfected. She is an author known for building a strong community around her work. Here are her expert tips on how to build a strong fanbase that will advocate for you and your stories and help propel your career as an author!
Six Tips for Building a Community
1. Build Characters That People Connect To and Love.
Writing compelling characters is essential; you want people to remember your story and continue talking about your characters long after reading your book.
Even though you’re giving your readers a fantasy, find ways to make the characters real and relatable. You don’t want readers ever to forget what they’ve read or that it came from you!
Delivering quality content that resonates with your audience ensures they will return for more.
2. Pay Attention to What Other Fandoms Are Doing.
Andrews took inspiration from other fandoms such as the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings fandoms to see how those brands continue engaging with fans.
This includes merch. Give your fans merch both so they can continue supporting your books and so that your work becomes an experience as well as a book.
3. Build an Author Brand for Your Writing Community.
An author branding isn’t just about the style of your book cover or a logo, says Andrews. Your author brand should be consistent across everything you do, including how you interact with your fans and peers. It’s important to be true to your brand and what you represent.
This means maintaining communication with your fans and being consistent in the quality of your work and the punctuality of your delivery of that work.
Ideally, people should know what day of the week/month it is when they see that you’ve released a new chapter/book, and they should feel extremely comfortable talking to you about it.
4. Engage With Your Fans to Build a Loyal Audience.
An engaged, loyal, passionate fanbase played a massive role in Andrew’s success as a self-published author. She engages with her readers in several different ways.
- For Andrews, her Facebook group is the most active part of her community; it’s a place where her readers can come and talk about her books. And it continues to remain one of the most far-reaching social media platforms.
- A ‘street team’ of dedicated readers promoting you can get your book out in front of more readers. It’s also an opportunity for your readers to work closely with you and become more invested in you and your book(s).
- And let’s not forget TikTok! If you’re not on TikTok, you’re missing out! It’s free to market your stories on TikTok, and the app’s reach is global!
5. And Keep on Engaging with Your Loyal Readership.
Once you’ve spent the effort building a community, keeping engagement up is important. This isn’t an immediate money maker, but it has substantial long-term benefits.
Andrews engages with her fans in a variety of ways, including:
- Giveaways
- Writing superfans into her books
- Hosting live streams
- Hosting book signing events
- Creating unique Spotify playlists for every book
- Providing superfans with exclusive newsletter content such as interviews with her characters.
6. It’s Not Just Business, It’s Personal.
The important thing to remember is that while this is business, it is also personal. People are investing in you as a person as well as a writer, so the personal touch is key.
Let your readership into your life with personal stories. Host events where your readers can interact with you.
Maintain communication and listen to reader feedback. Make them a part of the writing. Let them know that this is their novel as much as it’s yours!
The important thing is to keep the momentum going! Never let your fans forget they’re an integral part of your books. Show them that you appreciate them to bolster audience loyalty.
The core of Andrews’ approach is to remember that your readers aren’t just customers; they are your friends. They’re a found family of kindred spirits with a shared passion for the genre you write in and for you, the author! You’re all there for the love of the work! Both you and they have chosen to pour their time, money, and energy into this world you’ve created.
Did you enjoy this author spotlight? If so, check out some of Inkitt’s other author spotlights!
- Learn about how Sapir Englard wrote the male POV in The Millennium Wolves: His Haze
- Check out Riss Concetta’s perspective on publishing her novel on Inkitt
- Read about how Nathalie Hooker planned out her trilogy, Hated by My Mate
We’re Open to Feedback! 🗣️📢
Do you have a topic you would like us to cover? A suggestion for the next big feature? Share your brilliance! Turn your idea into the next sensation! Let us know, and join us on Discord! 🙂
