I already hear you responding to this title.
“I’m a writer, Carol. I’m not a salesperson. I leave that to my agent.”
Which is all well and good if you have an agent. And, the truth is, if you have one, you had to sell yourself to that agent, through your writing, but also through establishing a relationship with them. Sales is all about establishing relationships.
“Sorry, but I’m an Introvert. I can’t sell.”
Ok, except everything you write is selling something. It’s selling your humor, point of view, knowledge, or it’s selling entertainment. And that means someone is “buying,” by reading. If you get good enough at marketing (which is really just sales), you actually get paid when people read. When money exchanges hands, you are selling.
“I don’t care if people like me or not, I just need them to like my work.”
Yeah, this one is so wrong. You are your work. Some of us writers know this, but maybe some don’t. Even if you write erotica, you are drawing from your particular fantasies and way of thinking about eros and sex. If you write investigative journalism, you need readers to trust you and your integrity. You have to sell them on that. Everything we write reflects us in some way. Plus, on Medium especially, we grow to like the people we read the most. At least I do, and I think you do, too.
“But I don’t know how to market or sell.”
Maybe not, but authors such as Shaunta Grimes do. Read everything she writes on the topic, and you will become a master marketer (that other word for salesperson).
“But selling is sleazy.”
Except it isn’t. We sell every day, whether we acknowledge it or not. I once was hired to work in marketing and fund raising at a university. I had been a teacher of special education. When the interviewer asked me if I had any sales experience, I answered, “Yes, I sell the special education program every day to kids who don’t want to be in my class, to their parents who don’t want to admit their children may need extra help, and to the regular classroom teachers who don’t like having the students leave their classrooms to go to the Resource Room.” I was hired into a completely new career by meta selling myself and my skills.
“I’m an influencer in my writing, not a salesperson.”
If you are promoting your writing, your YouTube videos, or your skills in any area, you are in sales. If you work in business, you are selling your ideas. Plus, what exactly is an influencer if not a salesperson? Especially, when you become a social media influencer. Then you can begin to help sell other people’s work.
“ I write because I love it. I don’t want to have to sell.”
If you are writing as a hobby to entertain yourself, that’s fine. If you actually want people to read your work then you have to sell. But it doesn’t have to hurt. Sales can be fun when we believe in our product. And you had better believe in your product as a writer, if you want other people to believe in it, too. Every word you write that you intend to publish is a type of sales copy. When readers respond to your writing in any way, they become your customers.
“OK, Ok, I get it. How do I start selling my writing? Or anything, for that matter?”
First, produce. Write. Write because you enjoy it, or because you are driven to write. Write to get your demons out, or to reflect the divine. Make art. Then, get on a writing platform like Medium. Joining Medium has made me, finally, write every day.
Second, and very important, believe in your product. And your product is actually you. People don’t buy “things,” they buy relationships and experiences. Every sales course teaches this. As writers, you have the perfect means to selling a relationship with you, and to selling the experiences and emotions readers have when reading your works.
Third, again, read everything Shaunta Grimes has to say on the subject of marketing your writing. Self promotion is a powerful and healthy activity when done effectively. It will help you grow. More importantly, it will help others find the words you found urgent enough to write in hopes of sharing. Congratulations, you are now a salesperson.
—
Previously published on medium
—
◊♦◊
Talk to you soon.
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want to join our calls on a regular basis, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: istockphoto
.