How to Boost Your Audience for Early-Career Writers

There’s nothing more frustrating than writing excellent articles on a regular basis. Only for them to languish on your blog with only a handful of views. This is the situation that early-career writers find themselves in, with lots to say and a writing style that they know will be of interest to readers. But with no audience to share them with. In order to overcome this common hurdle, you will need to find ways to build an audience. This article is all about how you can do that.

Use Your Friends and Family

You might initially feel uncomfortable asking them, but the truth is that your friends and family will be prepared to be your biggest advocates on the likes of social media, as well as in-person conversations. They will happily share links to your articles when you ask them, which will mean they’re sharing your work among hundreds of friends that you have never met.

Ask some of your friends and family to repost your articles every time you write one. This way, your blog and your brand will be more recognizable to the social media users in your immediate circle. This will encourage more people to click the links and read what’s behind them over time.

Use Paid Promotions

You can also pay for promotion on an article if you feel that you have written content that’s particularly engaging. This is a smart option for articles that offer a unique or interesting take on a current affairs topic, covering showbiz gossip or larger international affairs. Use paid promotions wisely to try to target just the demographic you expect will be most interested in your story.

For instance, a story about celebrities might work best with a younger crowd. Whereas, a story about the situation in the Baltic States is likely to do better if it’s targeted at graduates and older demographics. Make the most of the advertising spend you’re putting aside for these adverts by ensuring they’re neatly targeted to the right audiences.

Manage Your Social Media Presence as an Early-Career Writer

Before moving away from the world of social media to other useful tips, it’s worth mentioning that there is a world of social media management out there which can take care of this entire field for you. If you’re aspiring to become a great writer, but you simply cannot attract likes and followers, putting your social media management in the hands of social media marketing companies will help you get there.

The problem for most writers is that doing this can cost significant sums of money. Money that many simply do not have. But if you’re motivated to make it as a writer without spending years trying to build an audience through various newspapers, magazines, and journals, this is one of the strategies that you can use in order to build a presence, a culture, and an audience—and have your articles read.

Pitch Your Work to Established Publications

There are, of course, ways to make a splash other than on social media. One of them is to publish your work within a publication that already has a large readership. To do this, you’re going to need to pitch your ideas to that publication. That means searching for the email addresses of editors. Here’s a quick guide on how to pitch a story. Be prepared for plenty of rejections before one of your tales is finally accepted.

The benefits of getting featured in a newspaper or magazine are multiple. For one, it’ll lend you some authority, being associated with a major brand. If your article is interesting, entertaining, or amusing, you’ll also draw more attention to your social media accounts. Over time, you might just attract the attention of more senior and experienced editors.

Apply for Funding

Another way to go about securing more readers and a larger audience is by applying for a funding grant. These are usually for early-career writers who are attempting to write a novel, a book of poetry, or other content not at the creative end of the writing spectrum. Grants can total many thousands of dollars and can be incredibly helpful to your career in their own right. But part of that grant is to help you with marketing your writing.

For instance, a funding grant from a publishing house will enable you to write and publish the first section, or perhaps the entirety, of your book. If the publishing house decides to run with it, they’ll unleash their full marketing team on you. This will secure you interviews, readings, and other methods. This will help you spread the word about your book and your writing more generally.

Find Your Niche

Writing about anything and everything isn’t likely to endear you to anyone, whereas having a niche topic that you stick to will likely make you a major player in that market. For example, there are many journalists out there who tend to specialize in a certain field. Be that a certain region of the world, or a certain topic in the news.

You may have an eclectic sense of the world, and you don’t want to sacrifice variety and curiosity in order to get more readers. But if you do happen to already occupy a niche, it may well be worth considering how you can leverage it to become a major voice within that community.

Be Determined

As many experienced and successful writers will tell you, there is no magic formula to making it in your career. You’ll have plenty of false summits and disappointments along. But before you know it, your career picks up and you generate enough interest in your outlook with the world. The major tip you’ll hear time and time again is to just keep plugging away, honing your craft, creating important contacts, and finding new ways to engage your audience.

There you have it! Some key tips to help you market your writing and build a larger audience in your career as a writer.

Continue Reading: Improving Your Portfolio and Networking Strategies as a Copywriter

About the Author

James Daniels is a freelance writer, business enthusiast, a bit of a tech buff, and an overall geek. He is also an avid reader, enjoying literature on the latest gadgets and tech. All while offering his own views and opinions on these topics.