How To Build Influence As A Writer Influencer

How can you build influence as a writer and become an influential content creator? In this article, you’ll learn how to become a writer influencer.

It’s a myth that being a social influencer is only for video creators and that you can’t be an influencer if you’re a writer.

The fact that famous writers like Stephen King and Elizabeth Gilbert, have millions of followers on social media, is proof that writers can be social media stars, too.

To become a highly successful and influential writer, you must build a large audience for your work, so you can build influence as a writer.

Becoming an influential writer depends on the type of writing you do and the type of influence you want to build.

Having said that, this article lists several steps to help you build influence as a writer, and be considered a ‘writer influencer.’

Contents

How to build influence as a writer influencer
Writing tips & tools

How to build influence as a writer influencer

You can implement one or more of these steps at the same time, or set each as a goal to achieve one after another in the sequence below.

However you choose to do them, they are all possible to achieve, and there are many writers who have done all these and more.

#1. Identify your target audience

Identify your target audience. Who do you want to reach with your writing? Check the social media channels of other writers in your genre to know what sort of content will resonate with your audience.

Once you know who you’re writing for, you can tailor your social media posts appropriately, to make sure you’re creating engaging content that they’ll find valuable or entertaining.

For instance, LinkedIn influencers often write on careers, business, and technology, because this is what most LinkedIn users want to read about.

So, tech influencers and business influencers may do better on LinkedIn, while recipe and food influencers would fare better on YouTube, Instagram, and other more visual social media networks.

Many writers tend to be active on Twitter and become Twitter influencers, as it’s a platform that allows them to express themselves in the medium they’re most comfortable with and connect with other writers there.

#2. Post engaging content consistently

Write regularly, and write consistently good content. Most successful writers write every day. The more people see your name attached to quality material, the more they’ll start to associate you with being a writer of influence.

In addition to writing great content, you can also build influence by being active on social media and engaging with your readers. But, don’t feel the need to be active on every network, unless you’re willing to hire a social media virtual assistant to help you do that.

Also, don’t compare yourself with social media influencers who publish videos every day. You can set your own pace and publish the sort of content – text, images, or video – you enjoy creating.

And definitely don’t measure yourself against hot influencers whose audience would never even read your writing. Just share engaging social media posts consistently, and you’ll build a loyal following who will champion and share your work.

#3. Become a bestselling author

The best way to become a highly-successful writer is to publish a book and become known as a bestselling author. To do this, you must write a potential bestseller and promote your book aggressively (without being annoying, of course).

Get your book in front of as many eyes as possible – post links on social media, publish guest posts on popular blogs, and use these book marketing tips to sell more books.

Having a mailing list is an essential step in building an author platform. In addition to getting your readers to follow you on social media, and on your Amazon Author profile you need to get them to subscribe to your mailing list.

You can use Amazon Kindle free eBooks as giveaways to build a large list of subscribers and start building your author brand and platform, so you can sell more books in the long term.

In this free video training for authors on How To Find Your First 10,000 Readers, bestselling author, Nick Stephenson will show you a proven step-by-step system that he used to build a list and sell more books.

You should also submit your book for awards, so you have the bragging rights to call yourself an award-winning author, which can significantly boost your author branding.

Book awards provide immediate legitimacy, have an impact on both purchasers and booksellers, and draw the interest of readers, publishers, libraries, and bookshops, resulting in higher sales.

#4. Become a successful blogger

Another way to become an influential writer is to build a successful blog and a large social media following. You can use your influencer website and blog to promote your books and share ideas or causes you care about.

There are plenty of mom influencers out there who first started out as mom bloggers. For example, Jessica Turner was a lifestyle blogger before she became a full-time lifestyle influencer.

There are also many technology influencers who became famous through blogging, at a time when social media was still a new medium.

If you write a blog that receives a lot of traffic and has a large social media following and email list, you’ll be considered a digital influencer, because of your online presence and ability to reach a wide audience via your blog and social network.

I know that becoming a successful blogger takes a lot of time and effort, as it did for me when I launched my blog, Naaree.com, in 2007 and sold it in 2020.

So you may want to focus most of your time on writing and outsource your blog marketing and promotion tasks to an agency or freelancer.

Alternatively, you can learn how to take AI-generated content and turn it into useful, engaging, unique, and original content that both readers and search engines will love.

#3. Host a successful podcast

Starting a podcast is a great way to promote yourself as a writer, especially if you write nonfiction books. But first, you need to come up with a great idea for your podcast. What will it be about? What topics will you cover?

You could simply start recording yourself reading your essays, or interview entertaining, charismatic co-influencers or guests who can ensure a lively conversation.

You could feature interviews with other writers and experts, or expand on the topic of your non-fiction book. For example, bestselling author, Tim Ferris, has a popular podcast called The Tim Ferris Show, where he interviews famous guests.

Once you have some podcasting ideas, do some research and see if there are already any popular podcasts covering similar topics. If so, what can you do to make yours stand out?

Come up with a catchy, unique name for your podcast that reflects its content or tone; consider using wordplay or incorporating literary motifs.

These free podcasting courses will show you how to create an engaging and successful podcast. You’ll also find podcasting tools and services to get your podcast up and running.

These podcasting courses helped me learn how to start and promote my Creating Brand YOU podcast (which I started before the pandemic).

#4. Write for authoritative publications

Another way to become a writer influencer is to write articles for publications that have a wide reach and influence among your readership. Also, write guest posts for influential blogs so you can reach new readers.

A writer who is published in major newspapers or magazines, or has a column in an authoritative publication that a lot of people read regularly, will be seen as an influential voice in their field.

I’ve been published or featured in many influential media publications, in the course of my writing career, since 1996 when I worked as a freelance journalist.

In this course on How to Get Published in Major Publications, you’ll learn how to create credibility, gain visibility, and draw in new customers by publishing in major publications like TIME, Forbes, Inc., and more.

This course will help you create your own PR, establish yourself as a thought leader in your field, build your writer branding, and increase blog traffic by receiving extensive exposure in print media.

Also, build relationships with the media, let them know that you’re available for media interviews, and offer to be a media resource for your industry.

In this course on how to get featured on CNN, ABC, and NBC for free, you’ll learn how to craft stories and create events that can get you featured on major media outlets for free.

#5. Share your knowledge with your peers

Being an influencer can also mean having a significant body of work that is highly respected by your peers and helps to shape the literary landscape as a whole.

Writers can also become influencers and thought leaders in their field and may be considered an expert if they are often quoted or consulted on matters related to their area of expertise.

When successful writers are respected by their peers and the writing community, it can boost their writer branding and make them an influencer.

So seek out opportunities to connect with successful and influential writers, and start building relationships with them, whether by networking at local events or participating in online discussions.

Another way to expand your reach and influence is to teach aspiring writers your craft. For example, these MasterClass writing classes feature many famous writers, authors, and poet influencers who share their creative processes.

There are many highly successful writers who offer free writing classes to help a new generation of writers skip the learning curve.

You can start an online training institute and create an online course or offer in-person writing workshops, both of which are very lucrative ways to help other writers while earning a living as a writer.

#6. Get comfortable on camera

In the modern world, on-camera media training is crucial, as there are more chances every day to speak and perform in front of cameras.

If you’re an introvert, you can learn how to make videos without appearing in them or outsource them to a video content creator, but it will help build your author brand if you get comfortable on camera.

The On-Camera Charisma for YouTube Stars Course will help you boost your on-camera charisma, so you can look and sound your best when speaking in front of a video camera.

These methods also apply if you’re making an online video course, giving a presentation on Zoom, being interviewed on television, starting a YouTube channel, or creating a Facebook How-To Video page.

Once you learn to be confident on camera, you can start your own YouTube channel and make videos to share your knowledge and promote your blog and online courses.

TikTok marketing is important for authors, as hundreds of authors are using #BookTok, a TikTok sub-community focused on books and literature, to successfully promote their books.

Learn how to use BookTok as an author to reach more readers and use effective book marketing strategies to sell more books on TikTok.

#7. Take up public speaking

Many writers can move seamlessly into public speaking because it’s not a huge learning curve to go from writing a book to writing a speech. After all, both require good communication skills.

You can connect with speaker bureaus and event planners and offer to speak at events and conferences to build your authority and reach. If you have a fear of public speaking, you can learn ways to overcome public speaking anxiety and become a more confident public speaker.

Finally, it’s important to remember that being a writer influencer isn’t just about having clout – it’s also about using your writer platform to become a positive influencer and a role model, so you can create positive change in the world.

Download my free eBooks on branding for authors to learn more about personal branding for writers, so you can join the influencer economy as a successful writer influencer.

Writing tips & tools

Priya Florence Shah

Priya Florence Shah is a bestselling author and an award-winning blogger. Check out Devi2Diva, her book on emotional self-care for women. In her spare time, Priya writes science-fiction novels and poetry and chills with her two-legged and four-legged kids.

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