Want more of the right readers? Be yourself

Research shows that birds of a feather do flock together, so to attract more of the right readers, be yourself on your blog, on social media, and in your email newsletter. It's easy -- and it works.

Does your online persona match your real-life personality?

Or do you – like so many – take on what you think is a more literary demeanor online or in your newsletter because you think readers expect that of an author?

If you’re not being your true self, please reconsider.

Let me tell you about a recent experience. It helps explain this.

So I signed up for a newsletter . . .

I regularly add myself to email lists to study “lead magnets” (those incentives or “freebies” offered in exchange for your email address). This also helps me better understand how marketers communicate with subscribers.

I did this recently with a woman who teaches people how to earn money as freelance writers – “even if you have NO experience!” As someone who does have freelance writing experience, I was interested in what she had to share.

But I’m not so interested anymore.

It was clear from the first email that I’m not in her target audience. I’m not her ideal reader.

She said what?

I knew that because while being herself, the marketer used the “f-bomb” in the second sentence.

Don’t get me wrong. I can swear with the best of them – and I do (way too much right now, in fact).

But when I’m in work/professional/career mode, I don’t want f-bombs in my inbox.

I’ll confess that the f-bomb in her opener did keep me reading, though, because I wanted to see what else would make me think, “We aren’t a good fit.”

Side note: If I had taken the time to read her “about” page before adding myself to her list, I would have known what to expect. Her sort-of bio is thin on qualifications and thick with “asshole,” “what the actual eff (spelled out)’, ” and “shit sundae.”

Don’t call me lazy

I found another clue that I wasn’t in her target audience a few paragraphs and a dozen emojis later. 😂

The marketer’s message included a link to a video and this text (I replaced specifics with XXX to protect her identity): “If you need to XXX but you’re too lazy to watch a 16-minute YouTube video that will literally walk you through how to XXX, you’re probably too lazy to XXX.”

Substitute “busy” for “lazy,” and she might have been speaking to me. But nobody has ever accused me of being “lazy.”

But she wasn’t speaking to me because name-calling doesn’t motivate me. And that’s okay.

This is how it should be. She doesn’t want to continually email someone who will never buy from her, regardless of the reason.

This marketer was just being herself. And by unsubscribing, I declared we weren’t a good match.

It’s not just me!

One of my Build Book Buzz newsletter subscribers had a similar experience.

She added herself to the list of a young male marketer who, she quickly learned, used offensive-to-her language and imagery in his emails. She asked me what to do about it.

I advised her to unsubscribe.

Easy enough, right? Poof! No more offensive content.

By being himself, the marketer targeting authors was appealing to someone like him – young, male, crude. He might have been doing this intentionally because those are the people he wants to work with — or he might not have even been thinking about that.

Regardless, it was clear that my subscriber, a baby boomer female, wasn’t his ideal reader.

Be you

What can you learn from our experiences and others like them?

To be yourself.

Just be yourself in your email newsletter, on your blog, and on social media.

This is important because research shows that birds of a feather actually do flock together. People gravitate to people who like the same things they do.

That includes books.

You will attract the right readers

When you’re authentic, others who are comfortable with your style and personality will be attracted to you and your work.

Stop striving to be like another author you admire. Sure, you can use some of the same strategies and tactics if that author is successful, but while doing so, put your own spin on it.

Remain true to you, whether you’re an f-bomb dropper or wouldn’t swear in public if the Pope begged you to.

Let the real you shine through. You are enough. You are the you we want to hear from.

Have you had an experience like ours and realized that you weren’t a good fit based on the marketer/author/consultant’s personality? What did you see that showed you that?

(Editor’s note: This article was first published in January 2019. It is updated and expanded.)