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I get it. I get it. I've gotten more DMs and topic requests about social media than any other topic.
Here is the thing: it would probably take a whole book... maybe something to look out for... to cover this topic in its entirety. So, I'm going to ask for some patience, but also for requests. This email is going to talk about how you should be thinking about social media. If you have requests for specific social media topics, please reply and tell me.
*DONT MISS THIS* I am changing email providers. I have been using sendfox to test this idea. Now that I have gotten some positive feedback I bought a domain and will be sendling emails from [email protected]
This means my next email might land in your spam folder. You can add me as an email contact to avoid this, or next monday you can move my email to your inbox when you get it. Anytime you reply it also tells your email company that we are friends.
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programing.
Marketing serves two purposes: Get people to know that you exist and build a relationship with them.
Most authors try to do both at the same time, or worse, jump straight into trying to sell something.
Early in my career, I sold pest control door-to-door. Yes, I'm sorry, and I've repented. I was able to walk around neighborhoods and get people to sign up for a service they paid hundreds of dollars for. I wasn't great at it, though. I would talk to almost one hundred people a day and get one or two sales.
At this same time, I lived in a typical middle-class neighborhood and would park the company truck outside my house. When I started with the company, my neighborhood had 3 customers for this company.
My family would take walks around the neighborhood and talk to the neighbors. When we moved away, that neighborhood had the highest density of customers in the whole company. One in every 5 houses was a customer.
Why? To oversimplify: they knew I existed and felt like they had a relationship with me.
My neighbors saw my truck, saw the company logo on my shirt, and asked me what I did for work, but I never tried to sell my neighbors.
It's often said that people do business with those they know, like, and trust. I was around, so they got to know me. I'm cute, so they started to like me. Honestly, I don't know where the trust came from...kidding.
I'm not even going to sell anything this week. Just a reminder that next week's email will come from [email protected] and may land in your spam folder.
Please watch for it and continue to be my friend. Thanks!
"Eric, why should I care? How does you selling pest control affect me selling my book to strangers on the internet?"
I'm glad you asked. STOP SELLING YOUR BOOK TO STRANGERS.
What I mean is, don't do the internet version of door-to-door sales.
A mentor of mine separates internet platforms into two categories. Discovery Platforms and Relationship Platforms.
Discovery platforms typically have algorithms that will help you find new content and new creators on a regular basis. Many will boost content that gets shared between friends.
You can identify discovery platforms by their emphasis on short-form content, both video and text. TikTok and all the Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, and Threads) are discovery platforms.
Relationship platforms prioritize longer connections between an audience and the creator. Podcasts, Livestreams, and emails (hey, look at us) are all relationship platforms. If you are a podcast listener like me, you know that after a month, you start to feel like you know the host, even if you've never met them or even seen their face.
I have a simple assignment for you this week, but it only works if you take it seriously. Consider what you are posting on social media. Are you doing door-to-door sales, are you trying to build a relationship, or are you telling stories that are fun to watch/read and are exciting for your audience to share with their friends?
Next week, I think we will talk about where you should be posting, unless you want me to talk about something else.
Be great,
Eric Anderson
P.S. This is still a new project for me. I've gotten some great feedback so far, but I want nothing more than for this to be super valuable for you. It would mean the world to me if you could reply with what you liked, and what you didn't!
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