As a romance author, it can be tough to balance the art of writing with the demands of selling. With so many writers out there sharing their stories and advice, it can be challenging to stand out and create a loyal following.
But there’s one thing that can make all the difference: developing real relationships with your readers through your content.
Let’s dive into seven areas of content that your readers want to see, read, watch, and know about you and your writing.
7 Content Ideas Your Romance Readers Want to See
In a world where we are bombarded with information, it can be easy to forget the power of quality content. But let’s face it, nobody wants to waste their valuable time on something that doesn’t pique their interest.
Whether you’re a blogger, marketer or writer, your ultimate goal should be to create content that captures your readers’ attention and keeps them coming back for more.
This not only helps to establish your credibility as a content creator, but it also ensures that you’re reaching the right audience with the right message. After all, if you’re targeting romance readers but your content is all about fly-fishing, you’re unlikely to make many connections (unless, of course, you can find a way to cleverly link the two together!)
So, when it comes to your content ideas, remember to always keep your readers in mind. Give them what they want to see, read, watch, know and have, and they will reward you with their loyalty.
Why Your Content is so Important!
Any good relationship is built on communication, and the same is true of your relationships with your readers.
Content is the foundation of that communication (online, at least), and it needs to be well-designed, well-crafted and completely relevant if you’re to keep your readers engaged. After all, why would anyone want to listen to an author who has nothing interesting to say!!!
The content you create should be designed with your readers in mind. Meeting the needs of your readers with content that’s entertaining, interesting, educational, or even inspirational will enable you reach those readers.
It’s also important to remember that your content isn’t just the words you use, it’s also the way you deliver those words. It’s the tone and style of your content while being relevant and appropriate to your target readers using the message that’ll resonate with them.
If you get all these elements right, you’ll be well on your way to building a strong relationship with your readers.
What Content Do Your Readers Want to Know
There are seven categories (or topic categories) that your readers would love to know more about. These categories dive deep into who you are and why do you what you do and the story behind it. These are only as evasive as you want them to be!
The categories are:
- All about you
- Your writing journey
- Your online marketing
- Recommendations and collaborations
- All about your book
- Connecting with your readers
- Conversations starters
All About You
Your readers want to feel like they know the person behind the stories. Sharing more about yourself, your personality, your skills, your likes, even your friends and family. Let them see the real you.
When your readers feel like they know you, they’re more likely to become more invested in your book. AND they’ll be more likely to remember you when they’re in need of a new-to-me book!
Also, sharing more about you and yours must might help you to stand out from the crowd.
In a world where there’s millions of books to choose from, anything you can do to make yourself stand out and be more memorable becomes a valuable asset. So, next time you’re afraid to open up and share, think about how good it could be for business – your author business.
Your Writing Journey
Writing can be a difficult journey, but it’s also an inspiring one. Sharing tips and tricks you’ve learned along the way, as well as anything around your publishing journey could help your readers or any aspiring writers navigate this intricate industry.
Sharing your journey can as simple as celebrating your accomplishments or giving others a much-needed boost of motivation.
So, next time you’re feeling stuck or uncertain about your writing career, consider reaching out to your readers and sharing your story. You may be surprised at how supportive and helpful they might be.
Your Online Marketing
Establishing an author business can be a maze of activity, and your readers want to know how you’ve marketed online, both the good and the bad things that’ve happened. Sharing how you created your author business with behind-the-scenes posts (with pics), and attract your readers on how you’re pushing forward to making your dreams come true!
When you provide this kind of content, you’re inviting readers into your world and letting them “see” how you do things. This type of transparency not only helps readers to know, like and trust you but also build credibility and authority with others as well.
When other see that you’re willing to be open and honest about what it takes to create an online business, thy’re more likely to feel comfortable engaging with your online content.
Recommendations and Collaborations
Let your readers and author friends benefit from your thoughts, ideas, decisions and choices. Sharing things about your author friends and showing how they’ve helped you can benefit you both!
Recommendations
When you take the time to recommend other author’s books to your readers, it can benefit you and your friend. Not only will it help to build a sense of community among you and your author friends, you’ll also help your readers expand their reading horizons!
When readers see that you’re reading and enjoying the work of your peers, it makes them feel more connected to them as well.
When you expose your readers to new voices and perspectives, you’ve helped them develop a broader understanding of many more romance books!
Collaborations
There’re many reasons why authors should consider collaborating with other authors.
It can help you to broaden your audience. By teaming up with another author you can reach a new group of readers who may be interested in your work.
Also, collaborating with others can help to spark new ideas and perspectives. You know that adage: Two minds are better then one”, collaborating with authors, especially within your chosen genre, can help you both come up with even more ideas to use.
And finally, working with another author can simply be more fun than going it alone. Writing a novel can be a solitary pursuit, so it can be nice to bounce ideas off of and to even chat with about anything and everything.
Whether you’re looking to broaden your reach or just want some company on your writing journey, collaborating with another author can be a great way to achieve your goals.
All About your Book
Your readers want to know more about how you created your book. Sharing little secrets about your characters, how they came to be, and how you thought up the storyline.
By sharing book details and story elements from your book, you can hook potential readers and persuade them to give your book a try.
By sharing this type of content, it can be a great way to build up anticipation for a new release by giving them a taste of what’s to come. This can generate excitement and ensure that your book is one of the most anticipated releases of the year.
Whether you’re sharing details on social media, in a blog post, or in an email newsletter, adding book content to your marketing mix is a great way to engage potential readers and boost interest in your latest release.
Connecting with your Readers
Interacting with your readers is a way to make them feel like they’re a part of your process. Encouraging discussions, getting feedback, taking the time to lsten to their opinions will help foster a sense of community amongst your readers.
When readers feel like their listened to and that their opinions matter is a great way to generate content. Your readers will love you and even reshare your content with their reader friends!
So, if you’re really struggling with content ideas, go to your readers and ask them when they’d like to see!! You just might be surprised at the wealth of ideas that come your way.
Conversations Starters
Having discussions can open up a ton of new ideas and avenues for your content. Take the time to have conversations with readers and authors alike, and use their opinions as a springboard for your inspiration.
Not only will conversations help you to get to know your readers, they’ll come to trust and respect you as the authority of your book! This trust and loyalty can be transferred to you and benefit you and your website!
Additionally, by talking to your readers, you’ll have a better sense of the topics they’re interested in and the problems they’re faced with.
To help you get started on those conversations, click this link to find a content template kit with 175 questions to ask your readers.
Finding the right balance between writing and marketing can be overwhelming and tricky, but it doesn’t have to be!
Using these seven categories of content, you can build a loyal following of readers, as well as establish a supportive community of writers.
Sharing your personality, insights, and experiences can bring your closer to your readers and fellow writers, and that’s what the whole writing and marketing journey is all about. Always remember, content is king. So, keep creating and stay connected.
Take the List Home!
Looking for even more content ideas that you can share with your readers, take a look at The Complete List of Content Ideas!
This FREE downloadable PDF is yours when you sign up to my email list! You’ll have so many content ideas, you’ll never run out!
What’s Next…
Make sure you have the essential website content pages added to your author website. Go here to get a free downloadable checklist FREE to download, meaning you don’t need to give me your email address to get it!!
Learn how you can help your author website to stand out from the competition. Offer well-designed and impressive website extras!
Your author booklist is an important piece of content. Learn the benefits of making your author booklist a dedicated page on your author website.
