People talk shop about different strategies to engage audiences, to connect with people, and all for the purpose of sales and success. Quite often you’ll read about the importance of platform and creating your own platform. And true, it is important; but if you’re always focusing on the end goal, metrics, sales, and stuff like that, it’s a recipe for misery, because quite often people won’t care.
People who you grew up with.
People who you went to school with.
People who you worked with.
Friends.
Family.
A LOT of people won’t care or at least it’ll feel that way. And that’s OK.
I write this not to dissuade you, but because it can and does happen, and in the end, everyone’s approval and validation should be nice-to-haves but not musts. This actually applies to most things in life. You can go on doing millions of things to seek approval and the only guarantee life can offer is that results may vary. Some people will get all the support you could ever imagine (or it may appear that way) while others will face a very lonely road. Sometimes you’ll have that support and sometimes you’ll swim in the silence. That’s also OK. It’s part of the journey and creating is often a very lonely process where you have only yourself for company… which is why that’s the only opinion that should matter.
Should you have a platform? Sure. It’s a savvy move… but never at the expense of your peace of mind or health, be it physical, mental, or emotional. It can start with some recommended steps, but for me, I think platforms work best when they become an extension of yourself and when you enjoy what you do regardless of the engagement. I do countless things on social media and although the likes do offer some sort of validation, the main reason I do what I do is to keep challenging myself creatively and because I try and make it fun. From silly Visual Typo puns and made up definitions in my Teactionary, to SkyThoughts, sock pics, and the oh so popular 00 Bananas, I always work hard to enjoy myself doing what I do and because I think at least one person will get a kick out of what I do. Some of the things I post are to engage people but algorithms be damned, if you don’t tag people, getting a response is quite uphill unless you pay-to-play, something facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and countless other social media platforms are all too happy to put into practice.
I don’t pay for my posts, something I’ve thought about from time to time to see if I have better results. I know people who swear by facebook ads or amazon paid ads, but to be honest, I’d rather just have fun and in that sense, I’m very successful. What I’ve also noticed is that getting people to care about what you do has less rhyme and reason to it than you’d believe.
For me, I’ve learned that if you love what you do and I mean genuinely love what you do, people become curious. People will wonder why you’re so happy doing what you’re doing and they’ll give you a chance. Some people might see you at a comic con or a book event and wonder what that person is talking about… and if they sense enthusiasm and see a spark in your eye every time you talk about what you do, then maybe, just maybe, they’ll give you a chance. Then some of those people will read and enjoy and some might even connect to a greater level. Who knows? They might even begin to care… and to care deeply at that.
I’ve had books out for seven years and participated in events from 2014 until today. I am far from having a sustainable writing career because sales could be better, but as time passes, more people care. They genuinely and sincerely care. They think they pester when they ask about upcoming books, but it’s the kind of thing that makes me giddy. Is it everybody? No. And it’ll never be everybody… and for the third time in this post, that’s OK, because some people care, and that’s where your focus has to go.
Peace, love, and maki rolls
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