Why Tribal?

You’re an author, not a tribal chief. So what’s this tribal thing all about?

Back before Seth Godin wrote Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, I had a company in the hospitality industry where we referred to our staff as our tribe, not as our employees. We had monthly tribal gatherings with drumming, rather than formal company meetings. Our guests were also considered to be part of our tribe, and we created tribal “passports,” which were given to repeat guests. They received conch shell necklaces to which we added a pair of beads with each return visit to the hotels.

Still with me? Sorry, that may have sounded a little crazy to some of you.

You may think you don’t have a tribe, but you do. If you’ve written books that you’re proud of, and you have readers who loved them so much they want more, then you have a tribe. And if you haven’t yet published anything because you’re still working on your first book, you may be surprised to hear that you still have a tribe: it’s your target market of potential readers.

Your tribe is your community of readers. 

The question is, what are you doing to build your tribe? Building your tribe is a vital part of developing your author platform. First, you need to get clear on your author brand. Then you need to determine who your target audience of readers is and where they’re already hanging out online. Finally, you need to get started building your online presence. This involves finding and creating spaces where you can do two very important things: one, you can round up your tribe of existing readers; and two, you can get in touch with potential new readers and draw them into your tribe.

Your online platform is a place where your tribe can gather together. It’s where you can get to know them and share a little more about yourself, and it’s these people who will buy your books and recommend them to others.

You probably became an author because you are passionate about writing and wanted to share your work with the world…not because you wanted to be a tribal organizer. But if you want to share your work with the largest possible group of people (read: sell more books), you need to find your tribe, build your tribe, and provide a place where you can connect with them online.

While I can’t wave a magic wand to boost your book sales, I can make finding and building your tribe a whole lot easier. I work with authors like you, who want to sell books and get their work known without driving themselves crazy building their tribe online. I have a solid background in business, online marketing, and coaching (plus “tribal” relations!) and I leverage this experience to help you achieve your business goals.

Working with me, you’ll learn how to build a solid author brand and author platform so you can get started on your path to develop a tribe of loyal readers and reviewers. I’ll also help you with easy ways to find both existing and potential new tribal members. I can’t wait to help you start selling more books and getting more positive reviews online.