How I Use Social Media and My Website to Attract Subscribers

by Laurie Buchanan

Several years ago I contacted the editor of the “McHenry County Woman”
newspaper in northern Illinois where I lived at the time.

I pitched the idea of monthly health and wellness byline. I wasn’t paid for the articles I wrote, but they served as a magnet for new clients, and they also caught the attention of a local magazine who also asked me to write articles.

Those were not paid either, but they, too, brought in clients. The pieces I wrote for the local magazine caught the attention of larger magazines farther afield, including Chicago.

My first paid article was for “Mindful Metropolis” magazine. It didn’t pay much, but oh was I excited!]

I Write on the Same Topics that I Teach as a Coach

As a holistic health practitioner and transformational life coach, my writing niche is health and wellness. This includes everything from integrative medicine (holistic approaches that work in tandem with traditional western medicine) to fitness, meditation, stress/anger management, and healthy eating.

As a businesswoman, I write about business topics, including mental health in the workplace. And as a minimalist, I write about the minimalist lifestyle. Contrary to popular belief, minimalism isn’t just about having fewer things, it’s a mindset as well.

My first two books—Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth, and The Business of Being: Soul Purpose In and Out of the Workplace, were nonfiction. I’m excited to share that I just signed a publishing contract for my first fiction book. It’s a suspense novel that takes place at a writing retreat in the Pacific Northwest. It’s slated to hit the shelves in August 2020.

How to Use Social Media and Your Website to Get Subscribers and Views

To attract more clients and readers, I use the social media platforms that are a good fit for me. These include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and my WordPress blog—Tuesdays with Laurie. I respond to every comment I receive, I follow other people in return, and I make a point of being generous in sharing what others post.

This has resulted in over 15,000 blog subscribers with almost a million views.

And although it would make things easier, I have made a point of not using a scheduling program to post for me. Why? Because a scheduling program can’t respond for me, nor would I want it to. That takes a personal touch—a touch that’s been vital to my brand.

Two Steps to Making My Online Presence Attractive

Two other things that are attractive about my online presence is that I’m consistent and concise:

Consistency
Monday through Saturday I make a point of posting on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm. On LinkedIn, I only publish articles or meme’s that are (or can be) related to business.

I kick off each day with a simple “Daily Cuppa” meme that shares my morning tea tag’s wisdom. I end each evening with a “Peace” meme. The three posts in-between usually include a “Joie de Vivre” (Joy of Life) meme, an uplifting quote from someone I admire and respect, and perhaps a quote from one of my books.

On Sunday I enjoy a digital detox. I unplug from the internet.

Concision
In today’s fast-paced world, most people don’t have the time to devote to lengthy posts they have to scroll (and scroll!) through to read. They appreciate and respond to quick pieces that have a positive, uplifting, constructive, and healing takeaway. In my experience, brevity is vital to retaining followers.

You Get Paid More to Write When They Contact You

Aside from book sales, the most lucrative writing I do is when I’m approached by a magazine for a writing assignment.

In my experience, when I do the soliciting, the fee is usually smaller because it’s a nice “extra”—a want, not a need. However, when a magazine approaches me, it’s because they need something.

I’ve found the financial payoff for a need to be higher than the payoff for a want.

How Doing Workshops Enhances My Writing Business

One of the ways I enhance my writing business is by doing workshops at writing conferences.

These typically involve an in-depth proposal/application process. Nine times out of ten writing conferences are looking for speakers who have at least one published book. Once I had that under my belt, I developed curriculum for topics I’m qualified to teach.

My current writing workshop offerings include Author to Author, Creating an Author’s Statement and Writing Resume, Building Your Author Brand, Creating a Successful Book Launch, Good Writing is Rewriting, Hybrid Publishing, The Anatomy of Blogging, and Why Critiquing is Necessary.

I’ve found it advantageous to have a “Speaking” page on my website where potential employers can learn about the topics I offer. Having a brief video clip that shows me in action enhances the page—and my chances of being contacted.

I also lecture about writing on various campuses through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. OLLI offers noncredit courses with no assignments or grades to “seasoned” adults over age 50. There are OLLI programs at 120 universities and colleges in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

How “Morning Pages” Help Me Stay Motivated

For me, staying motivated comes naturally.

Even if no one ever says “Woohoo,” “Good job,” or “I like your work,” I’d still write because it’s a reward in and of itself. I’ve been doing “Morning Pages” (from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way) for decades and continue to benefit from that personal writing that no one will ever see.

Advice for a Young Writer: Hire a Writing Coach

Hire a writing coach. My writing mentor is Christine DeSmet of the Writers’ Institute at UW-Madison. She’s proven time and again that I can trust her writing expertise to let me know what’s good, what needs work, and why it needs work (I want to know the whys and wherefores).

Have your work critiqued. Even if you don’t agree with what’s been said, it’s excellent food for thought that will help you grow as a writer.

Another way to grow is to join local writing groups. I belong to the Boise Chapter of the Nonfiction Authors Association (NFAA) and the Idaho Writers Guild (IWG). Nationally, I belong to the International Women’s Writing Guild (IWWG).

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Board-certified holistic health practitioner, transformational life coach, and award-winning author Laurie Buchanan, PhD, helps you turn intention into action. A cross between Dr. Dolittle, Nanny McPhee, and a type-A Buddhist, Laurie is a voracious reader, kindness enthusiast, and an unabashed optimist.

Her first book, Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth, closes the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Her second book, The Business of Being: Soul Purpose in and Out of the Workplace, shows you how to thrive, soul-side out, in and out of the workplace.

For more information about Laurie and her work, please see her website, or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

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The Business of Being: This book isn’t just about being in business; it’s about the business of being. But when you stop to think about it, each of us is like a small business. Successful business owners implement strategies that improve their prospects for success. Similarly, as human beings, it serves us well to implement guiding principles that inspire us to live our purpose and reach our goals.

The rich ganache filling that flows through the center of this book is the story of La Mandarine Bleue, a delicious depiction of how nine individuals used twelve steps of a business plan to find their vocation and undergo a transformation (with some French recipes thrown in for good measure).

From a business plan and metrics to mission and goals with everything between―investors, clients and customers, marketing strategies, and goodwill development―this book clearly maps how to create personal transformation at the intersection of business and spirituality. Merging the language of business and self-help, The Business of Being will teach you how to enhance “profitability”―body, mind, and spirit.

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Note to Self: Baggage! We all carry it with us through life.

It comes in a wide variety of styles, shapes, and colors―more than enough to accommodate the stuff that we accumulate through life. And no matter how we dress it up, it’s frustrating, inconvenient, and slows us down. In fact, it’s downright disruptive.

This book is about offloading emotional baggage―something that’s especially important when we realize that we don’t just pack for one; we pack for seven. Each of the seven selves―self-preservation, self-gratification, self-definition, self-acceptance, self-expression, self-reflection, and self-knowledge―has characteristics, wellness types, and shadows. Each plays a vital role in harmony, overall health, and well-being.

Chock full of real-life emotional examples, as well as “keys” at the end of each chapter offering actionable tips, techniques, and exercises designed to help you unlock baggage, examine it, and offload it permanently, Note to Self will help you discover a lighter, joy-filled you!

Available at Amazon.