How to get more people to read (and share) your content

I’ve written about how to start creating content if you’re not sure where to begin, how to find what works for you, and how to overcome your fear of publishing. Now I want to tackle a topic that’s top of mind for pretty much everyone who decides to post something on the internet.

After all the time you’ve spent thinking about a topic, then drafting, writing, and editing something (be it a podcast, newsletter, series of blog posts or Tweetstorm), you’ve finally published. Now, onto your next concern: how can you actually get folks to read and share it?

I often hear from people who get discouraged before they really get started because they don’t believe their work will find an audience. Maybe it’s because they don’t have a huge social following, or maybe they’ve just started writing and don’t have a ton of traction yet. I think it’s a shame to lose all those insights and wisdom, so I tend to give them the same advice: create a distribution engine.

In my job, where I work to bolster my venture capital firm’s brand, one of the major areas I’ve spent time is in building a strong distribution engine to support our content. Here’s what I mean. Once you have something you want to share, you should put together a concrete, thought-out plan for how you plan to share it. I believe anyone can apply a similar kind of workflow to sharing their personal content, whatever it may be.

Here are some ways to build your own distribution engine:

1. Create an email list. Create a core list of people in your network, family, social circles etc. who might want to read what you’ve produced. Be sure to give them an opportunity to opt in and opt out. Then whenever you publish something, send it along to your list and ask for thoughts or feedback. If it resonates with them, they’ll share it. If not, you’re keeping this group up-to-date on some things you’re thinking about, which could spark interesting conversations, along with new ideas. Over time, this list could evolve into a proper newsletter, but even if it doesn’t, working on your contacts list is a good place to start.
2. Don’t be shy on social. To me, the biggest reason people don’t get as many views or listens as they’d like is because they under-share on social media. There could be a number of reasons why, like fear of feeling spamming or forgetting to share after posting. Let’s say you’re writing a new blog post. Start with Twitter, then go to LinkedIn (people under-utilize LinkedIn), share on Facebook and update your link in bio on Instagram. Take care to tweak the language on each platform. (What works on Twitter doesn’t always work on LinkedIn.) You don’t need to share on all of these platforms, but even if you do two of the four, you’re getting in front of different people in your professional and personal circles. After you share a first time, you can retweet or reshare any other posts that link to your work, and then once those have mostly calmed down, hit everyone with a good ‘ol “ICYMI.” In my experience, people are more willing to celebrate and engage with your work than you may think — but first they need to see it.
3. Leverage other people on the internet. Is there someone who may not be in your immediate network who might have an interesting take on what you’ve produced? Don’t hesitate to direct message your posts or send a link through to any people who might find value in it, give helpful feedback, and perhaps even share your work. If you happened to talk to anyone who helped inspire it, tag and thank them. They’ll appreciate the follow up, and will feel encouraged to share something they were a part of. Look to drive some discussion. Did the project raise open-ended questions, or share experiences that might echo or vary from others? Encouraging folks to weigh in can lead to even more valuable insights, while driving attention back to your work.
4. Distribute through related groups. Are there any newsletters you follow that curate links to relevant content? Don’t forget to submit your work. Two that I like a lot are Femstreet and The VC Platform Global Community. Whenever someone on my team has a post that fits somewhere at the intersection of tech, platform, or venture capital, I remember to submit it for inclusion in the upcoming issues. Submitting your work to be shared by other resources read by people in your industry is a good way to find a target audience that might benefit from what you have to say. The same goes for any social accounts that amplify specific kinds of content, such as one I launched, @bywomenvcs, which amplifies diverse voices in venture capital. You can also share relevant work in your Slack communities, where it’s easy to foster discussion, and a low pressure way encourage folks to share your work.
5. Resurface relevant links. You don’t need to drop a “per my last blog post,” but there will be times when what you’ve written in the past will feel directly related to fresh conversations online. When those opportunities arise, it’s absolutely okay to reply with your thoughtful take on the matter at hand and a link back to your previous work to provide additional context. This is a good way to breathe life into an old post and help it find a new audience even as time passes since publication. Sometimes a new riff on older content can be less time consuming, but just as valuable to your ecosystem, as producing something entirely new.

What’d I miss? Share what you think is important in content strategy in the comments or tweet at me.