How To Market Your Writing Project In Web3
As an author, you decide to take the plunge and publish your next novel, short story, poem, or comic on the blockchain. You know all the potential benefits of publishing on Web3, and you’ve seen how some authors have sold out in just a few hours. You have a decent following on Facebook and mailing list, but nothing seems to happen when you publish your work. You’re left scratching your head, wondering why your readers aren’t snapping up the NFT super rare edition of the same book they just bought on Amazon.
With a bit of effort and some creative marketing, you can find success in this growing community of authors and readers who have chosen to embrace the blockchain.
The truth is that the Web3 publishing ecosystem is still in its infancy. It doesn’t have the same infrastructure as more established platforms, and it’s difficult to make sure that readers are aware of your work.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean you should give up on your Web3 publishing ambitions. With a bit of effort and some creative marketing, you can find success in this growing community of authors and readers who have chosen to embrace the blockchain.
As an author, you might wonder if your skills in marketing will be sufficient to help you sell your book. As Jody Sperling of The Reluctant Book Marketer podcast told us: “Everyone can market their own work”
In the Web3 space, writers often find themselves overwhelmed by the marketing options available. Where should they start? What platforms are best for their projects?
This article will explore some of the most effective strategies for marketing your writing project.
Before we start: Web3 marketing VS Web2 Marketing
Marketing on Web3 is different than traditional digital marketing. For one thing, while Web2 marketing is often focused on appealing to a general audience, Web3 marketing needs to consider early adopters and enthusiasts of decentralized technologies as a target audience for its marketing campaigns, so relatively tech-savvy users.
The traditional Web2 audience becomes, in Web3, a community of highly engaged and tech-savvy audiences, so it requires a different approach and mindset than traditional Web2 marketing.
It’s all about community
Being part of and building a healthy community is an essential part of the success of any web3 project. It can help to ensure the long-term viability of the project, provide valuable feedback and ideas, and serve as a powerful marketing and outreach tool.
As an author who wants to publish using Web3, you will find your community mainly in the people who read your work and the other authors who share your vision and want to support you.
In Web3, the community plays a crucial role in marketing outreach.
You won’t have a publisher to promote your work, so you need to start getting “out of the building”, join the community, contribute to it and, eventually, build yours.
- Find communities that align with your interests and values. There are online communities for just about every topic under the sun, so start by searching for communities related to your work (if you’re a fantasy writer, you might want to check out community around LOTR, GoT, etc.)
- Engage with the community. Once you’ve found a community that you’re interested in, start participating by commenting on posts, asking questions, and contributing your own insights and experiences.
You can also start hosting your own events such as Twitter Spaces and Discord hangouts or AMAs (Ask Me Anything), which don’t require much preparation. - Build relationships. As you participate in the community, take the time to get to know other members. This can help you build relationships and make connections that can be valuable in the future.
Providing your readers with a brief glimpse of the kinds of stories you like to write, as well as letting them know what interests you, will encourage your readers to feel connected to you and help inspire them to provide input for future content.
Here are some of our favorite communities and influential Web3 authors you could join and interact with to get started:
- Greg Younger | The Write3 Guy: leader in Web3 Writing & Literary NFTs, Greg is helping Web3 writers improve their writing and get published on the blockchain.
- The Metalibrarian Minutes: a newsletter by Edward Carpenter with the latest news about books on the blockchain — intended for authors, illustrators, translators, collectors, patrons, and investors.
- Page DAO Discord server: a community of writers, book lovers, and NFT collectors gathered around a mission to fuel creative writing.
- Readl Discord server: a community of authors and storytellers who are exploring publishing on Web3.
And if you’re wondering if you should create your own Discord server, the answer we got from Tim Haldorsson, CEO of the marketing agency Lunar Strategy, is: probably no.
But, if you do decide to create your own Discord channel, you can’t just send out the membership invitation and expect people to come running. You must put in the effort to make your Discord channel a desirable destination. This means taking the time to craft thoughtful content and activities that will keep your readers interested and engaged. It can be anything from hosting virtual events to providing insightful advice and tips. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is something your readers will find value in and will keep coming back for. With the right amount of effort and dedication, you can create a thriving Discord community that your readers will be eager to join.
Create exclusive and limited work for your readers
One of the most effective ways to bring your readers into the Web3 space is by offering some exclusive, limited content related to your work already available on traditional platforms.
Maybe it’s a special story around a character or a side story inspired by your existing universe of content. Maybe it’s a collection of never-published pages of the first book you published.
Whatever it is, creating this kind of unique content on Web3 will make your readers want to explore your work in this space.
You can also try offering free content to those who consume your work in more traditional ways, such as giving away a free short story on Readl or even a special limited edition NFT with exclusive art made with one of the very popular AI Art generators like Midjourney.
Here are some ideas for how novelists can adapt their writing to their work to web3 standards.
Collaborate with other authors and artists
Collaborating with other authors and artists can be a great way to create new and exciting content, learn from others, and expand your audience in more meaningful ways.
By working together, you can explore and discover the exciting possibilities of the Web3 space — a collaborative environment that offers a unique platform for storytellers of all kinds.
Authors’ ultimate goal is to reach as many potential readers as possible. Joining forces with other creators and creating a strategic communication plan with them, will enhance the reach and visibility of the writing project.
Writer’s rooms and collaborative projects are becoming increasingly popular in the web3 space due to the technology’s ability to create a dynamic, automated system for sharing royalty payments between the stakeholders in the project. For example, on Readl, creators can split the royalties with as many wallets as they want, making collaboration between creators easier than ever.
A great example of a collaborative project is Arts & Poetry, a Web3 exclusive journal, led by pioneer web3 author Edward Carpenter, showcasing new and unique works of written and visual arts from around the world.
Guest writing in blogs and magazines
Guest writing is an incredibly powerful tool for writers looking to increase their visibility, credibility, and gain new readers and followers. Not only can it be a great way to showcase your writing skills and build a portfolio, but it can also open up new opportunities to further your writing career.
By taking advantage of guest writing opportunities, you can reach a wider audience and demonstrate your expertise in your field, giving readers a reason to take you and your work seriously.
Additionally, it can help to expand your network and create new contacts, which could lead to new and exciting writing and career opportunities.
All in all, guest writing can be an invaluable tool for any writer looking to get ahead.
Would you like to be a guest author on our blog?
Reach out to us on Discord or at community@readl.co
About Readl
Readl is the first web3 platform designed to help storytellers, publishers, production houses, and NFT projects that want to publish, manage and distribute multimedia literary content on the blockchain, without requiring specific technical knowledge.
Our platform allows storytellers to create a decentralized library of literary NFTs, keeping perpetual royalties, and where audiences can discover and consume content they love from any device and with web2 user-friendly onboarding.
