Building Your Tribe

There’s been a lot of talk in social media about building your tribe.

Social media may be a current trend, but building a tribe? Tribes have been around for years. If we want to know how to build a tribe, shouldn’t we defer to the experts?

Journey with me as I fall back on personal experience. As a missionary of 20 years, I’ve had the privilege of watching how a tribal chief in the Amazon jungle kept his tribe intact, how he wooed people to follow his lead, and how he caused them to want to listen. Let’s learn by example.

He listened. 

Our tribal chief spent a good part of every day socializing with the villagers, discovering their needs and wants, and making them feel valued. He wasn’t just a leader, but a friend. He knew how to talk—but he also knew how to listen.

He persevered.

There were the “renegades” of the village. When the villagers went to cut gardens, the renegades made boats. When the villagers were roofing a house, the renegades were cutting gardens. When the whole village built boats together, the renegades would be roofing a house. The renegades made it clear they were never really going to be part of the tribe. Our tribal chief knew not to waste his breath with them; he knew not to be consumed by their opposition. He persevered.

He earned the right to be heard.

By genuinely caring. Our tribal chief didn’t just say he cared. He showed he cared. He looked out for the good of the people. He protected them.

By giving. The widows and fatherless of the tribe knew they had an advocate in their chief. They knew he would find ways to be sure they were provided for. Many times that meant he was at my door seeking “donations,” but what better reason can you give than looking after the widows and the fatherless? 

He earned the right to be heard through caring and giving.

His message was relevant.

When he did spoke, his message was relevant because he knew…

…the issues of his tribe…

…the needs of his tribe…

…and the heart of his tribe.

Doesn’t that sound like everything we’ve heard over and over again?

●  We need to listen.

●  We need to earn the right to be heard.

●  We need to give something back.

●  We need to have a relevant message.

●  And we need to persevere, to press on.

There really is nothing new under the sun. 

Isn’t it kind of cool that, in our technologically advanced society, we can still learn from those living without electricity, without running water, and with limited access to the outside world?

What type of tribal chief are we emulating?

●  Are we listening?

●  Are we caring about others?

●  Are we giving back to others?

●  Are we earning the right to be heard?

●  Are we giving a relevant message?

●  And are we pressing on?

Any thoughts to share? Practical tips? Personal experiences with this? I would love to hear!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rosie Cochran

I am a pastor’s wife, former missionary, mother of four great sons, and author of three books: Betrayed, Identity Revealed, and A Murder Unseen. (Available at: Amazon.com.) I have a passion for God, my family, and writing! Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.

Have a question? Email Me!

Orangeberry Book Tour

I’m on tour! Well, not physically, but online. I’m participating in the Orangeberry Book Tours.

As part of the tour, “A Murder Unseen” has been featured at various blogs. Today I wrote a guest post on the journey of marketing for Book Marketing Bestsellers: Book Promotion Blog.

Check out the quote below, then click HERE to visit John’s blog to read the post. While there, check out the rest of his blog!

Marketing is a journey. For the uninitiated, it may seem strewn with boulders, broken bridges, detours, and sometimes dead-ends.  …  It’s not a race. It’s not a quick trip to the marketplace. It’s a journey.

How Productive Is Invisible Marketing?

Can you teach an old dog new tricks? That’s what we’re going to find out. My newest novel, A Murder Unseen, is polished and published. Though it feels like now I should stop, relax, and take a deep sigh of relief, I know that is not the case. The journey has just begun. Now comes marketing.

For one who would have loved to live in the era of writing under a pen name and being the mysteriously anonymous writer, for one who was raised to not toot one’s own horn or promote self, marketing can be viewed as downright embarrassing. It cuts across the grain of how I think, of who I am.

Somehow, I’ve managed to write and sell two books without drawing excessive attention to the fact that I’ve written them. What an accomplishment, right? Not really. I’ve found there’s another type of embarrassment when friends you’ve known for years looked shocked at the revelation that you’ve written not only one book, but several. Why were they never told? Um… . How do I explain my secret obsession with writing?

There remains the fact that people don’t buy books they don’t know exist, that marketing while trying to remain as invisible as possible really isn’t marketing at all. Yes, I sold books. Yes, I broke even. Yes, I made a profit. However, I didn’t sell enough books to warrant continuing writing books—and I love to write. Therefore, does it not make sense to learn to market if only to justify the time and energy put into the creation of my books? Can you teach an old dog new tricks? I’m not sure, but I’m willing to try.

Related articles

• The invisibility problem in self-publishing (teleread.com)

Promotional Strategies 101

“The wise person learns from experience, the super wise person learns from the experience of others.” (Herbert Hoover)

I am on a journey. As a newbie to marketing and promoting my books, I have been given much advice by those with experience. As Herbert Hoover suggested, I’m trying to be super wise. I’m trying to learn from the experience of others. The following are my suggestions a few months into this learning process:

1) Join Facebook: Facebook is a great social media to keep in touch with your friends and keep them up-to-date, as well as networking beyond your immediate circle of friends. Most of you are probably already on Facebook.

2) Make a Facebook Page: Formerly called a Fan Page, and currently often referred to as a Business Page, a Facebook Page is a great promotional tool. It is an extension of your Facebook Profile. HINT: Facebook is, by definition, a social media. Likewise with your Facebook Page. Be social on your Facebook Page. Don’t just advertise. Check out my Facebook Page at Rosie Cochran, Writer. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s coming along! If you like it—or my blog here—please give me a thumbs up by clicking on the LIKE button!

3) Join LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a business social media. It’s great for networking. I would strongly recommend joining several of the groups (discussion boards) related to books and marketing. These groups are two-way streets. You can glean from the experience of others, but you can also share what you have learned in your own journey. They are a great place to connect with other writers.

3) Start a Blog: I wrote a post on this previously called Should Authors Blog? In that post I wrote, “Blogging helps to tone our craft, to reveal our writing style, and to give us credence as writers, as authors. Blogging opens doors to an audience we might otherwise not have encountered. On a practical level, blogging gives us a better author’s platform, which in turn aids in marketing. As writers, we need that platform. We need a voice that will be heard. Blogging can be that platform. Blogging can be that voice.” Yes, we most definitely need to be bloggers! Check out either WordPress or Blogger and start today.

4) Join Twitter: Join Twitter and start tweeting! Same hint as with the Facebook Page: Be social. Don’t just advertise. Interact with people. Tweet links to your blog posts. Tweet hints. Be a friend! I would love to have you follow me on Twitter. You can find me at @RosieCochran.

4) Join GoodReads: Who do we want to market to? Readers! GoodReads is full of readers. It’s an obvious choice! As an author, you’ll want to not just join, but set up an Author Profile.

5) Make a Book Trailer: Definitely a great idea. Definitely something I have yet to do!

6) Radio Interview: Hmm…. Will I ever get brave enough to breach this frontier? Keep following my blog to find out!

7) Book Signings: Another great idea that I’ll have to write about once I finally get around to doing it!

Like I said at the beginning, I am on a journey. We may all be at different stages of the journey, but we can all continue to learn from the experiences of others. We all have the choice to be super wise people!