The Joy & Connection Marketing Plan
Feel good about sharing your work and engaging with readers
Your writing and creative work are a gateway for those who experience it. It allows them to experience an idea, viewpoint, story, or process that opens them up to a new way of looking at the world, those around them, and themselves.
You are a gateway.
This fall I invite you to join me to find joy and connection in how you share who you are, what you create, and how you connect with your ideal readers. I am excited to announce my fall curriculum, a new series which will flip how you think about marketing, author branding, social media, and the platform you develop to reach readers.
All of this is meant to give you a clear sense of purpose. I’m calling this the Joy & Connection Marketing Plan. It is about how to share your writing in a way that is infused with meaningful connections and personal fulfillment. To do what feels authentic in who you are, and avoid anything that feels gross and icky. Here is how we will spend the autumn:
September: Define your creative identity.
October: Identify your ideal readers.
November: Connect with your ideal readers.
Of course, my free newsletters each Friday will dig into these topics. But where the magic is going to happen is in my community here on Substack, where paid subscribers will join me in an exclusive series each month! Here we will dive deep into a specific aspect of each monthly theme in exclusive 3-week series where you will receive a lesson each Tuesday, and where you can engage with me and other writers and creators in my private Substack chat. The first 3-week series begins on Tuesday September 10th — I will share more about that soon! October and November will have their own exclusive 3-week series as well.
To be a part of this, simply become a paid subscriber to my Substack community. And, for the first time ever, I’m offering a special discount if you join in the next few days. Get 30% off your subscription if you redeem this offer by Tuesday September 3rd.
If you choose the annual plan, that is 49% cheaper than the normal monthly subscription price — a huge deal! This gives you access to the three exclusive series in September, October, and November, my full archives, and private subscriber Chat.
Let’s Do the Work
Years ago, I developed the Creative Success Pyramid. At the time, I knew that this methodology worked well for writers, but could also be applied to other creative fields. This is what it looks like:
While the steps remain the same, the purpose and goal can change depending on the context you are in. This could easily be:
The Book Launch Pyramid
The Author Platform Pyramid
The Grow my Substack Pyramid
The Start my Coaching Business Pyramid
Why? Because it focuses on the critical steps involved in the craft of how you share. It’s about doing the deep work of understanding your own purpose, framing your public identity, developing messaging that feels authentic, understanding your ideal audience, and all the steps to reach them.
Years ago I published a book called Be the Gateway, which I still have people emailing me about all the time.
When I shared recently about the break I have taken from social media, people expressed to me how they could no longer participate in channels that sap them of energy.
To me, the idea of sharing your writing should be about filling you up, and providing you with meaningful connections with real people. I want you to feel a sense of clear purpose in your work, and knowing that your work is reaching your ideal readers. That you are honoring your creative intentions, not running yourself into the ground.
I encourage you to develop your gateway. To move through the pyramid with me, and to fill your days with sharing who you are, what you create and why, all in a manner that is full of joy and fulfillment.
I hope you can join me this fall for the Joy & Connection Marketing Plan here on Substack. The most value is for my paid subscribers (subscribe or upgrade here!), with the exclusive series I’ll be sharing in September, October, and November. These will be delivered to your inbox every Tuesday, plus you get everything I share in my Friday newsletters, and access to my private Chat community.
Please let me know in the comments: what three words would you choose to define how you want to feel about sharing your writing and connecting with readers?
Thank you for being here with me.
-Dan
Kids of the Week: with grandma, of course:
Dan, your timing for this program is perfect! I recently started my own Substack newsletter so working on building an audience and having meaningful conversations my ideal readers is a focus right now. I’ve seen your pyramid for years, though never tackled it in a serious way. I’m far along on my third novel and would like to publish next year. Working through the topics you outlined are a real need for me right now and having both guidance and a core group to engage with is fantastic!
As for my three words, Engagement, Excitement, and Connection.
Thank you and I’m really looking forward to both your program and engaging with others going it through it too.
Marketing scares the heck out of me. I think I've had almost instinctive disdain for it, because it went against how I was raised. Never draw attention to yourself, never be proud. Well, I definitely absorbed the exact opposite of those messages. Now that I'm serious about writing my book and publishing it, I recognize the importance of marketing, but I am still afraid. So to answer your question: I'd like to feel less afraid of what people think. Okay, that's not three.