How to Market Yourself to Millennials in the Digital Age and The Celebrities Who’ve Mastered It

At Midnight Publishing, we’re a team of editing and ghostwriting professionals who are constantly monitoring the publishing industry to better equip our author clients with marketing campaign strategies and successful author platforms. With the existence of self-publishing (and even in traditional publishing), it’s even more important to maintain a strong, branded social media presence that builds your readership, compels individuals to follow you, and is tailored to the millennials dominating digital forums today.

In this new and constantly evolving digital age, it’s important to grow your awareness regarding how to build your author platform and maintain millennials’ interest in you and your books—and what better way to do this than follow in the path of some of the most successful celebrities currently? Below are three of Midnight Publishing’s top tips regarding the strategies young celebrities are incorporating into their marketing activities to build interest, maintain a viewership, and most importantly; stay relevant every single day.

1. Be Seen

The number one rule regarding top celebrities like Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid, and Justin Bieber is that they are constantly out and about, giving people the opportunity to see them, share information about them, and talk about them. Now, obviously as an author (and someone who probably doesn’t receive daily invitations to fashion shows and nightclub openings), this ability to “be seen” is going to pose more of a challenge. Don’t worry; we aren’t expecting you to go out every night to Old Town Scottsdale and ensure you’re photographed partying at Bottled Blonde, El Hefe, and The Mint. However, the concept can still apply: be actively searching for writing events, author signings, Changing Hands’ bookstore fundraisers, and local entrepreneur activities to attend and document for your followers. Post pictures and content from these events, write blog posts about who you met, and be seen with other authors (for extra points, tag them on Twitter and Instagram!) to create shareable content that your readers will love.

For a great example, Midnight Publishing’s very own head editor Ashley R. Carlson attended a local writing event (and posted about it!), read our blog post about Phoenix Comicon 2016 here. New York Times’ bestselling authors like Pierce Brown, Suzanne Young, and Aprilynne Pike were there providing free and inexpensive workshops, informative talks, and lots more.

2. Be Interesting

The first step is to be seen, but the next step is to be interesting online. Don’t just post pictures of your meals and your pets—get creative, be witty, fun, and build your brand. If you write erotica and romance, then Instagram your trip to a burlesque show or lingerie store, asking readers “which characters from your books would wear which outfit.” Be engaging, encourage reader interaction, and make your readers laugh or learn something (or both!). Maintain a healthy combination of advertising and fun or useful content, five enjoyable posts for every ad is usually a good measure.

3. Scandal Sells

One of the largest “scandals” regarding young celebrities right now is Taylor Swift’s breakup from Calvin Harris and her near-immediate coupling with famed Englishman Tom Hiddleston. Everyone is talking about it (and Facebooking about it, tweeting about it, Snapchatting about it—it’s inescapable!). Here’s the thing about scandal, people love to talk about it. They love to share their input, they love to discuss, argue, and compare. Essentially, they’re doing the “marketing” for you! As an author, “scandal” can take the form of instigating a useful, thought-provoking debate about something in the publishing industry, or posting a blog post about a hot topic issue that might ruffle a few feathers (anyone recall this little ditty by Ros Barber on why “she’d never self-publish”?). The thing is with scandal, you’re going to have to be prepared for some backlash. Taylor Swift is receiving it in spades right now due to the two-week span between boyfriends, but she had to have expected it in this day and age. And so should you. All press is good press, so they say, and when it comes to emulating current successful celebrities marketing to millennials, that couldn’t be any truer.

Be sure to check out Midnight Publishing’s previous posts to learn who millennials are and how best to reach them, and an in-depth exploration of the Kardashians’ insanely profitable marketing campaign (and how to steal their strategies!).

Do you have dreams of publishing your own written work, and want a set of professional eyes to help with editing or ghostwriting to bring you closer to your author dream? Contact Arizona-based Midnight Publishing today and we’ll provide a free sample edit, and would love to discuss your project! Midnight Publishing has been trusted with over five million words since our inception in 2007—allow us to show you why.