Why It’s Important to Develop Authenticity With Your Fan Base

by Donna Wichelman

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You, too? Thought I was the only one.’”  —C. S. Lewis

I live in the Northern Hemisphere—the State of Colorado in the United States. Every August, I joyfully anticipate fall—my favorite time of year. I love the colors of fall, the deep reds, vibrant yellows, the contrasting greens of the fall leaves that have yet to turn. In Colorado’s high country, aspens turn golden yellow, filling the mountainsides alongside lodgepole and ponderosa pines. It’s truly splendid during peak season, from late September into early October.

My husband and I also chose to get married in the fall—mid-October of 1984 in California. We both loved the anticipation of the years to come, when the hot summer turned into crisp, cool mornings and cozy evenings by the fireplace. It also meant that hitting the ski slopes wasn’t far behind.

Our Colorado-born daughter followed in her parents’ footsteps, and to this day, as a married woman, she prefers winter to summer, and days of softly falling snow on dormant grass to the sizzling days of the hot summer sun beating down on a soft, sandy beach. She married in December, and her husband and two children have continued the trend. It’s obvious we are kindred spirits when it comes to our favorite season.

The word kindred spirit comes from the Greek word isópsychos, meaning likeminded, equal in soul, or similar in spirit. In the Bible, it usually refers to being a familiar friend, likeminded in spirit (Psalm 55:13) or being of one accord, equal in spirit (Romans 15:5).

I’m curious: as a Christian author, have you thought about the kindred spirits in your fan base? Or let me ask the question another way. How do you connect with your readers? I’m not just talking about the mechanics of writing a newsletter or sorting out the genre you write (your brand). Those things are important. But how do you connect with your readers so they feel connected to you?

In many ways, a writer’s journey is also the reader’s journey. Writing is more than just putting words on a page. It’s a chance to impact your reader in ways they might not consciously understand, but they just know you get them.

Many writers are familiar with the concentric circles theory of understanding how to engage the many segments of our fan base. Several versions of these concentric circles exist, all geared toward the same idea. Briefly, the circles move from the outer edge, where the casual readers exist, to active readers, engaged or regular fans, loyal fans, and finally to super fans in the inner circle. The question is, how do you convert casual readers to loyal or super fans?

I suggest that while the concentric circles theory and other marketing models serve their purpose, they miss what should be at the heart of every Christian author: an authentic relationship with our readers rooted in love for the people who read our books.

Of course, we can’t be personal friends with every reader, nor should we be. Still, I’m convinced that at some level, readers know when we authentically care about them. It’s in our writing, our newsletters, our social media posts, and in our personal prayer life. They instinctively feel you’re a kindred spirit and want to be connected with you.

Paul makes the point very clear in Philippians when he says, “But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. For I have no one else of kindred spirit [likeminded] who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:19 – 21, NASB 1995).

At the heart of every Christian author should be an authentic relationship with our readers rooted in love for the people who read our books.

I want to close with a familiar quote from Maya Angelou, poet and civil rights activist. She makes a poignant statement when she says: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Donna Wichelman is an Angel Book Award-winning author of historical romance for A Song of Deliverance. Book 2, Rhythms of the Heart, is an interconnected stand-alone set in the same Victorian mining community of Georgetown, Colorado. She enjoys developing plots that show how God’s love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her romantic suspense novels, Light Out of Darkness and Undaunted Valor in her Waldensian Series, are available on Amazon. Learn more about Donna on her website at: www.donnawichelman.com