What if the problem isn’t getting more attention?
What if the real challenge is making it easier for the right people to find you?
Based on my experience with hundreds of nonfiction authors, creating more content isn’t going to fix this. More posts, more platforms, more videos, another newsletter. None of these is wrong, yet visibility without findability leaves you exhausted and running around in circles.
You can post every day, keep a polished website, and maintain a strong LinkedIn or Substack presence, and still be invisible to the person looking for the exact help you provide. You can have every box checked and still leave people wondering what you’re known for.
Findability isn’t about being everywhere. It’s about making it easy for the right people, readers, podcast hosts, journalists, event organizers, and potential partners, to understand who you are, what you know, and why they should pay attention.
Five signals make that happen, and the first one changes everything else on this list.
Signal #1: Start with the question people are already asking
Most authors start with their book. They talk about the title, the chapters, the research, the stories, the years it took to write.
Your potential reader starts somewhere else. They start with a problem, a question, a frustration, a change they want to make.
If someone went online today looking for the help your book provides, what would they type into the search bar? Not your book title. Not your name. They’ll likely type in, the problem or challenge.
“How do I help my aging parent hear better?”
“How do I stop feeling invisible at work?”
“How do I lead a team through change?”
“How do I sell my book in bulk?”
“How do I rebuild my life after loss?”
Those searches tell you more about your marketing than any follower count ever will. They reveal what your audience cares about and, more useful, the exact language they use to describe it.
Signal #2: Are you using your language or theirs?
Here’s where a lot of authors make life harder than it needs to be. You’ve spent years immersed in your subject. You know the nuances, the terminology, the frameworks. Your reader doesn’t, and here’s the contrarian part: your expertise is the reason your marketing fails. This is also known as “The Curse of Knowledge.”
Your audience isn’t looking for the name of your framework. They’re searching for the problem your framework solves.
Your website says “transformational leadership for emerging organizational ecosystems.” Your reader is typing “how do I motivate a burned-out team?” There’s the gap, and it’s not a small one.
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