Novel Marketing

Author Media presents Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about.  Today we are answering a listener question. I’m your host, the professor of book sales, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today we are going to talk about indie printing specifically print on demand vs offset. Yes ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about paper. Paper prices are going up and Amazon is at fault. More and more paper companies are switching to making cardboard for amazon boxes and the result is that paper is getting more expensive for everyone.  This episode comes from a listener question. If  you would like to ask a question you can all our listener helpline or upload an audio file on our website at AuthorMedia.com.  Listener question Great question! Lets talk about print on demand and offset printing.  Print on Demand Explained * Print on demand uses similar technology to an office laser printer to print books one at a time. Electric drums put toner on paper.  Pros: * Logistically easy for the author* Low Risk* Able to iterate and make changes. * Inexpensive startup cost* Fast Cons * Expensive on a per unit basis. * Reduced printing options (Fancy paper, embossing, etc))* Only two companies to pick from Amazon KDP Print and Ingram Spark. Almost all others are just reselling those two. So if you are not getting bids from those two, and your bids seam high, that may be the reason.  Offset Printing Explained * Offset printing uses metal plates to apply ink to the paper.* There are a lot of companies that do offset printing. Chances are there is a local one in your town near the main post office.  Pros: * Scales well. Use the same metal sheets over and over.* Cheap on a per unit basis.* Lots of flexibility on paper options and whatnot.  Cons: * Less Indie* Slow* Proofing is very important.* Logistically complex. You will need to hire Ingram or one of their competitors to help with distribution. Digital Printing * Digital Printing sometimes called digital offset uses similar technology to POD to print short runs of books. If your small publisher is printing 500 copies of your books, this is likely what they are doing.* Is a hybrid in terms of pros and cons. Not as cheap as traditional offset.  * This is often offered by the same companies that do offset.  Which to choose? * For adult fiction, print on demand is almost always the way to go. The money is in ebooks afterall. * For nonfiction, it depends on the size of your in person platform. If you speak a lot, offset could work. If you have a smaller platform then no. The question is can you sell 2500 paper copies in the first year or two? That would mean speaking in front of at least 10k audience members assuming a 25% audience conversion rate. * For children’s books, offset is much more common. Children expect the kind of features that offset printing provides. So if you want a whole in one of the pages for the toddler to put a finger through, you need to go offset. If you want to add scratch and sniff, offset. Etc.  How to have your cake and eat it too: Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding allows you to gauge demand for a book before it co...

I had surgery a couple of weeks ago and recovery has taken longer than expected. On top of that, Margaret my pregnant wife, Mercy our one-year-old, and I all came down with colds. So this is going to be a shorter episode.  Back in episode 204, we talked about pruning and focus. If you remember that is the episode where Jim announced that he is stepping down from co-hosting the podcast. One of the things I am doing to help bring focus to my life is reducing the number of websites I maintain.  Owning a website is like owning a pet, it requires upkeep, maintenance, and attention. The more websites you have the more confusing it is for people trying to figure out who you are and where to find you.  In that regard, I currently have 4 active websites:  * ThomasUmstattd.com * AuthorMedia.com* NovelMarketing.com* ChristianPublishingShow.com This is too many! And making it worse, AuthorMedia.com and NovelMarketing.com do basically the same thing for the same audience. So, I’ve combined NovelMarketing.com and AuthorMedia.com into one website.  I am going to talk about the right and wrong way to combine websites. This is something you may face, a lot of authors create websites for a book series or other effort and later decide they want to consolidate to one website.  But this is also an opportunity to explain a little bit about how Google works.  The Wrong Ways to Do It * Delete The Old Website* Delete the Old Website And Copy The pages over to the new website. What happens when you delete a web page: * Links from around the web are pointing to that page. Maybe some bookmarks. All those links will now end in 404 errors. The people who have bookmarked that page will get confused and irritated.* Search reputation is lost. For the page and potentially for the site as well.   The Right Ways to Do it * Move the website with 301 redirects. * Copy the pages to the new site. WordPress has some automated ways to do this. In “tools” you will find two pages one for export and one for import.* Divi (affiliate link) also has a built-in import/export tool.  * Create a website within a website (AuthorMedia.com/novelmarketing) Tips * Don’t be too quick to shut down the old site. Let the two sites co exist for a few days while you make sure everything is moved over correctly. * Way Back Machine Sponsor 5 Year Plan to Become a Bestselling Author I crafted this plan with bestselling and award-winning author James L Rubart to be step by step guide through the first five years of your writing career. Learn each quarter what to do to succeed and avoid the mistakes that hijack the success of most authors. Learn more at NovelMarketing.com/courses. Featured Patron Jennifer Lamont Leo author of You’re the Cream in My Coffee   In 1928, small-town woman Marjorie Corrigan travels to Chicago and thinks she sees her first love–believed killed in the Great War–alive and well in a Chicago train station. Suddenly everything in her life is up for grabs.               You can

Author Media presents Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about.  I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today we are going to talk about demographics & psychographics and how most authors use these poorly and how they can give you an edge. Trigger warning! I will be acknowledging the existence of politics in this episode. I don’t plan to make any political statements or taking any sides but I will be addressing the topic.  Where Authors Use Demographics * Book Proposals* Reader Personas* Website Visitor Personas* Facebook Targeting What are demographics? * Age* Race* Sex* Income* Location Why are demographics useless? * To be fair, demographics used to work back when there were only three TV channels.* The problem is, demographics assume everyone is the same.* Imagine a 31 year old white middle class woman in 1959. If you know her demographics you know a lot about her. You can be statistically confident that she is married, she’s a mom, she has approximately two children, and she goes to church on Sundays with her husband. * Now imagine a 31 year old white middle class white woman in 2019. Same demographic information and yet we know far less about her. She could be an executive at a tech firm, a full time student, or a stay at home mom. We have no idea if she goes to church on Sunday and no idea if she is divorced, single or married. We have no idea if she has children.* Most books don’t have a narrow demographic appeal. When they do, it is not unique to the book but rather than to the genre.* So while white middle class boomer women may be the biggest consumers of romance novels, how is that useful for making decisions with your romance novel. * Demographics also don’t capture the number one thing defining people these days: politics. * Most American fall into one of three camps: * Left* Right* “Please don’t talk to me about politics.”* America is fragmenting, people are moving away from those unlike them, not just on social media but in real life. There is a slow migration of left leaning Americans away from Middle America and into states like California, New York, and Virginia and a slow moving migration of right leaning people out of those states and into Middle America. * I hear the same thing is happening in the UK over Brexit. Leavers are unfriending Remainers on Facebook and vice versa.  * For many authors as many as 80% of thier readers fall into thier same bucket politically. * With some exceptions, demographics don’t tell you much about the political leanings of the audience you are targeting. And yet knowing that information has a big impact on your book. The left and right are starting to use different language even.  What are psychographics? A psychographic is the: * Attitude (I always buy the cheapest option. I’m willing to spend extra for quality.)* Desires (I want to be seen as a virtuous member of the community. vs I’m going to live my life and I don’t care what other people think. )* Fears (I’m afraid of guns. vs I’m afraid of being an unarmed victim with no way to defend myself.)* Personality (Spending time with people charges me up! Vs. Spending time in groups drains me.)* Pains (It hurts to see everything changing so much around me. I feel like I don’t recognize my country anymore Vs. It pains me how backward everything is. We could be living in the future right now! )* Values (I value autonomy.

Author Media presents Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about.  I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today we are going to answer a listener question. If you would like to ask a question to be answered on a future episode you can call 512-827-8377 or upload an audio file at novelmarketing.com/contact.  We are about to get to the question but first, quick reminder, the promo pricing on the new course How to Get Booked on a Podcast ends in 3 days! Question from Shauna What do I do with statistics from my website, social media and book sales? This is a great question! I suspect this is a follow up question to Episode 191 How to Track Your Marketing Efforts. Which if you haven’t listened to that episode, I highly recommend you go back and listen.   Why This is Important There is an old saying: “What Gets Measured Gets Managed.” Part of the reason authors work so hard at social media is all of the feedback you get for your activity. That feedback feels like measurement, but it isn’t unless you are tracking it and then using that information to make better decisions.  Measurement is what separates masters and bozos.  Part of the reason this podcast has been able to last so long is that we aren’t stuck on any one marketing approach. A lot of marketing gurus have there specific set of techniques that they stick to long after they stop working.  Some of my guiding principles of marketing are: * Each author is different au.* Experimentation is the key to finding what works for you.  * The lesson I learned the hard way the first time I gave advice.nd their marketing approach must be tailored to their specific strengths and weaknesses. Just because something works or doesn’t work for others doesn’t mean it will or won’t work for yo Step 1 Start Collecting Data You can’t use data you don’t have.  Collect data before you need in. You can retroactively install Google Analytics for instance.  Listen to Episode 191 How to Measure Your Marketing to learn more about how to collect data Step 2 Write Some Questions Computers are great at answering questions. They are terrible at asking questions.  Some questions you could consider starting with: * Were sales up or down last month?* Do my promotions on Facebook boost book sales?* Do my ads on Facebook pay for themselves?* Do my promotions on Twitter boost book sales?* Does my website traffic correlate in book sales? * Are my followers… mostly men or women?* What blog topics get the most attention?* What is my sell through rate?* Did my bookbub ad pay for itself?* Are my Amazon ads making money?* How many additional books did my podcast interviews help sell.* Did that blog tour sell any books?* What is the lifetime value of a new reader?* How much of my revenue comes from ebook sales? Step 3 Keep a Marketing Journal Analytics measures effects. This won’t make any sense unless you know how to connect those effects with causes. The first step to figure this out is to start journaling your marketing act...

Author Media presents Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about.  I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and while to my knowledge Novel Marketing is the longest running book marketing podcast, it is not the longest running podcast for indie writers. I think that honor goes to today’s guest Joanna Penn. Her excellent podcast The Creative Penn started back in 2009. Joanna is a popular guest on this podcast and the author of numerous books including Public Speaking for Authors, Creatives and Other Introverts.  Joanna, welcome to the Novel Marketing Podcast! Show Notes Talking Points: * We’ve talked about the importance of public speaking on Novel Marketing, what makes it hard for introverted authors? * Quiet: Introverts used to be called thinkers* What are some of the advantages of being introverted as a speaker?* Fear drives them to practice.* One of the things about your book Public Speaking for Authors, Creatives and Other Introverts is talking about scheduling alone time before and after an event. Why is this important? * How can introverted authors get their first gigs?* At what point should a novelist start perusing speaking gigs?* Any final public speaking tips?* Where can people find out more about you?* Joanna thank you for joining us today on the Novel Marketing podcast! Links * Joanana’s Website* Joanna’s Author Blueprint* The Creative Penn Podcast Sponsor: How to Get Booked as a Podcast Guest Podcast guesting gives you: * a high-credibility way to reach new audiences* the influence of a podcast without the work of starting your own* access to influencers you couldn’t reach any other way You don’t need to hire a PR firm for $3000 to schedule your podcast interviews. You just need to know the secrets of pitching podcasts yourself. And, once you start nailing interviews, podcasters will start reaching out to you to invite you on their shows. With this course, you will learn how to become a sought-after podcast guest who has access to thought leaders and readers alike. If you are ready to get your book the attention it deserves, this course is for you. For the month of October, Patrons can save 80% on this course.  After that, they can save 50%.  Featured Patron Carrie Daws author of  The Embers Series A hurricane and a series of unexplained fires hits too close to home. What will it cost inspector Cassandra McCarthy do to protect the citizens of Silver Heights?             You can become a Novel Marketing Patron here. Transcript Transcript generated algorithmically by

Author Media presents Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about.  I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today we are going to talk about Instagram and Bookstagram. We have had requests for an Instagram episode for a long time but I have been waiting to find the right guest.  My wife follows Nadine Brandes on Instagram and was so pumped about her latest book Romanov that we pre-ordered a hardback copy of it. This was a big deal because my wife is not a big book buyer. She prefers to get classics from the library.  Nadine Brandes is one of a select few authors who do Instagram well. She is the author of Fawkes, Romanov, and the award-winning Out of Time Series. She currently writes for HarperCollins Publishers and geeks out over Lord of the Rings, British tea, and doing crazy things in the name of book research. Nadine, welcome to the Novel Marketing Podcast! Show Notes Talking Points: * How did you get started with Instagram?* How did you grow your Instagram following?* What is Bookstagram?* What is a hashtag?* How did you get started as bookstagrammer? * What advice do you have for authors who want their books featured by bookstagrammers? * How important is the cover? * How important is Hardback* How important is self published books?* What mistakes do authors make when connecting with bookstagrammers?* What advice do you have for authors who want to become bookstagrammers themselves. * How important is consistent curation? Like only bookstagramming a certain kind of book?* How important is havings a good camera? * Is Instagram for everyone?* Any final Instagram tips?* Where can our listeners find out more about you? Links: * Instagram: @nadinebrandes* Newsletter: http://nadinebrandes.com/my-newsletter* Website Sponsor: How to Get Booked as a Podcast Guest Podcast guesting gives you: * a high-credibility way to reach new audiences* the influence of a podcast without the work of starting your own* access to influencers you couldn’t reach any other way You don’t need to hire a PR firm for $3000 to schedule your podcast interviews. You just need to know the secrets of pitching podcasts yourself. And, once you start nailing interviews, podcasters will start reaching out to you to invite you on their shows. With this course, you will learn how to become a sought-after podcast guest who has access to thought leaders and readers alike. If you are ready to get your book the attention it deserves, this course is for you. For the month of October, Patrons can save 80% on this course.  After that, they can save 50%.  Learn more at NovelMarketing.com/courses Featured Patron Lucia’s Renaissance    by CLR Peterson       “Heresy is fatal in late Renaissance Italy,

Author Media presents Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about.  I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today we are going to talk about guesting on podcasts.  90% of Top USA Today Authors Guest on Podcasts * Fiction* Nonfiction* Even Children’s authors. Why? Because podcasts listeners read books!  Podcast listeners are: * better educated* make more money* are more socially connected  Podcasting is not a fad. Slow 1-3% year over year growth for the last 15 years. 2019 was the first time the number of people who listen to podcasts passed 51%. AuthorMedia.com/gear Hosting a podcast is a great way to go deep with a small audience, but if you want to get the word out about your book, the best way to do it is to guest on other podcasts.  Guesting gives you: * The influence of a podcast without the work of starting a podcast.* A high credibility way to reach new audiences * The chance to reach influencers you could reach any other way* The chance to reach readers you can’t reach any other way I have been watching this trend for a while. This is part of the reason we launched the Podcast Host Directory. To make it easier to get in touch with podcasters.  A lot of patrons have been using the Podcast Host Directory but there is a problem. What is the use of having a podcasters email address for a podcaster if you don’t know what to put in the email.  So, I am excited to announce that I have launched a new course! The course is called How to Get Booked as a Podcast Guest. I’m going to go through the course and give you a taste of the tips inside. So think of this episode as a TL;DR for the whole course.  Section 1 Intro This section provides big picture.  Why podcast hosts want guests.  For many of them it is because no guest means no show. Or it means they have to do more heavy lifting. It is a lot more work for me to put together a solo show like this one than it is for me to prepare for an interview. Why podcast hosts turn down guests. I get pitched with a lot of podcast pitches, and I turn down nearly all of them. But I don’t just look at my own experience. I also got feedback from dozens of other podcasts as to why they turn down guests.  The number one reason for both them and me is poor topic audience fit. You have to adapt your pitch to match the podcast you are pitching.  How to Become a More Attractive Guest There are ways to become a more attractive guest. The first is to improve your audio. I have a free gear guide on exactly what to get that you can get at www.authormedia.com/gear.   Another way to be more attractive is to have a press kit, we have an entire episode about that,

This is Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about.  I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today we are going to talk with Mary DeMuth about podcast tours. Mary DeMuth is the author of WeToo and is a podcaster in her own right with over half a million downloads.  Show Notes Questions: * Why would an author guest on a podcast?* How did you get started guesting on podcasts?* Calendly * What is a podcast tour?* Why do you go on podcast tours?* How do you prepare for podcast interview.* What advice do you have for an author who wants to start touring on podcasts?* What tools make managing a podcast tour easier?* Podcast Host Directory Tell us about your book WeToo. I’m Hosting a Free Webinar on Thursday Christian Publishing Show host Thomas Umstattd Jr. is hosting a free webinar this Thursday titled How to Leverage the Power of Podcasting. He will talk about how to listen, get guest interviews, and how to host your own podcast. If you are wanting to learn more about podcasting, this is not a webinar you will want to miss. Thomas will also answer your podcast-related questions. Webinar Details: * Cost: Free* When: Thursday Oct 3 at 7 pm Central Time (Convert Timezone)* Where: Register Here* Why: Learn how podcasts work and easy ways to start using them to write better books and build a bigger platform.  Can’t make it? You can register for the replay.   Featured Patron You can become a Novel Marketing Patron here. Driver Confessional by David L. Winters            A Christian ride-share driver lands in hot water with the Russian mob. Antonio and his cop brother must solve a murder before it’s too late.                       Transcript Transcript generated algorithmically by Sonix(Affiliate Link).  Do you have a question you would like us to answer on the show? Call our listener help line! 512-827-8377‬. You can also send us a high quality recording on NovelMarketing.com/contact.

Author Media presents Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about.  I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today we are going to talk about money, and specifically where to spend your marketing dollars and where NOT to spend your marketing dollars. Show Notes Money Mindset Spending money on marketing is not like spending money on food. When done well, it is more like investing where the money you put in returns more money later on.  Think of it like readers at the reader store. The goal is to buy readers for less than than you make from that reader.  * Q: How much would you be willing to buy a $1 bill from me for? * A: up to $0.99. * Q: How many $1 would you buy from me for $0.99? * A: As many as you could. * If you make $5 on each reader, how much would you be willing to spend to acquire that reader? * So it is not about how much you spend overall. It is getting the cost of reader acquisition lower than the revenue you get from the book.  It might make sense to overspend on readers during a launch when you are trying to get the momentum and buzz going for your book. If you can get enough people talking about your book then your readers will find more readers and so on. This is risky though. Many of the authors who use this strategy lose money.  Author Success Matrix Take an honest assessment of your assets. Time Rich & Cash RichMost likely to succeed. Invest in training so that you can hire and work with experts.Time Poor & Cash RichHire experts to do most of the work for you. Try to find time to learn which experts to hire and how to talk with them.Time Rich & Cash PoorInvest in training so that you can skillfully do things yourself. Get a job as a Virtual Assistant for a successful author so you can make money while learning the business. Time Poor & Cash PoorYou will fail unless something changes. You need to either make some time or make some money or both. Avoid Debt In my opinion, it is never a good idea to go into debt to market a book. It is too risky. And if you are still in debt after launching book one it makes it nearly impossible to launch book #2. Track ROI Another important point is to track the return on investment for you marketing efforts.  If you aren’t tracking, you can make major mistakes when it comes to money.  * Cutting back on things that are working * Continuing things that are not working Listen to Episode 191 How to Track Your Marketing Efforts Create a Budget Authors who approach thier book marketing with a plan to only spend $2000 (or whatever) get better results than authors with vague goals to spend as little as possible. Where is best to spend your money depends a bit on how much you have to spend.  We can break expenses into four categories: * Author Assets* Book infrastructure * Book Launch* Ongoing Marketing* Things to avoid Author Assets: * Training (Media Training, Marketing Training). If you are on a tight budget, this is the best way to develop your assets. * Author Portrait ($50-$500)*

This is Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about. I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today’s episode is from the listener helpline! I am going to assume the caller is writing nonfiction. If you are writing fiction, we literally have a course that walks you through exactly how to do this with fiction. But that course is focused on fiction. So how do you build a readership around your topic? So this is a nonfiction warning. We will be focusing on nonfiction in this episode. If you want to hear the fiction version of this episode, listen to episode 092 The Guaranteed Way to Become A Bestselling Novelist. Congrats on getting to 10 readers! The first ten readers are always the hardest. Research the Total Potential Market Size It could be, you have found a niche that only a handful of people care about. The most common way this happens is when someone writes about thier own life. The potential audience for a memoir is limited to people who already spend time asking questions about the life of the author. For most people this is a few dozen at most. For an American president or major celebrity, it can be millions. The other kind of nonfiction book that can be hard to find a market for is ranting. Political rants, theological rants, philosophical rants. No one wants to read the rants of a stranger.   Success in Publishing Requires Resonance I’ve talked about resonance on my other podcast but I haven’t talked about it here. In physics, resonance is like pushing a child on a swing. If you are in resonance with the frequency of the swing, you are pushing the child as she swings away from you. You are encouraging the swing in the direction it is already wanting to go. If you get the frequency wrong, you miss your push or you push the child off the swing. As nonfiction writers, you have resonance when someone says “Yes! This puts into words what I have been feeling recently!” Example: Resonance is why my blog post went viral. People were already frustrated with courtship. How to Find Your Resonance I am going to give you four big picture answers, and then three practical tactics. 1) Resonance is about timing. * Culture changes over time. * Too early, and you are out of step with the Zeitgeist. You are pushing the girl off the swing. * Too late, and you are cliche. You are pushing after the swing has already out of reach. * This is why it is so important to read the books in your genre.   2) Resonance is about audience. * Each community vibrates at its own frequency. * Saying your book is “for everyone” is like standing at a bank of swings trying to push all the swings at the same time. * You have to watch the motion of a specific swing in order to push at the right time. * You can’t resonate with every community. * Being in sync with one community will put you out of sync with others. * Women in nursing homes and men on basketball teams don’t read the same books. * You need to know who your book is not for. That way, you don’t need to worry if they are unhappy about your book. * You need to join the community you want to reach. * If they won’t accept you, you won’t be able to find resonance with them. * If you hate science fiction and want to write a book to “fix” it, you will fail. This is what is wrong with The Last Jedi.

Here is the infographic version of Novel Marketing Episode 205.

This is Novel Marketing, the longest-running book marketing podcast in the world. This is the show for writers who want to build their platform, sell more books, and change the world with writing worth talking about. I’m your host, Thomas Umstattd Jr., and today we are going to talk about social media. We often say if you are going to do social media (which is totally optional for a successful career by the way), pick one or perhaps two social networks maximum. I’ve realized that the advice has never gone beyond that. We haven’t offered any specific advice on the differences between the various networks. In this episode, I am going to talk about the social networks from a cultural perspective. From a feature perspective, they are mostly the same. You can send private messages to just one person, post photos, post videos, post text, etc. What really makes these networks different is who uses the networks and what kind of authors thrive in that environment. What it Means to Thrive Saying a certain kind of author thrives in a certain social network is like saying palm trees thrive on tropical islands. It is possible to get palm trees to grow all over the world, but the farther you get from that tropical environment, the more time and money it takes to get the tree to grow. The same goes for authors: the better you fit the social network, the easier it will be to thrive. So with that said, I am about to hit you with some overgeneralizations. Are there exceptions? Yes! But that’s not the point. The goal of this episode is to help you understand the difference between the various social networks. Authors Who Thrive on Instagram are Beautiful Photographers Instagram is a selfie-driven medium. The better you look in the selfie, the easier it will be to get followers. There is a reason fashion models and celebrities do so well on Instagram. Instagram is a real-time celebration of the current cultural definition of beauty and excellent photography. Instagram started off as a place to use filters to make mediocre photos look better. Each year, people use fewer filters and rely more on excellent photographic technique. My beautiful wife has taken a photography class and is amazing at Instagram. Authors Who Thrive on Twitter are Pithy Snarks Each year Twitter gets snarkier. It is a social network that thrives on outrage. The Twitter mob demands a weekly celebrity sacrifice. Having clear enemies helps draw followers. Success at Twitter requires knowing how to keep the conversation on Twitter, which requires a level of brevity unique to Twitter. Being pithy and snarky can operate independently. There are authors who are able to thrive just by being pithy and others who can post successful rambling snark fests.   Authors Who Thrive on Facebook are Rich Advertisers Facebook no longer allows you to reliably communicate with your fans without paying for it. If you pay, you can talk to other people’s fans too. If you spend effort building a following on Facebook, you are building a platform for other authors to advertise to. As an advertiser, you can target the fans of similar authors. How to Create Powerful Ads for Authors Who Hate Math! with Chris Fox Facebook Groups still work for organizing launch teams and they can still work for communities (like the group for listeners of this podcast!). Authors Who Thrive on Quora are Helpful Intellectuals Quora.com is all about asking smart questions that smart people want to answer. It is one of the friendliest and most helpful social networks on this list. If you write fiction, it is mostly a source of research rather than marketing. Quora has the lowest concentration of celebrities of any of the social networks ...

In this episode we are going to talk about  why pruning your life might be the most important move you’ll ever make. Show Notes How pruning works in nature. * Here in Austin we have a tree called the Arizona Ash Tree. These trees are pretty, and grow very fast which makes them popular for new subdivisions. The problem is, they grow too fast. They have a bad habit of splitting in two or having major limbs break off after a while. This is really bad if your car or house is under one of those branches. It is not uncommon for a homeowner to call them Arizona Trash Trees after it destroys their car. * The solution is to cut some of the healthy limbs off the tree from time to time. This forces the tree to put the nutrients that those limbs were taking and put them toward the remaining limbs. You have to take active measures to keep the tree from getting too big.   Reasons Pruning Can Be Helpful: * To Increase the structural strength of the remaining plant. Like in the Ash tree example. * To increase fruit production. Pruning is also used with fruit trees. By cutting under performing branches, the remaining branches produce more and better fruit. This is why domesticated fruit trees produce so much better fruit than wild trees. The same applies for flowering plants. * To improve the aesthetic shape of the tree. If you want the tree to look just so, pruning is the only way to make it happen. * To cut off diseased or unhealthy limbs. This can even apply to humans and is why so many soldiers had limbs amputated before the discovery of penicillin.   Ok, so what does this have to do with books and with the Novel Marketing Podcast.   Thomas’ Story of Pruning Earlier this year, I had a mental breakdown.   I calculated my responsibilities and I had 20 titles with various companies and organizations:   I was: * CEO, Author Media Hosting * Podcast Co-Host, Novel Marketing * Keynote Speaker, Thomas Umstattd Sole Prop * Literary Agent, Steve Laube Agency * Instructor, Author Media Courses * Vice President, Christian Writers Institute * Podcast Host, Christian Publishing Show * CEO, Castle Media Podcast Production * Podcasting, Publishing, and Marketing Consultant * Podcast Host, Liberty Buzzard * Podcast Host, Creative Funding Show * Author, Courtship in Crisis * Organizer, Austin Entrepreneur Meetup * Board Member, Way Makers International * Organizer, Austin Christian Writers * Product owner, MyBook Plug-ins * Organizer, Austin Board Game Designers Meetup * Co-Organizer, Austin Podcasters Meetup * Blogger, ThomasUmstattd.com, AuthorMedia.com   Not to mention husband and father.   This was too much! Like an Arizona ash tree I was about to split! Someone asked me a few months ago how I did everything and I almost told her: “By failing at most of it most of the time.” So over the last several months I have been cutting down my list of responsibilities. My inspiration was a 700 year old tree that I saw in Switzerland. It had recently been pruned back to its nubs and yet was bursting with new growth. There is a photo of it in the show notes.   I am not where I want to be, but I am closer.   I stepped down as the: * Podcast Host of Liberty Buzzard and Creative Funding Show * Organizer of Austin Entrepreneur Meetup * Literary Agent, Steve Laube Agency * Board Member, Way Makers International * Organizer, Austin Christian Writers Meetup * Organizer, Austin Board Game Designers Meetup   I also: * Put my book Courtship in Crisis on retirement. People can still buy it but I am no longer accepting press i...

In this episode we’re going to talk about book marketing milestones and how knowing them will help you focus on what matters most the moment. Why you should listen to this episode  How many balls can you juggle? Three? Four? Which balls should you juggle? Show Notes Talking Points: Reminder: We now have a listener help line! You can call 512-827-8377‬. You can also send us a high quality recording on NovelMarketing.com/contact. We still take text questions too. This episode comes from listener Becca Kinze who says, “First, your podcast has been extremely helpful and I look forward to each of your episodes, so thank you for taking the time to do it. “My biggest irritation when it comes to marketing is yes, that I have to do it, but more so when to do it. Are there milestones a beginning writer should reach before building a website, for example? Or starting a newsletter? I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to dive right in and start gaining followers, but in the same way I wouldn’t want to send a proposal that’s not ready, I don’t want to build a platform that’s not ready.”   Marketing Milestones for Fiction * Discover and define who you are * Build your website (debate) * Write a short story * Write your first book * Write another short story * Refine who you are * Refine/Build your website * Start an Email List * Build a Landing Page for your short story Reader Magnet * Promote the short story one on one and send people to the landing page. * Write the second book. * Advertise/PR * Experiment   Marketing Milestones for Nonfiction * Discover and define who you are * Build your website and blog * Blog/Podcast/video on your topic. * Promote posts one on one. * Getting feedback from your listeners! * Start an email list. Connect it to your blog so new posts go out as emails. * Create a Reader Magnet (Tip Sheet, Printable, Guide, Etc.) * Write the book * Advertise * Experiment Sponsor: 5 Year Plan to Become a Bestselling Novelist This plan was crafted by Thomas & Jim to be step by step guide through the first five years of your writing career. Learn each quarter what to do to succeed and avoid the mistakes that hijack the success of most authors. Learn more at NovelMarketing.com/courses. Featured Patron Woman of Sin by Debra B. Diaz Alysia of Athens is sold into slavery during the turbulent reign of Tiberius Caesar. When she runs away, she finds herself in the battle-torn land of Palestine, where her life is forever changed. Call our listener help line! Do you have a question you would like us to answer on the show? Call our listener help line! 512-827-8377‬. You can also send us a high quality recording on NovelMarketing.com/contact.

In this episode we are going to talk about landing pages. But first, an announcement: We now have a listener help and input line! You can call 512-827-8377 and leave a question on our voicemail and we might answer it on a future episode‬. You can also send us a high quality recording on NovelMarketing.com/contact. Show Notes What is a Landing Page? * A landing page is a web page designed to get the visitor to take a specific action. * Extreme landing pages are called Squeeze pages where only one kind of action can be taken. Usually, giving your email address and signing up for your newsletter. * Typically, landing pages are educational and help answer any questions and objections someone has about taking that specific action. * People typically come directly to landing pages and not through your website’s home page. This is the page new visitors “land” on. * Landing pages are often not listed in the menu of a website. * Traffic comes from Ads, Emails, Interviews, a link from the back of your ebook, or even physical book, etc. * Example 1: www.PodcastHostDirectory.com * Example 2: https://mailchi.mp/2c6ed6bde99f/free-song-from-rooms   Why are Landing Pages Useful? * Landing pages work because they increase your conversion rate.  More people take action on a landing page than they do on any other kind of page. * They’re simple, easy to understand, easy for people to take action. * The more options you give someone, the less likely they are to take any action. * Jams Experiment * This is why so few landing pages have navigation.   How Can Authors Use Landing Pages? Authors use landing pages to: * Get signups up for a launch team. * Grow an email list by promoting a reader magnet. * Sell a book * MyBookTable Pro has a Landing Page mode that does this automatically * Promote a launch party. * Get signups for a Webinar or other online event   What to put on your landing page: * Headline “The World’s Most Comprehensive Podcast Host Directory” * Explanation/what they get  “Get in contact with over 100,000 podcast hosts from around the world! Currently available for Novel Marketing Podcast patrons only.” * Graphic * Form (Sometimes a call to action button like “Buy Now”) * Video (Optional) * Testimonials/Endorsements (Optional) * FAQ (Optional)   Landing Page Tips * Stick close to the template. * Assume that the person coming to the page is not yet convinced to take action. Ask yourself, what would push them over the edge to take action? * Making sure your landing pages are mobile responsive. * Have your buttons complete the sentence “I want to ____” * Examples: * Download the free guide * Read the short story * Sign up for the ______ (webinar, etc.) * Keep the page focused. Don’t mention the sequel * Answer the “why” which is the whole point of the thing! * Answer the “what’s in it for me?” * Respond to any objections. * “You can unsubscribe at any time with one click.” * “I won’t let anyone else have access to your email, ever.” * Keep the form simple. Don’t ask for more than you need. * Use trust badges if possible. * Advanced: Split test your landing page to see what works and what doesn’t * https://www.novelmarketing.com/172/   Tools to Make Landing Page Creation Easier