It’s the third Wednesday of the month and time for another Author Toolbox post.
Whether you go indie or trad, you are an authorpreneur who has a business to run.
Let me rephrase that: whether you self-publish, publish with a small-press or publish with one of the Big 5, you need to sell your books to readers.
Is that clear? I hate not being clear.
There is so much advice out there on how to be an author, that everything becomes complicated and as clear as mud. I’m not saying that my advice is the best, but it is what works for me. And I learned it from the best in the business.
Joanna Penn advises that you should be prolific and publish wide. Just look at her own successful business.
Nick Stephenson’s advice is to have an email list. He calls it your First 10,000 Readers.
Mark Dawson swears by ads (Facebook, Amazon, whatever is working right now). Look at his success.
Tim Grahl believes in the Connection System. That’s how he says you’ll sell your first (and next) 1000 Copies.
Others have great advice, too. I’ve consumed books, webinars, podcasts, blog posts and newsletters to learn everything I possibly could to make my business succeed. Let’s just say that I have sold more books in the first quarter of 2019 than the entire 2018 since implementing this advice.
I haven’t used paid ads yet, my email list is modest in comparison to what Nick says is the golden number, though I publish wide and try to be prolific, there is no way to monetise obscurity. Which makes me believe that it is the connection system that is really doing the work.
- Outreach: guest posts, interviews, social media, blog hops.
- Content: blog.
- Permission: newsletter.
At least, that is how I’m using Tim Grahl’s Connection System. And it is working.
But you can’t just go with that and hope it works. You need your author platform. You need to know what your author brand is. You need to know how to do these things and get results.
I have done the work. I have made mistakes and learned from them. And I have been quite successful with what I have done.
The way to do this, is outlined in my book “The 30 Day Author Platform Challenge”. If you get the ebook, you’ll get all of my knowledge for only 99c (or $1.99 if you choose the workbook). Now that’s a bargain.
Not sure how to get started on building your author platform? Not sure what an author platform is? Then this is the book for you.
Includes how tos on the various social media networks and writing tips. Helps to define your writing goals and who you are as a writer. Helps with community building and getting your name on the map.
Some parts of the book can be found on the author’s website, but this is a complete updated version for 2019.
The author originally ran a 20 day Basics of Author Online Presence Challenge on Writer to Writers in 2017 – this is the superpower version of that challenge with loads more information and tasks.
Included are homework questions to get the most of the lessons, exercises, and to-do lists to help you keep track of your various platforms and what you have to do every week.
By the end of 30 days, you will no longer be invisible online.
Right now, I’ll leave you with your free download of my personal Authorpreneur Manifesto to encourage you when you feel down and like giving up.
What have you done to become a successful authorpreneur?
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That manifesto is a lot of fun. Thanks! I have bookmarked so many blog posts from this month’s hop already, and yours is no different. Such great marketing advice and links.
Thanks, Raimey 🙂 I’m glad you found it helpful.
This post sums up my university assignment in a nutshell xD (Although after reading so much Joanna Penn I got a bit sick of her, and when I looked into it Mark Dawson is only successful because he spends thousands on Facebook ads!) I adored Nick Stephenson’s advice though, and the free stuff from Mark Dawson’s webinars is useful if you can tolerate the barrage of emails afterwards!
Another super useful resource the university recommended is David Gaughran. I love his idea of creating superfans 🙂
I receive emails from David, too 🙂 I love the superfan idea (and I think I secretly have a few). I know one has to spend money to make money, but the Dollar amount Mark spends (something like 300k last year to make a million?) sounds a bit absurd to me. There must be a better way.
Great book pitch!
Anna from elements of emaginette
Thanks, Anna 🙂
Thank you for the advice! I really feel like I’m on wobbly legs with this whole social-media-presence-author-platform thing. These are some great places to start. Cheers!
I’m glad to help 🙂
We read and watch in the same circles. I own Nicks 10K and Marks SPF 101 and I want Tim Grahl’s connection system. I bought the other two before I became unemployed, lol. I also own one of Joanna Penn’s courses too. I rewatch their webinars when I find them. Great post.
Great minds think alike 😉
The courses are a bit expensive, so I stick to the books and free webinars 🙂
I do too now. That was when I was working fulltime when I bought. You learn quite about from webinars from people who offer great course content.
Good luck with this, Ronel. It looks great!
Thanks, Jacqui 🙂
Love the manifesto. Left reviews for you on Amazon and Goodreads. Amazon has not shown up yet.
Thank you 🙂
Congratulations on the book and workbook! Are they new? I agree that the connections aspect works really well.
Thanks, Alex -:) The workbook is new, I published the book at the beginning of the year.
Okay, thanks. I’m checking all this out. I hate to pay for ads.
Susan Says
I hear you!
Don’t mind if I do treat myself to your workbook!
I love seeing – mostly in the indie pubbed community – the trend of making your book into an immersive experience. My friend LB Lewis (a NA Author) actually speaks on the social issues her characters face – namely, unaffordable housing and crushing loan debt.
Personal branding is everything. 🙂
Awesome! I hope the book helps 🙂
I will admit I’m pretty clueless about marketing so thanks for this.
You’re welcome, Drew 🙂