Novel Marketing

Many authors say reader magnets don’t work anymore. But when done right, a good reader magnet can grow your email list from zero to thousands of subscribers before your first book even launches.
In this episode, you’ll hear from author, podcaster, and producer of the Novel Marketing podcast, Laurie Christine, who built an email list of thousands using various reader magnet strategies, all while writing for Christian moms and middle-grade boys.
You’ll discover:
How many reader magnets you actually need
The surprising promotion strategy that yielded more than 500 solid subscribers
How to create reader magnets that attract buyers, not just freebie seekers
A tool to help you discover which reader magnets may work for you
You’ll also learn how you can use reader magnets to refine your message, craft, and audience before publishing your first book.
Listen in or read the blog version to learn techniques for building (or growing) an email list regardless of where you are in your writing journey.
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Do you ever wish you had a team of writing, publishing, or marketing professionals to consult? Do you wish you had an assistant to help with the business and marketing side of writing?
What if you could have both for less than the cost of a couple of lattes?
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear about the newest additions to the Novel Marketing Patron Toolbox, a growing suite of practical tools designed specifically for authors like you.
Inside this episode, you’ll discover:
New editing tools that can help you at each stage of the editing process
New business tools to help you create an overall strategy and analyze results
New book promotion tools to help you connect with new readers
And many more
Whether you’re producing an audiobook, building a fictional world, planning classroom resources, or have questions for an agent or a CPA, these tools are designed to save you time, sharpen your strategy, and give you a head start before working with real human professionals.
Listen in or read the blog version to learn more.
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Is your writing a hobby or a profession? The answer to that question changes everything.
Many authors claim to be professionals but act like hobbyists. They write what they want instead of what readers will pay for. They try to fit a finished book into a genre instead of studying the genre first. They publish without a marketing plan or budget and are shocked by low sales and few reviews.
They expect professional results from a hobbyist approach.
If that sounds familiar, there’s good news. You can choose the professional path.
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from author and podcaster Joanna Penn, who hosts the longest-running indie publishing podcast.
You’ll discover:
How to build a sustainable author career in an era of AI
Which marketing activities you should choose and which to ignore
Business principles that apply to your writing career
How to use AI to do the business tasks you dislike so you have more time for creativity and storytelling
To learn how to build a sustainable author business in an era of rapid change, listen in or read the blog version.
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If your book isn’t selling, it may not be your writing.
It may be your metadata.
In this week’s episode of the Novel Marketing Podcast, you’ll hear from Dave Chesson, creator of Publisher Rocket, and learn about the hidden engine behind book sales on Amazon.
Even if your book is well-written and professionally edited, Amazon doesn’t read your book. It reads your metadata. And if your metadata is unclear, inconsistent, or confusing, Amazon won’t show your book to readers, even if it’s amazing.
In this episode you’ll learn:
What your book’s metadata is
Where you can manage it (and make it most effective!)
How to include the most effective elements and language in your metadata
And common metadata mistakes to avoid
If you want your book to show up in search results, convert better when readers click, and avoid the dark recesses of the “miscellaneous shelf,” listen in or read the blog version.
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Many authors assume book formatting is complicated, expensive, or something only professionals can handle.
In ​this week’s episode​, I talk with Bryan Canter about why that assumption is outdated, and how tools like Vellum have changed what authors can do. If you’ve ever wondered whether you need to pay a pro or learn to format your book’s interior yourself, this conversation will give you clarity.
In this episode, you’ll discover:
When you should format the book or reader magnet and when you should hire a pro
How Vellum can prevent common design mistakes
How you can update back matter, fix typos, add reader magnets as needed
​Listen to the episode​ or ​read the blog version​ to see how Vellum can save you money, time, and headache when formatting your next book or reader magnet.
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