by Stephen | May 22, 2017 | How To, Marketing
This week’s show is all about your email list, and we’ll cover it from the basics of why you should have one, to the specifics, of things like how often to send and why.
This week’s guest is Larissa Reynolds, an email marketing guru who enjoys nothing more than helping authors make the most of their relationship with readers through their email lists.
We start with the why question. Why should authors have an email list? Then we delve into things like how to attract subscribers, how often to email those subscribers, the importance of something called your sender reputation. We consider mobile, and why you should assume that most readers will see your email on a mobile device, why you might want to check your formatting several times a year and more.
by Stephen | May 15, 2017 | focus, How To, Launch Strategy
The idea for this episode came from a listener who wanted to hear from a guest who was more like him. Someone with a spouse, family, kids, responsibilities, not enough time to write and a lack of money for marketing.
The first name that came to mind when I read the request was today’s guest, Justin Sloan. He spent five years as a Marine and has a master degree in creative writing from John Hopkins. He also has a wife, a job, and a young family. Justin joins us this week to discuss the balancing act between writing, work, and family.
by Stephen | May 8, 2017 | Cover Design
Andrew Dobell joins us this week to discuss the wide range of cover design options available to indie authors today. Everything from do it yourself covers, to photo manipulation, to custom designed illustrated covers. We’ll even get into the process of hiring photographers and models if you’ve got the budget and a long enough series to support the upfront expense.
by Stephen | May 1, 2017 | Amazon, Audiobooks, focus
Wayne Stinnett’s inspirational path to self-publishing success is a lesson in persistence and discernment. In this episode, we discuss both, including the trends he’s chosen to ignore while building a thriving author business for himself over the past four years.
by Stephen | Apr 24, 2017 | Business, Experiments, Patreon
Kameron Hurley joins us this week to discuss the Patreon model as an alternative income stream for authors.
We discuss the reasons she chose Patreon, how to develop the right offerings for supporters, and what you’ll need as an author to best utilize Patreon.
We also discuss her recent Hugo Award nomination, her new book THE STARS ARE LEGION, and since she’s a professional copyrighter, I ask for tips on crafting blog posts in support of new books.
Before getting into the business of writing I spent twenty-five years in the technology business as a financial guy, and then as a serial entrepreneur. I know what it takes to start and run a successful business.