New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cheryl Bradshaw is the guest on this episode of The Author Biz.

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Cheryl Bradshaw

Who do you know at BookBub? Who have you met at Amazon, or iBooks or even Kobo?

Cheryl Bradshaw has made it a part of her author business to meet and cultivate relationships with people who can help her navigate the opportunities available through each of those companies.

As you’ll hear in this interview, Cheryl spends some of her non-writing time each day thinking about what she can do to sell more books. She’s willing to experiment with her book marketing, embracing new ideas, closely tracking what’s working and adjusting when results aren’t what she expects.

We discuss her advertising and promotional strategies in some detail, including the way she’s marketing her latest novel, EYE FOR REVENGE. She gets specific about her use of Facebook ads, which she calls both effective and frustrating.

Cheryl is also an active user of BookBub to market her books.  She runs BookBub ads, supported by ads on other platforms, as often as possible.

While today’s 56-minute show focuses on book marketing, we also delve into things like genre expectations, working with an author’s assistant, tracking reader demographics, and the value of a vibrant and growing email list.  

Show Notes

• Cheryl explains the importance of the personal relationships she’s developed with reps at Amazon, Kobo and iBooks.
• She explains how she developed those relationships and how things began to change for her after meeting face meetings with those reps.
• Cheryl writes two different series as well as stand-alone novels. She explains the similarities and the differences in how she markets new books in each category.
• A brief discussion of genre rules and why she writes to traditional genre expectations.
• Cheryl has great insight into reader demographics. She explains how she gathers that information.
• Cheryl is an effective user of Facebook ads, which she calls “equally as effective as they are frustrating.” She shares her current Facebook advertising process, and the metrics she tracks.
• Cheryl walks us trough a typical day in the life of her author business.
• Cheryl began using an author’s assistant a few years ago. She explains why and how they work together.
• Her email list and newsletter are critical components of her author business. She shares that her biggest regret is not focusing on her mailing list sooner.
• Cheryl has been using BookBub as a marketing channel from the very beginning. She explains her strategy for running BookBub ads, supported by ads from less expensive vendors.
• She has posted a list of the advertising vendors she uses on her blog, with results and genre information. (For Writers: A place to promote your .99 promotions.)
• Cheryl launched a Facebook group called Indie Writers Unite when she began writing four years ago. She explains the purpose of the group.
• We discuss Cheryl’s popular Sloane Monroe series and her latest release, a stand-alone novel titled, AN EYE FOR REVENGE.

Links

Cheryl’s website www.cherylbradshaw.com

Cheryl’s Blog

For Writers: A Place to Promote your .99 Promotions (from Cheryl’s Blog)

Indie Writers Unite! Facebook Group

Cheryl’s Facebook author page

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