Author: SMBS Team

Episode 325 – Blind Spots, Crystal Balls, and Self-Help Success

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What’s one area of your publishing or marketing that’s fallen flat? How can you change your course of action to improve it?

Do you have an area of your publishing or marketing that’s fallen flat? What can you do to change your course of action to improve it? This week Bryan is joined by MM romance author Quinn Ward. Don’t forget to leave a review on the show! This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Margaret McGriff. Thank you to our featured Patrons – The Secret Blush, Gone, and What Sells Books. The Top Tips of the week include how to stop social media from distracting your writing time, what to know about a new survey from bookcareers.com, and tips for proofreading your own writing. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what marketing tips you should know, what Barnes & Noble has to say about e-books, how self-help author Marc Reklau went from $800 per month to over $35,000, how the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to affect the business of publishing, and why indie authors are changing the publishing industry. Question of the Week: What’s one area of your publishing or marketing that’s fallen flat? How can you change your course of action to improve it? read more

Episode 324 – Email Marketing, Amazon Branding, and Smitten Story Writing

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What’s one activity you could do regularly that would grow your email list by 10% in the next 30 days?

We talked about growing our email list, what’s one activity you could do regularly grow your list by 10% in the next 30 days? This Thursday is Bryan’s Blurb Webinar make sure to check it out at the link below and H. Claire Taylor is releasing the third book of her Kilhaven Police series! This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Lisa M. Lilly. Thank you to our featured Patrons – Cowgirl, Unexpectedly, A Dragon among the Eagles: A Novel of the Roman Empire, and The Ten-Year Turnaround. The Top Tips of the week include what to know about using someone else email newsletter, why to consider using a sensitivity reader, and where to find tools for outlining your novel. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how writing a novel is a lot like a romance, what vanity press is according to ALLi’s John Doppler, how to market your audiobook, what you need to know about Amazon’s branding, and how to get the most out of email lists. Question of the Week: What’s one activity you could do regularly that would grow your email list by 10% in the next 30 days? read more

Episode 323 – Pay What You Want, Industry Changes, and a “Good” ROI

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What’s one opportunity you can employ for you to earn more than the usual $2.99 from your biggest fans?

What’s one opportunity you can employ for you to earn more than the usual $2.99 from your biggest fans? This week Bryan is back and getting ready for a live Book Description Demo next week while H. Claire Taylor is getting back into the swing of things and finishing up her last Jessica Christ book! Remember that she is still offering a 20% discount on her story alignment course when you use the code SMBS. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Kelsie Stelting. Thank you to our featured Patrons – Wanderer’s Escape, Unfrozen, and Hypercage. The Top Tips of the week include what kind of personality do you have according to mystery author Greta Boris’ quiz, what to know about SEO, and where to find free educational opportunities. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what to know before writing a book with a friend, why you should do some homework and math before deciding where to publish, how thinking of your writing like a business will set you up for success, what advice author Jenny Madore is giving us, and how the publishing world could be changing. Question of the Week: What’s one opportunity you can employ for you to earn more than the usual $2.99 from your biggest fans? read more

Episode 322: Sales Drives, Tarot, and Blurb Keywords

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After reading about how to use keywords and key phrases in your book description, what’s the first step you’re going to take toward optimization?

After listening to the discussion about how to use keywords and key phrases in your book description, what’s the first step you’re going to take toward optimization? This week H. Claire Taylor is joined by Monica Leonelle be sure to check out her series The Productive Novelist. H. Claire Taylor is still offering a 20% discount on her story alignment course when you use the code SMBS. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Christopher Wills. Thank you to our featured Patrons – The Cordova Vector, The Thing Speaks for Itself, and Kick Author Overwhelm to The Curb. The Top Tips of the week include what words you should be adding to your blurb, what new feature IngramSpark is offering, and how to successfully enter into a collaboration. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include what genre is rising in sales, why Internet Archive is facing some serious trouble, what four types of books are we seeing a surge in, how to use Kobo’s cost-per-click to distribute your book, and how author RJ Blain upped her typical sales by over $30,000 in less than one month. Question of the Week: After reading about how to use keywords and key phrases in your book description, what’s the first step you’re going to take toward optimization? read more

Episode 321: The End of RITA, Kobo Plus Canada, and Facebook Shops

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If you ran an awards show for your genre, what would you call it and why?

You are running an awards show for your genre, what would you call it and why? This week Bryan is having a FB Ads Webinar with Alana Terry and H. Claire Taylor is getting back into her writing groove! Don’t forget to leave a podcast review. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Kori D. Miller. Thank you to our featured Patrons – What Am I?: A Collection of Traditional Word Riddles – Deluxe Edition, Ships of My Fathers, and Somebody’s Darling. The Top Tips of the week include what to know when it comes to pricing your books, why you should be asking questions before writing a guest blog, and how many words should you be writing. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include whats going on with Wolf-Kink Erotica, why self-help books are doing so well right now, how you now have the opportunity to sell your books on Instagram and Facebook, why to get yourself ready for Kobo, and why the RWA has retired their RITA award. Question of the Week: If you ran an awards show for your genre, what would you call it and why? read more

Episode 320: The Great Audiobook Wars, Series Page Promotion, and Free Ads

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Will you try out the Series Page promo idea we discussed during the show? How might you incorporate this into your promo schedule and how well do you think it would perform for you?

In the show we covered Series Page promo ideas, will you be trying them out? Would this preform well for you? How might you incorporate this into your promo schedule? This week Bryan is offering a special discount on his course that expires 5/20 and H. Claire Taylor is giving us a pro tip so make sure to listen for it at the end.This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is J Bennett. Thank you to our featured Patrons – Dad’s Girls, Vanguard: The Complete First Season, and 31 Days of Wisdom. The Top Tips of the week include how Joanna Penn edits, what programming tools you need to look into, and why you should add more categories to your book. This week we have an honorable mention and that is I Will Survive. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why ebook and audio sales are seeing a dramatic increase, what World Media is doing to support authors, why do over 80% of authors quit within 3 books, why you should be marketing your series page instead, and how BookBub is allowing you to customize your ad campaign. Question of the Week: Will you try out the Series Page promo idea we discussed during the show? How might you incorporate this into your promo schedule and how well do you think it would perform for you? read more

Episode 319: Amazon Pays Out, Apple Make a Change, and Using Your Own Website

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If you already have audiobooks, what factors did you consider to decide between profit share or all up front, and how did you decide when to pull the trigger? And if you don’t have audiobooks yet, what factors are keeping you from feeling like now is the right time to produce them?

What is keeping you from producing audiobooks? If you already have audiobooks, what made you decide to pull the trigger and how did you make the decision between profit share or all up front? This week H. Claire Taylor is joined by author Nathan Van Coops! This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Christopher Willace. Thank you to our featured Patrons – Call of Dust, Twins of Prey, and Monkey Justice. The Top Tips of the week include why you don’t need a Mac to go direct with your books on Apple, how to keep all your publishing eggs in your own basket with direct selling, and what to think about when it comes to turning your book into audio. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include who was the mystery donor that helped UK bookshops weather the coronavirus pandemic, sales success tips from author Adam Geen, why you should check your emails if you saw some unusual activity with your Kindle books, how author Adam Fletcher is earning a full-time living off of a genre that practically doesn’t exist, and what Amazon sales ranks currently are. Question of the Week: If you already have audiobooks, what factors did you consider to decide between profit share or all up front, and how did you decide when to pull the trigger? And if you don’t have audiobooks yet, what factors are keeping you from feeling like now is the right time to produce them? read more

Episode 318 – Bookstores, Email Marketing, and Finding Your “Why”

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What’s your “why” behind writing and publishing your books?

Everyone has a reason for starting, what is your “why” behind writing and publishing your books? Bryan and H. Claire Taylor are feeling good this week and want to remind you to leave a review on the show! This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Lars Hedbor. Thank you to our featured Patrons – Inharmonic, Achieve Anything In Just One Year, and Flotsam. The Top Tips of the week include what Amazon is doing for European Union marketplaces, how to get a review on your book the easy way, and which company takes an additional cut before pricing your book in the catalog. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how to help your local bookstores stay afloat, who’s sales is the coronavirus boosted, what author Steven Higgs is doing to earn $21,000 this month, who is doubling ACX, and what great tips Author Megan Erickson is sharing. Question of the Week: What’s your “why” behind writing and publishing your books? read more

Episode 317 – Slow Marketing, Broke Pirates, and The Path of Most Resistance

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What non-writing task that you spend just one hour a day on for the next week would have the most impact on your publishing career?

What is one non-writing task that you could spend just one hour a day on for the next week, that could have the most impact on your publishing career? Bryan’s Amazon Ad School Course just concluded and he had an awesome turnout! H. Claire Taylor wanted to remind everyone that she has some free recourses on tips for writing and marketing as well as coming up with author strategy available on her website so make sure to check those out. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Dave Core. Thank you to our featured Patrons – The Silent Marriage: How Passive Aggression Steals Your Happiness, The Avant Champion: Rising, and Rebel Song. The Top Tips of the week include where you can find a free guide with advice tailored to authors of every level, how really knowing your genre well can help in writing to market, and why setting up your writing space ahead of time is setting you up to conquer new challenges. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include could Google Books really be opening up or are they pulling our leg, who is making the decision to stop paying royalties for books downloaded with a promo code, what author John Van Stry did because he felt it would help the author community, why we should continue to keep distributing to Barnes & Noble and keep some faith in them, and what cozy mystery author C.S. Woolley is claiming to be worth the time investment for the results she is seeing and will continue to see. Question of the Week: What non-writing task that you spend just one hour a day on for the next week would have the most impact on your publishing career? read more

Episode 316 – ACX Waits, Trad Pub POD, and One-Page Websites

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How does the painfully long wait time on ACX approvals affect your publishing plans and what could you do to mitigate or even capitalize on this new reality?

How does the painfully long wait time on ACX approvals affect your publishing plans and what could you do to mitigate or even capitalize on this new reality?Bryan’s Amazon Ad School Course is now live. You can get 30 days of direct email support and lifetime access to the Amazon Ad Profit Challenge at SellingForAuthors.com/April20 This week H. Claire Taylor is joined by author Jami Albright who is also an Indie publishing coach so make sure to check out her website. Claire is still running a promo on her story alignments with he code SMBS. All link will be provided for you. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is S.A. Schneider. Thank you to our featured Patrons – Black Shadow Moon: Stoker’s Dark, Twisting Fate, and A Christmas Gift. The Top Tips of the week include what could be better for you than an author website, what can help you build stronger reader connections, and what playing a metadata game can teach you. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why library supporters are calling authors and publishers greedy, how Ingram’s LightningSource could become the new normal, what drastic changes are happening to people in the Amazon Associates affiliate program, could Amazon be struggling during this pandemic, and who’s two week standard processing time has turned into seven weeks. Question of the Week: How does the painfully long wait time on ACX approvals affect your publishing plans and what could you do to mitigate or even capitalize on this new reality? read more