How the heck do you build a reader newsletter list when you’re first starting out?

We’re back with another SPA Girls minisode, to get your author career rocking. Listen up for how we built our own reader newsletters and what tools and services we recommend.

7 SIMPLE WAYS TO BUILD YOUR NEWSLETTER LIST:

• Join bookfunnel
• Provide a tasty sample
• Sign ups on social media
• Sign ups in books
• Join newsletter builder through Booksweeps etc
• Work with other authors
• Run a facebook ad to your free sample on bookfunnel

SPA Girls EP378 Be Newsletter Ninja with Tammi Labrecque https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/?s=378

SPA Girls EP258 Nail Your Newsletter with Holly Mortimer

SPA Girls EP177 & 178 with Larissa Reynolds

SPA Girls EP424 with Damon Courtney of Bookfunnel

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Being a resilient author means being able to bounce back after experiencing a knock – and we all know that being a self-published author can knock you around sometimes! This week we talk with Patricia McLinn, an author who’s been writing for more than 35 years, and who knows a thing or two about how to keep going when the going gets tough.  

Pat gives us her top five pieces of advice so you can stay focused and keep the positivity flowing when it seems like everything is falling apart around you.

Show Notes:

Pat’s favourite Affirmation: I write fast with ease and inspiration

Links mentioned:

Pat’s 3 words on writing video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2cmbmM9Hk4

Harlequin Settlement https://www.patriciamclinn.com/harlequin-lawsuit-happy-ending/

Pat’s podcast Authors Love Readers https://www.authorslovereaders.com/

SPA Girls Podcast EP189 PANTSING https://www.selfpublishingauthorspodcast.com/spa-girls-podcast-ep189-pantsing-with-patricia-mclinn/

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Kate Hall is a paranormal romance and non-fiction author who has taken her marketing expertise and used it to kick butt on TikTok. She started Alyne Digital Solutions in an effort to help authors make a sustainable income from their books, and since starting has scaled two of her businesses and several others’ to six figure incomes. 

As well as discussing facts and figures for TikTok, we’re also delving into marketing for authors, and why you’re probably using the wrong hooks in your social media.

‌A wonderful open and informative discussion that could unlock answers to questions we’re all asking right now!

Links:

Find Kate at: Alyne Digital

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Welcome to the first SPA Girls double-minisode where we invite you into the SPA for a double mini-tips session. This week we’re covering two burning topics: what are the worst mistakes newbies are making, and how to write chapter endings that keep readers reading!

Let us know what you think of this new sub-30 minute episode!

Click the images below to watch on YouTube

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

In this podcast we talk to KimBoo about her latest book Secrets of Discovery Writing.
We dive into how you can successfully use discovery writing when crafting your novel. It’s an awesome podcast and one the pantsers among us will really enjoy.

KimBoo York is a GenX elder-goth whose main life purpose is to provide a good life for her rescue mutt, Keely-Boo, who is perfect and beyond reproach in every way. She is also a librarian, former project manager, and a professional author who wears too many hats and crosses too many genres including romance, fantasy, and non-fiction.
She is a bit grumpy, especially in the morning.

House of York

By the Seat of Your Pants: Secrets of Discovery Writing

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Our guest today, Kiwi author Melissa Pearl, has five pen names across multiple genres and has been learning about self publishing since she published her first book in 2011. Since then she’s published more than 80 books, and shares with us some real and raw insights into the career of an indie author, including all the highs and the lows. When she launched her latest pen name last year, she made sure she used everything she’d learned over that time to ensure her new pen name was successful right from the start. 

Melissa generously tells us exactly what she did to create her latest pen name, and every step she took along the way to make it successful. Don’t miss this information packed episode! 

SHOW NOTES

Find Melissa at – https://www.foreverlovepublishing.com/

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

The Enneagram is a personality typing system, where each person falls into one of nine types. Today we’re talking with author, educator and fiction strategist, Claire Taylor, about how understanding our enneagram type liberates writers from the “shoulds” and self-judgement, and helps us become more successful as authors.

About Claire

Fiction strategist and owner of FFS Media, Claire Taylor publishes her fiction through her company, under four pen names. She also helps authors through her Story Alignment and Author Alignment services, as well as her masterclasses and non-fiction for authors.

An Advanced Certified Instructor through the Enneagram Spectrum Method, as well as an Accredited Practitioner of the Integrative Enneagram (iEQ9), Claire uses the Enneagram framework to help authors create stories that stand out and careers they love.

Check out www.ffs.media.

Sign up for Claire’s FREE 5-day Indie Author Alignment course here

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Procrastination takes many forms for writers, and it holds us back from writing, publishing and promoting our work. We discuss how to get out of your own way with our guest today, Kathryn Burnett. Kathryn is an award-winning screenwriter, playwright, author and writing coach who has worked in the television/film/arts industry for over 25 years.

“It’s never been easier to put your work into the world and yet many writers don’t write as productively as they’d like to. They have the best intentions in the world but find themselves distracted, anxious about their work and deeply unsatisfied with their progress.” Kathryn Burnett

Kathryn offers practical tips for us all to:

✔️ Identify the red flags of perfectionism

✔️ Uncover how you are procrastinating and then how to deal with this

✔️ Why self-reflection is so important – ask yourself “Why am I not prioritizing my writing at the moment?”

✔️ Time blocking

✔️ Wrestling with doubts and demons

Resources mentioned:

Kathryn’s non-fiction book for writers – Productive Writer Guidebook

Julia Cameron’s morning pages in The Artist’s Way

Reedsy’s free newsletter for writers

About Kathryn Burnett

Kathryn Burnett has been a working writer for over 25 years and truly understand the challenges that come with creative work. When she’s not writing, she runs craft workshops and programmes under the Beginner’s Guide Writing Workshops umbrella – and facilitate an awesome subscription-based group called The Writing Room.

Sign up to her newsletter for regular insights, tips and workshop updates at www.kathryn-burnett.com

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at 

SPA Girls Podcast | Patreon

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on 

Self Publishing Info with the SPA Girls @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Creating and running Facebook ads has gotten a lot easier! Wondering how to delve into facebook advertising or had poor experiences in the past and wondering where you went wrong? This episode is for you!

We’re joined by Senior Marketing Manager of Written Word Media, Clayton Noblit, who’s an expert in getting authors books in front of the right readers through advertising and promotion.

Clayton generously shares his top tips for getting your ads working well, and takes us through setting up your first facebook ads, the campaign structure, as well as the best targeting, budget and ad creative tips for beginners.

We then discuss Promo Stacking, which is broadly defined as “a lot of marketing tactics conducted over a short period of time to increase your books’ rank and get more sales”.

And finally, Clayton covers off some key insights from WWM’s Author Survey 2023 results: specifically around AI and Direct Sales.

Links mentioned:

Written Word Media is the company behind promo sites like Freebooksy and Bargain Booksy. Premium membership is a must-have if you are serious about growing your author business. Premium members receive 10% off all Written Word Media promos, 14 days of advance access to inventory, access to the exclusive Limelight promotion, and much more.

Our previous podcasts with WWM are here and here

David Gaughran’s advice for authors: https://davidgaughran.com/blog/

About Clayton Noblit

Clayton Noblit is a senior marketing manager at Written Word Media. He is passionate about helping authors find their readers and finding ways to sell more books. When he’s not helping authors, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing sports, and making beverages.

www.writtenwordmedia.com

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Ever hesitate over making an important decision because you were trying to figure out what the ‘right’ thing to do was… and then miss out on an awesome opportunity because you didn’t take a leap of faith? Yeah, us too. That’s why this episode is all about making good decisions in your author career. 

In fact, we’re not only advocating making decisions and moving forward, we’re also suggesting that a FAST decision is even better than an average speed decision. Research has shown that fast decisions are often higher quality, perhaps proving that our subconscious brain can move faster than our conscious brain… or maybe it’s just our intuition is more capable than our overthinking brain? Whatever the reason, it’s a powerful reminder that we know more than we think we know… 

In this episode you’ll learn some ideas and techniques on how to assess decisions, learn when to make fast decisions and hear about some of the decisions we did and didn’t make in our careers and what we learned from them. 

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!

Today we’re interviewing Dan Wood, Chief Operating Officer at Draft2Digital, one of the best known distributors for eBooks, print and audio books.

We last spoke to Dan in 2019 and a lot has happened since then!

D2D has not only merged with Smashwords to make their reach even stronger, they build tools and services that let you focus on writing while they take care of layout, publishing, distribution, print-on-demand paperbacks, and more.

If you’re a new author or simply want to level up and expand, Dan has lots of tips to help you, including promotional opportunities and Books2Read, an author promotions powerhouse that includes New Release Notifications, Universal Book Links (UBLs), B2R Author Pages, B2R Book Tabs, and so much more!

Books2Read is a reader-facing, author-empowering tool, loaded with industry-first and industry-leading tools to help promote you and your books.

Universal Book Links (UBLs) — a single link that lets readers click through to your books everywhere they’re sold online. Customize your UBL to use in marketing materials, and never worry about them expiring or becoming obsolete. They can be updated manually or automagically, with just a click.

B2R Author Pages — consider these your home away from home page. If you don’t have a website, our Author Pages can do the job, giving you a place to send readers when they want to know more. Or use them as the “Books Page” for your existing website. Each Author Page can include your photo and bio, plus customizable carousels of your books, organized however you like.

B2R Book Tabs — Powered by our Universal Book Links, a Book Tab is a product page that promotes your book without distractions. No ads, no also-boughts, no “find it cheaper” recommendations. Just your cover and book description, and a handy “GET IT NOW” button. You can also include a custom carousel if your book is part of a series.

Find out more at: https://draft2digital.com/

💗 The SPA Girls podcast is sponsored by everyone who supports us on Patreon. Thank you so much, we love our listeners and our patrons!

⭐ Join us at the $10 tier, and you’ll be invited to our private Self-Publishing Mastermind group for authors, where we discuss all things self-publishing, marketing and writing PLUS answer all your burning questions.

⭐ Get personal online coaching with the SPA Girls each month through our $100 tier. Spots for this are strictly limited and on a first-come-first-served basis.

All the info is at http://www.patreon.com/spagirlspodcast

✍️ Visit http://www.SelfPublishingAuthorsPodcast.com for our FREE self-publishing resources, podcast episodes and info

😊Watch our weekly show on http://www.youtube.com/c/SPAGirlsPodcast @spagirlspodcast

Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen, so you don’t miss an episode!