Novel Marketing

If a reader Googled your name right now, what would come up? An abandoned LinkedIn profile from a career you left behind? A neglected Goodreads page? An insurance agent in Albuquerque who happens to share your name?
There's only one number-one spot on Google,  and if you don't claim it for your name, someone else will. The good news is that your most powerful tool for winning that spot is the one piece of the internet you fully control. It’s your author website.
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from Jason Barnard, digital marketing expert who has spent more than a decade teaching Google and AI who people are.
You'll learn:
The overlooked page on your website that Google checks first.
The Wikipedia alternative that is easier to write and curate
How you can get Jason’s robust SEO audit of your site, for free
Whether your website needs a little fine tuning or you’re building one for the first time, listen in or check out the blog version to find out what you should prioritize and what you can stop stressing about.
Blog link: https://www.authormedia.com/seo-for-author-websites-the-only-guide-you-need-in-2026/
AuthorMedia.social link:
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/PNpmOklWm8M
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You know you need an email list. You've heard about reader magnets and maybe you even have one, but you're stuck at a handful of subscribers, wondering how other authors build lists of tens of thousands of engaged readers who actually buy their books.
Damon J. Courtney knows how. He's an author and the creator of BookFunnel, a service that helps authors grow their email lists and deliver many types of digital products to readers.
In this week’s episode, you’ll learn 
Whether you need a "lead magnet" or a "reader magnet" (there’s a distinction nobody talks about)
How readers can get tech support when downloading your ebook or audiobook
How to give a free copy of your ebook or audiobook when you’re meeting people in person
How to tip the scales toward having readers buy directly from you rather than Amazon (so you can keep more profit)
Whether you’re looking to grow your email list, distribute ebooks and audiobooks, or sell directly from your own website, listen in or read the blog version to discover how BookFunnel can make each of those author tasks easy.
Blog link: https://www.authormedia.com/the-comprehensive-guide-to-bookfunnel/
AuthorMedia.social link: https://authormedia.social/c/novel-marketing/the-comprehensive-guide-to-bookfunnel/
YT Link: https://youtu.be/qLxqq4bKh1g
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Every month, traditional publishers lose more ground to indie authors.
One reason it’s happening is that in trad publishing, a committee or the highest-paid person in the room makes the call on book covers, marketing copy, and even what they suppose readers might like. Both get it wrong far more often than they want to admit.
Most indie authors aren't much better off. They just swap the highest-paid person’s opinion for their own, and trust their own gut on covers, titles, and blurbs.
But savvy authors skip this guessing game entirely. They test everything, and they're outselling everyone else.
In this week’s episode, USA Today best-selling author Steve Piper sits down with Thomas to break down exactly how split testing works.
You’ll discover:
How many ideas you should test to find a viable one
What kinds of book-related assets work for split testing
The sneaky metric that fools most authors into thinking their split-tested ads are working
If you need help choosing a title, cover, or copy, or if you’re wondering why your ads aren’t working, listen in or read the blog version to find out how you can know for sure what will work.
Blog link: https://www.authormedia.com/why-your-cover-blurb-and-hook-are-all-just-guesses/
AuthorMedia.social link: https://authormedia.social/c/novel-marketing/why-your-cover-blurb-and-hook-are-all-just-guesses
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For most of publishing history, creating an audiobook meant writing a check for thousands of dollars and hoping you'd earn it back in sales. Because of the expense, many authors decided it wasn't worth the risk. So, they skipped audio entirely.
Here's the problem. That decision now backfires in a way nobody saw coming.
The number one sign that a book was written by AI isn't bad writing. It's the missing audiobook.
In this week’s episode, audiobook expert Derek Doepker will map out exactly how to avoid that trap. We discuss the five tiers of audiobooks.
You’ll discover
Why skipping the priciest tier might be the smartest move for some authors
Which budget-friendly option still makes your book look unmistakably human-written
The tier almost no author is using, even though it’s cheaper and sounds like a full production
Listen to the full episode to get the complete map of all five audiobook tiers, so you can pick the right one for your book and your sales goals.
Blog link: 
https://www.authormedia.com/the-5-tiers-of-audiobooks-which-one-should-you-publish/
Authormedia.social link:  https://authormedia.social/c/novel-marketing/the-5-tiers-of-audiobooks-which-one-should-you-publish
YT Link:
https://youtu.be/oEYxV2iE-iM
YT Collab Link: https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCB_jQHE1Jz8f2Gq40_zZz2w/collaboration/UCT-0HmBAtZpaLX2liUNebiQ
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You will die. 
It could be today, it could be 15 years from now, but no one lives forever. Your books, however, can outlive you. In fact, seventy years after you're gone, they’ll live in the public domain.
That means your grandchildren's grandchildren could end up responsible for your intellectual property. Most authors have done zero planning for what happens to their books, passwords, and royalties when they're no longer around to manage them.
In this week’s episode, attorney Kelley Way (one of the rare lawyers who practices both estate planning and copyright law) joins us to map out exactly what every author needs to know before it's too late.
You'll learn:
The one document your heirs are powerless to undo, even if they hate the deal you made with your publisher.
Why giving your book away for free after you die might be the single best thing you can do for it.
The unglamorous, ten-dollar-a-month tool that prevents more estate disasters than any will or trust ever could.
Listen in or read the blog version to make sure your books don't end up in a paper prison, where your hard work can no longer make an impact.
Blog link: https://www.authormedia.com/estate-planning-for-authors-how-to-protect-your-books-and-your-family-after-you-die/
AuthorMediaSocial link: https://authormedia.social/c/novel-marketing/estate-planning-for-authors-how-to-protect-your-books-and-your-family-after-you-die
YT Link: https://youtu.be/eJjYPCqKPbw
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