Self-Publishing Toolkit 2023 [Part 2]

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Tools & Resources For Your Self-Publishing Business [Part 2]

Marketing …

> FB ads – the best – even more useful with attribution links. See https://www.facebook.com/business/ads

> Matthew J. Holmes excellent Twitter thread on how to set up a Facebook ad: https://twitter.com/MatthewJHolmes1/status/1600572410964623370

> Amazons ads – Rachel McClean & Joy Ellis + a hint of LJ Ross in also-boughts. Also making sales – will double down on this in New Year. See https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/

> BookBub ads – some minor success with changing also-boughts, Amazon ads worked better. Not keen on these – money burners. See https://partners.bookbub.com/

> BookBub featured deals – apply the moment I can – they still work. I’m on another bad run. See https://partners.bookbub.com/

> Written Word Media -the 2nd best I think. Best for free, never had any luck with 99p. See https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/

> Author Helper – I’m inclined to like it, but I dislike the manual importing of data -needs to all be done via API. Also won’t pay for GeoLinks, I do that through Books2Read now as it’s free – it’s hugely disruptive to have to change your GeoLinker! https://theauthorhelper.com/

> Book Report still useful for finding out really easily how much you earned over what period. See https://www.getbookreport.com/

> BookFunnel – my favourite way of delivering beta copies. Saw threads on 20Books about people who dislike CRAP submissions – I may take a leaf out of their book this year and specifically target & invite quality people to my event, working directly. See https://bookfunnel.com/

> MailerLite – not long for this world? Should NOT put the price up for migration – creates friction, many with fall by the wayside or consider if it’s just as much hassle to change a service. See https://www.mailerlite.com/

> https://www.novelpublicity.com/ads/ on pending pile – a managed ads service.

> https://cravebooks.com/login on pending pile – group giveaways, paid & social promotions – haven’t tried it yet.

> BKLnk https://www.bklnk.com/ – a must for category work. It’s the type of service I appreciated so much, I sent over a donation.

> Books2Read for GeoLinks – also good for paperbacks. See https://books2read.com/

> BookSweeps – alternative to having to use Book Funnel promos – works well, quality graphics to support always get a couple of hundred sign-ups. See https://www.booksweeps.com/

> Anybody still using https://www.prolificworks.com/? I gave up after InstaFreebie name change!

> Nothing wrong with https://storyoriginapp.com/ – universal links, group promos, newsletter swaps, beta copies, reader magnets … never had the cause to use it.

> Still like https://bytheletterbookreviews.com/ and will very probably use it later in the year with my new books.

Blogs & websites …

> Dan Parsons is writing some interesting stuff at https://selfpublishingformula.com/blog/

> ALLi blog – always good value! https://selfpublishingadvice.org/prove-your-publishing-rights/

> David Gaughran – emails need to be read & saved. https://davidgaughran.com/blog/

> Fussy Librarian https://www.thefussylibrarian.com/newswire/for-authors/

> BookBub https://insights.bookbub.com/top-book-marketing-articles-bookbub-2022/

> Written Word Media – https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/learn/

> Jericho Writers https://jerichowriters.com/category/self-publishing/

> Relay Publishing – recruit ghostwriters – heard about it on Joanna Penn’s podcast https://recruitment.relaypub.com/blog/

> Dave Chesson's Kindlepreneur blog https://kindlepreneur.com/blog/

Writing Books resource

> Lori Puma is a fiction editor who listens to this show – here is her list of recommended writing-related books: https://loripuma.com/blog/which-writing-books-you-should-read

Podcasts

> The Self-Publishing Show https://selfpublishingformula.com/

> Book Marketing Tips & Author Success Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/book-marketing-tips-and-author-success-podcast/id1500195014

> The Sell More Books Show https://www.sellmorebooksshow.com/

> The Rebel Author Podcast – I particularly recommend the Black Herron episodes with Rachel Herron https://sachablack.co.uk/the-rebel-author-podcast/

> Wish I’d Known Then https://wishidknownforwriters.com/

> The Creative Penn https://www.thecreativepenn.com/

> New Author Podcast https://jerryevanoff.com/podcast/

> Activated Authors https://activatedauthors.com/podcast/

> Jon Cronshaw’s Author Diary https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/jon-cronshaws-author-diary/id1294429744

> The Authorpreneur Podcast https://authorpreneurpodcast.com/podcast/

> The Happy Writer https://anchor.fm/patty-jansen

> Six Figure Authors – got a surprise episode! https://6figureauthors.com/

> The Author Ads Academy https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-author-ads-academy-podcast/id1559494490

> The Story Studio Podcast [I live in hope!] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-story-studio-podcast-writing-storytelling/id522665152

> The Book Marketing Show Podcast – Dave Chesson https://kindlepreneur.com/podcast/

> The Publishing Profits Podcast https://www.tckpublishing.com/publishing-profits-podcast/

> The Writer’s Well – got a surprise episode! https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-writers-well-conversations-about-writing-from/id1193077266

> ALLi podcasts https://selfpublishingadvice.org/ask-alli-podcast/

> A comprehensive list of podcasts by Lori Puma, a listener. https://loripuma.com/blog/podcasts-help-you-write-publish-and-promote-your-first-novel-in-2018

Fast Access Links

You can access every episode of Paul's Podcast Diary, in chronological order, here.

You can access my email archives here

My parkrun updates here