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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

Vellum

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    3 replies to "Self-Publishing Toolkit 2023 [Part 2]"

    • Bill Cokas

      You’re right–I’m still catching up and enjoying every minute. I’ll withhold further comments until I’m up to speed!

    • Bill Cokas

      Excellent list, Paul! I have a few more books/podcasts I could recommend, but looks like you’re beyond capacity at the moment. I’m curious what you think of the Sell More Books Show new format. I’m sure I’ll get used to it, but I really miss the extra content now that it’s down to less than half of its previous length. That used to be THE podcast I relied on for news and industry developments, but I’ll have to start shopping around for a successor.

      • Paul Teague

        Hi Bill, great to hear from you! It sounds like you may not have caught up with the latest diaries yet, I’ve been commenting on the new Sell More Books Show format and pretty well saying what you’re saying – I miss the old format. You got a shout-out on this week’s diary too 🙂 I hope that life and writing are going well for you, best wishes, Paul

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