Book Marketing Tips and Author Success Podcast

Епизоде

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  Getting Seen Isn’t Enough: What Makes Readers Actually Buy 18.09.2026 34мин

  You’re running ads. You’re posting. You landed a podcast interview. Maybe you even got some media coverage. So why aren’t more people buying the book? Because getting seen and getting chosen are two very different things. In this episode, we’re digging into one of the most misunderstood parts of book marketing: the gap between visibility and reader confidence. Authors are often taught to judge every marketing effort by one brutal question: Did it sell books? But readers rarely move that quick...
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  Is Someone Pretending to Be You Online? The New Author Scam 11.09.2026 36мин

  What if the next author scam isn’t someone trying to steal your money—but someone pretending to be you? Author scams are getting far more sophisticated. We’re no longer just seeing the obvious “Hollywood wants your book” emails or fake marketing offers. Scammers are creating convincing author profiles, copying real content, borrowing established reputations, and reaching out to readers and other writers using identities that aren’t theirs. And you absolutely do not need to be a bestselling au...
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  20,000 Views. Three Book Sales. Here’s What Went Wrong. 04.09.2026 34мин

  Imagine spending $44,000 on a book launch and selling three books. Or generating 20,000 views and walking away with three preorders. Those aren’t hypothetical numbers—and they expose one of the biggest problems in book marketing right now: attention is not the same thing as buyer intent. Authors are constantly told they need more visibility, more followers, more views, more reach, more buzz. But what happens when all of those numbers go up…and book sales don’t? In this episode, we’re unpackin...
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  Bookstore Events Have Changed: What Authors Need to Know 28.08.2026 28мин

  Are Barnes & Noble author events going away? Not exactly. But the days of walking into a bookstore, asking for a signing, and expecting the store to supply the audience are rapidly disappearing—and that may actually be good news for authors who know how to create a compelling event. In this episode, we unpack what’s really happening with Barnes & Noble events and the much bigger shift taking place in bookstore marketing. Because bookstores still want authors. They still want events. W...
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  What’s In, What’s Out: The Book Marketing Edition 21.08.2026 38мин

  Every so often, book marketing needs a good cleanout. So in this episode, we’re doing our own book marketing “In & Out” list—the strategies, habits, and author expectations we’re happily carrying forward, and the ones we think need to be shown the door. And yes, we have opinions. Out: stuffing keywords everywhere they’ll fit. Trying to show up on every social media platform because someone told you that you “have to.” Obsessing over follower counts that look impressive but don’t necessari...
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  Why Authors Avoid Marketing—and What’s Really Keeping You Stuck 14.08.2026 25мин

  If you’ve ever put off your book marketing, disappeared down another research rabbit hole, or told yourself you’ll get serious about promotion after the next book is finished, this episode is for you. And no, we’re not here to call authors lazy. Because what looks like laziness is often something else entirely: overwhelm, uncertainty, perfectionism, fear of making the wrong decision, or simply not knowing what to tackle first. Book marketing has a lot of moving parts, and when everything feel...
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  What Bestselling Authors Know About Getting Readers to Click Buy 07.08.2026 24мин

  Top authors are not successful simply because they write good books or have bigger marketing budgets. The strongest authors understand something many writers overlook: readers are constantly deciding whether a book feels worth their time, attention, and money—and those decisions often happen before the first page is ever read. In this episode, we unpack what top-performing authors understand about reader choice and how newer, midlist, and independent authors can apply those same lessons witho...
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  The Amazon AI Search Update That Could Change Your Book Sales 31.07.2026 27мин

  Amazon is changing how readers discover books, and authors who understand the shift now will be in a much stronger position than those who wait for the results to become obvious. Search is becoming more conversational, recommendations are becoming more context-driven, and AI is increasingly influencing how books are matched with reader interests, moods, questions, needs, and expectations. In this episode, we break down what those broader AI changes mean for your Amazon presence and why the ol...
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  Should You Sell Books Direct? The Truth About Leaving Amazon Behind 24.07.2026 20мин

  Selling direct to readers can sound like the ultimate author-business upgrade: higher royalties, faster payouts, more control, and a customer list you actually own. But is it the right move for your book right now? In this episode, we unpack the real tradeoffs behind selling books from your own website—and why launching a direct-sales store before you have the audience, systems, or offers to support it can become an expensive distraction. Amazon may take a bigger cut, but it also delivers som...
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  Paid Author Newsletters: Smart New Income Stream or Expensive Distraction? 17.07.2026 29мин

  Could your author newsletter become a new income stream—or will charging readers create more work than revenue? Paid newsletters are everywhere right now, especially with platforms like Substack making it look easy to turn emails into monthly income. But for authors, the question is not whether someone is making money with a paid newsletter. It is whether your readers have a compelling reason to pay for yours. In this episode, we break down what actually works: the types of exclusive content ...
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  15 Minutes to More Book Visibility: The Marketing Moves That Keep Working 10.07.2026 31мин

  You do not need a free afternoon—or an exhausting new marketing plan—to make meaningful progress with your book. In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell break down how authors can use just 15 focused minutes to improve the parts of their marketing that keep working long after the timer stops. They start by celebrating Penny’s new release, Think Local, Sell Global, then get straight to one of the biggest traps authors fall into: confusing constant activity with actual momentum. Posti...
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  Get Your Book Into Libraries—and Build the Local Buzz That Travels 03.07.2026 18мин

  As Penny's new book, Think Local, Sell Global, heads into pre-order, this replay felt especially timely. One of the biggest mistakes authors make is assuming that local book marketing is somehow “small.” In reality, the relationships you build in your own community can become the foundation for stronger visibility, more reader connection, better word-of-mouth, and opportunities that continue expanding well beyond your ZIP code. In this replay episode, Amy and Penny dig into one of the most un...
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  Christmas in July: Your Holiday Book Sales Plan Starts Here 26.06.2026 24мин

  Holiday book sales do not start when shoppers begin panic-buying gifts in December. They start months earlier, when smart authors begin positioning their books for the gift guides, media mentions, newsletters, local segments, creator roundups, and seasonal recommendation lists that influence what readers actually buy. In this episode, Penny and Amy are talking Christmas in July — and why authors who want stronger holiday book sales need to start planning long before the holiday rush. Waiting ...
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  Think Local, Sell Everywhere: Book Marketing That Actually Sells Books 19.06.2026 29мин

  Most authors overlook one of the most powerful marketing opportunities they already have: their local market. While everyone else fights for attention online, smart authors are building visibility, reader loyalty, and consistent book sales right in their own backyard — often with far less competition and far better results. In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell unpack the local marketing strategies that actually move books. From wine bars hosting “books and bubbly” nights to thril...
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  Publishing Horror Stories: The Expensive Mistakes Authors Never See Coming 12.06.2026 28мин

  You hired help so publishing would feel easier. Instead, your Amazon listing disappears, your book ends up connected to the wrong author page, and suddenly nobody can figure out who actually owns the account. Sound dramatic? We wish it were rare. In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell pull back the curtain on the publishing disasters they keep seeing behind the scenes, many caused not by outright scams, but by freelancers, “experts,” and AI-generated advice that sounds confident wh...
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  The Relaunch Blueprint: Four Ways to Revive Book Sales 05.06.2026 22мин

  Most authors treat launch day like a verdict: the book goes live, sales come in (or don’t), and suddenly it feels like the market has spoken. Quiet numbers can trigger a brutal spiral — exhaustion, disappointment, and the sinking feeling that maybe the opportunity already passed. We disagree completely. In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell break down a four-part relaunch strategy designed to help authors stop chasing a single "big moment" and start building ongoing visibility. Be...
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  Amazon’s AI Translation Shortcut: Smart Strategy or Costly Mistake? 29.05.2026 25мин

  Amazon just removed one of the biggest barriers to international publishing, and authors are going to be tempted to move fast. With Amazon quietly rolling out an AI-powered translation tool inside KDP, turning your book into Spanish, German, and other languages suddenly feels almost effortless. But easy and effective are not the same thing. In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell unpack what Amazon’s new AI translation feature actually means for authors and why this could become one...
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  The Dangerous Myth About Book Sales That’s Holding You Back 22.05.2026 25мин

  If your book sales have you questioning everything, the problem might not be your book—it might be the benchmark you’re using. In this episode, we’re dismantling one of the biggest misconceptions in publishing: what “normal” book sales actually look like. Because once you understand how few copies most books sell—even from traditional publishers—it completely reframes the narrative around success, failure, and what’s realistically achievable. We also take a hard look at the numbers authors th...
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  Readers Don’t Buy Books—Consumers Do. Here’s Why That Matters 15.05.2026 24мин

  Most authors think they’re selling to readers. That’s the first mistake. Because readers and book consumers are not the same—and confusing the two is one of the biggest reasons books don’t sell. In this episode, we break down the critical difference between someone who loves to read and someone who actually buys books, and why that gap quietly derails even the most well-intentioned marketing plans. If you’ve been showing up, posting, running ads, pitching podcasts—and still watching your sale...
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  AI Is Scamming Authors: How to Spot Fake Book Marketing Before You Lose Money 08.05.2026 28мин

  Scam emails used to be obvious. Bad grammar, generic messaging, easy to ignore. That version is gone. Today’s scams sound like a real professional—someone who’s “read your book,” understands your audience, and has a polished, confident plan to grow your sales, land media, or build your platform. It feels legitimate because it’s designed to. AI has fundamentally changed the scam landscape, and authors are now a prime target. We see these pitches every day—forwarded by authors who aren’t quite ...