The idea of authors giving their book away for free to help grow their audience has been a hot topic for years. Jenn and Marcus discuss both sides of the argument and share alternatives to giving your book away for free.

Jenn has a nightmare scenario with a client who has put all of his eggs in his "social media basket" which jeopardized the connection with his audience. There's one thing you can do to make sure you don't find yourself in this situation.

Jenn has an easy hashtag tip that she guarantees will boost Instagram engagement for authors who take a few minutes to do it.

Jenn answers a common question she has received from authors over the years about how they can best build their social media engagement.

Jenn and Marcus are fired up and have a hot take on the latest "quick fix" that focuses on collecting more followers instead of authentically connecting with people on social media.

Now that we know who your ideal reader is, Jenn and Marcus discuss how to figure out which social media outlets you need to spend your time on to connect with them.

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Knowing how to communicate and connect with your ideal reader is the cornerstone to your social media and online marketing. Jenn and Marcus discuss how an ideal reader profile provides vital information for authors and simplifies the process.

Whether you're just starting out or you're well into the process of marketing your book, Jenn and Marcus recommend the first action that authors should take to keep your marketing on track.

If you feel overwhelmed with book marketing and social media, I'm going to break down the three things that you need to focus on to actually make your marketing work. These three points will significantly simplify the process, help you see bigger results, and leave you more time to do what you want to do - write!

Co-founders of Mixtus Media, Jenn Hanson-dePaula and Marcus dePaula are launching the Book Marketing Simplifed podcast to help authors save time with their marketing so they can spend more valuable time writing.