Coffee with Carma | Episode 462

I’ve watched too many people find out their book was wrong only after it was published, so in this episode, I walk you through the three-step process I use to know, not hope, whether your book idea is worth writing. You’ll see how to check your idea against your customer transformation roadmap, how to find real evidence that people are searching for the problem it solves, and how to hold it up against your brand promise before you write a single chapter.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* How do I know if my book idea is actually the right one to write?

* What is a customer transformation roadmap and how does it relate to my book?

* How do I find out if people are searching for the problem my book solves?

* What does it mean to hold a book idea up against a brand promise?

* Why does writing the wrong book make marketing harder?

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Coffee with Carma | Episode 461

In this episode, I share the five principles I use to help experts figure out which book to write next. Watch now so that you can stop circling between ideas and start writing the one that will grow your business. If you’ve got more than one book idea competing for your attention, no worries! I walk you through how to rank them. I also explain why writing out of sequence still costs you, and how to know when you’re ready to commit.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* How do I decide which book idea to write next?

* What if I have too many book ideas at once?

* How do I know if I’m choosing the wrong book to write?

* Why does my book idea keep stalling?

* How do I rank competing book ideas for my business?

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Coffee with Carma | Episode 460

I pull three lessons from the classic film Dr. Cyclops (1940) that expose a common author blind spot. This blind spot may be derailing your own book marketing strategy. In this episode of Coffee with Carma, I share:

* why chasing perfect details can drain the soul out of your content,

* why third-party validation, like book reviews, matters more than most authors think,

* and why Amazon optimization is only one piece of a much bigger picture.

You will also walk away with one small, concrete action you can take this week. This simple action will help you spot your own blind spot before it costs you. Don’t miss out on the readers, clients, and stages you are working so hard to reach because of a simple oversight.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* Why does AI-generated book marketing content often feel like it is missing something?

* Is optimizing my Amazon listing enough to grow my book marketing strategy?

* How do book reviews for authors actually help my own visibility?

* What is the blind spot most authors don’t realize they have in their book marketing?

* How many book reviews do I actually need before readers trust my book?

Thanks for reading Authority by Design! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Coffee with Carma | Episode 459

In this episode, I walk you through the three places you need to optimize if you want AI like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity to recommend you instead of your competition. I used to think Amazon and your website were the only two spots that mattered. That’s changed. I share why your podcast guest appearances, media mentions, and other people’s platforms now carry more weight than ever, and how the right book makes all three of these discoverability engines work together instead of against each other.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* Why doesn’t ChatGPT read my Amazon book description?

* What should I put on my author website besides a books page?

* Why do podcast interviews matter for AI discoverability?

* How does AI decide who to recommend to an author’s ideal reader?

* What’s the difference between optimizing for Amazon and optimizing for AI?

Thanks for reading Authority by Design! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Coffee with Carma | Episode 458

If your book isn’t bringing in the clients you hoped for, the problem may not be the book itself. It is more likely how you think a book is supposed to work. Most authors assume their book has two jobs: sell copies and convert leads. In this episode, I explain why that’s missing a third job that makes the other two work. I share why Amazon and the AI tools your future clients are using, like ChatGPT and Perplexity, are different systems. You have to optimize them differently. If you’ve ever wondered why a well-reviewed book still isn’t growing your business, this episode walks you through where the gap is and what to do about it.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* Why isn’t my book converting readers into clients?

* What’s the difference between optimizing for Amazon and optimizing for AI search?

* Should I sell a program inside my book?

* How do I turn my book into a lead-generation tool?

* What content can I create from my existing book?

Thanks for reading Authority by Design! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Coffee with Carma | Episode 457

In this episode of Coffee with Carma, I use the legend of the sword in the stone to talk about something I see in too many authors ... a book that’s visible but not used. I walk you through three lessons from that legend:

* why your book might be sitting exactly where you left it

* why use is what makes your book valuable, and

* why your book was never going to become more valuable just by sitting on a digital shelf.

If your book has been living on Amazon without doing much for your business, this episode is for you.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* How do I market a book that’s already published and just sitting on Amazon?

* Why isn’t my book bringing in business even though people can find it?

* What does it mean to “activate” a book for business growth?

* How is a book different from raw knowledge or expertise?

* Why does self-publishing a book still require ongoing marketing work?

Thanks for reading Authority by Design! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Authority by Design is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Coffee with Carma | Episode 456

You meant to leverage your book this week, and somehow it’s already Wednesday. In this episode, I share three simple ways you can start turning your book into content today, using material you’ve already written. No new ideas required, just a system for mining what’s already sitting on your shelf.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* How do I market my book without starting from scratch every week?

* What’s a simple weekly system for repurposing book content?

* How can I use my book to reconnect with people in my network?

* What can I do with my book content besides one-time promotion?

Thanks for reading Authority by Design! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Coffee with Carma | Episode 455

If your book isn’t attracting the clients or opportunities you hoped for, listen up. Before you blame the book, consider this. In this episode, I share five key principles. These principles can turn a book on a shelf into a tool that grows your business. You’ll see why sharing your book is simple. Your book is like potential energy, just waiting to be unleashed. The real power comes from what you do with your book, not just the book alone.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* Why isn’t my book bringing me the clients I expected?

* What’s the difference between book promotion and real business leverage?

* How do I turn the content already in my book into new marketing material?

* Why does book marketing need a system instead of one-off promotion?

* How do I figure out which door my book is actually meant to open?

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(Inspired by The Right Stuff)

Coffee with Carma | Episode 454

The astronauts who made it into space were not the ones who sat back and let NASA run the mission. They fought to keep their hands on the controls. In this episode, I walk you through three reasons your book marketing needs the same thing. I share the real story of what happened when I tried to publish a book a month. I explain why the data eventually told me to stop. And I describe what it looks like to stay the pilot of your own business instead of a passenger in someone else’s plan.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* Why do book marketing strategies fail even when the strategy itself is sound?

* How do I know when to follow book promotion advice versus modify it for my own audience?

* What happened when Carma tried to publish a book a month?

* How do I market a book without losing my own voice in the process?

* When should an author override a proven marketing tactic?

Thanks for reading Authority by Design! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Coffee with Carma | Episode 453

If your book marketing feels stuck, you might think the answer is starting over with a brand new plan. But in this episode, I walk you through a different approach. Instead, read the habits you already have consistently. They may hold more clues to your best marketing path than any expert advice ever will. I’ll share three steps for spotting those clues. And share a personal story about the habit I finally gave myself permission to quit. Stop rebuilding from scratch and start building from what you naturally do.

Questions This Episode Answers:

* How do I market my book without starting my marketing plan over from scratch?

* What book marketing habits should I pay attention to first?

* How long should I test a book marketing tactic before deciding if it works?

* Is it okay to stop doing a marketing tactic I hate?

* Why does joyful energy matter in book marketing?

Thanks for reading Authority by Design! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Authority by Design is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.