In this episode, Lauren & Matt share ideas for repurposing your existing content. Hint: it's by turning that content into a book. We share ideas for both nonfiction and fiction book projects, including options that require little to no new writing. 
 

Dive Deeper

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• 6 Ways To Publish a Book Without Writing a Book
• From Blog To Book: How To Turn Your Content Into a Published Book
• How To Turn Your Video Content Into a Book
• How To Reach a New Audience With a Book Based on Your Podcast
• How To Create a Workbook: Tips To Enhance Your Online Course
• What Is Fanfiction and Why Does It Matter?

💡 Watch These Videos

• What Should I Publish? 10 Ideas Using Content You Already Have
• Lulu University playlist on Content Monetization

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [3:51] “One of the best ways to identify what aspect or which topic of your content would necessarily lend itself best to a book, or a book project, would be to just go back and look at your metrics, right? Figure out which of your blog posts or podcasts or YouTube videos or whatever got the most views and the most engagement.”

🎙️ [14:58] “Presentations can be very one-sided where it's literally just the speaker speaking at an audience of people… this is a great way to turn that one time event attendee into somebody who's going to continue to come back to you, continue to participate in the conversation and continue to think of you when they're thinking about the subject matter that you were presenting on."

🎙️ [25:55] “If you are a digital first fiction author and you're publishing your ebooks, whether it's on Kindle Unlimited, you're doing serial fiction on something like Kindle Vella, BookFunnel, whatever platform that you're using, why are you not selling print editions of your books? If you are, great, love you for it. If you're not, please do.” 

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In this episode, Matt & Lauren review five things you’ll need to know before you start on your publishing journey! We share insights about knowing your content, knowing your goals, knowing your limits, knowing your audience, and knowing your publisher.  

Also featuring a meandering detour into graphic novels and an ongoing discussion about crying (now or later). 

Dive Deeper

💡 Check Out Jane Friedman’s Key Book Publishing Paths

💡 Watch our Start Here! Playlist

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• How to Get Started Publishing
• How to Find Your Target Audience
• Print-on-Demand: Breaking Down the Costs for Authors
• The Publishing Journey: Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Is Self-Publishing the Best Path for Today's Creators?
• What is Print-on-Demand?
• Self-Publishing is a Team Sport
• Can You Really Support Your Business With Just 1,000 True Fans?
• Author Branding 101: Building a Brand Beyond Your Books

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode Lauren & Matt talk through the 7 essential steps to building your own online bookstore. From choosing the right platform to launching your site, we’ll cover everything you need to know to sell your self-published books directly to your readers.

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💡 Step 1: 

• Shopify
  • Learn More About Selling Your Book With Shopify and Lulu Direct
• WooCommerce
  • Learn More About Selling Your Book With WooCommerce and Lulu Direct
• Wix
  • Learn More About Selling Your Book With Wix and Lulu Direct
• Squarespace

💡 Step 2: 

• Shopify | How to Choose the Best Domain Name in 2024 

💡 Step 3: 

• Lulu Blog | What Is an Author Brand and Why Does It Matter?

💡 Step 4: 

• Lulu Blog | Customer Service and Your Ecommerce Business

💡 Step 6: 

• Lulu U Playlist | Lulu Direct for Shopify
• Lulu U Playlist | Lulu Direct for WooCommerce
• Lulu U Playlist | Lulu Direct for Wix
• Influencer Marketing Hub | Top 14 eCommerce Plugins to Power Your eCommerce Site in 2024

💡 Step 7: 

• Lulu Blog | Can’t-Miss Tips for Building a Better Ecommerce Store
• Lulu Blog | Optimized for Mobile: The Future of Bookselling

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode, Matt & Lauren debate the distinctions between author and reader communities, discuss the value of participating in either, and share some suggestions for how to bridge the gap between them. 

Dive Deeper

💡 Check Out These Online Communities

• Meet the Nonfiction Authors Association
• Learn More About Novelists, Inc.
• Explore Inkers Con
• Listen to the State of the Nation podcast episode on Story Wars at Author Nation

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• How to Grow Your Author Network
• 7 Online Writing Communities for Authors

💡 Watch These Videos

• How to Build a Community of True Fans
• Webinar | TikTok, Booktube, and Instagram, Oh My!
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [9:36] “I think that they're also like, as we're talking about the distinctions between them, I think that they are inherently different in that author communities tend to be more focused on… craft and education, and this is a learning experience for me, how do I do this? Crowdsourcing how to do things, whether it's how to write, how to publish, how to get an agent, whatever. Reader communities tend to be echo chambers of opinions.”

🎙️ [27:45] “If you're looking for a way to be a part of an author community or a writer community or something like that, there are plenty of opportunities out there to find them, whether they are big nationwide communities or small local bookstore, coffee shop, library, independent groups.”

🎙️ [42:45] “And that's really what this podcast is, is us talking in circles around the very clear, like one sentence that we could have said.” 

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode, Lauren & Matt share their insights from attending dozens of author events to set you up for success. Hear tips for preparing sales strategies and inventory, promoting the event to your fans, and maximizing your presence at the event. 

Dive Deeper

💡 Learn More About These Events

• CEX
• Author Nation
• NINC

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• How to Pitch Your Book for Earned Promotion
• What is an Author Brand and Why Does It Matter? 
• How to Grow Your Author Network

💡 Watch These Videos

• Webinar | Speaking to Sell Books: ​​​​​​​Break into Professional Speaking to Reach More Readers
• Playlist | How to Find and Grow Your Target Audience 

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [7:29] “Anytime you can get in front of people and speak, regardless of the topic, that is some of the best publicity and advertising you could get for yourself.”

🎙️ [15:25] “Underestimating your audience is the worst thing you could do. And underestimating what they'll purchase or where they'll go to see you, or even how much they like you, you're only going to hurt yourself.”

🎙️ [34:30] “This is your opportunity to make a really good in person impression on fans, followers, readers and potential new readers. Let's not just show up, throw a few books on the table and sit down and wait for them all to come because it's not going to happen.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode, Lauren is joined by Joe Solari, Managing Director of Author Nation, for our first-ever Publish & Prosper interview!

Get excited for the Author Nation event coming to Las Vegas this November, take an inside look at CEX 2024, and hear Joe’s thoughts on the future of indie publishing. 


Dive Deeper

💡 Learn more about Author Nation

💡 Listen to Author Nation’s State of the Nation podcast

💡 Catch what you missed at CEX 2024 with our Digital Pass


Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [10:29] “That's part of the journey is doing all that to have that ownership and to know that while it might not be a fast path, everything there is yours.”

🎙️ [15:07] “This whole thing about going direct and doing things that this way isn't about what I think people think it's about. I think it's a bigger… a bigger, more strategic plan to make sure your business is hardened against what might be a really logical decision for Amazon and its shareholders.”

🎙️ [27:41] “So as a person that creates content, it's not just about what you can do today. It's about what we're going to be able to do in the future.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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There’s a fine line to balance when you’re setting the retail price for your book! Too high, and you might discourage potential new readers. Too low, and readers might question the value of your content - or worse, you wind up losing money on every sale. 

In this episode Matt & Lauren discuss how to determine the optimal list price for your book and what factors to consider.

Dive Deeper

💡 Lulu’s Pricing Calculator

💡 How Do I Set the Retail Price for My Print Book? from the Lulu Knowledge Base

💡 Breaking Down Print Costs for Authors from the Lulu Blog

💡 School Library Journal’s 2023 Average Book Prices Chart

💡 Self-Publishing School on How to Price Your Book: Balancing Sales and Profit


Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [18:32] “If you don't care about the why and you don't care about all the mechanics behind everything and you just want the quick TL;DR answer to how do I figure out how to price my book correctly? The answer is do your market research.”

🎙️ [24:20] “And that's kind of the point of this episode too, is to help people better understand the economics of books so that they're not out there pricing things based on just seeing something on Amazon and going well, I have to do it this way. Like, I have to try and compete with that price. You may not be able to.”

🎙️ [32:12] “There's definitely some psychology behind that, some consumer and behavioral psychology around how you price things. It's not a bad idea to pick up a book or two about this and learn more about it.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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As authors, writers, and creative types, it’s easy to get caught up in the perceived importance of customer reviews. But do those reviews actually help you sell more books? In this episode, Lauren & Matt debate the value of book reviews for increasing your sales, boosting your book’s discoverability, and providing social proof for new readers. 


Dive Deeper

💡 Barnes & Noble Press Blog on The Power and Importance of Book Reviews 

💡 HubSpot on The Psychology of Social Proof

💡 Trustpilot on Social Proof: What is it, and why is it important for eCommerce?

💡 Jane Friedman on Are Paid Book Reviews Worth It?

💡 Statista data on Online Fake Reviews Removed in 2021 

💡 Customer Review Plugins Loox, TrustReviews, and Trustify


Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [17:22] “You as a writer or a creator or anybody else for that matter, who's trying to placate or play up to the algorithms, it's a lost cause right now. The best thing you can do is just forget about that. Keep trying to create good, valuable content.”

🎙️ [22:36] “I don't know about you, but I don't think one single review has ever been the thing that made me decide to buy a product. But I can tell you for sure that one single review has been enough to make me not buy something.”

🎙️ [35:55] “And then the credibility and trust thing, again. Underneath it all, that's what a review is for… It's the whole reason why some people even publish a book, is to get some credibility and authority and trust. And so the reviews can help to further solidify what that book was even created for in the first place.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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In this episode, Matt & Lauren explore author brands. Listen now to discover the power of your author identity, why it is so important, and how to create and maintain a brand for your long-term marketing and sales success.


Dive Deeper

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• What Is an Author Brand and Why Does It Matter?
• Complete Book Marketing Plan for Creators and Authors

💡 Watch Lulu University’s Author Branding Playlist

💡 Learn more about Why Authors Shouldn’t be Hiding Behind Their Books: What it Means to Build an Author Brand from Written Word Media

💡 Check out Armen Adamjan and Creative Explained

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [2:46] “I think a lot of the time a lot of the issues that authors run up against when it comes to long-term marketing can be boiled down to they haven't done the groundwork with their author branding and developing their brand.”

🎙️ [16:19] “What you really need to remember is that whatever you do, whatever branding you apply, whatever name you choose, you need to be consistent across all channels, including when we talk about things like pay and organic search and stuff like that, so that you continue to build brand recognition, which is what fuels the machine for you to sustain that business long-term, regardless of what that business might be.”

🎙️ [36:05] “I think the key is to just - you have to recognize that and you have to understand that if, if this is something you want to do long-term as a career, whether you've already started down that path or not, you have to have this component. You have to have some branding in order to sustain a long-term trajectory.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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Super fans! We know them, we love them, we want them for our own. But how do you turn your casual fans into loyal, dedicated super fans? In this episode, Lauren & Matt discuss strategies like diversifying your products, demonstrating the value of your content, and creating a community for your fans.

Dive Deeper

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• 5 Ways You Can Sell Your Book To Find Readers and Fans
• The 1,000 True Fan Theory: Sustainable Income for Creators

💡 Watch These Videos

• How to Build a Community of True Fans
• Webinar | How to Create a Multi-Million-Dollar Business ​​​​​​​From Your Business Book with Joe Pulizzi
• Webinar | Building Your Audience: How To Turn Followers Into Fans

💡 Read These Articles

• AgoraPulse on Pat Flynn and How to Turn Customers Into Superfans (and Why You Need to)
• Social Media Examiner on How to Turn Fans Into Engaged Superfans using a Brand Engagement Funnel

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [7:38] “I think that in talking about how you might want to go about turning fans and followers into super fans, you do need to look at and think about things like an expanded product portfolio… to create a super fan, you're going to need more than one thing.”

🎙️ [19:47] “Having that opportunity to connect with your fans is one of the ways that you're going to be able to take casual one-time purchasers that came to your website, bought your book, and then left, turn them into loyal, true super fans of yours.”

🎙️ [31:24] “The best marketing values human impressions over digital impressions. We talk about this all the time. And so while the digital stuff can help and these tools can help by automating certain things, nothing will ever garner as much results and success as taking a more human approach to the way that you market and interact with your fan base.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
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