Publish & Prosper

In 2023, Lulu bought Content Entrepreneur Expo, an event for content creators and content entrepreneurs. In this episode, Matt & Lauren share an inside look into why we got involved in CEX, what we’ve learned about events after owning one, and why we think content creators, entrepreneurs, and authors should join us in Cleveland this August! 

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Dive Deeper

💡 Learn More About The Tilt

💡 Check Out Content Marketing Institute 

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #6 | Why We Love Attending Conferences (and Why You Should Too)
• Ep #23 | How to Survive (and Thrive) at Conferences and Events
• Ep #46 | How to Maximize ROI on In-Person Events

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Should You Attend Content Entrepreneur Expo?
• Maximize Your Time at In-Person Events
• Why Creator Events Are a Must for Creators & Entrepreneurs

💡 Watch These Videos

• Get Ready For CEX 2025! 
• See These Sessions from CEX 2023
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [3:50] “I would say from the moment we got there…I think we just kind of knew like, oh, this is something really different and really cool. And this is where we need to be.”

🎙️ [11:12] “There's an identity of a creator. There's an identity of an entrepreneur. There's an identity of an author. In my head, they're all three the same. Or should be. And I think that's what we've been trying to do, now that we've come into this space, is show that there is…if there was a venn diagram of those three identities, there is overlap right in the middle. And I think that's content entrepreneur.”

🎙️ [49:13] “We want people who are leaving the event somewhat sad, but also somewhat excited to come back next year. Like sad that it's over, but can't wait for next year.”

💀 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 dig into what discoverability looks like in a world where generative AI is changing how readers find books online. We look at what generative AI looks at when choosing what to cite or recommend, and share practical tips to help authors & creators appear in AI search results and, more importantly, to build lasting audience connections.

Watch this episode on YouTube!

💡 Check Out These Resources

• SparkToro | 2024 Zero-Click Search Study 
• Search Engine Journal | Meet the 7 Most Popular Search Engines in the World 
• Google’s Rich Results Test
• Joe Lazer on Generative AI Hallucinations 

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #59 | Mastering Book Metadata to Maximize Market Reach
• Ep #60 | Book Publicity Simplified with Sarah Franklin
• Ep #66 | How Authors Can Use Long-Form Video to Build Their Brand

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Discoverability in the Age of AI Search
• Going Wide to Diversify Your Book Sales

💡 Watch These Videos

• How to Build a Community of True Fans
• Playlist | Audience Building
  
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [8:00] “Hopefully we'll be able to help you understand a little bit better how these search results, these zero click search results, are being generated, how you can try and make sure that you're in there.”

🎙️ [17:39] “One thing that people should understand is that it still hallucinates pretty regularly… They can't all be right. They can’t all be accurate. And they can't all have good intentions.”

🎙️ [40:09] “If I’ve said it three times in this episode, then I still haven't said it enough: Your metadata is really important.”

💀 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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Whether you’re a food blogger, travel blogger, business blogger, lifestyle blogger, finance blogger, or any kind of blogger, you all have one thing in common: your content would make a great book. 

In this episode, Matt & Lauren explore the value of publishing your blog as a physical book. We also review the key steps to getting from blog to book, including how to choose the right content to include, outlining and formatting your manuscript, and what tools can help you along the way. 

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Dive Deeper

💡 Content, Inc. Episode 61: Tilt to Blog to Book to Speaking

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #33 | Books You Can Create Using Your Existing Content
• Ep #38 | From Manuscript to Market: 5+ Tools to Help You Draft, Publish, and Sell Your Book
• Ep #54 | Can Books Add Value to Your Business (Beyond Just Revenue)?

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• From Blog to Book: How to Turn Your Content into a Published Book
• 5 Affordable Tools for Easy Book Formatting and Design
• 6 Steps to Create and Print a Book for Beginners
• Atticus Review
• Vellum Review

💡 Watch These Videos

• Playlist | Content Monetization
• Webinar | Fun With Formatting
• How to Use a Book for Lead Generation
• The Content Entrepreneur's Guide to Book Publishing
  
  

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!
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In this episode of POD Pod, Lauren is joined by Lulu’s Education & Community Manager (and YouTube celebrity) Chelsea Bennett! Tune in for a conversation on the value of adding long-form video content to your marketing strategy, how authors can use video to connect with their audience, and getting comfortable on camera (and ignoring the haters).

Like & Subscribe, and watch this episode on YouTube!

Dive Deeper

💡 Watch These Episodes

• Ep #47 | Metrics That Matter: A Guide for Authors & Creators
• Ep #55 | How to Hit Your Perfect Pitch for Speaking Engagements
• Ep #60 | Book Publicity Simplified with Sarah Franklin

💡 Watch These Videos

• How to Build a Community of True Fans
• Stephanie Chandler Webinar | Speaking to Sell Books: ​​​​​​​Break into Professional Speaking to Reach More Readers
• Fun With Formatting Webinar

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Social Media 101: YouTube For Authors
• How to Write Effective YouTube Descriptions to Reach New Fans
  
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [10:58] “I think it really just humanizes your brand. It allows people to connect with you on a more authentic level. And so I think that that's really the value add, is more and more with the world that we live in with AI and automation and all of these things, I think people are really hungry for authenticity.”

🎙️ [29:03] “You have to remember the shelf life of videos, if it's good, can be up forever.”

🎙️ [43:19] “Even if at the end of the day, you decide that's not for me, or it's not helping me reach my goals, you have a whole new skill set that you can pull from when you try the next thing.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!
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In this episode, Matt & Lauren–who are definitely not lawyers–take on copyright law. We talk through what indie authors need to know about copyrighting their books in the US, why and how authors should register their work for copyright, and how fanfiction and generative AI may impact copyright in the future. 

Again: we are not attorneys.

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Dive Deeper

💡 Copyright Resources

• Creative Commons 
• Register Your Work → How to Copyright Literary Works
• Bowker | Must-Know Copyright Basics & FAQs
• CopyrightsNow
• What Writers Should Know About Copyright
• Write Publish Sell | What Every Author Needs To Know About Copyright, ISBN, PCN and LCCN
• Library of Congress | Artificial Intelligence Report 

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #18 | How Writers Can Harness the Power of AI
• Ep #59 | Mastering Book Metadata to Maximize Market Reach

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Copyright Law Basics For Authors
• How to Copyright a Book

💡 Watch These Videos

• What the Hell is Book Metadata?
• What is an ISBN?
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode 

🎙️ [11:41] “At the very least, we're going to give you the information that you need to look further into because it's hard to know what you don't know.” 

🎙️ [20:00] “Which is also–does not mean that you've now copyrighted your work per se. Again, legally, technically, it is copyrighted because you created it, but you should still take the extra steps we're about to get into.”

🎙️ [46:16] “Endorsed by Lauren, who is not an attorney, by the way. But an elder emo. So she does carry some weight in some circles.”

💀 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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💀 Email us at [email protected]
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In this episode, Lauren and Matt are ready to inject new life into your backlist book titles. We share ideas for using your backlist to experiment with new formats and distribution channels, turning your older books into lead magnets, and generating passive income from your content long after launch.

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Dive Deeper

💡 BookFunnel

💡 BookBub 

💡 Written Word Media | BookBub for Authors 

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #15 | Can You Really Support Your Business With Just 1,000 True Fans?
• Ep #41 | How to Drive Book Sales Without Offering Discounts
• Ep #56 | The Indie Author's Guide to Going Wide With Your Book Distribution

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• 8 Simple Ideas for Backlist Book Marketing
• Print-on-Demand is the Perfect Solution for Selling Backlist Titles

💡 Watch This Video

• Distributing Your Book With Lulu: What You Need to Know
  
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [10:37] “Your backlist is a great resource for you if you want to experiment with either going wide with your book sales or moving your books onto a different ecommerce platform than what you're using right now.”

🎙️ [29:26] “Anything you can do, anything that doesn't affect the integrity of your content, your book to drive more sales of more of your backlist titles or titles in general then you should try it for sure.”

🎙️ [34:09] “Especially for some of these low lift versions of backlist book marketing where it's costing you little to nothing to do them. Ten new emails from something that cost you two hours of your time and zero dollars is a win.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!
💀 Email us at [email protected]
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Recorded Live from London Book Fair! 

In this episode, Matt & Lauren explore the value of relationship marketing (tailoring your efforts to connect with your audience) versus algorithm marketing (tailoring your efforts to satisfy algorithms). We debate the merits of both strategies and share actionable steps to use them together to grow your brand.

Dive Deeper

💡 Watch the Session on YouTube

💡 Learn More About Lulu Direct

💡 Check Out ReallyGoodEmails.com

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #24 | How to Turn Your Casual Fans into Super Fans
• Ep #47 | Metrics That Matter: A Guide for Authors & Creators
• Ep #59 | Mastering Book Metadata to Maximize Market Reach

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Discoverability in the Age of AI Search
• How to Turn Casual Followers into Dedicated Super Fans
• How to Convince Readers to Buy Books Directly From You

💡 Watch These Videos

• Lulu U Playlist | Direct Sales
• Lulu U Playlist | Marketing Tips

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ “Human impressions over digital impressions. If you take nothing else away today, write that down. Human impressions over digital impressions. Every day, all day.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!
💀 Email us at [email protected]
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In this episode, Matt & Lauren take a critical look at wasteful practices in the publishing industry. We share insight into what it takes to become a certified B Corp (like Lulu!), how book printing creates both physical and carbon waste, and what we can all do to make publishing more sustainable. 

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Dive Deeper

💡 Resources

      →  Research: Consumers’ Sustainability Demands Are Rising 

      →  B Lab US & Canada

      →  Book Sales: What that viral Substack post gets wrong.

      →  No One Buys Books

      →  Book Waste: The Dangers of Publishing and the Ethical Consumption of Books

💡 Listen to These Episodes

      →  Ep #9 | Are Print Books Dead?

      →  Ep #36 | The Indie Author’s Guide to Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing

      →  Ep #49 | What Keeps Self-Published Books Off the New York Times Best-Seller Lists?

💡 Read What Being a B Corp Means to Us

💡 Watch These Videos

      →  Why is Lulu a B Corp?

      →  The Life of a Book 

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [9:52] “We're making the argument that print-on-demand and using a print-on-demand company like Lulu is more environmentally friendly than traditional publishing. But B Corp isn't just about that.”

🎙️ [22:40] “I would much rather see a book that was well read and well loved and shows the signs of it than a book that was printed, never opened, never sold, and then just destroyed.”

🎙️ [32:45] “I think when you combine the world of digital and print and you encourage a digital-first strategy for how you're publishing and printing, I think that's when you really start to optimize the sustainability factor of what we're doing in the publishing industry.”

💀 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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💀 Email us at [email protected]
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In this episode, Lauren & Matt explore Lulu’s open source Print API. Don’t know what an API is? We’ve got you covered. We also talk through the value of personalized products and creative ways to use Lulu’s Print API to power your custom book business.

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Dive Deeper

💡 Learn more about Lulu’s Print API

💡 Sponsor Magnet by Justin Moore

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #31 | Your 7-Step Guide to Building an Online Bookstore
• Ep #43 | Make Your Self-Published Books Stand Out with Custom Details
• Ep #58 | Creative Ways to Use Print-On-Demand to Support Your Business

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Personalization at Scale: How Lulu’s API Enables Customized Printing
• Scaling Your Business with Custom Books Using the Print API

💡 Watch These Videos

• Webinar | The Business of Books:  How To Use Lulu's Print API To Scale Your Business
• Lulu U | Selling Direct with a Print API

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [13:40] “This is not a new concept. What this is is a more evolved technology for how to create these kinds of products in a really cool way and also get even more personalized and even more creative with them.” 

🎙️ [27:10] “You are trying to build personal relationships with your customers, with consumers. Consumers are more conscientious than they were in the past. They are looking for - whether they realize it or not - they are looking for a personalized relationship experience.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!
💀 Email us at [email protected]
💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode, Matt & Lauren are joined by Sarah Franklin, Lulu’s Public Relations Manager and expert book publicist! Hear about book publicity simplified as Sarah answers questions like: 

→  What’s the value in hiring a publicist vs. doing your own publicity?

→  What exactly is a publicist’s role in book marketing? 

→  How do you make the most of earned publicity once you have it? 

And more!

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Dive Deeper

💡 Featured

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #10 | Marketing Your Book Pre-Launch, At-Launch, and Post-Launch
• Ep #13 | Earning Free Publicity for Your Book
• Ep #57 | How to Use a Preorder Campaign to Boost Your Book Launch

💡 Read This Blog Post

• How to Earn Media Attention: Essential PR Tips for Authors

💡 Watch These Videos

• PR for Authors: Building Buzz Around Your Book 

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [11:05] “Depending on the goals for your book, a publicist is one of those things where you absolutely should spend the money if you can afford it and some of your goals for this book align with the need for having a publicist, right?”

🎙️ [25:24] “You know, they can get you exposure, but your expertise in your book, that should be the moneymaker right there.”

🎙️ [41:01] “Something may come of it, nothing may come of it, but nothing's gonna happen if you don't do anything.”

💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more.
💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!
💀 Email us at [email protected]
💀 Sign up for our mailing list.