In this episode, Matt & Lauren debate and discuss a variety of writing, publishing, editing, and marketing prompts. Hear their insights, opinions, and ideas on topics like:

• Exclusively Selling Direct vs. Going Wide with Your Book Sales
• Which Social Media Platform Would You Use to Promote a Book?
• What Would You Use to Entice New Email Subscribers?

And, of course, a few tangents too. Listen now, or watch the full episode on our YouTube channel!

Dive Deeper

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #56 | The Indie Author's Guide to Going Wide With Your Book Distribution
• Ep #74 | Paul's Pod: Your Guide to Taking Your Writing Habit to the Next Level
• Ep #82 | The Email Marketing Podcast with Laurie & Lauren

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Editing Best Practices
• Social Media Marketing 101
• The Publishing Journey: Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [9:16] “You cannot control that part of the customer experience if you're selling on a third party website, but you can if you're selling direct. And I think that's really neat.”

🎙️ [19:30] “It's such an important part of launching a book. I think, and the people that we've talked to that have made that part of their launch process, you know, their marketing plan, they tend to have really good success with it.”

🎙️ [36:59] “I think no matter what you write, whether it's fiction or nonfiction or how to manuals for lawnmowers, your goal shouldn't be transactions. It should be relationships.”

💀 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 want indie authors to see their books on library shelves! Whether you dream of your hardcover on display in your local public library or hope to find your ebook in digital catalogs nationwide, we’re here to help make it happen.

Dive Deeper

💡 Explore These Resources

• OverDrive | Libraries Break Digital Lending Records in 2024 with Over 739 million Checkouts
• Library of Congress | About the CIP Program | Cataloging in Publication
• Library of Congress | Understanding MARC Records
• How To Get Your Self-Published Book Into Libraries by Eric Otis Simmons and Joanna Penn
• Booklife by Publishers Weekly

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #37 | How to Get Your Book Into Indie Bookstores
• Ep #59 | Mastering Book Metadata to Maximize Market Reach
• Ep #65 | How to Copyright the Copy That You Wrote

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• How to Get Your Book Into Libraries
• Selling Your Book on Consignment with Indie Bookstores
• 5 Visual Indicators Your Book is Self-Published

💡 Watch These Videos

• Distributing Your Book With Lulu: What You Need to Know
• What the Hell is Book Metadata?
• What is an ISBN? (And When You Need One)
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [14:00] “The discoverability that we often talk about is lacking on so many other distribution or retail options is still very much active in libraries in both digital and physical libraries.”

🎙️ [27:09] “You need to be where librarians are going to be. Besides the library.”

🎙️ [45:30] “You’re fostering relationships in your local community, which can only ever be a good thing for your brand and your career.”

💀 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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Tune in for another episode of The Email Marketing Podcast with Laurie & Lauren! In this episode, Laurie & Lauren walk through the steps to prepare for an important email marketing campaign series like holiday sales or a new book launch. We review:

• Why you should plan ahead for an email campaign
• Your pre-campaign planning timeline
• How to monitor your campaign once it’s live
• Wrapping up your campaign (and setting yourself up for success with the next one)
  
  
  

Dive Deeper

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #82 | The Email Marketing Podcast with Laurie & Lauren
• Ep #86 | Maximizing Your First Impression in the Attention Economy
• Ep #87 | Live From Content Entrepreneur Expo!

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• What Is an Author Brand and Why Does It Matter?
• Mastering Email Marketing for Authors

💡 Watch These Videos

• Lulu University | Holiday Marketing Playlist
  
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [10:23] “If you're not clear with what your campaign is trying to achieve, your click through or your call to action is going to most likely be a little bit confusing for the recipient. Because if I'm just like, throwing a bunch of stuff in an email, the recipient is not going to know where to focus.”

🎙️ [36:09] “It is really important for email to provide that value so that people continue to open your emails.”

🎙️ [55:03] “Because email is always going to be one of your number one channels for success for a big launch. So take advantage of it.”

💀 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 sit down with our friend Lynette Greenfield, author and founder of Limelight Publishing. Learn how Lynette turned her prolific writing career and passion for helping aspiring authors into a successful hybrid publishing company.

Dive Deeper

💡 Meet Lynette & Learn More About Limelight

• Write Publish Repeat
• Lynette Greenfield Author Spotlight
• Limelight Publishing

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #53 | How to Create A Writing Habit That Actually Sticks
• Ep #79 | Book Launch Blueprint: How Justin Moore Sold Over 1,000 Books in 90 Days

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Raising Eyebrows
• It Is Just as Important to Be Noticed as It Is to Be Remembered

💡 Watch These Videos

• How to Start Your Own Publishing Company Using Print-on-Demand

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [11:41] “Every time something stresses me out, I always automatically think to myself, it's okay, I've got writing.”

🎙️ [37:17] “I want to be transparent, I want to be honest. I don't ever want to say, I mean, this is the most incredible book. It's gonna sell, it's gonna – I won't do that. But at the same time, everybody's stories are amazing. Everybody's books are incredible.”

🎙️ [48:16] “That's what I want Limelight to be. I want it to be a place that people can go. It's not just about publishing. There are so many reasons why you can publish a book.”

💀 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 chat with old and new friends live from the show floor at Content Entrepreneur Expo! Tune in to hear from five industry experts about content creation and strategy, content entrepreneurship, book publishing, and most importantly, the great niche vs. niche debate.

• 3:42 → Austin L. Church on Writing a Book (and What He’ll Do Differently Next Time)
• 18:15 → Lou Mongello on the Value of Community and Authentic Relationships
• 24:41 → Julia Levine on Building Your Content Pillars
• 31:57 → Joe Pulizzi on Making Your Content Entrepreneur Goals a Reality
• 41:48 → Robbie Fitzwater on How to Use Customer Data (and How to Get Even More)

💡 Meet These Awesome Content Entrepreneurs

• Austin L. Church
• Lou Mongello
• Julia Levine
• Joe Pulizzi
• Robbie Fitzwater

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #53 | How to Create A Writing Habit That Actually Sticks
• Ep #69 | We Love Content Entrepreneur Events So Much, We Bought One!
• Ep #83 | Calendars Are Still Cool (We Can Prove It)

💀 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 podcast@lulu.com
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You only get one shot to make a first impression when inviting new guests into your brand–don’t scare them away before they even make it to the front door!

In this episode, Lauren & Matt share essential tips for capturing attention quickly, maximizing your ‘curb appeal,’ and making your first look count. We talk through nailing your elevator pitch, sprucing up your social media real estate, designing an inviting website, and delivering a warm welcome email.

Dive Deeper

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #25 | Author Branding 101: Building a Brand Beyond Your Books
• Ep #31 | Your 7-Step Guide to Building an Online Bookstore
• Ep #34 | Hooking New Readers With a Compelling Book Description

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Basic Book Promotion on Social Media
• Mastering Email Marketing for Authors: A Comprehensive Guide
• 6 Author Website Tips for Success

💡 Watch These Videos

• Playlist | Author Branding
• How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Author Brand
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [5:31] “We live in an attention economy. Everybody's vying for the same attention span that you are, and attention spans are short right now. It's uber important that your first impression hits.”

🎙️ [18:43] “Those posts that you're posting on social media that you're hoping the algorithm puts it on their for you page or on their feed, or a friend of theirs shares it and it shows up or whatever… That is your elevator pitch to get people to come check out your profile. So if you're putting all your work into crafting those posts and you're ignoring the profile part of it, you're losing people.”

🎙️ [27:38] “Websites are often now thought of as either A. SEO fuel or B. a place to sell your books, right? So a lot of people don't necessarily think of them as their first impression, their front door to their brand. But you should. You should still build your homepage, build your front page, as if that's the first impression somebody's going to get of you, or your brand, or your books.”

🎙️ [41:20] “There are three things you want from a fan, reader, follower, customer. You want their attention. You want their trust. You want their money. The first two are the ones you have to work the hardest for.”

💀 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 podcast@lulu.com
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In this episode, Matt & Lauren share tips for making the most of your post-launch marketing and extending the sales cycle of your book. We talk through how to maintain the momentum of your brand growth, professional growth, and book sales by:

• Exploring new ways to approach earned promo opportunities
• Reinforcing your relationship with your existing readers or new audiences
• Investing in yourself and your expertise as an author and as a brand
• Updating your brand strategy with post-launch feedback
  
  

Dive Deeper

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #35 | Designing the Right Go-to-Market Strategy for Your Book
• Ep #37 | How to Get Your Book Into Indie Bookstores
• Ep #56 | The Indie Author's Guide to Going Wide With Your Book Distribution

💡 Read These Blog Posts

• Amazon Isn’t the Only Option: Going Wide to Diversify Your Book Sales
• How to Turn Casual Followers into Dedicated Super Fans
• How to Earn Media Attention: Essential PR Tips for Authors

💡 Watch These Videos

• You're Doing it Wrong: Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
• Why People Buy: Using Psychology to Sell More Books
• How to Build a Community of True Fans

💀 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 podcast@lulu.com
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Reader personas are a powerful tool for understanding your target audience! In this episode, Lauren & Matt explain the value of niching down into your target audience, how to create your ideal reader personas, and applying those to inform every step of your publishing journey. Whether you’re still drafting your first book or looking to inject new life into the end of a sales cycle, you have to understand who your readers are.

Don’t miss Content Entrepreneur Expo, THE event for creators, authors, and entrepreneurs. Visit cex.events to learn more and use promo code LULU100 to save $100 on your ticket 🎉

Dive Deeper

💡 Listen to These Episodes

• Ep #35 | Designing the Right Go-to-Market Strategy for Your Book
• Ep #51 | Finding Your Niche, Your Ideal Reader, and Your Target Audience
• Ep #78 | How to Use Generative AI to Sell More Books [How to Use AI for Reader Personas]

💡 Read This Blog Post

• Building Effective Reader Personas for Authors and Creators

💡 Watch These Videos

• Lulu U Playlist | Audience Building
• Why People Buy: Using Psychology to Sell More Books
  
  

Sound Bites From This Episode

🎙️ [10:22] “A reader persona, for all intents and purposes, is nothing different or short of what we would call a customer persona or a buyer persona in marketing and sales, right? Understanding who your ideal candidate is, who's the person that you're talking to within what would be a broader target audience.”

🎙️ [30:25] “I think that when you know who you're writing to and you know how to actually authentically connect with them, it does kind of subconsciously build that rapport already.”

🎙️ [44:43] “I think that's the key with post-launch, and persona updates as well, is that you really have to be able to get that data and that information. You can't go back and update a persona if you're not getting that real time information. The only way you're getting that real time information is through selling those titles direct, or having some other direct way to come in contact with the buyers of your book.”

💀 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 podcast@lulu.com
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