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There is so much going on for authors to hear about and learn!

Like how is AI impacting writing and authors? What is the truth and not just the reactions or hype? And what are the best ways to market books in 2024 (without going bankrupt on ads)?

Maybe the most important is how to learn everything you need to know as an author without having it impact your writing and marketing time?

Well, we have two masterclasses coming up that could help you!

Up first on May 4th at 7:00 pm GMT (1:00 pm EDT / 10:00 am PDT) will be a live masterclass: AI in Writing.

In an era where AI’s presence in writing is undeniable, knowledge is power. This masterclass isn’t about choosing sides; it’s about lifting the veil on AI in the literary world so you can carve out your own stance with confidence and insight.

Join us as we explore the vast potential and navigate the intricacies of AI in writing. Whether AI will be your tool, your muse, or a technology you observe from a distance, this masterclass will equip you with the understanding to make that choice yourself.

Register now for only $38 to get access to the live masterclass and the recording.

 

Then on May 18th at 7:00 pm GMT (1:00 pm EDT / 10:00 am PST) join us for the live masterclass Blogging for Authors!

Blogging can build an engaged audience, make you an influencer within your chosen genre, and elevate your book sales. During this masterclass, you’ll learn the principles needed in today’s environment for authors to succeed with blogging.

During this masterclass, you’ll learn the principles needed in today’s environment for authors to succeed with blogging. It doesn’t happen overnight. Like all good things, nothing is free. There is work involved. And for blogging to pay off the way you’re looking for, it has to be done in a way that respects the best practices of the modern Internet age.

Register now for only $38 to get access to the live masterclass and the recording.

We hope to see you in the masterclasses!

— Is there something you’d like to learn about? Leave a message and let us do the research so we can bring it to you as a new masterclass!

 

The post Join us for 2 LIVE Masterclasses: AI in Writing and Blogging for Authors! appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

StoryOrigin has a new feature for helping authors sell ebooks direct to readers.

This is a huge new feature, but before we dig into, let’s explore a few things.

The Rise of Indie Authors

Over the past decade, indie publishing has taken over the book world. Why?

Cost. Anyone can publish an ebook, and because of the internet, reach anyone anyone else the world for almost no costControl. Authors own the process, and don’t have to wait months for a publisherRoyalties. With self-publishing, you get higher royalty rates and can make more money.

This last one is key.

It’s the reason direct selling is becoming more popular. You can earn more money.

The Rise of Direct Sales

Selling direct to readers means that you are responsible for:

Processing the paymentsCollecting & remitting sales taxDelivering the ebook file downloadHandling reader tech supportMarketing channels for the book

Any individual item on this list can be a huge headache.

With large retailers, like Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, etc., indie authors don’t have to worry about all of that. They just upload their book and hit publish (though, advertising can still be a challenge!).

That comes with a downside.

While self-publishing comes with higher royalty rates, usually those retailers still take a big chunk of the sale price of your books, somewhere between 30-65%!

That’s where StoryOrigin + Lemon Squeezy come in.

StoryOrigin handles:

Delivering the ebook file downloadHandling reader tech supportMarketing channels for the book

While, Lemon Squeezy handles:

Processing the paymentsCollecting & remitting sales tax

With this combination, you can earn substantially more from each sale.

The Math

The main cost for authors with this setup is the transaction processing fees. Lemon Squeezy charges $0.50 + 5% per transaction, or $0.30 + 5% per transaction if you integrate your StoryOrigin account with Lemon Squeezy.

This is the best pricing you can possibly get for transaction processing fees if you want to do direct sales on a platform that acts as the Merchant of Record (meaning the payment processor is responsible for collecting & remitting sales tax).

Other Merchant of Record platforms like PayHip or Gumroad charge 5-10% fees ON TOP OF normal credit card or Paypal processing fees (usually $0.30 + 2.9%) meaning that you’re paying $0.30 + ~8-13%.

Regardless of which payment processor you choose to use, there is always going to be a minimum fixed fee of $0.30 per transaction.

So, if you’re selling an ebook for $0.99, you’re not going to be making much more money than you would if you just sold your ebook via traditional retailers. (In certain cases, you might even make more by selling a $0.99 ebook via traditional retailers.)

Thus, authors are better off selling higher priced products due to the fixed portion of the transaction fees.

Let’s just take a quick look at what you would earn at various price points (only accounting for the fixed fee):

$1 – $0.30 = $0.70 or 70% of the sale price.$10 – $0.30 = $9.70 or 97% of the sale price.$25 – $0.30 = $24.70 or 99% of the sale price.

You might be thinking, “How could I sell an ebook for $25?”

That’s where upselling comes in!

Most authors make the first book in their series free or cheap to entice readers to start into a series.

If readers like the first book, they’ll usually end up buying every book in the series.

So, instead of selling each individual book for $3 or $4 in separate transactions (and paying the $0.30 transaction fee each time), you sell the entire series for $15 to $25.

Let’s say you have a 6 book series. The 1st is $1, and the other 5 are $4 each.

If you sell them individually, you will make $21 – $1.80 = $19.20 in profit or 91% of the sale price.

Alternatively, you could sell the complete bundle for $20 (a 5% discount for the reader), and you would make $20 – $0.30 = $19.70 in profit or 99% of the sale price.

Again, we’re only looking at the fixed fee discount, and we’re assuming that there’s a 100% read-through-rate for the series when you sell them individually.

However, your read-through-rate for the series will never be 100%, so for every 100 copies of Book 1 that you sell in the series, you might only be selling 70 copies of Book 6.

That means, you’ll usually still make more money even if you discount the series bundle by a much larger percentage (even 20% or 30%). That’s better for both you and your readers!

Other Benefits

Retailers are incentivized to sell A book, not YOUR book.

When readers land on your book page on a retailer, they’ll see books listed by other authors in the same or similar genre, perhaps books with more reviews or more enticing cover art, etc.

That makes running ads on Facebook, etc. more expensive for you as an author, because many readers directed to your sales pages on a retailers will end up clicking on other books or products.

When you sell directly from your website / domain, there are no other books or products to distract potential buyers.

You have their attention, making your advertising more effective.

When you do make a direct sale, you can also collect that reader’s email address, so you can build a direct relationship with your customers through your email list.

Maintaining a mailing list is one of the best ways to market yourself as an author, because you can connect directly with your readers every time you have a new release.

You don’t need to pay for advertising each new release, because you can simply email your existing audience.

Having readers’ email addresses allows you to do things like create “look-alike” audiences with Facebook ads, so you can reach similar audiences to the people that have already bought your books.

Getting good at ads platforms like Facebook, etc. can be quite daunting though: figuring out targeting, bidding strategies, A/B testing, etc. is challenging.

When you set up your direct sales pages with StoryOrigin, you are also given another avenue for advertising your books: arranging Newsletter Swaps or joining Group Promotions.

Authors can collaborate with other creators or join collective platforms to pool resources, expand reach, and cross-promote each other’s works. This collaborative approach can enhance visibility and attract a broader audience.

At the end of the day, all you need to do is put a link for the cross-promotion in your newsletters – a task that won’t require constant monitoring and adjustment.

Conclusion

Direct sales opens an entirely new world for many authors and using services like StoryOrigin to enable your direct sales significantly lessens the burden.

Take ownership of your career, connect with readers, and maximize your potential profit on each book sale.

Looking ahead, the future of direct book sales seems promising. As more authors embrace this approach, expect readers to seek out more opportunities to buy directly from authors.

As you explore direct sales for yourself, remember the key aspects of direct sales:

Leverage upselling strategies, such as bundling series booksEliminate distractions on retail platforms, making advertising more effective and allowing authors to focus on cultivating their audienceCollaborate with other authors through platforms like StoryOrigin to reach more readers

The post The Rise of Direct Book Sales: A Game Changer for Authors and Readers appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Be the man in the arena.

Yes, I mean this in regards to Theodore Roosevelt’s speech Citizenship in a Republic. Yes, I mean this in regards to my gladiator novels. Yes, because the gap between the human experience and the imagination required to write about it is vast. Don’t believe me? Ask any fantasy author about their Google search history. We have to ask The Google some wild questions that would most certainly put us on some federal agency’s watchlist. But there are times where we as authors can narrow the gap.

For me, the gap that I realized I could help narrow in my books was the physicality of being a gladiator. So often when reading a story, combat scenes are often quickly glossed over. Some readers even say they are boring, and I agree, they certainly can be because combat scenes don’t necessarily move the plot forward. If it were in a screenplay format, it might just say [Fight Scene] and move on, so some writers do something similar. The fight happens. The protagonist wins. We move on. However, there’s so much more that it could be. In my writing, I wanted to capture that heart-pumping, sweat-dripping action and make my readers feel something. But to do so, I had to first put myself in the arena (at least to the best that I could)!

As a fitness professional for the last fourteen years with experience in some rather unconventional training modalities it didn’t take me long to start devising workouts for myself that could help simulate the training gladiators likely went through. Though it’s nowhere near a one to one experience of fighting on the sands of the arena, it did allow me the ability to feel the weight of a sword, the range of a staff, or the momentum of a mace or club. It quickly highlighted the importance of footwork, edge alignment, and the timing of stringing together different attacks to maximize the efficiency of strikes. When things like effective range of weaponry or gaining leverage during binds can make all the difference between life and death in combat, it is important to make certain they are not neglected in the writing.

How to Write Fight Scenes That Feel Authentic

However, since these interests don’t align with everyone’s and one doesn’t need to swing a sword in order to describe it in a compelling fashion, I have developed a four quadrant system to write fight scenes that slap. They are as follows: Sensations, Emotions, Environmental factors, and Surroundings [SEES].

Sensations—Sensations are the physical feelings that come with combat. The heat of the sun glaring down on your armor, attempting to worm its way inside. The sweat trickling down your brow and spanning the length of your nose before clinging to the tip and eventually falling to the ground. The way the sand feels between your toes, the moisture of your palms as you strangle the hilt of your sword. The weight of the armor threatening to stoop your posture. These sensations paint the picture to make the scene come alive, but once the fighting starts there are more sensations to be mindful of. The vibration down the shaft of a spear when it is slapped aside; the tension building within your muscles as fatigue begins to set in; the tightness in your chest as your lungs struggle to consume air through the narrow slit of your helmet; the delicate balance between the pains of injury and the benefits of adrenaline. All of these considerations make the combat come alive.

Emotions—Different characters will respond differently to being in a combat scenario based on their experience, their advantages or disadvantages, their desire to fight, the person or people they are up against and why—all of these factors cannot be neglected regardless of how technically sound your combat scenes are described. We are human beings and these types of scenarios trigger our fight/flight/freeze response; even if the stakes are low, it will trigger some sort of emotional response in just about everyone. And if it doesn’t, that might even say more about your character, so do it with intentionality!

Feel the environmental conditions

Environment—Earlier I mentioned the sand beneath a fighter’s feet, squishing between their toes. With a focus on the environment, I’m not talking about the sensations caused by the environment, but rather the environment’s effect on the combatant. Though the sand is soft and forgiving, it is also unstable, uneven, and difficult to generate force from. Same thing with sweat, but instead of using it to describe the salty taste or the way it stings a character’s eyes, it can be used as an environmental factor in which it changes the combatant’s vision. Think it’s strange for this to be included in “environment?” Let me change the scenario. Let’s say the combatants are fighting in a well-lit room and suddenly the lights go out. This similarly changes the landscape of the combat scene, however it is doing it to everyone and not just one character.

Surroundings—Surroundings have a tremendous capacity to influence a fight. Think about a Jackie Chan movie. He’s almost always outnumbered, but he’s not just punching and kicking. Sure he’s doing that too, but so are the people he’s up against. What separates him from them is his ability to utilize his surroundings to his advantage. Everything becomes a weapon. A tablecloth, a fallen chair, an open door—the way he uses his surroundings to influence the fight makes it interesting and dynamic. Additionally, surroundings can also include bystanders or people watching the combatants. Depending on the scenario, this may influence the combatants emotions, sensations, or environment. And that’s the best part, each quadrant feeds into the other. The interconnectedness makes for great combat scenes.

Conclusion

So even if you don’t want to start training with swords, clubs, maces, and staves, there is so much you can do to write better fight scenes! Whether you choose to invest time, energy, resources into learning the skills you want to write about to better describe them, or you invest the time, energy, resources into the writing craft, either way, you need to put your blood, sweat, and tears in. Be the man in the arena.

The post Improve Your Fight Scenes with Fitness Training! appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

When we talk about world-shaping forces, climate and terrain are inextricably locked in an endless cycle of transformation. The presence and placement of mountain ranges and oceans can have a dramatic effect on weather patterns. On a geological time scale, the effects of rain, wind, snow, and heat can erode mountains, carve canyons, thaw glaciers and lower (or raise) sea levels.

But these global elements don’t just influence each other. A world shapes the people in it, so the choices you make in worldbuilding have the power to shape cultures, and those cultures shape individual characters. Climate and terrain can set the stage for global conflicts. They can represent obstacles and opportunities in your story, at both the character and world level.

Let’s take a look at some important worldbuilding questions (these over on World Anvil are great!) around climate and terrain, and see how you can utilize them to add conflict, theme and weight to your fictional world.

How can climate challenge your characters?

In our real world, climate and weather can be a driving force behind everything from trade routes to migration patterns. The existence of trade winds in a world influences what materials, foods, and other resources are accessible to different peoples. Cultural practices and traditions are often anchored in the seasons. Weather affects which crops can be grown and the harvest seasons, which affects cuisine and culture.

Beyond these obvious influences, people who grow up in deserts have a different relationship to water than people who grow up in rainy climates. A river in the path of a desert denizen may present a bigger challenge than it does for a rainforest dweller.

A cold climate means people need to spend resources on heat – what are they diverting those resources away from? Or have they evolved to adapt to a colder environment? Those regions may also have a shorter growing season, so one single bad crop could potentially be devastating to a whole community.

How can climate impact your plot?

Climate and weather conditions can add dramatic tension to the plot of your novel, story, screenplay or game. An oncoming monsoon season or winter freeze (or thaw) can create a ticking clock or deadline – to coin a phrase, “winter is coming.” Perhaps characters can only safely travel before the roads flood? Or if they fail to cross a frozen lake while the ice is thick enough, it will mean a much longer, more arduous journey?

Floods, drought, blizzards and heat waves can all create conflicts over resources. Water, fuel, food and shelter can all become objects of contention for groups stressed by extreme weather.

Climate change can also reveal things that were previously hidden, creating new mysteries for your protagonists to explore. A good real world example of this is Lake Mead in the U.S. As the level of the water has receded in recent years, the remains of several victims of foul play and accidents have been discovered. In your world, climate change, or dramatic shifts in the weather, might reveal the entrance to previously-hidden ruins of a lost civilization.

Not to mention that man vs. nature is a classic plot point all of its own, and climate plays a big part in that struggle!

How can terrain challenge your characters?

Throwing your characters into unfamiliar surroundings can be an easy way to show how they handle stress or the unexpected. People tend to feel comfortable with the familiar, and fear what they haven’t experienced.

A character who grew up in the open plains may fear heights. Someone from the mountains may feel anxious and exposed in an environment of wide, open spaces. People who grow up in coastal cities or seafaring societies can usually swim – and if they can’t, it is probably a bigger deal (and potentially a source of embarrassment or shame). What skills do people need to thrive based on their physical environment? How could not having those capabilities cause a person to be “othered” by their society, and create the sense of being an outcast?

Oceans, mountains and deserts can isolate groups and cultures. For some characters, just leaving home to start an adventure can be a challenge that feels almost insurmountable. And on the other hand, people may flee to a mountain, desert or across a sea to escape. That introduces interesting complexity for both the hunter and the hunted.

Which brings us to another important consideration. In speculative fiction, “terrain” may not always mean “terra firma.” It could mean the physical environment of a space station or starship. Maybe your spacer heroine feels unsettled without the hum of a star drive beneath her feet? Moving in real gravity could feel exhausting to a hero acclimated to a simulated version. And don’t even get me started on pooping in space.

How can terrain impact your plot?

Those natural borders – oceans, rivers, mountains and deserts – can lead to national conflicts. And they can certainly create areas of tactical advantage or disadvantage. But terrain doesn’t need to be visually dramatic to incite narrative drama. An open plain can serve as fertile farmland to be contested, and an exposed, barren “no man’s land” when that conflict escalates to war.

Difficult, dangerous terrain can create a forbidding journey for your quest plot. Terrain can also contribute to mood and atmosphere, building tension and foreshadowing future threats. Ask yourself what kind of creatures and cultures would rise from this particular environment?

Terrain also includes natural landmarks that may have thematic or symbolic significance, for example a mountain called Mount Doom sets some heavy expectations. These landmarks can also be a way to establish pacing, as well. If you tell your readers, players or audience that Lake Waterford is several week’s journey away, but still only halfway to the hero’s destination, you’ve set the expectation of an epic tale.

How to start worldbuilding

I hope these suggestions help you think more deeply about the effects climate and terrain can have on your story. These elements may exist in the background of your prose, but they are important forces that shape the characters and larger conflicts in your world.

If you’d like to dive headfirst into the worldbuilding of your story, check out World Anvil! It’s a tool custom-built to create a rich, interactive world bible for writers and game masters. You can create a free account or get 40% OFF premium with the code AMWRITINGFANTASY.

The post Climate and Terrain in Your Fantasy World: Their Impact on Plot and Character Challenges appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Creating content is the cornerstone of building a strong online presence for any author. Yet, how can you keep track of all your blog posts, measure their performance, and use this information to increase your book sales?

The answer is simpler than you might think: create a blog inventory.

This step-by-step guide will show you how to utilize your blog inventory effectively, and to leverage your content to sell more books.

What You'll Learn

What is a Blog Inventory?Why Do You Need a Blog Inventory?Using Blog Inventory for Content MarketingHow to Create a Blog InventoryReady to Boost Your Skills?What is a Blog Inventory?

A blog inventory is a strategic tool for content creators that offers an organized and comprehensive overview of all your published blog content. It’s essentially a spreadsheet where you log key details about each of your blog posts.

This might sound straightforward, but the power lies in the details you choose to include and the insights they provide.

Our unique blog inventory template focuses on the following key metrics:

URL: The specific web address for each post. This is important for understanding the individual performance of each piece of content and for internal linking purposes.Title: The name of each blog post. This aids in avoiding content repetition and helps identify successful headline strategies.Meta Description: A brief summary of your blog post that appears in search engine results. Tracking this ensures each post is optimized for attracting clicks from search results.Keywords: The SEO keywords you aimed to rank for in each post. Tracking these can reveal which keywords perform best, guiding future SEO efforts.URL Slug: The portion of the URL that identifies a specific page in an easy-to-read manner. It’s critical for SEO and user experience.Date Created: When each post was published. This can help identify any trends related to the timing of successful posts.Unique Page Visits: The number of individual users who have visited a specific blog post. This metric is fundamental for understanding your audience size and post popularity.Inbound Links: The number of external links pointing to your blog posts. This is crucial for SEO, as it can significantly influence your search engine ranking.Social Media Metrics: These can include the number of shares, likes, or comments on each post across different social platforms. This data can provide insights into your content’s social engagement.

While there are numerous other metrics that could be tracked, our template focuses on these key data points to avoid overwhelming authors while ensuring the process is manageable and efficient. Remember, the value of a blog inventory lies not in tracking every possible metric, but in carefully choosing the ones that align with your specific goals and provide actionable insights.

At the end of this post, you will find a link to download our blog inventory template for free. This ready-to-use tool will streamline your content analysis process and help you harness the full power of your blog.

Why Do You Need a Blog Inventory?

The power of a blog inventory lies in its ability to provide a strategic framework for content analysis and performance tracking. At first glance, it might seem like just another spreadsheet, but the potential insights it offers can significantly impact your content marketing strategy and overall online presence.

One of the primary benefits of maintaining a blog inventory is performance analysis. By tracking unique page visits and social media metrics, you gain a clear understanding of which blog posts are resonating most with your audience. This isn’t merely about who’s reading your content – it’s about who’s engaging with it, sharing it, and contributing to the discussions it sparks.

Additionally, a blog inventory supports your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Metrics like keywords, meta descriptions, and inbound links give a clear picture of how effectively your posts are optimized for search engines. This ongoing SEO analysis allows for continuous adjustments and improvements, increasing your blog’s visibility on search engine results pages.

The value of a blog inventory also extends into content planning. Keeping a clear record of your post titles and publishing dates helps maintain a consistent content production schedule, avoids repetition, and could reveal patterns relating to successful post timing or seasonal trends.

Interestingly, a blog inventory can also act as a key to identifying influential factors. By comparing your blog metrics, you can spot correlations and patterns. For instance, you might find that posts featuring certain keywords consistently result in more unique page visits or social media shares. These insights can guide future content creation and SEO strategies.

More than just a tool for optimization, a blog inventory helps with effective resource allocation. It directs your time and energy towards strategies that offer maximum returns. For example, if posts on certain topics consistently garner more visits and shares, it might be worth focusing more on creating similar content.

In the long run, a well-maintained blog inventory contributes to building your online credibility and authority. Consistent tracking and improvement of your blog’s performance signal your commitment to providing valuable content, which in turn enhances your reputation as an authority in your field. This credibility is instrumental in attracting and retaining readers.

Most importantly, a blog inventory can have a direct impact on your book sales. By understanding your audience’s interests through blog performance and creating resonating content, you nurture a loyal readership. This established relationship can lead to increased interest in your books, driving sales without resorting to hard-sell tactics.

Maintaining a blog inventory does require effort, but the wealth of insights it offers makes it an invaluable tool for every author. And to make this process simpler, we’ve created a blog inventory template that you can download for free at the end of this post. This ready-to-use tool is designed to streamline your content analysis and help you harness the full power of your blog.

Using Blog Inventory for Content Marketing

Harnessing the power of a blog inventory can revolutionize your content marketing efforts. Here’s how:

Identify High-Performing Content: With your blog inventory, you can easily pinpoint which of your posts are generating the most unique page visits and social media engagement. These high-performing posts hold valuable insights into the kind of content that resonates most with your audience. You can analyze these posts to understand what they have in common—Is it the topics? The style of writing? The use of certain keywords? This information can guide your content creation strategy moving forward, helping you consistently produce content that is more likely to engage your readers and attract new ones.

Optimize SEO Efforts: SEO is a critical aspect of content marketing. Your blog inventory can help you fine-tune your SEO strategy by providing insights into the effectiveness of your keywords, meta descriptions, and URL slugs. By regularly reviewing and updating these elements based on your blog inventory data, you can improve your search engine ranking, making your content more visible and accessible to potential readers.

Improve Social Media Engagement: By tracking social media metrics in your blog inventory, you can identify which posts generate the most shares, likes, and comments on different platforms. This can provide insights into the type of content that performs best on each platform, helping you tailor your social media strategy accordingly. You can also identify which social media platforms drive the most traffic to your blog, allowing you to focus your efforts where they will have the most impact.

Strategize Content Development: Your blog inventory can aid in planning your content calendar. By tracking when you published each post, you can identify any patterns or trends. For example, you might find that posts published on certain days of the week or times of the year get more engagement. You can use these insights to schedule future posts when they’re most likely to be successful.

Track and Nurture Inbound Links: Inbound links (links from other sites to your blog) are a crucial factor in SEO. Your blog inventory can help you monitor these links, understand which posts are attracting them, and why. This can inform your future content and SEO strategies to attract more of these valuable inbound links.

Using a blog inventory for content marketing is like having a compass for your blog—it gives you direction, helps you make informed decisions, and ultimately leads you toward your goal of selling more books without the use of paid advertising.

Remember, our blog inventory template is available for free just below to help you get started.

How to Create a Blog Inventory

We’ve designed an easy-to-use Excel template to help you build your blog inventory. With this tool, you’ll be able to log all the necessary information about each of your blog posts and monitor their performance. Let’s delve into the steps:

Step 1: Download the free Excel blog inventory template here: Blog Inventory MetricsStep 2: Start filling in the rows with your blog posts. Each row corresponds to a different blog post.Step 3: Fill in the relevant details, such as the post’s title, date of publication, targeted keywords, SEO score, number of views, and number of social shares.Step 4: Update the inventory regularly. As you post new content, add the details to your inventory. Regularly update the performance metrics too.Step 5: Analyze the data. Look for patterns in your most successful posts. What topics, styles, or keywords seem to attract the most views or shares?

With the blog inventory, you can create a data-driven blog strategy that is tailored to your audience’s interests. It can also play a crucial role in your wider marketing strategy.

Ready to Boost Your Skills?

Understanding your blog’s performance through a blog inventory is a great first step, but there’s so much more to content marketing. How can you turn your blog into a compelling platform that drives book sales?

That’s where our Skill Booster comes into play. Our Skill Booster is a free online workshop designed to help authors like you amplify your marketing skills without relying on paid advertising.

During the workshop, we delve deeper into content marketing strategies that can help you attract and retain a loyal readership, boost your online presence, and ultimately drive book sales.

By applying the knowledge gained from your blog inventory and pairing it with the strategies and tips shared during the Skill Booster, you’ll be armed with a potent combination to increase your success as an author. So, are you ready to take your content marketing skills to the next level?

Don’t forget to download our blog inventory template and sign up for the Skill Booster workshop.

Let’s turn your blog into a powerful platform for selling books!

The post Boost Your Book Sales with a Blog Inventory: A Guide for Authors appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

You’ve probably read the articles and seen the images because AI image generators are making waves—both good and bad. From an AI image that have won a fair contest, to the controversy of using artist’s artwork without their permission, to an author having to turn down a book cover award when it was revealed the cover artist lied about having used AI generated images, there is a lot going on in the news about AI images.

But man, when you see some of the images AI have generated… well, you see why they do win awards (even if dishonestly winning awards).

And so, you may be wondering if you can use AI generated images in your next book cover—and if you should?! And we’ll cover all of that and more in this post. Along with some great images, of course! 😉 Now let’s put some of these AI generators head to head and see what might help you with your next book cover.

The Controversy with AI Images

I’ve you’ve heard about AI images, then you’ve most likely heard some of the controversy with them. There are a few issues with AI generated images, ranging from an outcry similar to just about every big innovation change to some really key points that have yet to be addressed. Some of the main ones are…

Job loss: With every great technology change, there has been a wailing that it will cause job loss. Cameras were going to end painting. Computers would end… well, something. While I’m admittedly minimizing this point, it is valid. There will be artists and designers who lose work and employment over this. If you can generate a book cover for a simple monthly fee to access great images, would you spend hundreds of dollars to hire a designer? As a graphic designer myself, I get this. But I’m also not panicked. These tools are amazingly easy and incredibly frustrating at the same time. I think of them as another tool in my tool bag, just like a new brush. AI might become an element in my designs. I will know how to use it. But it will not replace everything that has to do with art. It still cannot make an actual oil painting or a watercolor. And even with digital work, I’ve not found an AI image that didn’t need some additional tweaks to make it finished and truly stunning.Skill loss: It takes years and a lot of practice to build the skill to create images, not to mention a lot of study of techniques and theory in composition, color, symbolism, etc. When you can create a strong and stunning image with just a few simple prompts, artists will have to wonder what is the point to learn all of those things and spend decades perfecting their technique? Could we have a future where the only “great” artists are computers? I doubt it, but those who master the ability outside of the AI realm will become fewer.Exploitation of artists: In the case of most of the AI image generators, the AI was trained by ingesting hundreds of thousands of images to learn color, composition, what humans like to see, etc. Some of that artwork is from famous dead artists like Monet, Picasso, and Rembrandt. But many, many other images are from modern day artists who might have shared images on social media or their websites where those original images might be for sale or listed in a portfolio. Just like you shouldn’t be taking someone else’s social media pics and using them as your own without asking permission, these images were used without the artist’s permission (or knowledge). Now that this major flaw and artistic “theft” has been called out, most of the creators of these image generators are completely ignoring artist’s pleas to have their images removed from the data banks. While I doubt the model training wasn’t done with the intent to plagiarize other artist’s works, the fact that companies are ignore the issue is condescending and will certainly not make the issue go away.Copyright issues: Who owns an AI image? When a painting is created by an artist, the artist owns the copyright unless they sell it. But an AI can’t own a copyright, so does the person writing the prompt own it? What about the artists’ whose work it is based on? Should they not have a piece of the copyright. Right now, the answer is simply “No.” No one owns the copyright to AI generated artwork and you can’t apply to have it copyrighted. It is in the public domain and so has a creative commons license. If you aren’t familiar with this term, it means that anyone is free to use the image. So, if you generate an awesome AI image, someone else is free to use it as well.Biases: AI image generators are trained on existing images, including a wealth of historical images. Do you know what is wrong with a lot of these images? They are full of white people acting supreme. Other cultures are often minimized and sometimes denigrated. Now, the AI model thinks that is how these people should be portrayed. Pretty sick, right? And I’ve already seen this in action. If you put in a generic prompt like you’ll see in this post, you often get a white girl, usually blonde and blue eyed. Yes, you can ask for a black heroine and will often get a great image, but you have to ask. And sometimes some societal biases will leak through still. Art that challenges or changes perceptions is more difficult to make using an AI image generator. If you want something cutting edge and shifts perspectives… well, you’ll have to make some really fantastically worded prompts, add in elements outside of an image generator, or hire an artist with vision.

There are other controversies out there about AI generated art, but this covers the biggest. You’ll have to decide if you think the impacts of using AI generated images is worth the costs. And be aware of the biases that come out. When you see every suggested image having a white character, take the time to question that. Put in a different prompt to specify people of color or different sexuality.

The fact that you can do that, that you can with the change of a few words ask for a Native American starship captain instead of scouring hundreds of stock image to try to find a photo or hire a custom image to be created, is actually rather awesome and in some ways levels the field. Because, I can promise you, it is hard to find good stock photography of minorities that aren’t already biased (if they exist at all).

Our AI Image Generator Test Scenario

We need a standard to compare these numerous image generation tools. So, let’s say we have a current book series and we are looking to write book 3 and want something similar. So, we have a base look and brand that we want to continue so we don’t have to re-do the previous two books.

You might think this is a harsh scenario. Isn’t it easy to just put in a prompt and make a cover? Yes, but this scenario will give us a few extra things to test for—rather than just generating an awesome image we can slap on a book. Here, we get to see if we can control the branding and feel for a series and author. This is something that we know hiring a book cover artist can accomplish. But can AI stand up to that test?

And it is a real world scenario. With AI generation coming out now, there will be authors in the middle of a series that will have to decide how to round out the rest of the book covers. Redo them all or will switching to AI be seamless?

With that, I’m offering my books up as the experiment and we are going to look for book 3 in this series (and if you are one of my readers, no, I’m not recovering the real book 3 or writing another book in the series. I’m just using this as a test here. 😆)

As you can see, I’m going to probably have a dragon on the cover. I’m doing this NOT just because dragons are awesome (🤣) but because dragons have been notoriously difficult for book cover artists. There are only so many stock photos, paintings, drawings, 3D images of dragons to choose from. Which meant that a lot of book covers used the same dragon images. Will AI allow us to finally have something new? Let’s find out!

Let’s assume I want for this one a young woman hiding from a dragon. I’ll use this as my prompt to test a few of the image generators out there.

AI Image Generator Dall-E 2

Dall-E and the latest version Dall-E 2 are image generators created by OpenAI, which is the same company who created ChatGPT. So, you have to feel a little excited about trying out their image generator. Unlike most/many of the image generators out there, it also allows you to upload a base image.

Does this mean that I can upload one of the series covers, put in a prompt, and presto, have book 3 created with a look that matches. OMG, wouldn’t that be sweet? Well, let’s see.

First off, the layout of Dall-E is very easy to dive into. No confusion here. But we are going to go straight for the “Upload and Image” function, which is in beta phase right now.

Uploading my book 2 cover with the hopes of using it as a basis for something new, I immediately hit a snag. A square generation frame box appears.

My book cover isn’t square and this generation box doesn’t even expand to cover the full width of the cover. Oh, well, we’ve come this far. Let’s see where this goes!

Honestly, not very far. I enter first a prompt to get a sandy haired woman hiding from a dragon. No changes. So I try again with my scenario prompt of a young woman hiding from a dragon. As you can see from the set of images above, I don’t see any changes. Is something supposed to happen here?

Well, a little confused, I decide to just try the general prompt and see where that gets me.

Oooh. Just… umm… Yeah, let’s try that again.

So, yay, I did get one minority heroine there. But the rest… I’m not even going to get into the fact that all of these images are square, so completely useless for a book cover because those images… Just no. I think most 7 year olds could handle layering images in Photoshop or Procreate better than this. There isn’t even a dragon in the last two! And the dragons I did get 🤮. And what is with the weird glare in the the two left images just above? The first try amusingly featured books for three of the four tries and the one looks like a tiny segment of an actual book cover… not a very good one though.

Before I move on, I will say that I have played with Dall-E to generate “real world” images. Like someone typing at a computer. Or pencils on paper. Something simple and mundane that doesn’t feature fantasy creatures. In those cases, it works really well. But you still end up with a square image, which is limiting if you want a book cover. Especially with the size that you can download from Dall-E. If you expand the image and then crop just a second for a book cover, you’ll end up with a size too small for most platforms or a blurry book cover.

With Dall-E run through its paces, let’s move on…

Text to Image Generator StarryAI

StarryAi is another AI text generator. I couldn’t find much about the company behind it, how the AI model was trained, or when it was released, but it has a fantasy lean to it and I thought I’d try it out.

You start with 25 free credits to use and can get additional free ones for completing prompts such as setting up your account or simply showing up every day. And, of course, you can buy more credits.

To start with, you can choose a style to help guide what your final image will look like. That is a helpful feature. Though, most of the text to image generators will create a style if you type it into the prompt. This basically makes that process more specific (and also requires a paid account).

Though, nicely enough, you can upload a start image! So, just like Dall-E, I’m immediately hopeful that I’ll be able to generate an image based on my existing book cover. Maybe?

It does give me options if I want to use the start image as color, structure, depth, or scribble… let’s say I want to keep this structure and see what happens.

Ok, wow. This is the best of the four versions I was given. One was rather… lewd. Ummm… and several of the others definitely show a bias. The picture I uploaded has a fully clothed woman on the cover. The results all have a lot more skin showing—in some cases with bare legs as well. One the pose is very suggestive (and that isn’t even the lewd one!). Not too bad of a dragon head on this one though, even if the background wings/scaly tree is a bit odd.

Let’s just try to generate off of the color and see what happens.

This was the best of the four that were generated. Again, not… exciting? The style is rudimentary at best and it is still sticking to the structure even though I switched the input to color. Oh well, definitely disappointing if I want to keep a theme for my book covers. Let’s just try something completely new using our start prompt of a teenage girl hiding in the woods from a dragon. I’ll keep the fantasy style and see how it goes.

These were interesting enough that I wanted to show you all four at once instead of just one. The final two aren’t horrible for character images, even if both are immediately assumed to be white girls who have a preference for showing off their legs by wearing short skirts. No bias there… nope. 🙄

There is something about the first one, the girl with the purple hair… and four arms… that I quite like. Her outfit is somewhere between elvish and a ranger. And purple hair with all that green—cool! But four arms… maybe if I re-rolled it a few times I’d get something that is worth keeping because right now her face is messed up and, yeah, four arms. The second one… just no again. A blonde wearing a mini-skirt… at least she almost looks to be hiding?

Let’s try using the prompt with a different style such as abstract world, since I’m sort of looking for a world setting image.

You can see I added to the description as well as changed the prompt style to “abstract world.” These are… interesting. The figure is very abstract and there are no dragons except for maybe a strange toothed and scaled log in the third one from left. But, this is something and an improvement over Dall-E.

For the heck of it, let’s try again!

Ok, these are getting pretty cool! There are dragonish creatures, even if most blend into trees or vines or just seem to have extra additions to their body. And that second one from left looks more like a cobra neck? But I quite like the glowy light in them and the third one from left has some elements I’m really drawn to—even if the dragon looks to have an extra arm. The tiny, stylized figure doesn’t fit my book cover series and all of these are square since I’m not paying for pro, but this is giving me world building ideas for a different story. That’s not a bad result!

Just for the heck of it, I want to see what StarryAI can do and I’m going to try a prompt with a totally different look. hmmm… what does my story look like in Manga if I wanted to turn it into a graphic novel? 😆

Interesting! I really don’t mind the fourth image (on the far right). The first one isn’t horrible. Really, if you are into this style none are bad even if the horrible stereotypes of tight clothes and lots of cleavage are certainly on full display. Oh and look, all the girls are white! Sigh.

I think we’ve seen what StarryAI can do. It has some possibilities. Time to move on…

Text to Image Generator Stable Diffusion

I’ve been getting advertisements for Stable Diffusion text to image generator for weeks now. So, hey, what a perfect time to try it out?! 😆

Stable Diffusion has been out since August 2022 but it hasn’t made as big as a splash as other text to Image generators such as Midjourney. But it is 100% free and going to it’s splash screen and examples, it can generate some amazing fantasy images. So, let’s give it a try.

The prompt screen is a lot like Dall-E with just a simple bar to input for images. I’m not even asked to create an account or anything. Just bam, go make images. Awesome, but… well, we’ll come back to the but in a few minutes. Instead, let’s take the initiative and dive right in with our prompt.

For first try, we get this…

I see right away that Stable Diffusion is going to take my “book cover style” to heart and add actual text to the book cover. Otherwise, the images drawn are… childish? They might fit a children’s book but not something contemporary for adults—at least not something that will hold up in the market.

And I’d LOVE to show you the bottom two images. I thought I’d copied them, but… I can’t find them. AND since I didn’t have to make an account, my images aren’t saved. That is the drawback with this one. I can’t even show you that there are no options for generating new versions based on one of the images above or upscaling to a final image, because those options don’t exist in Stable Diffusion. You simply click on the picture you like—when you get one you like—and download. Or try again and lose all previous tries.

Plus, you’ll notice the images are square, which means the fake text for book names and author are cut off. If you click on the image, you don’t see more other than what is there right now (well, except for the bottom two, which I didn’t screenshot properly! 🤦🏼‍♀️)

Well, with that in mind, let’s see if we can get something better by removing the book cover style.

Those are well… interesting. Slightly horrible? The bottom right one is just WTF?

Ok, maybe it’s me and my prompt. I don’t want a drawing style but something almost real. So let’s change the prompt and try again.

Well, there is a bit more realism. I won’t say I like the results any better. The dragons still look painted and not exactly anatomically possible except maybe the bottom left one. That one is the best out of any of the four.

But the one that gets me is the one of the bottom right. Stable Diffusion actually added a fake watermark over the girl as if this were a stock photography website and I had to buy the image. Which means this AI generator was trained using unpurchased stock photography. That actually makes me feel ill. Not only do artists not have the right to opt out of having their images used to train AI image generators to make artwork that copies their style without acknowledging or paying them, now even the originals are simply being scrapped from stock websites without compensating them. Sheesh.

Ok, I’m done here.

Text to Image Generator Adobe Firefly

I’m a graphic artist, so Adobe products are sort of like my best friends. I’m a Photoshop expert and not too far behind in Illustrator. So when I heard Adobe had created a text to image generator called Firefly that worked in Photoshop Beta, I was hyper-excited. And what is even better is that it was built using only images available in Adobe stock photography. In other words, artists and photographers who are already working with Adobe.

If that isn’t brilliant enough, they also built it with parity in mind. In other words, if you search for something like a doctor wearing a stethoscope, you’ll most likely get images of two woman and two men. Most likely all or most will also be a minority ethnicity. That is just so wonderful.

Could this be the text to image generator that I’ve been looking for?

First of all, Adobe Firefly is currently only available in Photoshop Beta, so it hasn’t been released to the public yet. But I have access to that, so not a problem. With Photoshop Beta loaded, I open up a canvas actually size to fit a book cover (yay!) and type in my prompt into the text box and hit go.

As you can see, I get three images to choose from and all of them are… well… The girls look okay, even if the larger version in the image above has extra fingers. But the dragons… This is the problem with only scraping Adobe stock photography and that circles us back to the problem that there just isn’t that many good dragon images. And despite the desire to include minorities, all three girls are white.

Well, that is slightly disappointing but maybe the image results will improve before they release the full version. For now, let’s do something that none of the other text to image generators can do: build an image layer by layer.

If you haven’t used Photoshop before, the key to how it works is by having different images on different layers. That way you can move images around without affecting the ones above or below it. And you can do the same thing with the image generator!

So let’s start with adding in a forest background and a woman in the picture.

Well, the forest turned out pretty good. I selected a misty looking one out of the three I got from my request. But you can see the girl in all three pictures isn’t right. Her face is rendered poorly. I asked for a roman style dress and ended up with three woman who might look better in a horror story rather than fantasy. I could keep playing with this and trying for a different pose. The prompt generator renders a shape based on what shape you select. I made a rather square box in the bottom right of the image and got rather square images of woman standing like boards. If I did an outline more like someone running, the result would probably be totally different.

In general though, Adobe Firefly is able to keep the lighting, tone, perspective, and focus consistent as it adds in different layers. These are aspects that are incredibly difficult and time consuming for someone doing photocompositing. So, I am still really excited about this technique… I just think it might have some more growing to do.

Still, let’s finish this up and see if we can’t get a better dragon if I highlight an area that looks like a head…

Well, that is sort of what I expected based on the first image. I get a dragon’s head that looks more like a paper mache sculpture for all three options. This just won’t do for a book cover. Unfortunately, for fantasy work at least, Adobe Firefly isn’t there yet.

But I’m not out of options yet, because there are a few other things this AI can do integrated with Photoshop. For example, I can upload my book 2 cover and make changes to it and possibly even extend it.

Let’s start with extending the cover. Say that I had only purchased an ebook cover and I want to now make it a paperback wrap. Adobe Firefly has the option to extend the canvas and allow it to generate a fill based on the rest of the image. Let’s give that a try! I just really want Adobe Photoshop to work!

Waiting for the AI to process my image and extend it to the white area.

You can see the AI just doesn’t know what to do with the dragon. There just aren’t enough similar creatures in its database to understand what it is and what it should look like. However, it did understand the architecture of the arch and the wall and did copy over the flames. Maybe, eventually, the AI will understand dragons too… Until then, I have seen some really cool things it can do with more realistic style covers and I have something neat for you below when we get into Midjourney.

For now, let’s try one last trick here. Let’s go back to the book 2 cover and this time just pretend that the story for book 2 has changed and we want to redo it. Maybe it is now in the forest instead of a city wall… can we change out the background?

The first step is using the auto-select for grabbing the background.

Now, I just need to tell the AI I want a misty forest instead.

That isn’t too bad, actually. There is some odd smooshing around her nose and I didn’t grab the hand too cleanly, but I could probably get that to work.

What about if I were to just keep the original image and wanted to change up her hair and dress. Maybe I want red hair and a dress with more style? First, I’ll select her hair and ask for red.

This one is actually pretty sweet. She’s gone from chaotic curls to straight red hair and the AI generator even filled in a bit of her shoulder and dress to replace the more smooth locks. Talk about a way of changing up stock photography into something closer to a character without spending days trying to do it!

Let’s try out her dress now…

Wow, that is a beautiful dress. I sort of like it better than the one I had in the cover! 😆 However, for now, my challenge was to create a book 3 image, not redo book 2. So, with that, I will say Adobe Firefly isn’t there yet. At least not for fantasy covers. I still love Adobe products though and I’m really hopeful about where this one is heading.

For now, we’ll move on to what has become THE fantasy AI text to image generator and run it through it’s paces!

Text to Image Generator Midjourney

Midjourney is a text to image generator launched only in July of 2022 and already it has made tsunamis more than waves. With version 5 released in March of 2023, it could create images so realistic that they were used in misinformation campaigns on Donald Trump being arrested to false images of the Pope. This is power and powerful, which is causing a whole lot of headaches for the world.

But… I just want to make a book cover today and not get into deep fakes and false information campaigns. Why must we use these AI tools to tear apart humanity and not make it a better, prettier, and a smarter place? WHY??????

Okay, cry to the universe unleashed, let’s get into Midjourney.

For all of its power, Midjourney is currently only available on Discord. You have to be invited into Midjourney to get access (through this link), log into Discord, choose a newbie room, and type the prompt “/imagine” along with whatever you want it to create and then you are off and running.

Midjourney creates flat out amazing images. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s see how it does creating a book cover… and if it can match our existing series.

Are you impressed yet? This is try one and just asking for the basic prompt. The face of the girl… the dragon… just wow. And all of the dragon’s are different. There is a weird word, “SAR” in the one image. Maybe Midjourney was trying to take the book cover literally. And the dragon’s legs in that one are odd. And all the girl’s remind me a little too much of Daenerys from Game of Thrones. That is the hidden bias coming out. I ask for a young woman and I am immediately get a white young woman who looks like one of the most popular women with dragons in the current period. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

But I also have all square images. You can actually ask Midjourney for some different sizes, but I forgot to. Well, if I choose an image say the top left one, which is officially in the first position, and ask for four new versions but with a more book cover size, let’s see what happens.

You can see I get four new versions based on the first and they are all a better size for a book cover, BUT instead of reorienting the image, it stretched all of them. So, the proportions of face length look off. Okay, well, let’s just try this again then.

I actually put the size request in backwards. I wanted to ask for 9:16, not 16:9, but this was actually a useful mistake. I could maybe be thinking of a paperback wrap. And, I can see even though ALL of these images are completely amazing, none would work as a paperback wrap where I need the main image to be focused on the far right side. The image is centered or to the left.

So, let’s fix the size request and try again!

This time I let it now I want a fantasy book cover and Midjourney created images that you would expect to see on a book cover, including giving us one title “Hage.” Interesting. What if I gave it a book title and author name to use? Would it be able to add those to the image? Let’s try a remix of #4 with some specific requests on name and author.

Well, it is like Midjourney didn’t even understand the request. I just got four variations of “Hage.” So, let’s try this again to get the proper size and some better options.

I mixed things up and asked for an elf for just the heck of it. Again, all of these are quite interesting. I really like the color and red motes in the top left, though all would work as a book cover. And OMG, the dragons! ❤️

So, let’s say I really like the top left image… because I do. But I want to use it in a paperback wrap. It’s too small. Except… I have Adobe Firefly in Photoshop. How will it work if I want to extend this Midjourney image?

Just OMG. Adobe Firefly did an amazing job matching the color AND the lighting effect AND even added the red flecks to the part of the image it generated. It looks like one seamless picture with the tree is extended and that hazy light added. I absolutely love this image.

However… that light gold spot, though beautiful, is going to wreck havoc with any text used on the back. I need a less bright background. Fortunately, one of the three options Firefly just created for me is perfect.

This is exactly what I’m looking for to make a paperback wrap. It fits the image seamlessly without being overwhelming for any text elements.

If I do want to play with it a little more and add something to the picture, say some magical glowing mushrooms, I can lasso an area for them on the tree and ask Adobe Firefly for some glowing mushrooms and get this…

These do work! But… they also take away the focus from the girl’s face. So, no, I think I’m going to skip the mushrooms. Instead, Let’s really see what this image will look like as a paperback wrap!

Just YES. What a really gorgeous book cover. However, the whole point of this exercise was to make a book cover that fit with a series. I wanted to not just make something lovely but also fit a series I had going.

How does this Midjourney image hold up?

Well, putting the same style title and glow on it does make it blend in even if the girl is larger in proportion to the other two figures. The overwhelming blue color fits too as book 1 is red and book 2 is yellow-green. It could work, actually. Though… it would be interesting to have more action. It is book 3 of a trilogy, after all!

What if I try again and ask Midjourney for some more action oriented images?

🤣🤣😆😆 Ok, these are hilarious. Is the dragon eating her head or just making her deaf as it roars in the first image? And for the final image in the bottom right… someone should really tell her hiding in a dragon’s mouth is not the best decision. OMG. The top right one isn’t bad, but that is a very modern outfit and really doesn’t fit the series.

But there are some possibilities here. I could play around with the prompt if I really wanted to go this way. If I found a way to add magic and action and the right outfit… as you can tell, this works but if I want a very specific cover, I might be trying a lot of prompts in Midjourney and I still might need to hire a designer to tweak the cover before I’m really happy.

But Midjourney… Wow. Just wow. The worse thing I can say is the close cropping of the images. But by using Adobe Firefly, I did manage to create a paperback wrap that works!

Hold the Press—Midjourney 5.2 Update!!

I’ve been working on this post for a couple of weeks because, as I’m sure you can imagine, generating all of these images and putting the post together was not an overnight sort of thing. And it isn’t like I could ask an AI text generator to spit it out for me. ChatGPT doesn’t even know these text to image generators exist. lol.

But I just found out that Midjourney released a new update last night that just made a few things I wrote up above obsolete. Well, at the very least not nearly as consequential. See, Midjourney will now allow you to zoom “out” and generate more of the image, much like Adobe Firefly!

Now, when I upscale a Midjourney image, I have the option to zoom out x1, x1.5, or x2!

So now, if an image is just too closely cropped for me to use as a book cover or add text to, I can simply ask Midjourney to extend the image. Like this….

If I now upscale the bottom right image and ask it to zoom out by 2, then zoom out by 2, I get this series of images!

This is a pretty amazing new feature, as each time I zoomed out, I got four new scenes to pick from. For the final scene on the right, it even had some options that included a second dragon.

The biggest thing to remember about this is the image isn’t getting any bigger. In other words, the first image where it is zoomed in is the same pixel size as the final image where she is just a small dot in the picture. This can be a huge issue when creating a book cover, especially a printed book cover that needs a very large, high resolution photo (you can learn more about that in this blog post on How to Make Your Book Cover Pop).

In some ways, using the combination of Midjourney and Adobe Firefly still works better as I can control how the image is generated and not have the size of the central figure reduced or risk having it blurry in my printed cover. Heck, the far right image still isn’t the correct aspect for a paperback wrap. BUT, I do like that I can get more of the scene from the original image into the picture, which can make up for some of the failings of Adobe Firefly.

Conclusion

There are a numerous AI text to image generators out there and more will continue to be developed. Out of all of them, Midjourney creates the most amazing fantasy style images, hands down. The problem? Well, there are several really.

There is more to a book cover than a great image. Want to know what else you should be considering with your next book cover? Check out this post on How to Make Your Book Cover Pop (recently updated!).Most AI generators are created by scanning hundreds of thousands of images, including ones without the artist’s permission—or without acknowledging those artists much less compensating them for being part of the creation of the AI generator. Worse, artists have no way of opting out of being a part of this AI model training.AI art is in the public domain. If another author/person gets a hold of the base image used in your cover, they can legally use it too.I want to get into image sizes and resolution, but really, I already covered that in the How to make Your Book Cover Pop post, so just go read that!If you have an image or style you want to match (like a book in a series), getting the prompt correct to get an AI to make that image can be tricky. It will take time and you might still need a book cover artist to get it the rest of the way.

AI text to image generators will continue to improve. Midjourney already amazes me and it keeps getting better with each release. Where Adobe’s Firefly goes is a big guess, but its sophistication to matching lighting, depth of field (focus), colors, and feel for what is already in your image is incredible. These tools are a game changer, but they are just tools. Writing a great book, knowing how to market it, knowing IF your cover is really the right cover for your book to attract the right readers… that is part of the author business. Don’t slack on the process just because you can fiddle around with a text to image generator and have it create something stunning. It still has to fit your book, the market, and attract the right readers.

Want to know something else these images are great for?

Content marketing. No, that isn’t just posting on social media. There is a whole lot more to content marketing than that! And if you want to learn how to really fine tune your content marketing to boost your book sales, sign up for our FREE content marketing interactive course: Skill Booster: Book Marketing Without Paid Ads. See you there!

The post Can AI Create Your Next Book Cover? appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Organize Your Author Content Strategy for Greater Online Success

In today’s digital age, content marketing has become an essential tool for authors looking to promote their work, connect with readers, and grow their online presence.

Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant, and engaging content that resonates with your target audience, positioning you as an expert in your field and fostering loyalty among readers. This strategy not only helps to increase book sales but also builds a community around your author brand, paving the way for long-term success.

However, managing a consistent and effective content marketing strategy can be challenging without a solid plan in place. This is where a content marketing calendar comes in.

A well-organized content marketing calendar helps authors streamline their content creation process, ensuring they consistently produce high-quality content that appeals to their readers.

Moreover, it allows authors to plan and schedule content across various platforms, enabling them to maintain an active online presence without getting overwhelmed.

To help you get started, we’re offering a free content marketing calendar template for download—no strings attached! No email sign-up required, no fuss.

Simply follow along with this blog post, and by the end, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge and tools to create a content marketing calendar that will boost your author platform.

So, let’s dive in and explore the steps to building a content marketing calendar that works for you.

What You'll Learn

Step 1: Determine Your Content Marketing GoalsStep 2: Identify Your Target AudienceStep 3: Choose Your Content PlatformsStep 4: Generate a List of Content IdeasStep 5: Establish a Content Schedule and FrequencyStep 6: Plan and Assign Content Production TasksStep 7: Measure and Analyze Content PerformanceStep 8: Continuously Refine and Iterate Your Content Marketing StrategyConclusion: Optimize Your Author Content Marketing Strategy with Our Free Excel TemplateFurther Learning: Boost Your Content Marketing Skills with Our Free Skill BoosterCommon Questions about Content MarketingStep 1: Determine Your Content Marketing Goals

Establishing clear content marketing goals is the foundation of a successful content marketing calendar. These goals will guide your content creation, distribution, and promotion efforts, ensuring that every piece of content you produce is strategically aligned with your desired outcomes. When setting your goals, consider the following aspects:

Align with your overall author objectives: Your content marketing goals should complement your broader author objectives. For instance, if your primary goal as an author is to increase book sales, your content marketing efforts should focus on driving awareness and interest in your books.Be SMART: SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound. For example, instead of setting a vague goal such as “increase blog traffic,” aim for a SMART goal like “increase monthly blog traffic by 20% within six months.”Consider multiple goals: Your content marketing strategy can serve multiple purposes. For instance, you might aim to increase book sales while also positioning yourself as an authority within your genre. Consider setting multiple goals to ensure your content strategy encompasses various aspects of your author brand.Balance short-term and long-term goals: While some content marketing goals can be achieved relatively quickly, others may require a more long-term approach. Strive for a mix of short-term and long-term goals to maintain motivation and ensure sustained progress.

Here are some example content marketing goals for authors:

Increase monthly website traffic by X% in the next Y months.Grow email subscribers by X% within the next Y months.Boost social media engagement (likes, comments, shares) by X% within the next Y months.Establish a consistent content schedule, publishing X blog posts per month for the next Y months.Increase book sales by X% within the next Y months.Collaborate with X influencers or other authors within the next Y months.Position yourself as an authority in your genre by securing X guest posting opportunities within the next Y months.

By clearly defining your content marketing goals, you’ll be better equipped to create a content calendar that effectively supports your author platform’s growth and success.

Step 2: Identify Your Target Audience

Understanding your target audience is crucial for creating content that resonates with your readers and drives engagement. By knowing who your readers are, you can tailor your content to their preferences, needs, and interests, making it more likely that they’ll connect with your work and become loyal followers.

To identify your target audience, consider the following steps:

Analyze your existing readers: Start by examining the demographic and psychographic information of your current readers. This can be done through reader surveys, social media analytics, and website analytics tools, such as Google Analytics. Look for patterns in age, gender, location, interests, and reading preferences.Create reader personas: Based on your analysis, develop reader personas representing different segments of your target audience. These personas should include demographic information, reading habits, preferred content formats, and common pain points or interests. For example, you might create a persona for a busy working professional who enjoys quick, actionable writing tips or a stay-at-home parent who appreciates in-depth book reviews.Align with your author brand and genre: Your target audience should align with your author brand and the genre(s) you write in. For instance, if you write romance novels, your target audience might primarily comprise women who enjoy romance stories. Consider the typical reader profiles for your genre and how your author brand caters to their interests.Assess the competition: Look at other successful authors in your genre or niche and examine their audiences. Identify commonalities and differences between their target audiences and yours. This exercise can help you uncover potential gaps in the market or refine your understanding of your ideal readers.Refine and adjust: As your author platform grows and you gain more insights into your readers, continue refining your target audience. Be open to adjusting your content strategy to better serve your readers’ evolving needs and preferences.

By identifying your target audience, you can create a content marketing calendar filled with content that appeals directly to your ideal readers. This targeted approach not only increases the likelihood of engagement but also helps you stand out in a crowded online space, ultimately contributing to the growth and success of your author platform.

Step 3: Choose Your Content Platforms

With a clear understanding of your content marketing goals and target audience, it’s time to select the platforms where you’ll share your content.

As an author, you have numerous options, each with its unique benefits and challenges.

Choosing the right platforms not only ensures your content reaches your target audience but also helps you manage your content marketing efforts more efficiently.

Consider the following factors when choosing your content platforms:

Audience preferences: Think about where your target audience spends most of their time online. Are they avid blog readers, social media enthusiasts, or dedicated podcast listeners? Align your content platforms with your audience’s preferences to increase the likelihood of engagement and conversion.Content format: Different platforms lend themselves better to specific content formats. For example, if you’re an expert at creating visually appealing content, platforms like Instagram and Pinterest may be ideal choices. On the other hand, if you prefer long-form written content, focusing on your blog and guest posting opportunities might be more suitable.Time and resources: Be realistic about the time and resources you can dedicate to each platform. If you’re a busy author with limited time for content creation, it’s better to focus on a few key platforms and consistently produce high-quality content rather than spreading yourself too thin across multiple platforms.Cross-promotion opportunities: Consider platforms that offer opportunities for cross-promotion, helping you reach a wider audience. For example, you can share your blog posts on social media or include snippets of your podcast episodes in your email newsletter.Measure and adjust: Regularly assess the performance of your content on each platform using analytics tools and engagement metrics. Be open to adjusting your platform choices based on what works best for your content and audience.

Here are some popular content platforms for authors:

Blog: A blog is an excellent platform for sharing long-form written content, such as articles, book excerpts, and interviews. It also serves as a central hub for your author platform, allowing readers to easily find your work and learn more about you.Social media: Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn offer diverse opportunities for sharing content, engaging with readers, and increasing your online visibility. Choose the social media platforms that align with your audience’s preferences and the type of content you create.Email newsletter: An email newsletter allows you to maintain direct contact with your readers, share updates, and promote your content. It’s also a valuable tool for nurturing relationships and driving conversions, such as book sales or event registrations.Podcast: If you enjoy speaking and sharing your expertise through audio content, a podcast can be a powerful platform for reaching new audiences and establishing yourself as an authority in your genre or niche.Video: Platforms like YouTube and Vimeo offer opportunities for sharing video content, such as book trailers, author interviews, and book reviews. Video content can be highly engaging and help you connect with your audience on a deeper level.

By carefully selecting your content platforms, you’ll be better equipped to create a content marketing calendar that effectively reaches your target audience and supports your author platform’s growth.

Step 4: Generate a List of Content Ideas

With your goals, target audience, and platforms in place, it’s time to generate a list of content ideas that will resonate with your readers and support your content marketing objectives. This step is crucial for ensuring that your content marketing calendar is filled with engaging, relevant, and valuable content.

To generate content ideas, consider the following strategies:

Address your audience’s interests and preferences: Identify the common themes, topics, or elements that your target audience enjoys in fiction and create content that caters to these preferences. This may include discussing similar books or authors they might enjoy, exploring the themes and settings within your own work, or engaging readers in discussions about your characters and their motivations. By creating content that aligns with your readers’ interests, you’ll be better positioned to attract and engage your target audience.Leverage your expertise and creative world: Share your knowledge and experiences as an author or insights into your fictional worlds to educate, inspire, or entertain your audience. You can create content that explores the backstory of your characters, delves into the settings of your stories, or offers exclusive sneak peeks into upcoming works. By providing readers with an immersive experience, you can foster a deeper connection with your fictional world and maintain their interest in your work.Monitor genre trends and reader preferences: Stay updated on the latest trends, popular themes, and reader preferences in your genre. By creating content that reflects these trends and preferences, you’ll demonstrate your understanding of your audience’s interests and remain relevant in your genre. This can include discussing up-and-coming authors, exploring popular tropes, or sharing your thoughts on the evolution of your genre over time. Staying attuned to the preferences of your readers can help you create content that resonates with them and ultimately contributes to the growth of your author platform.Analyze competitors’ content: Examine the content produced by other successful authors in your genre or niche to identify popular topics, formats, and themes. Look for gaps in their content or areas where you can provide a unique perspective or additional value.Use keyword research: Utilize keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify popular search terms and topics related to your genre, niche, or author brand. This can help you create content that aligns with your audience’s interests and improves your visibility in search engines.Repurpose existing content: Review your existing content and identify opportunities to repurpose or update it for a new platform or format. For example, you can turn a series of blog posts into a podcast episode or create an infographic based on an in-depth article.Seek input from your audience: Engage with your readers through surveys, social media polls, or email to solicit their feedback on content topics, formats, and preferences. This not only helps you create content that directly addresses your audience’s needs, but also fosters a sense of community and involvement.

Once you’ve generated a list of content ideas, prioritize them based on their relevance to your goals, audience, and platforms. Aim to strike a balance between different content formats, topics, and themes to keep your audience engaged and cater to diverse preferences.

By generating a comprehensive list of content ideas, you’ll be well-prepared to create a content marketing calendar that consistently delivers engaging and valuable content, contributing to the growth and success of your author platform.

Step 5: Establish a Content Schedule and Frequency

Consistency is key when it comes to content marketing, as it helps you maintain an active online presence, build trust with your audience, and establish your author brand.

In this step, you’ll determine a content schedule and frequency that works for you and your target audience.

Consider the following factors when establishing your content schedule:

Platform-specific requirements: Different platforms have unique requirements with optimal posting frequency. For example, it’s common to post more frequently on social media platforms like Twitter than on a blog. Research the best practices for each platform and adjust your content schedule accordingly.Audience preferences: Consider the preferences of your target audience when determining your content frequency. If your audience primarily consists of busy professionals, they may prefer fewer, more in-depth pieces of content rather than daily updates. Conversely, if your audience is highly active on social media, they may expect more frequent updates.Your capacity: Be realistic about the amount of time and resources you can dedicate to content creation. It’s better to maintain a consistent, manageable content schedule than to attempt a high-frequency schedule that leads to burnout or a decline in content quality.Content diversity: Strive for a balance between different content formats, topics, and themes to keep your audience engaged and cater to diverse preferences. This may influence the frequency with which you publish certain types of content.Experiment and adjust: Monitor the performance of your content and be open to adjusting your schedule and frequency based on audience engagement, platform requirements, and your personal capacity. Regularly assess the effectiveness of your content schedule and make changes as needed.

To create your content schedule, consider using a content calendar tool or template that allows you to visualize your content plan and make adjustments easily.

Popular tools and templates include:

Google Calendar: Create a dedicated content calendar using Google Calendar, which allows you to add events, set reminders, and color-code different content types.Trello: Use Trello’s card-based system to organize your content ideas, set deadlines, and track progress.Asana: Create a content calendar project in Asana with tasks, due dates, and progress tracking.Exclusive Excel Template: As a special bonus for our readers, we’re offering a comprehensive, easy-to-use content marketing calendar template for authors in Microsoft Excel format. This downloadable template is specifically designed to help you plan and organize your content marketing efforts efficiently.

By establishing a content schedule and frequency that suits your author platform, target audience, and personal capacity, you’ll be better equipped to maintain a consistent and engaging content marketing strategy that supports the growth of your author platform.

Step 6: Plan and Assign Content Production Tasks

Once you have your content ideas and schedule in place, it’s time to plan and assign content production tasks. This step ensures that your content marketing efforts are well-organized and executed efficiently, allowing you to maintain a consistent content calendar that supports the growth of your author platform.

To plan and assign content production tasks, consider the following steps:

Break down content creation into manageable tasks: Divide the content creation process into smaller tasks, such as research, outlining, drafting, editing, and formatting. This will help you better manage your content production workload and ensure that each piece of content is completed on time and to a high standard.Assign tasks to team members or yourself: If you’re working with a team or have collaborators, assign tasks to individuals based on their skills and expertise. For example, if you have a team member who excels at graphic design, assign them the task of creating visuals for your blog posts or social media updates. If you’re a solo author, allocate tasks to yourself based on your strengths and the time you have available for content creation.Set deadlines for each task: Establish realistic deadlines for each content production task, taking into account the time required for research, drafting, editing, and publishing. Deadlines help keep your content creation efforts on track and ensure that your content marketing calendar remains consistent.Use a project management tool: Utilize a project management tool or platform to organize your content production tasks, set deadlines, and track progress. Tools like Trello, Asana, or Basecamp can help you manage your content creation workload more effectively and ensure that all tasks are completed on time.Establish a content review and approval process: Set up a review and approval process for your content, especially if you’re working with a team or collaborators. This might involve having another team member or an editor review your content for quality, accuracy, and relevance before it’s published. Establishing a review process helps maintain the quality and consistency of your content.Plan for contingencies: Be prepared for unexpected events, such as illness or technical issues, that may disrupt your content production schedule. Have a backup plan in place, such as a bank of evergreen content that can be published in case of emergencies, or consider working ahead on your content schedule to allow for more flexibility.Monitor and adjust your content production process: Regularly assess the effectiveness of your content production process and make adjustments as needed. This may involve reassigning tasks, adjusting deadlines, or refining your review and approval process to ensure that your content marketing efforts remain efficient and effective.

By planning and assigning content production tasks, you’ll be better equipped to maintain a consistent and well-organized content marketing calendar that supports the growth and success of your author platform. This level of organization also allows you to focus on creating high-quality content that resonates with your target audience and drives engagement.

Step 7: Measure and Analyze Content Performance

In order to maximize the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts, it’s crucial to measure and analyze the performance of your content. This step helps you identify which content resonates with your audience, which platforms are most effective, and how to adjust your content strategy to achieve better results.

To measure and analyze your content performance, consider the following steps:

Set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Establish KPIs that align with your content marketing goals, such as website traffic, social media engagement, email subscribers, or book sales. These metrics will help you assess the success of your content marketing efforts and identify areas for improvement.Use analytics tools: Utilize analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, social media insights, or email marketing platforms, to track your content performance metrics. These tools provide valuable data on user behavior, engagement, and conversions, which can help you optimize your content strategy.Conduct regular performance reviews: Schedule regular intervals (e.g., monthly or quarterly) to review your content performance metrics and evaluate the effectiveness of your content marketing strategy. During these reviews, analyze the data to identify trends, successes, and areas for improvement.Identify high-performing content: Analyze your content performance data to determine which pieces of content are most successful in terms of engagement, conversions, or achieving your goals. Use this information to guide your future content creation efforts, focusing on the formats, topics, and platforms that resonate with your audience.Optimize underperforming content: If your data reveals that certain pieces of content are underperforming, consider optimizing them by updating headlines, enhancing visuals, or reformatting the content. Additionally, explore ways to promote underperforming content more effectively, such as sharing on different platforms or targeting new audience segments.Adjust your content strategy: Based on your performance analysis, adjust your content marketing strategy as needed to better align with your goals, target audience, and platform requirements. This may involve changing your content frequency, exploring new content formats, or refining your target audience.A/B test content elements: Experiment with different content elements, such as headlines, visuals, or content formats, to determine which resonates most with your audience. A/B testing involves creating two versions of a content piece with a single variable changed and comparing their performance. Use the insights gained from A/B testing to optimize your content strategy.Seek feedback from your audience: Engage with your readers through surveys, social media polls, or email to gather their feedback on your content. This can provide valuable insights into what your audience values and how you can improve your content marketing efforts.

By measuring and analyzing your content performance, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of what resonates with your target audience and how to optimize your content marketing strategy for maximum impact. This ongoing process of evaluation and adjustment helps you stay agile and responsive to your audience’s needs, ensuring the continued growth and success of your author platform.

Step 8: Continuously Refine and Iterate Your Content Marketing Strategy

As an author, it’s essential to continuously refine and iterate your content marketing strategy to ensure its ongoing effectiveness and alignment with your goals. By staying adaptable and responsive to your audience’s needs, industry trends, and platform changes, you can maintain a dynamic and engaging content marketing strategy that supports your author platform’s growth.

To continuously refine and iterate your content marketing strategy, consider the following steps:

Monitor audience engagement: Pay close attention to how your audience engages with your content, including comments, shares, likes, and direct feedback. This information can help you identify which topics, formats, and styles resonate most with your readers, allowing you to tailor your content strategy accordingly.Stay informed about industry changes: Regularly follow industry news, trends, and best practices to stay informed about changes that may affect your content marketing strategy. This includes updates to social media algorithms, new content formats, and shifts in reader preferences.Evaluate your content marketing goals: Periodically review and reassess your content marketing goals to ensure they remain aligned with your overall author platform objectives. As your platform grows and develops, you may need to adjust your content marketing goals to reflect new priorities or opportunities.Test new content formats and platforms: Don’t be afraid to experiment with new content formats, platforms, or promotional strategies. By trying fresh approaches, you can discover innovative ways to engage your audience and expand your author platform. Track the performance of these experiments and adjust your content strategy accordingly.Learn from fellow authors and industry leaders: Connect with other authors and industry experts to learn about their content marketing strategies, successes, and challenges. By sharing experiences and insights, you can gain valuable knowledge and inspiration for your own content marketing efforts.Invest in professional development: Continue to improve your content marketing skills by attending workshops, conferences, or online courses. By staying up-to-date with the latest content marketing techniques and best practices, you can ensure that your strategy remains effective and cutting-edge.Measure the ROI of your content marketing efforts: Evaluate the return on investment (ROI) of your content marketing strategy by analyzing the relationship between your content production costs, promotional efforts, and the results achieved. This analysis can help you identify areas where you can improve efficiency, allocate resources more effectively, or shift your focus to higher-impact activities.Be open to change and adaptability: Embrace a growth mindset and be open to making changes to your content marketing strategy as needed. By staying agile and adaptable, you can respond more effectively to evolving audience preferences, industry trends, and platform requirements, ensuring the long-term success of your author platform.

By continuously refining and iterating your content marketing strategy, you can maintain a dynamic and effective approach that supports the growth and success of your author platform. This ongoing process of evaluation, experimentation, and adaptation helps you stay responsive to your audience’s needs and industry changes, ensuring that your content marketing efforts continue to drive engagement and results.

Conclusion: Optimize Your Author Content Marketing Strategy with Our Free Excel Template

In conclusion, creating a content marketing calendar is an essential step for authors looking to grow their platforms and engage their target audiences effectively.

By following the eight steps outlined in this guide, you can develop a comprehensive content marketing strategy that aligns with your goals, resonates with your readers, and drives results.

Remember, as part of this blog post, we’re offering a valuable resource to help you plan, organize, and execute your content marketing efforts: a free content marketing calendar template for authors in Microsoft Excel format.

Don’t miss out on this exclusive, user-friendly template that simplifies the content planning process and helps you stay organized as you work towards your author platform goals.

Content Marketing Calendar Template

Continuously refining and iterating your content marketing strategy, staying attuned to your audience’s preferences, and leveraging the power of our free Excel template will set you on the path to content marketing success as an author.

Start creating your content marketing calendar today and unlock the full potential of your author platform.

Further Learning: Boost Your Content Marketing Skills with Our Free Skill Booster

For authors who are eager to dive deeper into content marketing and further develop their skills, we highly recommend checking out our free Skill Booster.

This comprehensive resource offers valuable insights, best practices, and advanced strategies to help you take your content marketing efforts to the next level.

Our Skill Booster covers a wide range of topics, including:

Advanced content creation techniques: Learn how to create compelling and engaging content that captivates your audience and drives conversions.Content promotion and distribution strategies: Discover proven methods for promoting your content across various platforms and reaching a wider audience.Analytics and performance tracking: Master the art of using data and analytics to measure the success of your content marketing efforts and optimize your strategy.Building and nurturing your author platform: Gain insights into how to grow your author platform, engage with your audience, and create a loyal following.Collaborating with other authors and industry experts: Learn how to leverage collaborations and partnerships to expand your reach and boost your content marketing success.

The Skill Booster is designed to provide authors with the practical knowledge and tools needed to excel in content marketing.

By investing in your professional development and building on the foundation laid by our content marketing calendar guide, you’ll be well-equipped to create a high-impact content marketing strategy that drives results.

Sign up and read all the details about the Skill Booster here: https://www.amwritingfantasy.com/skill-booster/

Common Questions about Content Marketing

Why is content marketing important for authors?

Content marketing helps authors build their platforms, engage their target audiences, and create a loyal following. By consistently providing valuable and engaging content, authors can establish themselves as experts in their genres, connect with readers, and ultimately drive book sales.

How often should I publish new content?

The frequency of content publication depends on your personal capacity, target audience, and platform requirements. It’s essential to balance maintaining a consistent content schedule and not overwhelming your audience. As a general rule, aim for at least one new piece of content per week.

What types of content should I create as an author?

As an author, focus on creating content that aligns with your genre, interests, and expertise. This may include blog posts, social media updates, videos, or podcasts. Experiment with different content formats and platforms to discover what resonates with your audience.

How can I measure the success of my content marketing efforts?

To measure the success of your content marketing efforts, establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your goals. Track your content performance using analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, social media insights, or email marketing platforms, and evaluate the effectiveness of your content strategy at regular intervals.

How do I promote my content to reach a wider audience?

Promote your content across various platforms, including social media, email marketing, and collaborations with other authors or industry experts. Use SEO best practices to improve the visibility of your content in search engine results and explore paid advertising options, if necessary.

The post Author Content Marketing Calendar: Boost Your Platform in 8 Steps appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

If you’re an author or publisher, you know that promoting your books can be a challenge, especially without a big advertising budget. Fortunately, there are plenty of effective strategies you can use to sell books without paid advertising.

In this post, we’ll explore some of the best ways to promote your books without paid ads, from organic book sales to low-cost marketing and some great websites to target as an author.

Increasing Organic Book Sales Without Paid Advertising

Organic book sales refer to sales that come naturally, without any paid promotion. To boost organic sales, you should optimize your book’s metadata (title, description, keywords, etc.) on online bookstores like Amazon, Google Books, and Barnes & Noble.

Make sure your book’s metadata is clear, concise, and relevant to your target audience. Optimizing these fields can help your book appear in the search results of your target audience.

To optimize your book’s metadata:

Choose a clear and catchy title that summarizes your book’s main theme or message.Write a compelling description that hooks readers and highlights the key benefits of your book.Use relevant keywords that describe the topic, genre, or themes of your book.Choose categories that accurately represent your book’s genre and sub-genre.

If you aren’t sure about the metadata, ask readers in your genre or other authors. Make one change at a time, such as a new book title, and wait to see if your organic sales improve. If not, try changing the title again or try updating your book description to see if that helps.

Utilizing the search functions embedded in book sellers helps readers find your books just when they are looking to buy. That’s why this is top of our list. So make sure your book’s title, description, keywords, and such align with your genre and what readers are searching for.

For some tricks on improving your key words, check out Episode 32 of the Am Writing Fantasy podcast where we interview Dave Chesson from Kindlepreneur in a conversation that covers everything from how to rank on Amazon to insights on Amazon’s keywords.

How to Leverage your Author Website to Increase Your Book Sales

An author’s book website and blog can be powerful tools for selling books without paid advertising. By providing valuable content, building relationships with readers, and offering easy access to purchase options, authors can drive book sales directly from their website.

Here are some ways your author’s book website and blog can be used to sell books:

Your book website should showcase your books in a way that is visually appealing and easy to navigate. Include high-quality cover images, book descriptions, and purchase links to make it easy for readers to buy your book directly from your website.Your blog is an opportunity to create valuable content that will attract and engage readers. Share insights on your writing process, behind-the-scenes stories, and tips and tricks for aspiring writers. By creating content that resonates with your target audience, you can build relationships and establish yourself as an authority in your genre. Plus, it will help attract new readers searching for the topics you write about (which should relate to your book genre).Your website should include a prominent call-to-action to encourage readers to sign up for your email list. Email marketing is a powerful tool for authors to promote their books, share exclusive content, and keep readers engaged.Offer incentives for readers to buy your book directly from your website. This could include exclusive bonuses, signed copies, or limited-time discounts. By offering something unique and valuable, you can encourage readers to buy from your website instead of a third-party retailer, which should translate into more profit for you (and a stronger connection to readers!).Your blog and website should be a platform for interacting with your readers. Respond to comments, answer questions, and engage with your audience. By building relationships with your readers, you can create loyal fans who will be more likely to recommend your books to others.

An author’s book website and blog can be used to sell books without paid advertising by showcasing your books, creating valuable content, encouraging email sign-ups, offering incentives, and interacting with readers. By using your website and blog to build relationships with your audience and make it easy for them to buy your books, you can drive book sales directly from your online platform, increasing your royalty rate.
If you need some tips and ideas for your author website, check out episode 95: A New Way of Thinking About Your Author Website of the Am Writing Fantasy Podcast (https://www.amwritingfantasy.com/a-ne...).

How to Leverage Social Media to Increase Book Sales Without Paid Advertising

Social media is a powerful tool for book promotion, and it’s free! You can use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to connect with readers, promote your books, and engage with your audience. Be sure to share valuable content, not just promotional material.

To leverage social media for book promotion:

Choose the platforms that your target audience uses the most.Create a professional author profile that includes a bio, photo, and links to your books and website.Share valuable content that is relevant to your genre or target audience, such as book reviews, author interviews, or industry news.Use hashtags to make your posts discoverable by readers who are interested in your genre or topic.Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages.Don’t spam people with lots of posts to “buy my book.” Instead, find a variety of posts and topics that provide value to potential readers and offer new insight into your book, such as on characters, worldbuilding, plot, subplots, favorite quotes, reviews, and more.

Books are big on social media, if you look for them. The important part is finding where readers who would be interesting in reading your book would be active and then creating posts that interest them.

If you need tips on finding readers on social media, check out this blog post on How to Find Readers on Social Media or Episode 124 of the Am Writing Fantasy Podcast: Will Social Media Actually Help to Sell Books.

How Building an Email List Will Increase Your Book Sales

Email marketing is another effective way to promote your books without advertising. You can build an email list of readers and fans who are interested in your work and send them updates, exclusive content, and special offers. Plus, you can utilize them for feedback on covers, titles, descriptions, helping you to hone your book metadata before your book is live. You can even recruit from your mailing list for beta readers or to build a launch team.

Here are some tips to help you build an email list:

Create a sign-up form on your website or social media platforms.Offer readers an incentive to sign up, such as a free ebook, a sample chapter, or a discount code.Send regular emails to your list, but make sure they are valuable and relevant to your audience.Personalize your emails by using the reader’s name and tailoring the content to their interests.

Use a professional email service provider, such as MailerLite, to manage your list and track your results. We recommend MailerLite because we use and love it. To us, it is the best email service provider out there. If you want to check it out, you can use our affiliate link to get all the premium features for free for a month.

It can be slow to start a new email list, so don’t be disappointed if it takes you time to get some traction. In the long run, an engaged email list will be what helps boost your book sales without using any paid ads. The sooner you start, the quicker you’ll get there.

You can get more tips on email marketing in our Self Publishing Success course. Access starts at only $10/month!

Why Writing Guest Posts Will Help Sell Books

Writing guest posts for other blogs and websites is a great way to reach new readers and promote your books. Look for blogs and websites that are relevant to your genre or target audience and offer to write a guest post. Be sure to include a link to your book or author website in your bio.

Some tips to write effective guest posts are:

Research the blog or website and tailor your content to their audience and style.Choose a topic that is relevant and interesting to their readers.Include a call to action at the end of your post, such as a link to your book or website.Respond to comments and engage with the readers.

Most blogs will give you at a minimum bio space and link to your author website, if not your books. So use that space as a way of directing people back to your website where they can discover more about you, your books, and sign up to your email list.

Don’t forget to thank the website host in the comments and answer any reader comments as well—it’s just good form.

How Utilizing Book Bloggers Will Help Sell Books Without Paid Advertising

Book bloggers can be powerful allies in book promotion. Reach out to book bloggers who review books in your genre and offer them a copy of your book in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to follow their review policies and guidelines, which are often posted in their social media accounts or website.

These bloggers have established audiences of book lovers who trust their opinions and recommendations, making them ideal partners for book promotion. By leveraging their established audiences and networks, authors and publishers can increase their visibility, generate buzz, and ultimately increase book sales.

Here are some ways that utilizing book bloggers can help sell books without using paid advertising:

Book bloggers often review books and post their thoughts and opinions on their websites and social media platforms. Positive reviews can generate buzz and encourage readers to check out your book, leading to increased sales.Many book bloggers organize book tours, which involve a group of bloggers posting about your book on their blogs and social media accounts over a set period of time. This can create a lot of buzz and generate interest in your book.Book bloggers often interview authors and share their interviews on their platforms. This can be a great way to introduce yourself and your book to a new audience and generate interest in your work.Book bloggers sometimes host giveaways of books, often in exchange for a review or social media promotion. This can be a great way to get your book in front of new readers and generate buzz.

Building relationships with book bloggers can lead to future opportunities for promotion and collaboration. By engaging with them and providing value to their audience, you can establish yourself as an authority in your genre and increase your visibility in the book community.

Remember to be polite and if they aren’t interested, don’t pester them. Just make sure to do your research so that you find book bloggers who are most likely going to enjoy your book. Check out the books they’ve read and how they write reviews to be sure you are comfortable with their content too.

How Hosting a Giveaway Can Increase Your Book Sales

Hosting a book giveaway on social media or your author website can generate buzz and excitement around your book, attract new readers, and encourage word-of-mouth recommendations. Encourage readers, such as those on your email list, to share the giveaway with their friends and followers for a chance to win a free copy of your book. This will help to spread word of your book to new readers.

At first glance, you might not think that giving away a free book will help you sell books, but there is a method to this tactic that just might net you some new readers.

Here are some ways that hosting a giveaway can help sell books:

Hosting a giveaway can help increase your book’s visibility by generating interest and attracting new readers. By promoting your giveaway on social media and other channels, you can reach a wider audience and potentially gain new fans.Giveaways can also encourage readers to leave reviews of your book. Reviews are important for social proof and can help increase sales, as many readers rely on reviews before making a purchase.Giveaways can create buzz and excitement around your book, generating interest and potentially leading to increased sales. By offering a limited-time opportunity to win a free book, you can incentivize readers to engage with your content and share it with others.Giveaways can help grow your audience by attracting new readers who may not have discovered your book otherwise. By capturing email addresses or social media follows as part of the giveaway entry process, you can also grow your own audience and create a valuable marketing asset.Giveaways can encourage readers to share your book with others, leading to valuable word-of-mouth recommendations. By offering extra entries for sharing the giveaway on social media or with friends, you can incentivize readers to spread the word and potentially reach new audiences.If you give everyone who entered a “prize” such as a free short or your reader magnet, you can introduce them to your writing even if they didn’t win the book!

The trick with giveaways is you need to keep anything you are giving away within your genre, so your book or a book that someone who would like your book would enjoy reading. Don’t give away Kindles or gift cards—they won’t necessarily win you readers. But if you stick to your books or a book bundle of your books and some best selling novels in the same genre that will quickly attract attention and entrants, you’ll do well with this method.

Why You Should Participate in Book Fairs, Festivals, and Conferences

Book fairs and festivals are great opportunities to connect with readers and promote your books. They might not be free to get into, but at the same time you can often sell books and makeup for the cost of attending. And it isn’t really advertising such as on Amazon.

Look for local and regional book fairs and festivals and get a book a table or booth to showcase your books. These events attract book lovers and provide an opportunity for authors and publishers to connect with potential readers, showcase their books, and build relationships with industry professionals.

Here are some ways that participating in book fairs and festivals can help sell books without using paid advertising:

Book fairs and festivals provide exposure to a large audience of book lovers who are actively seeking new books and authors to discover. This can help increase your book’s visibility and generate interest in your work.These events provide an opportunity to sell books directly to readers without the need for paid advertising. By showcasing your books and engaging with potential readers, you can increase sales and generate revenue.Book fairs and festivals are also a great place to network with industry professionals such as agents, publishers, and other authors. By making connections and building relationships, you may gain access to future opportunities for promotion and collaboration.Talking to readers and receiving feedback on your books can help you improve your craft and better understand your audience. This can ultimately lead to increased book sales and a more loyal reader base.Many book fairs and festivals offer speaking opportunities for authors, providing a platform to share your expertise and promote your work. This can lead to increased visibility and generate interest in your books.

Participating in book fairs and festivals can be an effective way to sell books without using paid advertising. By leveraging these events to gain exposure, increase sales, network with industry professionals, receive feedback, and secure speaking opportunities, authors and publishers can build their brand and grow their reader base.

Network with Other Authors to Increase Your Book Sales Without Paid Advertising

Networking with other authors in your genre can help you gain exposure and reach new readers, all without paid advertising. Join author groups and forums online or in person and participate in discussions and events. By building relationships with other authors, you can leverage their audience and expertise to increase your own visibility and ultimately sell more books.

Here are some ways that networking with other authors can help sell books without using paid advertising:

Partnering with other authors to cross-promote each other’s work can be a powerful way to reach new audiences. This can include sharing each other’s social media posts, featuring each other’s books on your website or blog, or collaborating on joint promotions or giveaways.Collaborating with other authors on joint projects such as anthologies, box sets, or co-authoring can help increase your visibility and generate interest in your work. This can be especially effective if the other authors have established audiences in your genre.Networking with other authors can also lead to referrals from readers and other industry professionals. If an author enjoys your work, they may recommend it to their own audience, leading to increased visibility and potential book sales.Networking with other authors can also provide access to valuable industry knowledge and insights. By sharing information about marketing strategies, book launches, and other industry trends, authors can learn from each other and improve their own book-selling tactics.Writing can be a solitary endeavor, and networking with other authors can provide a valuable support system. By building relationships with other authors, you can share experiences and learn from one another, which can help to boost your confidence and motivation to continue writing and promoting your work.

Networking with other authors can be a powerful strategy for selling books without using paid advertising. By cross-promoting, collaborating, receiving referrals, gaining industry knowledge, and providing support, authors can increase their visibility and ultimately sell more books.

If you are wondering where to find other authors, check social media sites by searching under hashtags relevant to your genre. Plus, check out sites such as Bookfunnel and Story Origin, which offer authors places to connect and swap spots on newsletters. If you write fantasy, check out the Am Writing Fantasy Facebook group. We’d love to have you join us over there. Once you start looking, you’ll find a lot of places to meet other authors!

Be a Guest on a Book Podcast to Improve Your Book Sales Without Paying for Advertising

Podcasts have become increasingly popular in recent years, with millions of listeners tuning in each day. Why not use them to sell your books without using paid advertising? It’s possible!

Here are some ways that being a guest on a podcast can help sell books:

Being a guest on a podcast allows you to reach a new audience that may not have heard of your book before. Listeners of the podcast may be interested in your book and may be more likely to buy it after hearing you talk about it on the podcast. Be sure the host puts links to you and your book in the show notes.As a guest on a podcast, you have the opportunity to share your expertise on a particular topic or talk about your writing journey. This can help build credibility with the podcast’s audience, which can lead to increased book sales.Podcast appearances can create buzz and excitement around your book. By sharing news about your upcoming appearance on social media and other channels, you can generate interest and potentially attract new readers.After being a guest on a podcast, listeners may recommend your book to others. This can lead to valuable word-of-mouth recommendations, which can result in increased book sales.Being a guest on a podcast can drive traffic to your author website, where readers can learn more about your book and purchase it directly. Make sure to include a link to your website in the podcast episode description or in the show notes.

Being a guest on a podcast can be a powerful way to sell books without paid advertising. By reaching a new audience, building credibility, creating buzz, encouraging word-of-mouth recommendations, and driving traffic to your website, podcast appearances can lead to increased book sales and help you reach a wider audience. Just remember to focus on podcasts that attract people who will read books in your genre and will be interested in learning about your book. And don’t forget to post about it on your author website to help spread the interview and show off your expertise!

Utilize Goodreads to Increase Your Book Sales

Goodreads has a huge member base of readers, making it a powerful tool for authors to sell their book without paid advertising, which is why we are giving it a standalone spot outside of social media. There are a lot of ways to be active on Goodreads, and most of them are free!

Here are some ways that authors can use Goodreads to promote their book without paying for any advertising:

Goodreads allows authors to create a profile where they can add information about themselves, their books, and their writing journey. This can help readers get to know the author and their work, and can potentially lead to increased book sales.Authors can list their book on Goodreads in the Listopia lists, including information such as the book’s description, cover, and publication details. This can help readers discover the book and learn more about it.Goodreads is a popular platform for book reviews, and having positive reviews can help sell more copies of the book. Authors can encourage readers to leave reviews on Goodreads by including a call-to-action in the book or on social media. Plus, readers who can’t post reviews on Amazon or other platforms can often review on Goodreads, making it a great place to host your reviews.Goodreads has a number of groups for different genres, topics, and reading interests. Authors can join these groups and engage with readers to promote their book and build relationships with potential readers. Just remember to follow the group rules and don’t just spam it for sales.Goodreads allows authors to host giveaways for their book, which can help generate buzz and increase visibility. Giveaways can be a great way to get readers excited about the book and potentially attract new readers. Of course, this is a paid option and not free. But it can be worth it when launching, say, the last book in a series. Anyone who enters the giveaway will have your book placed on their shelf. When the book is released, they’ll get an update the book is now available, hopefully prompting some sales… of all the books in the series!Goodreads has an Author Program that allows authors to promote their book and connect with readers. This includes the ability to host Q&A sessions, add in posts and updates on your book, and more. This is a great place to connect with readers.

Goodreads is a place where authors can build relationships with potential readers and increase visibility for their book. If you want to avoid paying for advertising, its a great place to have a presence because you know the audience on it loves books!

To learn more about how to use Goodreads for marketing, check out Episode 112 of the Am Writing Podcast: Goodreads Marketing for Authors  or this blog post, Are You Ignoring These 85 Million Readers?

Utilize Wattpad to Improve Your Book Visibility

Wattpad is a platform that can help authors sell books without using paid advertising. With 90 million monthly users, there are a LOT of readers looking for new stories on Wattpad. And they are active! Happily commenting, liking, and reading lots of stories.

Of course, Wattpad lets you read for free, but it can still help to increase your book sales. Here are some ways that authors can use Wattpad to promote their book:

Authors can share excerpts or sample chapters of their book on Wattpad to generate interest and give readers a taste of what the book is about. This can help to pique readers’ curiosity and potentially lead to increased book sales. If you don’t want to publish sample chapters, write something related to your book and is exclusively only available on Wattpad. At the end of the story and in your Wattpad bio, link to your author website and/or books.Wattpad allows authors to engage with readers through comments, messages, and even live events. By building relationships with readers, authors can potentially increase their fan base and generate more interest in their book.Authors can offer exclusive content on Wattpad, such as deleted scenes, bonus chapters, or exclusive short stories, to entice readers and keep them engaged with your writing.Wattpad also has a large community of writers, and authors can collaborate with other writers to cross-promote their books and reach new readers.Wattpad provides analytics tools that can help authors track engagement and readership, as well as identify trends and opportunities for growth.Wattpad regularly hosts writing contests, which can help authors gain exposure and potentially win cash prizes or publishing deals.

Wattpad can be a powerful platform for authors to promote their book and sell more copies without paid advertising. By sharing excerpts, engaging with readers, offering exclusive content, collaborating with other writers, using analytics, and participating in writing contests, authors can build relationships with potential readers and increase visibility for their book. It has a more modern vibe than Goodreads and might just be the place where you can build your audience!

Improve Your Author Profile on E-book Platforms to Help Book Sales

Amazon’s Author Central is a free service that allows you to create an personalized author profile, add a bio and photo, and track your book sales on Amazon. You can also add editorial reviews and author interviews to your profile.

Other ebook retailers offer similar setups for you to create an author profile that highlights you and your books. A professional and welcoming profile that fits your genre will help resonate with readers and might be what convinces them to buy your book.
Here are some ways that utilizing an author profile can help sell books:

By creating a personalized author page such as on Amazon, authors can improve their book’s discoverability. This is because Amazon’s algorithms prioritize products with complete and optimized profiles. By providing relevant information about yourself and your books, including high-quality cover images, author bios, and book descriptions, you can increase your book’s chances of being discovered by potential readers.Amazon’s Author Central and other book retailers allows authors to engage directly with readers by responding to book reviews, posting updates, and sharing additional content such as videos and photos. This can help build relationships with readers, encourage reviews, and generate word-of-mouth recommendations.Amazon’s Author Central and other book retailers provide authors with valuable data on book sales, including real-time sales figures and insights into customer demographics. This information can help authors make more informed decisions about their marketing strategies and tailor their approach to reach their target audience.Amazon’s Author Central offers a range of marketing tools that can help promote your books, including Amazon’s “Follow” feature, which allows readers to receive notifications about new book releases and author updates. This one is FREE! So ask your readers to follow you there or on other platforms such as your profile on BookBub, etc.By creating a professional and polished author page, authors can gain credibility and establish themselves as experts in their field. Remember, a reader might very well judge a book by its cover, so making sure your author profile is error free and up to date shows you care about your books. This can help increase reader trust and lead to more book sales.In Conclusion

Promoting your books without advertising is possible and can be highly effective. By using these strategies, you can increase your book sales, gain exposure, and connect with your audience on a shoestring budget. Remember to be creative, persistent, and strategic in your book promotion efforts.

As you build an author platform through these techniques, you’ll create content that will last longer than a paid ad that disappears as soon as you stop paying for it. So you’ll have lots of crumbs spread across the web that lead back to you and your books, helping to build your sales over time.

Building a following and growing your book sales through these strategies without using paid advertising can take longer but it can also build a very devoted following for your books and writing. And impassioned readers can be essential in spreading the word about your books to more readers. That should make it worth the time and effort, beyond a way to save you some money.

The post Unlocking Book Sales: Effective Strategies for Selling Books without Paid Advertising appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

As an author, promoting your book is crucial for success. Perhaps more than ever.

While paid advertising, like Facebook, Amazon and Bookbub ads, have been the go-to method for many authors to promote their work, it’s getting increasingly difficult to get your book in front of as many people as possible.

In recent years, the effectiveness of paid ads has declined.

Here are some reasons why:

Ad blindness: With the rise of digital advertising, consumers have become increasingly accustomed to seeing ads everywhere they go online. As a result, many people have developed “ad blindness,” where they automatically tune out ads and focus on content.Ad blockers: Another reason for the decline in the effectiveness of paid advertising is the widespread use of ad blockers. Many internet users install ad blockers to prevent ads from appearing on websites they visit, which can significantly reduce the reach of paid ads.Rising costs: As competition for ad space has increased, the cost of paid advertising has risen significantly. This means that smaller businesses and authors may not have the budget to compete with larger companies, limiting their ability to reach their target audience through paid ads.Lack of trust: Consumers are becoming increasingly sceptical of traditional advertising. Many people feel that paid ads are not trustworthy and can be misleading, which can damage the credibility of the brand or author.Limited targeting: Paid advertising can be targeted based on demographic, interest, and behavior. However, this targeting is limited and may not be as effective as content marketing in reaching a specific niche audience. Just consider Facebook ads after Apple’s iOS changes.

Times have changed.

A growing number of authors are choosing to stop paid advertising and instead use content marketing as a more effective way to connect with their audience. It’s a growing trend we’ve kept a keen eye on here at Am Writing Fantasy.

We too have seen the shift in the market.

With the constant decline in the effectiveness of paid ads, combined with the fact that ads are getting more and more expensive, we’ve decided to move to Content Marketing too.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is a marketing strategy that involves creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to a specific audience with the goal of driving profitable customer action.

The content created can be in various forms, such as blog posts, videos, infographics, podcasts, and more.

The key principle of content marketing is to provide value to the audience rather than pushing a sales pitch.

By creating content that is informative, entertaining, or educational, authors can build trust and credibility with their readers, which can lead to increased brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately, conversions.

One advantage of content marketing is that it allows authors to target specific audiences with relevant content.

By understanding their audience’s interests, authors can create content that resonates with readers and entertains them. This targeted approach can help to attract fans of the genre and build long-term relationships with readers.

In addition, content marketing can provide long-term benefits for authors.

Unlike paid advertising, which typically only lasts as long as the ad is running, content marketing can continue to drive traffic and conversions long after the content has been created. This is especially true for evergreen content, which is content that remains relevant and valuable to readers over time.

Overall, content marketing is a powerful strategy for authors looking to attract, engage, and convert their target audience. By creating valuable content that resonates with their audience, authors can build trust and credibility, increase brand awareness, and enjoy long-term benefits that paid advertising simply cannot provide.

As a marketing strategy, content marketing has gained significant traction in recent years across various industries, including the publishing industry.
Many authors have recognized the potential of content marketing to reach a wider audience, build their brand, and promote their work.

In this blog post, we will explore why more authors are choosing content marketing over paid advertising and the advantages that this approach can offer for book promotion.

However, before we get that far, we should also address the downsides.

The Downsides of Content Marketing: Challenges and Considerations for Authors

While content marketing has numerous benefits, it is important to note that it is not without its downsides.

One of the major challenges of content marketing is the time and resources required to create high-quality content consistently.

Creating engaging and valuable content can truly be a time-consuming process.

Another potential downside of content marketing is that it can take time to see results. Unlike paid advertising, which can generate immediate results, content marketing is a long-term strategy that requires patience and persistence. It can take months or even years to build a loyal audience and see a significant return on investment.

Moreover, competition in the content marketing space is high, and it’s challenging to stand out from the crowd.

With millions of blog posts, videos, and social media posts published every day, getting noticed can be a significant challenge. As such, businesses and authors must invest in developing a content strategy that sets them apart from the competition.

Lastly, measuring the effectiveness of content marketing can be challenging. Unlike paid advertising, which typically has clear metrics, such as click-through rates and conversion rates, measuring the impact of content marketing can be more difficult.

Despite these challenges, many authors still prefer content marketing over paid advertising for promoting their work.

Why More Authors Are Choosing Content Marketing Over Paid Advertising: Benefits and Advantages

With the right strategy, content marketing can be an effective way to build a loyal audience, increase brand awareness, and drive long-term success.
Let’s look at some of the key benefits.

Cost-effectiveness

One of the primary reasons authors prefer content marketing over paid advertising is that it is often more cost-effective.

Paid advertising can be expensive—especially considering that we, as authors, are selling cheap $5 eBooks.

Furthermore, the results (or the return on investment) are not what they used to be.

Content Marketing, on the other hand, is a cost-effective alternative that allows authors to create and distribute valuable content to their audience without spending a lot of money on advertising.

This strategy does require effort, but at least you’re not paying with anything other than your time.

Audience engagement

Another reason content marketing is becoming more popular among authors is that it is a great way to engage with an audience.

By creating valuable content that speaks to the interests and needs of your audience, you’ll build trust and credibility with readers.

When creating valuable content that educates, entertains, or inspires readers, authors can also establish themselves as thought leaders in their niche.

This can help you attract and retain a loyal readership. It can lead to more book sales, as readers are more likely to trust and purchase from an author they perceive as an expert.

It’s simply a more effective way to engage with your audience compared to paid advertising, which can sometimes feel forced or inauthentic.

Long-term benefits

While paid advertising is the best approach to generate immediate results (a book is sold here and now), those benefits tend to be short-lived as they only last as long as the ad is running.

Content marketing, on the other hand, can provide long-term benefits and continue to drive traffic and book sales long after the content has been published.

In other words, the content you create today can continue to attract and engage an audience for months or even years to come.

Authenticity

Content Marketing is, at its core, focused on providing valuable information that readers are genuinely interested in, creating a genuine connection with the audience.

This authenticity is much harder to achieve with paid advertising, where ads are pushed in front of the audience, even when they aren’t interested in ads.

With Content Marketing, your focus is to attract your audience when they are searching for the kind of content you produce.

You’re highly depend on SEO for the Content Marketing strategy to work well, but it can be more effective in the long run as every new piece of content you release will build on the ones that came before it.

Control

With content marketing, authors have more control over the messaging and delivery of their content.

This can help you create a consistent brand voice and image, which can be important for building a strong and recognizable brand.

Increased Visibility

Content marketing also helps increase an author’s visibility in search engine results.

As mentioned, it’s still a competitive landscape, but by creating high-quality content that is optimized for search engines, authors can improve their search engine rankings and attract more organic traffic to their website or blog.

This can lead to more book sales and increased exposure for the author and their work.

Getting Started with Content Marketing for Authors: A Step-by-Step Guide

The decision to stop paid advertising, and use content marketing instead, can be a strategic one for authors – and probably should be.

By creating valuable content that is tailored to your audience, you can engage with them in a more authentic and cost-effective way, while also building a long-term readership that can help to support your success as an author.

As the publishing landscape continues to evolve, more and more authors are embracing content marketing as a key tool in their promotional arsenal. But where do you start?

You might recognize how content marketing is becoming an increasingly popular choice among authors who want to promote their work and reach a wider audience, yet you feel lost.

Here are some steps to help you get started promoting your work through content marketing.

Define your target audience: Before creating any content, it’s important to clearly understand your target audience. Who are they? What are their interests, needs, and pain points? Understanding your audience can help you create content that resonates with them and is more likely to be shared and engaged with.Develop a content strategy: A content strategy is a plan for creating and publishing content that aligns with your marketing goals and resonates with your target audience. This strategy should include the types of content you will create, the channels you will use to distribute your content, and how often you will publish.Create valuable content: Once you have a content strategy in place, it’s time to start creating content. The content you create should be informative, engaging, and valuable to your target audience. This could include blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, and more.Choose the right distribution channels: There are many channels you can use to distribute your content, including social media platforms, email marketing, guest blogging, and more. Choose the channels that align with your target audience and your content strategy.Track your results: It’s important to measure the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts. Track metrics such as unique page visits, number of inbound links, and how much the post is shared on social media, to see how your content is performing and make adjustments as needed.Getting Help with Content Marketing: Why Working with Experts Can Take Your Author Brand to the Next Level

While content marketing can be an effective way to promote your work as an author, it can also be a time-consuming and complex process.

Creating quality content, developing a content strategy, and implementing it across multiple channels can take a lot of effort and resources.

This is why we’ve created the Skill Booster as many authors needs help with their content marketing efforts. And the best part… thanks to World Anvil being the sponsor, it’s completely free.

If you’ve tried book marketing…And it never worked out. You never managed to complete the multitude of steps it takes to tweak and refine your ads to get to the point where the results earned more than you were spending.Or maybe they just didn’t earn more than if you saved all that time and just wrote instead of marketing.Or maybe you got those ads to work…And then they suddenly stopped working because of “saturation”Or they doubled in priceOr your keywords became too popular and too expensiveThen the Skill Booster is for you.

The reality is that paid ads require a lot of effort, even when they are working.

Even this post has piqued your interested in Content Marketing for Authors, why not sign up for the Skill Booster?

There are a lot of ways to reach readers and paid ads are only one of them

We’ve been there. We have run Facebook ads, Instagram ads, AMS ads, Bookbub ads… you name it. Some of them worked great. Some of them never seemed to kick in. Some fizzled and some just keep going and going.

No matter how much we try to reproduce great ads, they don’t always translate well across books or genres. Some are winners, some are duds. No matter what, though, they all take time. And a lot of money.

Worse, adding money to another business’ account and relying on their platform instead of your own platform.

Those aren’t your readers to contact and woo into becoming fans. Not unless they find your website and signup there to join your mailing list. Until that point, all you’ve done is spent a lot of time and a lot of money to get people to look at your book while building up the revenue of another mega-business.

Join our free online Skill Booster: Book Marketing WITHOUT Paid Ads

We’ll teach you the methods to reach readers without paid ads while using all the modern tools we can throw in.

Plus, you’ll walk out of these 5 days with the framework of your online platform in place, a content marketing funnel ready to go, and a nice dose of support from fellow authors.

Find all the details and sign up here: https://www.amwritingfantasy.com/skil...

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