Your Success … Marketing Success Doesn’t Happen by Chance

It’s the Marketing, Always … Nothing Happens by Chance

Frankie Valli’s Oh What a Night came ran through my mind in October as I completed taping one of my radio podcast shows late one afternoon for Author U-Your Guide to Book Publishing. I gathered my laptop, shut down the office and headed out, thinking: What will I put together for dinner?

Since the inception of the show six years ago, listenership has been steadily increasing. The pandemic certainly added a “goose” to it. So much so, that I typically check on the download count a few times a week. The first month it exceeded ONE MILLION downloads was quite a feeling … whew … my show?!

It was a fun and enlightening show. I love it when I come away with new ideas to motivate me … to add to my author skillset … to add to my toolbox. As I always do, I will create seven to ten social media posts with hashtags relevant to the topic post the taping and send a thank you letter to my guest along with the social media I create, the master link, and a copy of the eBlast I will push out the morning the show goes live. Always, I encourage my guests to “post-it forward,” encouraging them to shout out and share with followers.

Leah, my VA takes over and posts randomly over the next few months with a direct link to the show for immediate listening.

Holy Smoly … Oh What a Night … over 90,000 downloads so far for the month.

With just a handful of listeners when I began, by the end of that first January, a grand total of 1,200 found the show. The next month,1,800 and by the third, 3,500. Listenership continued to grow, plateaued, and then picked up again. By the end of the first year, 18,000 were listening monthly. Each year, it continues to grow.

As 2021 ends, they collectively count in the 11 platforms it’s on, OVER NINE MILLION downloads since I started the show. Whew!

What’s the message I’m giving you … saying to you?

It’s the marketing, always… for you and your book’s success—Bring your marketing back to what matters, what counts. The reason why the podcast has grown is one word: marketing—thank you Twitter and social media—and my plan on how to push it. The marketing cost? Peanuts … really, peanuts.
This is a marathon, not a sprint. I never expected to see instant results and a roaring success. If you get caught up in the instant success/recognition/gazillions of book sales … trust me, that’s your ego pulling the strings, not reality.
AuthorYOU.org and me, as The Book Shepherd, are here to assist you in your marathon. There are numerous programs to take advantage of—many free to the AuthorYOU members, some for fee. What you must do is SHOW UP. You must participate to tap into them.

If you aren’t listening to the AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast, I make it easy for you. All you need to do is go to the AuthorU.org page, click on this icon … and select what show topic you are interested in. Within one minute, you will be deep into it.

In other words, … Participate … Participate … Participate. Yes, I know this marathon is overwhelming at times. You are going to have to get over it. You and your book’s success is not the 80/20 Rule … it’s the 90/10 Rule—10 percent is the writing … 90 percent is the marketing.

Your author success WILL NOT happen by itself.

Dr. Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. She empowers authors and works directly with authors who want to be seriously successful and has been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the ’80s. Judith is the author of 37 books including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms, Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, and How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech. Her personal memoir When God Says NO-Revealing the YES When Adversity and Loss Are Present is a #1 bestseller on Amazon. Collectively, her books have earned over 45 book awards. Judith speaks throughout the year at publishing conferences.

Throughout the year, she holds Judith Briles Book Unplugged experiences: Publishing, Speaking, Marketing, and Social Media. All are two-day intensive limited to a small group of authors who want to be seriously successful. Join Judith live for the “AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing” podcast on the Toginet Radio Network HERE.

Follow @AuthorUYOUBooks and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU, and join the Facebook group Book Publishing with The Book Shepherd. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact me.