SPEAKER_01: 0:00

And in those early days, lean into like that exclusivity factor. People love to be a part of something that is special and kind of like their own private circle, right? So kind of lean into that. Like maybe you share really state and you share the cover reveal and all of those things first with your email subscribers before they get anywhere else on your website or social media or wherever else you're marketing. And that really helps to make it feel like more of an exclusive space. So really just picking your platform, setting up that opt-in form, writing that welcome email, and then it's automated and you can kind of be hands-off with it while people are subscribing.

SPEAKER_00: 0:33

Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast. My name is Savannah Gilbo, and I'm here to help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be overwhelming. So each week I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for you. So pick up a pen and let's get started. In today's episode, I have a real treat for you. My guest, Shelby Lee, is here to talk about how to build an author platform, whether you have a finished book or not. And Shelby isn't just going to share run-of-the-mill marketing tips. To date, she's sold over 60,000 copies of her four books and has built an entire business around helping authors market their books in a way that feels aligned and authentic. Now, I mentioned that Shelby is here to talk about how to build an author platform. And I know this is a topic that can feel overwhelming, especially for those of us who are introverted or who are new to the marketing game. And trust me when I say that Shelby's advice is both beginner and introvert friendly. So we're going to discuss everything from content marketing strategies to the importance of creating a cohesive brand that truly represents who you are as an author. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your existing author platform, Shelby's insights are sure to provide the clarity and motivation you need. So grab your notebook, settle in, and let's dive right into my conversation with Shelby Lee. Shelby, thank you so much for being here today. I'm so excited to dive into all things author platform with you.

SPEAKER_01: 2:09

Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to chat.

SPEAKER_00: 2:11

Before we dive into all the juicy stuff, can you just introduce yourself in your own words?

SPEAKER_01: 2:16

Sure. So I'm Shelby Lee. I'm an author and also the owner of Marketing by Shelby, which is a marketing education company. So I teach and consult with authors and creatives on um how to grow your own community of readers and sell your books. Um, primarily content marketing. So I focus a lot on like social media, on email marketing, on really like online marketing. But I started off as an author. Um it's been about 10 years since my first book was published. And I started sharing my work online um anonymously. So if you are listening and you're scared of marketing or very introverted, you are in the right place because I am also that way. Um and it took a lot of um practice and growth and stepping out of my comfort zone a bit to market my work. Um, but yeah, I started off self-publishing. I grew a community online and with my sales and things, I had opportunities for some book deals. So I've also done some traditional published books. So I have experience with both avenues um and I'm happy to talk about both. So that's a little bit about me, but my genre is uh poetry. So I write poetry books. Um, they're about mental health themes. So I always like to share that too, because people are surprised that you can actually sell poetry. So if I can sell poetry, you can sell your genre as well. So yeah, that's a little bit about me, and I'm excited to chat today about growing an author platform.

SPEAKER_00: 3:34

I love that. And so is all of that why you started teaching marketing to writers?

SPEAKER_01: 3:38

Yes, yeah. So I actually have always loved marketing and I started, um, I went to school for marketing and worked in marketing jobs for a few years after college and then decided that what I wanted to do was start my own company and teach it to authors. I was just getting questions often in the DMs um from authors who were seeing what I was doing and you know, asking questions and I was happy to answer, um, but figured I could help even more people if I actually created, you know, resources and structure around it. So that's what got me into it. But I talk about marketing all day long now. And you have to love it in order to do that.

SPEAKER_00: 4:10

So I do really love it. That's so fun. I love marketing too. And it's interesting because as you were saying that, I'm like, it sounds like the introvert loved marketing, which is a whole can of worms in itself. Um, but also you kind of armed yourself with the knowledge of how to make it work for you. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01: 4:26

Yeah. And I think that um this is gonna sound like very complimentary toward myself, but people here like, I'm calm. I'm typically not the crazy like marketer that you see online that's like, I don't know, considered like bro marketing or whatever you want to call it. It's just not my style. Saying that connects with a lot of creatives who tend to be introverted or just at least not really wanting to put ourselves out there. We like writing and hiding between the book covers and not necessarily being everywhere. So it is something that I've had to figure out what works best for me, what avenues do I like best with that little bit of stepping outside of your comfort zone to get better. Like podcasting was never something I thought I would be comfortable doing. And I do it all the time. And I love it. Um, so it's like taking those little steps outside of your comfort zone too. But there are definitely ways to make it more suitable to your bandwidth and also to your personality and not like super salesy in your face, um, like we sometimes think of when we think of marketing.

SPEAKER_00: 5:18

Yes, because marketing is not one size fits all, which I'm sure we're gonna talk about. Um, but can you start us off with how you define an author platform?

SPEAKER_01: 5:26

Yeah, sure. I think it's kind of hard to summarize in one like phrase or sentence. It's really just how you show up in order to market your work, is how I could summarize it quickly. Um, and that doesn't have to be any certain platform. Like we can talk about social media, but we can also talk about building your email list platform or having a website and all of this kind of comes together to build an author platform where your readers come and they feel like they get to know you as the author. It's cohesive, it's familiar because you're utilizing a brand. So you have like maybe your logo, you have similar colors and fonts and a vibe that it gives off that's cohesive across anywhere that you're marketing your work. And that all creates an author platform together.

SPEAKER_00: 6:08

Awesome. And I love that you said it can be social, it can be email, it can be your website, it can be a mix of so many different things. So it's kind of like a grab bag for anyone listening. Like you can do which parts make the most sense for you. But I know that the number one thing my audience probably wants to know is what do we do about our author platforms when we're writing our books? Or if we're like thinking about writing a book, when do we start?

SPEAKER_01: 6:31

Yeah, that's a great question. I think I get that question, at least weekly, if not daily. Um, you know, I'm writing, I'm working on a book. When do I start? Um, how early is too early, how late is too late, all of that. So for me, I think that there's no such thing as too early. Like maybe if you're like three years out, okay, it might feel a little bit of a drag to be marketing the same book for three years. But typically when we start working on a book, it might be a year, two years. And I think that it's such a great opportunity to get involved in not only the author community, but also just the reader community. And, you know, you're likely a reader as well. So like sharing what you're doing and all of that and what you're reading can really help you grow an audience of readers. Before you have something to promote, it actually is easier to build an audience typically, um, because people are just following along for reviews or like, you know, relatable posts that you're sharing about being a reader. So um I would say if you are six months to 12 months out, that's a really good time frame. That's typically what I recommend. But again, if you are earlier than that, that's totally fine too. Um, and if you're listening to this and you're like, oh crap, I'm releasing a book in three months and I haven't started yet, start today. Like it's never, you know, just get started and don't put it off any further. But that's typically a good range to um, you're excited about the book, you have a lot of details about the book, you can start talking about it, getting people excited. Um, and then again, like engaging with the reader community that's already online.

SPEAKER_00: 7:54

Yeah. I love that. And also thinking about the writers I work with when they're kind of bringing their book to a close, they're working on those final drafts and they're getting the line edits and things. Um, it's almost like you do have more time to work on the author platform. So, you know, I agree that within that last six to 12 months is probably the sweet spot, but again, no right or wrong time. Um, but as you were saying that, I'm imagining our listeners kind of thinking, okay, I need to be posting on social media, but I would like you to back us up and remind us that an author platform is beyond social media, right? Absolutely. Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_01: 8:27

And I do like think it's a great spot, but it's not for everyone. So there's other options as well.

SPEAKER_00: 8:32

Yeah. And so what would that look like if you're six to 12 months out? What would you do to start your platform?

SPEAKER_01: 8:38

Yeah. So if you want to explore social media, because I think that it is a great free option to reach new people, I would be starting with picking one platform. I'm really someone who recommends focusing on one max two, especially when you're starting out, because it's so hard to learn what's working if we're spreading ourselves super thin across so many different places. So start with one or two. Ideally, if there's one that you like, start there. Um, because I think it's just so much easier to stay consistent whenever it's one that you do like. If you're not a big social media user to begin with, um, then do some research. You can Google like demographics in your country if there's like a target area that you want to reach. But honestly, all the big platforms have billions of users. So you're likely to find your target audience no matter which one you choose. Um, and then it's about kind of like the format as well. Like if you like video, if you like more picture-based, if you like text-based threads is a good option or blue sky. Um, I feel like X people are kind of leaving, but that's there too. Um, and so kind of like picking your format. And then you want to set up a profile on one of these platforms that's very clear about your genre, what you do, when your book's coming out. Um, and just being very clear with that, you'd be shocked by how many authors, like, I'll go click on their page and I couldn't tell you what they write. And that's something that a reader wants to know right away. Um, and then you'll start kind of posting and engaging with the community, search for keywords related to your genre, follow accounts, follow readers, follow authors, take a look at what content's performing well and what grabs your eye, and then put your own spin on it and try to replicate it. So that's a very quick summary of that. Um, but other things for your author platform, especially if you don't want to do social, um, my recommendation would be a website. Um, I get asked this a lot like, do you think that that's important? Honestly, I think I think it's important. I think it helps to establish you as like a professional in this space. Um, you're putting in the effort to have a um place online that is dedicated to you and your brand. And it's a place that can grow over time. So, as a new author, you probably won't have a whole lot going on there. You'll have like your homepage that has about you, about the book coming out. Can they pre-order or how can they learn more? Um, and which leads me to the next thing, which is going to be an email newsletter. Um, and I truly believe that this is such an important part that I wish that I had started whenever I was a new author with my first book that I delayed for multiple years, even though I knew how important it was. Um, and that's because if we're selling on retailers like Amazon or Barnes and Noble or wherever, we don't get that customer data of who's buying our books. We don't get their names, we don't get their email addresses. So the best place to do that is by having our own email list to nurture our audience, our readers who are excited to hear about our upcoming book. So you can collect email addresses on your website and then use that email newsletter for monthly or maybe twice a month or weekly as you're getting closer to your launch date, you'll want to increase the number of emails you're sending and really, you know, build and nurture that community. So that's a few quick places of where I get started if I was a new author.

SPEAKER_00: 11:44

I love that. And it's so funny. I was just talking to a writer the other day and she was like, I hear everybody say I should start an email list. It's like everyone says it's the number one important thing, but is it really? And I'm like, yes, yes, it is. It's so important. That's why everybody talks about it. Um, and everybody who has eventually built it said the same thing you did, which is I wish I had started it earlier. So take it from us and take it from these writers who are like, we wish we started earlier and just start the email newsletter. It'll save you time and frustration in the future. Um but okay, so I love that kind of like quick highlight reel of what we can do. And then I'm imagining people are like, okay, great, I get it. Start an email newsletter, make a website, post on social or whatever I choose to do. But if my book isn't out, what do I talk about?

SPEAKER_01: 12:27

Yeah, totally. So this is our time to kind of relate to our audience and get them to know us, like us, trust us before the book is out. Um, and so there's kind of there's a lot of different types of readers, of course, but I'm gonna kind of summarize into two buckets of the readers who don't necessarily need to know about the author. They might see a book on social media and love the cover or love the synopsis and they're ready to buy that day. But there's also another type of buyer who takes longer. They might have a long TBR list, so your book isn't gonna happen for a while anyway, right? So they're trying to get to know the authors, they're following along, following along, and they need multiple reminders about this book before they are ready to purchase, which is a perfect time frame before the book is out to warm those audience members up. So I teach this three-pillar uh content. Um, it's called show, sell, storytell. And the sell one, we're not really doing quite yet if we don't have a book out. So we can focus on the other two, which are show and storytelling. And show is showing the reader why you're the right author for them. This is kind of understanding and showing them that you understand your audience. What is it that they love? This could be like tropes and themes of the book. This could be sharing excerpts of the book, um, you know, that you think that your audience would love. This can also just be relatable content, like, hey, I'm a romance reader too, and these are some of my favorite romance books lately, or this is a trope that I really don't like, unpopular opinion. Do you agree or disagree? So it's that type of thing that's showing your audience like this author gets me. And so I'm sure that I'm gonna like their book because they're everything they're talking about is my brain, right? Is exactly what I'm thinking.

unknown: 14:07

Yep.

SPEAKER_01: 14:07

And then you also have the storytelling content that is a little bit more trust-building content. Um, you may have heard other people saying online that we're kind of in like a trust recession, and there's just so much AI content and there's so much automated content, and it's just so noisy online that it's hard to build that same amount of trust that people used to be able to do a little bit more easily. And then it's also taking people longer to make the purchase decision to buy. And we're seeing that yes, even though a book is less costly than other, you know, more expensive products, it still does take a lot of reminders to purchase. So the storytelling is really the trust building. And that can be um, you know, your story of how you got started as an author, or when you knew you wanted to be a writer, or what was the first book that made you know you wanted to write the genre that you write? You could also take themes and stories from your book itself and put your own personal kind of touch on it. Like if family is a really important aspect of the book, can you talk a little bit about yours without, you know, getting as personal as you want to um about your family and how that connects? Those types of things just really help build the connection with our readers. So those are the two different pillars I'd be sharing before the book's out. And you can rotate through those on social media as well as your email newsletter. I love that.

SPEAKER_00: 15:20

And I think sometimes we forget that we are interesting just because we're ourselves. And I like to always flip this back around to the writers that I work with. And like when they follow their favorite author, they want to gobble up everything that that person puts out just because they're interested, right? They found kindred spirit, and it might be because of maybe they followed that author because they also have a dog, like they have, you know?

unknown: 15:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 15:43

And so it's like we are so much more interesting than we give ourselves credit for. And um, speaking of AI, this could be an interesting project to work with AI on, like, ask me questions that might help me get this out of my brain or, you know, give me ideas based on my journey to talk about in my newsletter, things like that.

SPEAKER_01: 16:02

Totally, yes. And I even like I'll just brain dump things that happened to me in the last like week or two and just see like, what am I have, what's happening that I've like forgotten about that actually could work well as content that could be inspiring to my audience or could just be like a relatable fun moment that just bridges that connection with um, with us a little bit further. So yeah, I think that's a great idea. Um, and we definitely all have those stories and those moments that are more interesting than we think. And even when you wrap up writing for the day, go back and highlight or like copy and paste any like really great scenes that are emotional or like a really good quote that could stand on its own and do a good job of promoting the book for when you're in that phase of promoting. Um, you'll already have stuff pulled through and you don't have to sit there and read through everything again and try to look for those marketing moments. So that's really helpful too. And it can be hard, especially when we're new and we don't have an audience yet, or we don't have, you know, a reader who's we're their favorite author yet, right? So it can feel weird, but honestly pretend like fake until you make it is so real, um, you know, and post with the intention that like this is going to reach the right people who are, you know, perfect for my book and they haven't found me quite yet because it's we're just starting off. We all start at zero, um, but they will come.

SPEAKER_00: 17:13

I actually heard someone, I don't remember who it was, but they said when you're starting from zero, it's actually a great place to practice because the pressure's not on. So sometimes I like to think about that too, is it's like, you know, we put all this pressure to be perfect, and it's like, well, if you have 13 followers, it's going to be okay if you're not perfect, you know? You'll develop your voice, you'll develop your content and things like that over time. So I just like to remind us that sometimes it's okay if we, you know, if we're if we feel like we're starting from scratch, it's actually kind of a good thing sometimes.

SPEAKER_01: 17:44

Absolutely. And I think a small, intimate, engaged community is so powerful because you'll see typically your engagement kind of drops the bigger your audience gets, and you'll recognize those names that keep coming up, you know, over and over that are responding to your emails or commenting on your posts, and you know that they're, you know, a real fan. And that's so fun whenever you have a smaller, tight-knit community, you really feel that engagement back. So don't skip over that for the sake of trying to grow, grow, grow. And it's actually is a really good phase to be in.

SPEAKER_00: 18:12

So can I ask you, what are some, like if you had to boil it down to the top two or three mistakes you see people make with their author platform, what do you think those are?

SPEAKER_01: 18:21

That's a good question. I think one of them is not really having like a cohesive vibe. And that's something that can definitely come over time, but it is really helpful at the beginning if you do sit down and just think, where do I see myself kind of going with this? Am I sticking with the same genre for a while? Are there certain colors that match maybe the cover or kind of fit the vibe of my genre that I can be cohesive with? Same with a couple fonts and using this across your platforms um just helps really create that familiarity and just that cohesive vibe. And then I kind of already alluded to this, but just not being afraid to be specific with who you're speaking to. I think a lot of us have that fear early on that we're writing this book and we're like, we want it to be for everyone. Like I know just everyone, if they read this, they're gonna love it. But it's harder to sell to everyone if we're trying to speak to every single person at once. Whereas, you know, we kind of ideally want a reader to see our book and be like, this is for me. And for someone who doesn't like your genre or isn't a big fan of whatever it is you write, that's okay. And we don't need to force them to like it. We just need to focus on the people who do already love our work and our genre. So don't be afraid to be specific with that too. Um, and you know, clearly state that in your posts of what genre you write. Same with your homepage of your website. It can have like a nice tagline that summarizes, you know, what you do, what you write. Um, and that just really helps people know that they're in the right place and helps those right people find you.

SPEAKER_00: 19:43

I love all that. And on the the you said earlier that it's not like you have to have your vibe and your style kind of right on the first try. And just to kind of throw that question back at you, because I'm sure your answer is the same as mine. How many times have you redone your personal branding and your website and things like that? Like it happens all the time, right?

SPEAKER_01: 20:03

Many times. Many times, yes, totally. And don't, and also at the same time, like if you are early on and you're picking these things, don't spend months deciding these little decisions that can change. Cause that's just kind of procrastinating and like, you know, not really be super intentional. Like there's way more important things we can be doing. It's important, but don't let it like take up all your time at the same time because it can definitely change and it has many times for me as well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 20:26

I know. And I'm so I love color stuff. So I'm like, which is the right shade of blue, you know, really spend hours there. But like you said, it's unproductive. Yeah. Um, okay. So do you have anything that you want to add? Because we did talk about email lists earlier, and I know that that can be kind of an overwhelming topic too, because we're both saying it's super important. And then, you know, I'm a writer who I might Google, how do I set up an email list? And it's like, you need a five email welcome sequence and you need a freebie, and you and then it becomes really overwhelming. Totally.

SPEAKER_01: 20:56

Yeah. So we can start with out a what's called a reader magnet or a lead magnet, which is like our freebie. Um, it does help conversions if you have the time to do so. And it can be something very simple, like you mentioned a playlist of music you listen to. I've seen authors do that as a reader magnet. And it's like, here's the songs that I love listening to while I'm writing my blah, blah, blah book. And readers love listening to things like that. So it can be something really easy to put together, it can be a free chapter of the book or like a little excerpt. Um, there's lots of different creative ways we can go about this. So that is a next step, but I think the first step is really just picking a platform to host your email list. There's lots to choose from. Um, and you can find lots of different like author communities talking about recommendations. Um, I use MailerLite personally and really enjoy it. Um, and it has a good free plan up until a certain number of subscribers. And um, it's fairly straightforward. Once you set it up, um, you'll create like an opt-in form, which is just how you're going to collect their email address. I like to collect first name too, just so I can personalize my emails and say, like, hey, Savannah in the email. Um, so I do that. You'll add it to your website. And then the last step is just writing that welcome email. A sequence can definitely be longer down the line. It does not have to be before your book's even out. Focus on the book for now. But some sort of welcome email just saying, like, hey, thanks so much for writing my newsletter. Here's a little bit about me, here's what to expect. I like to set those expectations on how often you're going to hear from me, what you're going to get. And in those early days, um, lean into like that exclusivity factor. People love to be a part of something that is special and kind of like their own private circle, right? So kind of lean into that, especially if you don't have another freebie quite yet. Um, and that really helps. Like maybe you share release state and you share the cover reveal and all of those things first with your email subscribers before they get anywhere else on your website or social media or wherever else you're marketing. Um, and that really helps to make it feel like more of an exclusive space. So really just picking your platform, setting up that opt-in form, writing that welcome email, and then it's automated and you can kind of be hands-off with it while people are subscribing.

SPEAKER_00: 23:03

Yeah. And I love that you said there's kind of a version one, which is the bare minimum. And then you can build on it over time. And I think that's what stresses so many people out is they're like, if I do this five email welcome sequence, what do I talk about? And it's like, you'll have stuff to put in there later. Just get it set up. Absolutely. Absolutely. So I love that.

unknown: 23:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 23:22

Okay. So let's kind of fast forward a little. Let's say that uh people have taken action on some of the things you've said in today's episode, and then they're like, all right, it's now the time. I'm ready to launch my book. What are some tips you have for that?

SPEAKER_01: 23:34

Yeah, definitely. So we've talked a little bit about how we're going to like kind of warm up our audience. So take it a few months out. You've already been building your audience and talking about the book somewhat, but kind of put this into a true launch campaign where you're going to do, you know, your title reveal, do your cover reveal, the release date reveal, um, and or announcement, not really reveal. Um, and kind of use these as like big, exciting announcements where you kind of bring your energy, you show your excitement for it because that emotion really does translate um online and helps, you know, people get excited for you too and to support you. Another thing you can consider doing is building a small team to help you with the launch, um, where, you know, there's people on social media or your email list where you know that they're really excited about the book and they might be a really good person to read an early advanced copy. They might leave a review on Amazon on launch day. They might post about it to their own audience on social media, or maybe they have a reader group on Facebook or wherever where they can share about your book launch. So making those connections early in addition to just posting or sending emails is also really helpful. So you have people to collaborate with that can support your launch and you can support, you know, their launch if they're an author as well in the future. So I like to do that as well in my launches. Um, and then, you know, leading up to launch, increase what you're doing a little bit, really make sure that your content's being seen with social or you're sending more emails than usual, and then continue that through launch week and beyond and just really keep that excitement going. Make sure again that it's so clear what the book's about, um, that you're bringing your excitement, you're sharing any early reviews that you might have gotten or early feedback from beta readers, things like that. Um, and then experiment. Like this is really your time to now, now that it's available for purchase, to see what is getting people clicking, what are, you know, what is leading to sales, what email did I send that has, you know, created the most sales out of any of them? This is like the time to really collect that data and experiment with um, you know, how you're summarizing your book. Are you, you know, making the hook exciting enough and engaging enough for people to want to go by? So yeah, use that data and use that time to experiment. Um, and then use it. Go back and look at that data and help that um let that help you with future launches or even just the ongoing marketing of this book.

SPEAKER_00: 25:54

Yeah. I think we put a lot of pressure on our launch and like for good reason, right? We know that it's kind of the unveiling of our book, Baby to the World. But I think sometimes we forget that it's okay if not everything happens during that week because the book has a lifetime and we need to market it throughout that entire lifetime. So I love what you said about kind of iterating on what you're learning and, you know, using things from the launch. And think about too, like when you're post-launch, how much of that can go back in that welcome sequence you're trying to build or on your website, things like that. Um, what can you put in your story bank that you're gonna talk about in the future? So, you know, it's kind of all info in a good way, right? Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01: 26:32

And at the end of the day, like, yes, launch week is exciting, but readers don't really care all that much about when a book comes out. Like they'll read it if it sounds good years down the line. Um, and so I was the same way, like my first book, I didn't really know what I was doing. Um, and it didn't start selling until a couple of years later. And I just interviewed an author whose book has sold like 300,000 copies and it didn't start gaining traction until like three years in. And she kept marketing it through those three years and then it took off. So that's not to say that might happen for you. It could be, you know, this launch week is great. Um, but just don't get discouraged from continuing to go. And please, please, please don't give up on your book if launch week doesn't go as expected and just kind of switch to the next one. You have plenty of time to find your readers for that book.

SPEAKER_00: 27:16

Yeah, and it's like you said, it could be just the mismatch between the way you're talking about an aspect of it and what your ideal reader really wants. So imagine making one tweak instead of giving up, and then imagine your book skyrocketing, which I've seen happen too. So absolutely I agree. Don't give up. Um, but okay, so one of the things you said was like connecting with your readers before launch week. And then also think about like during that launch week as a reader yourself for anyone who's listening, you kind of get excited for those writers you follow and you like being a part of the hype, right? So you're kind of just creating that for the people that you've connected with. And it doesn't have to be like, um, because this is a thing I hear all the time is well, I don't just want to talk about myself and my book, right? And so it's kind of like if you can step out of that and just come along with me for this journey, you're gonna get the same result, but you're gonna feel better about it. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01: 28:09

Yeah, absolutely. I love this, yeah. And just thinking about the fact that your audience is opting in to hear from you. I think that's another thing that people are like, oh, I'm like shoving it down their face, like whatever when they're marketing. No, if people hit follow, they're following you for a reason, or if they opt into your newsletter, they want to hear from you. So don't be afraid to let them hear from you and actually give them, you know, the content. But I think it does help too to look at other creators that you might enjoy um following online and seeing what they're posting. Cause there are times where I'm like, no one wants to see, you know, what I'm working on today. And then like I'll be clicking through my favorite authors, like, oh, this is so exciting. Like I love, and I'm responding to them about how excited I am. So the same thing will happen with you as well. Um, so yeah, don't be afraid to get, you know, a little bit personal or just feel like sharing the behind the scenes is is very exciting and not something that a lot of readers get to see. I think it's really cool that, you know, the online world has made it so that they can get a taste into what it's like to be an author throughout your day and like what you're working on and putting together and all of the hard work that goes into creating a book as well, because it's a lot.

SPEAKER_00: 29:12

Yeah, it is a lot. So again, the things that you do are very interesting, whether you realize that or not. Exactly. I love that. Yeah. But okay, so this has been so great. Um, I know you have a freebie for everybody. Can you talk about that a little bit?

SPEAKER_01: 29:27

Absolutely, yes. And I think it's uh perfect for what we were talking about. So I have a list growth starter kit that's really great for people just starting off with their email list. Um, it'll walk you through how to create it, how to grow it in numerous different ways. Um, so that's a really helpful one. And then I also have multiple social media freebies on my site, like a um posting checklist if you want to get started on social and a template pack as well. So they're all just on my website at marketing by shelby.comslash freebie. That's where you can find all of them.

SPEAKER_00: 29:56

Yeah, we will put that link in the show notes and then you can all go and collect all the freebies. From Shelby because they are great. But any last um, like parting words of wisdom on an author platform that writers need to hear?

SPEAKER_01: 30:07

I think just you know, we covered a lot today. It was like condensed into 30 minutes. So, of course, these things are gonna take longer than you know what I was able to share here. And it also, if it's feeling a little bit overwhelming, please start with one thing. Like I said in the very beginning, one platform, focus on that for you know, 60 days, 90 days. Don't be afraid to kind of put that energy into one place versus feeling like you need to have all of this perfect for your launch or you know, even beforehand. Um, because it's it takes time to set up. And like I said, like there's authors who wait years to have some of these things. And I didn't start my email list for years. And so it doesn't need to be perfect on day one. Um, take, you know, the bandwidth and time that you have to take small steps toward your goals, you know, each day that you can. And that's the best that we can do.

SPEAKER_00: 30:50

Yeah. And, you know, small steps equal big results sometimes too. So you'll be glad you started now, no matter where you are in your book launching or writing journey. But I love that. Thank you so much, Shelby, for coming on the show. And I already want to have you back like 40 different times to talk about 40 different topics.

SPEAKER_01: 31:07

So I would love that. I would love to come back anytime. But thank you so much for having me and thank you, everyone, for listening. I hope you found some tips today.

SPEAKER_00: 31:15

All right, so that's it for this episode of the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast. Head over to savannagilbo.com forward slash podcast for the complete show notes, including the resources I mentioned today, as well as bonus materials to help you implement what you've learned. And if you're ready to get more personalized guidance for your specific writing stage, whether you're just starting out, stuck somewhere in the middle of a draft, drowning in revisions, or getting ready to publish, take my free 30-second quiz at savannagilbo.com forward slash quiz. You'll get a customized podcast playlist that'll meet you right where you're at and help you get to your next big milestone. Last but not least, make sure to follow this podcast in your podcast player of choice because I'll be back next week with another episode full of actionable tips, tools, and strategies to help you become a better writer. Until then, happy writing.