The emPowered Author: A Marketing Podcast for Nonfiction Authors

If there’s one consistent question I get asked by authors, it’s this… what are some holiday marketing tips? How do I stand out amongst the noise and chaos of the holidays? This question comes up no matter the season… New Year’s, Valentines Day, St. Patrick’s Day and the Fourth of July… but the energy changes when November arrives because the domino effect of holidays is nearly triggered. Panic is...

You want to create an audiobook but how in the world do you produce one? Great question! I hadn’t a clue until I rolled up my sleeves and decided it was time for me to bring an audiobook to life. What I learned in the process was the seemingly simple journey of recording you reading your book was anything but simple. Worth it? Yes. Simple? No way! I’m so grateful that I was able to produce the aud...

Words matter. Read a book by Mitch Albom and be reminded that each and every word has purpose. Work with an editor and they will help you leverage words with precision and meaning. Words connect people, break down walls and build bridges. And, guess what... audio matters too. Listen to a poorly produced podcast, and the mouth noises become like nails on chalkboards. Video calls with poor internet...

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Books build bridges and break down walls. And this episode\'s discussion is proof of it. I’m joined with my friend and fellow author, Jane Gleeson, author of Who Stole My Ovaries?. She is a heart-centered support for women who are facing fertility challenges. Her book is raw and honest and real, and our conversation on this episode is too. As someone who...

How does your reader consume information? It’s one of the first questions I ask authors who are considering if an audiobook is a good solution for them. If you find yourself considering that maybe an audiobook is a way to share your message with those who need it most and consume information in that format, then by all means, it may be time to turn that book into an audiobook! But before you dive...

Should your book become an audiobook? Well, it depends. Audiobooks take time, resources and energy to create no matter how you create them. For some authors, it’s the perfect fit for their target reader. For others, it may not be the best use of efforts. It all, well, depends. Understanding the pros and cons for the listeners and you, the author, will help you make a more solid, strategic decision...

From the moment I met Julie Wanzer, I knew she was a rockstar. Was it her energy? Possibly! She’s filled to the brim with more positivity than I thought one person could hold. Was it her passion? For sure! She loves what she does and it shows. But when I really knew we could be besties was when I learned that her forthcoming book was on LinkedIn! (And if you’ve been around her for a while, you kno...

Ever gone out to dinner alone? It’s not something I do regularly, but found myself sitting at a farm to table restaurant that made each plate from scratch at order while on my CEO retreat. The 45-minute wait was worth every minute, however the time I sat waiting for it was an opportunity for a lot of conversation time with me, myself and I. In normal Stephanie fashion, I found myself exploring the...

I was having dinner with a friend who is working on publishing her first novel. We talked about everything under the sun… books and life related. But when she shared the advice of her book coach, I had to add to it. “I’m going to self publish,” she told me. “Because my book coach said it could take me a year or two for traditional publishing.” I suggested that she add a few years to that. I know p...

Did you know that 99.9% of businesses across the US are family businesses. Corporations tend to get the spotlight, but family businesses are the backbone of our country. Authors, you may be forming a family business too and never knew it. Tom Hubler is an author I’d had the pleasure of working with in various aspects of his family business consulting and speaking work. From website design to platf...

Ready, set, launch! That’s a phrase that builds momentum. It’s a phrase that indicates that the countdown is on. You prepare, you get ready, then you run. Launching… book launching included… is much like that. Release on the other hand has phrases like just release the tension and release the hounds come with a whole different energy and purpose. It’s like you just open the flood gates and let it...

You\'re on the self-publishing journey, but what does that mean for printing? What options exist? And what is the difference between print-on-demand and offset printing; IngramSpark and Amazon\'s KDP? In the self-publishing space, this is very complicated for authors to grasp, oddly enough. It’s a journey I walk my clients through tie and time again, and it’s still a lot to understand. So today, I...

For a book to thrive, groundwork must be laid beforehand. Just like a plant needs a solid foundation to stand strong, self-publishing an amazing book requires more than just its content. It becomes an extension of you, reflecting your thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Moreover, your book can serve as a powerful tool to build and grow your business. It establishes your authority, attracts potential...

A book starts with a thought. You have something that the world needs and you’ve yet to find out there. You have a message that you need to share. You have an itch to get out something you’ve found to be a solution to a problem of many. If you’re like me, the kernel of an idea will pester you until you put your fingers to the keyboard and, peck by peck, you allow the story to evolve. Writing a boo...

If you build it, they will come. We know that’s true from the movie Field of Dreams. But I believe that if you give value, they will come too. The world of inbound marketing is about value and trust. ⇢ When you give, you get. ⇢ When you offer, you receive. ⇢ When you create, they come. And, when your readers get there, they stay because they know you know them, you see them, and you have solutions...

I bet if you sat down for only a minute and reflected, you could identify a turning point in your career. Something happened that changed everything for you. Maybe it was a personal experience or it could have been a professional one. Either way, it turned your life upside down. While it may sound like more fun to run away from those times, it’s best to trudge through, and Mike Amato is proof of t...

I met an author who was in the thick of churn. Y’all, she was cranking out content like a machine. But she was tired and I was tired hearing about all the movement she was doing… but getting little traction. Through a series of “why” questions… I got to the root as to why she was doing all of it… and it was because she thought she was supposed to. It was that simple. Maybe you think you are suppos...

People have questions. You have answers. You know how to share those answers with the people who directly ask you. But how do you use your answers as an opportunity to pull new readers or clients to you? How can people who don’t know you find you so they can hear your answers? Sounds like a tongue twister, right? If this makes your head spin, deep breaths. I’ve got you covered. On this week’s epis...

When women come together, beautiful things happen. But when women come together and collectively share their stories, emPowering things happen. Lisa Pinnock and the ladies she’s collaborated with are living proof of it. She’s supported dozens of women in becoming empowered to share their stories of triumph, hardship and perseverance. And, not only did the women she supported walk away stronger, th...

I don’t know about you, but I have enough problems. I don’t need any more. I am not in the business of looking for and investing in problems. Instead, I’m looking for and investing in solutions. Problems aren’t fun; solutions are! People want to spend money on fun not frustrating. Problems connect us but solutions save us. People want a superhero to pull them out of the “misery loves company” plac...

When I was a little kid, I was filled with questions. So much so, actually, that I remember my parents being frustrated one day in front of my grandma and she asked them how I was going to learn if I didn’t ask questions. Grandma may have been a proponent of inbound marketing before it was a thing! The truth is, she was right. People ask questions because they have interest and their interest can...

Stop looking for the change; become it. It’s become a thread in my life for probably over a decade now when I began writing Color Today Pretty. It’s been a cornerstone to how I see my personal life and interactions with others. But when I had the opportunity to read Self-Elected by lisa wise, I realized that it is a responsibility of business owners to… actually, it’s a privilege. lisa is the owne...

I don’t know about you, but when people start using words I haven’t a clue what they mean I shut down. Life is hectic enough; no need to add words to it that make no sense or lack context unless… they matter. Unless they are game-changing. Unless someone takes a moment to break down not only what it means but why I should care in the process. Then, those words become committed to memory and I can...

To sell books requires people to know about them. To ensure the right people know about them, you need to know who your target audience is and where they go for trusted info. Then, you need a plan to be seen as a trusted source so you can be visible there. It sounds simple and it can be as long as you don’t give up on doing it. It needs a plan and it needs commitment to the plan. That’s where the...

I 100% believe that divine appointments happen daily, and my meeting Shannon Carroll is proof of it.️ We were both at the same writer\'s retreat.️ We had some overlapping connections.️ Our paths crossed one morning which began a conversation that would turn into not just amazing author connections but a deep friendship too.️ And, on top of it all, a diagnosis I was newly navigating had similaritie...