The emPowered Author: A Marketing Podcast for Nonfiction Authors

How many hats do you have to wear to make your author emPact? ⇢You have a writer hat. And, you are likely comfy with that one. I mean, you have to write a book to make a book happen.⇢You have your author hat. Most authors learn the ins and outs of authorship. We know that to become an author requires us to publish a book and all. ⇢And, you have an authorpreneur hat, too. But authorpreneurship isn’...

You’ve written a book. Now what? This is a question many ask me and while today’s episode will offer some helpful tips on your next steps, I want to start by sharing what you shouldn’t do. ⇏ Don’t keep them in a box in your basement to collect dust and mildew (or get impacted by an air conditioner leak… ahem, I know this from personal experience).⇏ Don’t think they will sell themselves. (Friends,...

During the pandemic, so many of us found ourselves contemplating what our dreams were and the path we were taking to make them happen. I’ve heard from many authors, time and time again, that the book that they would one day write moved up on the priority list. I have had the pleasure of meeting an author who wrote reflections during that time and published an amazing book from it. I just spoke to...

Ready. Set. Launch! Launching a book may feel a bit like launching a rocket. There’s stress and planning. Momentum builds. It takes off and you hold your breath to see if the rocket will make it to outerspace safely, and only then can you find your breath again. I had the pleasure of watching a rocket launch a few years ago, and it was stressful. I’ve also had the pleasure of personally launching...

I’m on a quest for being able to better define emPact… and I’m talking about the emPact that we have around here that is spelled a bit differently. This emPact has greater… well… emPact. emPact happens when people are vulnerable, when we let down our guard and be honest with ourselves in a way that not just changes us but changes others. Every author has the potential to make their author emPact,...

Are you looking to write a book this year? If so, I want to ensure that you write a book that others will buy. I call that a marketable book. This requires some prep work from you on identifying your target audience and outlining how you are going to use this book with them. Then, you have to plan to make it happen. Make a commitment to yourself to schedule time now. Put it on the calendar. Hold i...

Would you go on a trip to a new destination without a map? You may be up for that challenge but I know I’d get lost. Would you attempt to put together a piece of IKEA furniture without the directions? If you’ve done it a time or two before maybe not, but I’d rather get it done than see how long it would take me to do it without directions. What about finish school without a plan? Dive into a caree...

We are just a day away from a new year, and I don’t know about you… but I’m excited! 2023 is destined for greatness, I believe it. And, I believe that it can be for you too. I wanted to give you an inside glimpse into how I’ve been planning for the new year every year and some tips that keep me focused after the honeymoon phase of the new year excitement fades. If you’re an author and you’re in ne...

It’s Christmas time, so I wanted to gift you a special treat. A bonus episode in this season of The emPowered Author Podcast and this episode is all about Pinterest. I’m joined by the amazing Pinterest expert, Deb Gonzales, and she shares so many nuggets of goodness! Pinterest, when used best, is an awesome evergreen option for authors to consider, and Deb shares the best strategies to tackle it!...

As with many things in life, some social platforms are here for a season. Others stick around for decades. During this season of The emPowered Author Podcast, I have been highlighting the platforms that have had longevity and purpose for authors to consider, and Twitter is one of them. It’s never been my platform of choice, mainly because of its belief that less is more (and that’s hard for me ove...

Does the camera make your hands sweat and your voice crack or do you get a rush of adrenaline and ideas right when you hit record? I’ve likely not found as polarizing of viewpoints with authors outside of talking about the differing feelings of sharing a message through the written word and through the spoken word. Some love it and many despise it. But most will agree that it’s not going away and...

We want everything. Now. Instantly. For authors, that includes the publishing of our books… the royalties raking in… the business we are building alongside to flourish. We want it all and we want it now. Right?! Our culture has created this need for instant gratification and instant success. But when it comes to social media, even today’s topic of Instagram is anything but instant. The name of the...

My favorite holiday every is Thanksgiving! I love the food and the family time, but I really love what it means... for me personally and for book marketing. I\'ve finally figured out what the most important differentiator is for authors. What makes them stand out when it comes to book marketing, and it\'s this. Thanks + Giving. Those two words are jam-packed with marketing gems, and today I\'m tel...

Facebook! The social media platform that got my feet wet into how our world would become connected in a way that no one dreamed possible. Facebook created a major yet unexpected shift when it released, causing people to reimagine how we communicated with others and how marketing would evolve. I believe not all platforms are created equal, and many evolve, as well. Facebook, my friends, is one of t...

There are very few must haves I recommend. You need a website, author friend. Hands down, a must. And outside of that, the second non-negotiable in my book is that you need to be on LinkedIn. I don’t think you have to do all the things or be all the places, but I do believe that being visible and engaged on LinkedIn will bode well for all authors, non-fiction especially. Why? Well, because not all...

I’m going to date myself on today’s episode, but I have to share that I literally remember the day when Facebook became a thing and my college didn’t have access to it yet. I also remember working at a company that had such a stringent social media policy that it would be laughable now. I remember life before social media, but I know that because of it, we are all forever changed. It’s changed how...

Every author has the potential to make their author emPact, and Wendy Cocke is proof of it. Wendy\'s book, Making Flex Work, has allowed her the opportunity to help others... and she credits this podcast and Stephanie\'s insights to helping her do just that! In this episode of The emPowered Author Podcast, Stephanie and Wendy discuss how authors can make an emPact, and the power of Stephanie\'s me...

Growth requires reflection, and as we inch closer to the end of the year, you may be planning out your authorpreneur business offerings for next year. If so, this episode of The emPowered Author Podcast is worth a listen. The best businesses – the ones that are emPactful and profitable – are continuously looking for opportunities to improve. As 2023 knocks on the door, I wanted to take a moment to...

You and I may be a bit different when it comes to entrepreneurship. While you may dream of all that it could offer; I tried time and time to run away from it. It had other plans, and running a business wasn’t a part of it. However, authorpreneurship kept knocking and I decided to stop running from it and, instead, see what it had to offer. And, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. While running a busin...

You’ve solved the authorpreneur equation, but are you benefiting from it? You have a marketable solution, but are you marketing it? You have a business but are your offerings clear? Are you talking about them and are others doing the same? Books that aren’t being read makes my soul cry! And businesses — meaningful ones – that aren’t getting traction because you’re not promoting them makes my heart...

When some people say that they have \"been there, done that\" it means they aren\'t open to trying something again. Others, like me, see that phrase a bit differently. In fact, it\'s wisdom shared and that\'s what this episode is all about. In this episode of The emPowered Author Podcast I read a chapter from my new book, Make Your Author emPact: Sell More Books, Increase Your Reach & Achieve Your...

Some people write a book because they have a dream to do so. Figuratively of course! They can envision a world where their name is on a book and they are making an emPact with it. Welp, I never had that type of dream. Instead, I had a literal one. A literal dream put me on this journey to write a book which later took me on the journey to help authors around the world market theirs. This week, in...

There are a handful of days in my life that I’ll never forget. And today is added to it! It\'s the launch of my newest book, Make Your Author emPact: Sell More Books, Increase Your Reach & Achieve Your Why. Ahh! Today calls for a celebration, and I am so excited to share with you a sneak peek into the top three things I learned while launching this book. I will never, ever take for granted the jou...

Writing a book on emPact got me thinking … I wonder what some of my family feels about it. Specifically, I was curious if there were authors who had made an emPact in their lives like authors had made an emPact in mine. So I decided to ask them. And I had way too much fun in the process. I learned that I take for granted small nuggets of information, because asking this question and hearing their...

Books mean business, literally. Over the years of helping authors with book marketing support, there is a commonality that I have picked up on and it’s this. Most authors don’t realize that the moment they write and publish a book, they have actually launched a business. This season of The emPowered Author Podcast is focused on helping authorpreneurs with marketing insights to build or grow their...