Book Marketing So Good It Feels Illegal

I promise we won’t be breaking any laws today 🙈. But I will be sharing with you 10 of the superpowers from the upcoming 50 Author Marketing Superpowers Deck.

I break down the 3 Stages of Author Marketing and 10 superpowers you can use to supercharge your readership and revenue at any stage of your marketing journey in the latest episode of the Beyond the Book Podcast.

You can listen at the links below, or scroll on to read my breakdown of the podcast (I get it, you might not have time to listen but prefer the takeaways delivered to you in 2-3 minutes… I got you!).

Now, before I dive in I want to share with you the Author Content Marketing Playbook. It’s a 70+ page guide on using social media to grow as an author, written by me.

You can access it completely for free at this link (other authors can use the same link to get access to it too, no email opt-in is necessary).

The 3 Stages of Author Marketing [0:00:55]

Stage 1: Identifying Reader Interests – Instead of focusing on demographics like age and gender, identify the passions and interests of readers who would love your story. This interest-based approach allows for more creative and engaging marketing strategies while broadening the potential audience. Ex: a romance book for people who love Korean culture and witches!

Stage 2: Finding Story Market Fit – This stage involves ensuring that a book has strong enough conversion rates (sales or downloads) and read-through rates to sustain a viable publishing business. The goal is to align the book with the expectations of the target readers so that marketing efforts generate a profitable return.

Stage 3: Scaling Audience Growth – Once you have achieved story market fit, you can focus on expanding your audience using one of three reader growth engines: collaborations, paid ads, or content marketing. I almost always recommend starting with content marketing and collaborations and using insights gained here to inform your paid ads strategy. In fact, there’s a superpower all about this👇

10 Author Marketing Superpowers 🦸

[0:09:01] Superpower #1: Story Suit – To go viral, authors must surprise and delight readers in a way that aligns with their interests. This can be achieved through unique book packaging, compelling descriptions, or by innovating within a niche market to create something fresh and unexpected.

[0:13:18] Superpower #2: One-Time Marketing Events – These are special, limited-time events designed to generate buzz and excitement around a book. Examples include virtual launch parties, creative giveaways, or themed events that engage readers and encourage sharing with others. Check out all of the one-time marketing events Netflix did for Squid Games Season 2 (they used social amplification, a.k.a creating social content about the events to reach 50,000x more people than who experienced these events live).

P.S. I also have my own fun event for the Author Marketing Superpowers launch taking place called The BIG Pencil Party. It’s a costume party for authors where we all get to learn about how to use our author superpowers together. You can register for free here 🎭.

[0:16:43] Superpower #3: Double Dips – This strategy involves repurposing content or marketing efforts to maximize their impact. For example, an author packing book boxes for subscribers could record and share the process on social media, turning routine tasks into engaging marketing content. Ex: Willow Winters filming TikTok and Reel videos of her packing her book boxes that then cause more people to buy book boxes from her… genius!

[0:18:04] Superpower #4: Social Listening – Actively monitoring what readers are saying about your books on social media allows you to engage with your audience, express gratitude, and gather insights into how your work is perceived. This helps strengthen reader relationships and improve future marketing efforts.

[0:19:01] Superpower #5: Book Liquidator – A marketing funnel that aims to recover ad costs immediately by offering an upsell after capturing a reader’s email. For instance, an author might offer the first book in a series for free and then present a discounted bundle of the full series on the next page to generate instant revenue.

[0:22:39] Superpower #6: Power of Reciprocity – Giving away value without expecting anything in return builds goodwill and fosters reader loyalty. Whether it’s free content, discounts, or helpful resources, acts of generosity can encourage readers and fellow authors to support your work in return. Ex: I gave you all a free copy of the Author Marketing Playbook and didn’t even ask for an email in return 😆.

[0:24:20] Superpower #7: Content Canon – Creating a large volume of content across platforms (e.g., TikTok, Instagram, YouTube) helps test what resonates with readers. High-performing organic content can be repurposed as paid ads, ensuring marketing efforts are optimized for engagement and conversions. Ex: Flower Letters takes their top TikToks and turns them into paid ads.

[0:25:41] Superpower #8: Reader Napping – This involves strategically identifying and capturing audiences from other content creators or communities with overlapping interests. Instead of just targeting readers of similar books, you can advertise in unexpected places like niche YouTube channels or podcasts. I call this an underutilized audience.

[0:27:48] Superpower #9: Social Hacking – Leveraging social media to align your book with influencers, trends, or major figures in your genre. This could involve creating content about a well-known author’s work, interacting with their fans, or making viral-worthy book-related posts that gain traction in their audience. Ex: The book Inner Excellence going viral because an NFL player was reading it on the sidelines during a game.

[0:29:50] Superpower #10: Other People’s Resources – Partnering with businesses, influencers, or organizations to access their audience and resources. For example, an author could collaborate with a bookstore to host a themed event that promotes their book while providing value to the store’s customers. Ex: Grady Hendrix doing presentations on witchcraft at bookstores across the country for his book Witchcraft for Wayward Girls.

And that’s it for the summary of this podcast episode: Book Marketing So Good It Feels Illegal! You can listen to the full episode packed with more examples, stories, and insights on YouTube here 💙.

Now let’s move on to some other fun Author Sidekick updates!

Update on Author Marketing Superpowers

This is card 1 of 50 of the Author Marketing Superpowers 🥳.

This is just the front side of one card, the back side of each card is packed with actionable steps and more insights.

Can't wait for this to launch on Kickstarter in a few weeks! Remember, the digital version will be made available to everyone completely for free :).

You can follow the project on Kickstarter here and scoop up the physical decks (packed with beautiful illustrations) when the campaign launches!

The 10 Bonus Author Marketing Superpowers Workshop [Exclusive to Sidekick Plus Members]

And that’s it for this week! I’ll see Sidekick Plus members tomorrow at 5 pm ET to 6:30 pm ET for our monthly workshop on the 10 Bonus Marketing Superpowers for Authors. I’ll be sending an email out tomorrow morning (or maybe tonight) to all paid members with that link, however you can access all the information about the event inside THIS POST (it will be recorded for Sidekick Plus members only to watch as well!).

Remember, you can get a 20% lifetime discount if you subscribe before Midnight ET tomorrow night!

And next week, I’ll be back with another essay and Beyond the Book Podcast episode for y’all 😊.

In the meantime, don’t forget…

Together we are boundless

Michael Evans

The Author Sidekick