Author: Dan Blank

Author Website Essentials

I want to invite you to a free 5-day program I am running from February 18 – 22 called Author Website Essentials. Each day, I will share a video that walks you through the purpose of an author website, the essentials you need, what content to share, and how to create (or optimize) a minimum viable website. This program will be as useful to authors who currently have a website, but want to improve it, as it will be for writers who don’t yet have one. Just join my private Facebook Group to access it all.

In this program, I will share practical tips based on my work with authors. Let me give you some background…

Over the past 20 years, I have worked on hundreds of websites. I was a part of the first dot com boom working for startups in the late 90s and early 2000s when the web felt like the wild west. From there, I worked closely on the web strategy for 50+ publications, including Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. I dug deep into web analytics, helped launch 300 blogs for these brands, plus set up newsletters, social media, and connected it all to each brands’ editorial mission and business strategy.

For the last nine years my full-time focus has been working directly with authors here at WeGrowMedia, where I have built, optimized and set strategy for hundreds of them, and helped train many other writers to develop aspects of their own websites.

But there is something I keep in mind amidst all of this background: I want your author website to be simple. It should serve a clear function to you, the author, and to your ideal audience of readers.

Everything I share in the free Author Website Essentials program is meant to give you clarity and actionable steps to understand:

  • Your website’s purpose.
  • The key elements your website needs and why.
  • Setting a content strategy for it (which may include blogging, a newsletter, and more.)
  • Tech essentials to get your site launched or optimized.

Of course, I’ll be doing a Q&A during the program as well to answer your questions. To access all of this from Feb 18-22, join my ‘Reader Connection Project‘ Facebook group.

Oh, and please spread the word to other writers. Your support means so much to me. Thanks!

-Dan

The Creative Shift Podcast

I’m happy to announce the new name for this podcast: The Creative Shift with Dan Blank. Last week I asked for your feedback, and was blown away by all of the response I received. In this episode, I reflect on what I heard from you, and what you can expect in this podcast moving forward. 

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

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I Need Your Help With My Podcast

I recently published three incredible interviews on my podcast:

It occurred to me that even though I started my podcast back in 2012, and have published more than 60 episodes, I never properly launched it. If you are unaware that I have a podcast, I’m not surprised. I’ve done a horrible job of marketing it.

My goal with the podcast is to celebrate writers and artists who have taken a risk to double down on their creative vision. My focus is on how people create when it means stepping outside their comfort zone.

When I think back on the podcast, I remember moments with the people I’ve interviewed:

I think of Dani Shapiro describing how writing doesn’t get easier even after success. Or Will Ackerman describing how he kept himself close to his love of music amidst multimillion dollar decisions. Or how Rebecca Green worked through creative burnout. Or how Tina Roth Eisenberg approaches potentially devastating situations.

I think about the inspiration and wisdom that they have shared with me in small moments throughout my days.

Yet the other day I realized something: I don’t remember ever saying to someone “please subscribe to my podcast!” I almost never say the full name of the podcast. It’s just something I started doing, and kept doing.

Which is ironic because so much of the work I do for writers is about marketing and branding and launching. My podcast has no shoes.

I want to correct that now because I think I can do more to celebrate the writers and artists I interview. I want their wisdom to connect with more people.

Not long ago, I moved it from a monthly schedule to weekly. That has been wonderful, because it means I get to have 4 times the amount of conversations with writers and artists who inspire me.

I’m considering changing the name of it. Right now, it’s called “Dabblers Vs. Doers.” This was the original title of a book I’m writing. But, in the process of writing it, I realized that these two things — dabbling and doing — are not always opposed to one another. So I’m considering rebranding the podcast to the working titles of two of the books I’m writing (btw: I’m writing two books):

  • From Dabbler to Doer
  • The Creative Shift

I’m wondering if you can help. Can you please give me feedback on:

  • Should I change the name of my podcast? Which do you prefer: “From Dabbler to Doer” or “The Creative Shift”?
  • Are there any guests you would like for me to interview?
  • Are their topics you want me to address in future episodes.

You can listen to the podcast where I dig into all of this by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Human-Centered Marketing for Introverted Writers

I’m excited to announce a brand new program I’m launching called Human-Centered Marketing for Introverted Writers. I invite you to join me for a four-week program to create an outreach plan to find and engage your ideal audience.

What you receive in the program:

  • The Reader Connection Plan template and videos to guide you through it.
  • Direct feedback from me each week – we personalize your plan together.
  • Outreach scripts to show you exactly how it’s done.
  • Simple micro-actions to immediately get started.

I’ve helped thousands of writers develop their author platforms, launch their books, and create marketing strategies that work. The Human-Centered Marketing for Introverted Writers program outlines the system I have developed to ensure you reach your ideal audience in a way that feels meaningful and authentic to you.

This four-week program isn’t a course where you are given too much information, then you languish by yourself to make sense of it all. Instead, this is a collaboration. You will get personalized feedback from me each week. I will walk you step-by-step through the process, and together, we establish a simple process that will supercharge your ability to connect with your ideal audience.

When you master this process, you will be miles ahead of 99% of authors out there — knowing who your ideal readers are and forging meaningful connections with them.

Too many writers spin their wheels chasing social media followers, worrying how to go viral, and searching for book marketing trends. In the end, they feel overwhelmed by everything they have been told to do, and frustrated that nothing they try seems to work.

Don’t be that person.

Instead, focus on meaningful connections to a real people. Identify who you want to reach and what resonates with them. Let me guide you through this four-week program to do exactly that.

This becomes the basis for your:

  • Author platform
  • Social media strategy
  • Marketing campaigns
  • Book launch preparation

Many writers I speak to describe themselves as introverts. They fear it prevents them from reaching readers. But being an introvert is not a liability, it is a strength. Use it to connect with readers in a way that feels natural:

  • One-to-one.
  • On your terms.
  • Focused on listening.
  • Empathetic.
  • One step at a time.

This program is 100% geared towards writers who are introverts, and connecting with readers in a manner that feels authentic to who you are.

The Human-Centered Marketing for Introverted Writers costs $450 to join. To read more about the program and register, click here. You can also watch this video where I take you through exactly how it works:

Thanks!

-Dan

Your Book is a Gift: A Book Launch Case Study with Dr. Beth Ricanati

Beth Ricanati, MDIn today’s podcast, I dig into a book launch case study with author Dr. Beth Ricanati. Last year she released her book, Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs, and we dig into the entire process of writing, publishing, and promoting the book. When I asked her to summarize the book launch, she said: “It was so wonderfully overwhelming.”

You can listen to the podcast by clicking ‘play’ below, or in the following places:

Some of what we discuss in the interview:

  • The process of how she wrote her book, and how she switched books midway through the process.
  • The reasons that she had to reframe her identity as an author when those around her knew her primarily as a doctor.
  • How she created her book proposal, got her agent, and found a publisher.
  • How the first deal for her book was killed because the marketing department at the publisher she was speaking to said “She has no social media presence. We are killing the deal.” She didn’t consider publication for another two years after that happened.
  • How she launched an Instagram account and started sharing growing it organically to 6,000 followers. She also got more serious with social media and outreach: developing a website, newsletter, Facebook page, and more.
  • How she sums up the role of social media in the book launch, “I have met some great people through Instagram and Facebook.” She focused on the human connections, not the numbers.
  • How her marketing for the book centered on her existing network and friends and people she met through them. When I asked who she reached out to, she said, “I had a list, I had been keeping a list for a long time.”
  • She totally flipped how many authors view marketing. Instead of worry about being seen as pushy in sharing her book, she mailed copies of it to friends, supporters and those in her network as “gifts.” She said she was at the post office every other day, just constantly mailing out gifted copies.
  • She setup 20 events around the book around launch, and rethought what they can be. She didn’t want to just read from the book, since it is about making challah she used it as an opportunity to show people how to do it. She is now setting up a second series events for this year. She plans events around her personal travel schedule.
  • How did she get these speaking events? By reaching out to friends, or through people who have reached out to her because one of her friends said something to them. “I have’t cold called, it’s been organic.”
  • How she had to push herself outside her comfort zone: “The whole public speaking thing was terrifying. I had to really work on that. I was not comfortable public speaking, but now I’m more comfortable with it.”
  • When I asked her how she thinks about the book promotion four months after publication, she said, “I think it is just getting going. I feel like it’s a snowball going down a hill, and it’s gaining momentum. It’s super exciting. I just got an invitation to speak in September, and right now it’s January. I’m so excited to see what’s around the bend.” She is excited about doubling down on ensuring this book reaches new readers.
  • We explore how this entire process represented a massive creative shift for her. She pivoted from being a full-time doctor to an author. “There is a lot of support and resources and knowledge to help you do that. I feel like I’ve been given a gift, to be able to make this pivot. I hope others are able to as well. There is just so much out there.”

About Beth:
Beth Ricanati, MD has built her career around bringing wellness into women’s everyday lives, especially busy moms juggling life and children. She has practiced internal medicine at the NY-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic. In addition, her writings have appeared in peer-reviewed medical journals and many lifestyle blogs. Ricanati lives in the Los Angeles area with her family and one challah-loving dog.

You can find Beth in the following places:
https://housecallsforwellness.com
Her book: Braided: A Journey of a Thousand Challahs
Instagram: @housecallsforwellness
Facebook

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