Mark interviews Laurie Cooper, an award-winning speaker, and an author coach and marketing expert, who helps fiction authors go from struggling, feeling invisible and not knowing what to do next, to finding and connecting with their ideal readers. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's sponsor. Learn more about Toronto Indie Author Conference 2025 here. In their conversation, Mark and Laurie talk about: The round-about way that Laurie got into the role of becoming a marketing coach for authorsStarting off as a virtual assistant, then moving on to more marketing-related and coaching for authorsIt being 11 years since Laurie started working with authorsSome of the ways the marketing landscape and promotion strategies have changed over the yearsLaurie's "The Visible Author Method" that authors can enroll in, but only after a discovery call with Laurie and an invitationThe idea that coaches need coaches and therapists need therapistsThe most important aspect of what writers want, which is ways to connect with their readers, and having their books readHow "Niching Down and Branding" is at the core of everything Laurie offers to authorsHow positioning, or establishing a positioning statement is one of the most taxing endeavors for an authorThe way that working with a coach can help an author with being able to see themselves and their writing in a new light/different way is importantThe tiny roadblocks that can stop us from moving forward, and the importance of getting over themThe concept of personalized repeatable systemsNavigating the road map of best practices, and the importance of trial and error and measurable metricsSome of the differences related to marketing for traditionally published authors versus self-published authorsAn example of working with a traditionally published author that took some extra effort but worked nicely in the endSome resources that Laurie recommendsThe three questions that you should always be answering for your readers 1) What can they expect 2) Why should they care? (What makes it special) 3) What they can/should do nextThe importance of the idea of "my brand equals my promise to my readers"And more... After the interview Mark reflects on how the the same process/procedure might work differently for different authors, as well as the importance of being able to pivot when unexpected elements clash with your plans and goals. Links of Interest: Laurie Cooper's Pub-Craft Laurie's Printer-Friendly Book Launch ChecklistLaurie's Pub-Craft ResourcesBook a free consult with Laurie Buy Mark a CoffeePatreon for Stark Reflections How to Access Patreon RSS Feeds Mark's YouTube channelMark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and LibrariesThe Relaxed Author Buy eBook DirectBuy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for AuthorsAn Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & BookstoresWide for the WinMark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story)A Canadian Werewolf in New YorkStowe Away (Novella)Fear and Longing in Los AngelesFright Nights, Big CityLover's MoonHex and the CityOnly Monsters in the Building The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and AutomobilesYippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die HardMerry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Award-winning speaker, Laurie Cooper, launched her online business, Pub-Craft: Marketing for Books and Brands, in October 2013. She helps fiction authors go from struggling, feeling invisible and not knowing what to do next, to finding and connecting with their ideal readers. In her first year of business, Laurie went from 1 to over 200 clients and helped 100+ authors hit the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Lists. While she works as a marketing coach with authors from around the world, Laurie calls Ottawa, Canada her home. Learn more about Laurie and her course,The Visible Author Method. Connect at www.Pub-Craft.com. The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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44 mins