Publish & Prosper

Is this the year you’re finally going to publish that book? Or maybe you just want to write more than you did last year. In this episode Lauren & Matt share tips for building a writing habit in a way that works best for you… and set a few lofty goals of their own. Watch this episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper💡 Lulu Blog |  Writing & Editing, Software Reviews💡 Audrey Hughey | The Write Services💡 Related EpisodesEp #32 | 5 Things to Know Before You Start PublishingEp #38 | From Manuscript to Market: 5+ Tools to Help You Draft, Publish, and Sell Your BookEp #74 | Paul's Pod: Your Guide to Taking Your Writing Habit to the Next Level💡 Read These Blog PostsHow to Get Started Writing6 Writing Habits to Write MoreHow to Write a Book: A 6-Step Guide for Beginners💡 Watch These VideosWebinar | Create Your Ultimate Authorship Plan for 2024 with Audrey HugheyWebinar | How To Write An Outline For A Nonfiction Book with Stefanie NewellLulu U | 6 Tips to Create a Writing Habit that Sticks Sound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [16:25] “A lot of people want to talk about the importance of writing every day. I think it is more important to set yourself consistent goals that are achievable for you.”🎙️ [25:02] “There's nothing worse than when you're just looking at a blinking cursor on a blank word doc and you've suddenly forgot just like every word that exists in the English language.”💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode Matt & Lauren recap some of the hottest topics and trends in the publishing industry from 2024, and make a few predictions for 2025.   Thanks for a great year of publishing and prospering with us! Watch this episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper💡 Written Word Media | 2024 Indie Author Survey Results: Insights into Self Publishing for Authors💡 Louis Grenier | $16k in 5 Days Book Launch Breakdown💡 Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore💡 Bublish’s AI Author Toolkit💡 Listen to These EpisodesEp #18 | How Writers Can Harness the Power of AIEp #38 | From Manuscript to Market: 5+ Tools to Help You Draft, Publish, and Sell Your BookEp #43 | Make Your Self-Published Books Stand Out with Custom Details💡 Read These Blog PostsDirect-to-Consumer BooksellingSudowrite ReviewSound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [9:06] “I think that that also explains that huge jump we saw in stores being created and active this year versus last year, because I do really think that this year, more than ever, it connected for people and they've started sort of piecing this puzzle together.”🎙️ [29:01] “And the truth of the matter is nobody has any idea what AI in publishing looks like for next year… But we do know, and I think it will always be true, that it can't replace human creativity, human emotion. It can't elicit responses like a human can with their writing. So use AI for what it's good at, for productivity. Use it for the tools, and making your life easier.”🎙️ [47:21] “I think these business savvy creators and content entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs in general are going to be at the forefront of people saying like, we underst💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode Lauren & Matt explore the journey to successful audience growth by finding your content niche, defining your ideal reader, and identifying your target audience. We also discuss the value of learning from other creators, ways to inject new life into your marketing efforts, and the correct way to pronounce niche, among other things. Watch this episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper💡 Check Out SparkToro💡 Read Written Word Media’s 2024 Indie Author Survey Results: Insights into Self Publishing for Authors💡 Listen to These EpisodesEp #25 | Author Branding 101: Building a Brand Beyond Your BooksEp #35 | Designing the Right Go-to-Market Strategy for Your BookEp #47 | Metrics That Matter: A Guide for Authors & Creators💡 Read These Blog PostsBuilding Effective Reader Personas for Authors and CreatorsHow to Find Your Target Audience💡 Watch These VideosWebinar | How to Create a Multi-Million-Dollar Business ​​​​​​​From Your Business Book with Joe PulizziSound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [10:07] “The start of that journey is understanding who your audience is, who you're creating content for, what is your niche topic or content area, and then understanding like, how do I create content for this audience, but more importantly, how do I market and sell it to this audience?”🎙️ [23:01] “You should be updating your own understanding of who your readers are, who your audience is, who you're writing for, who you're writing to.”🎙️ [39:14] “You have to understand that these things that you're doing, again, whether you want to agree to this or not, you're building a business. And so everything you do is a step towards sustainability long-term.”💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode, Matt & Lauren tackle some of the most common misconceptions about self-publishing. We debunk myths like: ❌ You won’t make any money self-publishing❌ You have to spend a lot of money to self-publish❌ There’s no credibility in self-publishingAnd most importantly: fake M&Ms are just as good as real M&Ms. Watch this episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper💡 Listen to These EpisodesEp #2 | Is Self-Publishing the Best Path for Today’s Creators? Ep #8 | Self-Publishing is a Team SportEp #20 | Do You Need to Hire Professional Editors for Your Book?Ep #25 | Author Branding 101Ep #36 | The Indie Author’s Guide to Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing💡 Read These Blog Posts6 Steps to Create and Print a Book for Beginners5 Visual Indicators Your Book Is Self-Published💡 Watch These VideosLulu U | Start Here PlaylistThe Life of a BookSound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [4:29] “There's no guarantee you're going to make money one way or the other, it really boils down to effort. And that is also true across all of the publishing paths.”🎙️ [25:37] “It's not a one size fits all thing in any way when it comes to how much you're going to spend on self-publishing. If you're operating under the assumption that you can only find success as a self-published author if you sink a lot of money into any part of it…that's just not true.”🎙️ [36:32] “I think these days people want to be more in control of their content and their money and their life. And I think that they're able to do that through self-publishing.”💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode, Lauren & Matt discuss the New York Times Best Seller lists. Learn how the lists are decided, what disqualifies a book from being a potential NYT Best-Seller, and why self-published authors rarely make the cut.  Watch this episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper💡 The New York Times | About the Best Sellers💡 Novlr | The New York Times Bestseller Lists Explained💡 Wikipedia | The New York Times Best-Seller List 💡 Jane Friedman | Self-Published Bestseller ListsSound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [4:29] “What I mean when I say it doesn't matter is that you can still achieve incredible success as a self-published author without having your name on the New York Times best-seller list.” 🎙️ [12:15] “They were getting sued for not including a specific title on the list despite the sales. And the argument that they made was that it is not exclusively based on straight up math and sales numbers, but is more of an editorial product that is influenced by sales numbers, but also influenced by other things.”🎙️ [34:35] “I'm going to make Matt's blood boil a little bit because I'm going to say that I think that for self-published authors… hitting the top of the Amazon charts is probably more important for your sales and discoverability than hit the New York Times list would be."💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode, Matt & Lauren have a conversation about Taylor Swift’s upcoming book, talking through her decision to self-publish it, and what that says about the future of traditional publishing. Disclaimer: This episode was Matt’s idea, not Lauren’s.Watch this episode on YouTube! Dive Deeper💡 Target Press Release💡 Related EpisodesEp #2 | Is Self-Publishing the Best Path for Today's Creators?Ep #16 | The Indie Author's Guide to Thriving Without AmazonEp #36 | The Indie Author’s Guide to Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing Sound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [14:36] “Time and time again, we see plenty of people who have built an audience for themselves, regardless of size, but it works for them. There's high engagement. They know their audience better than anybody else, and they are able to self-publish content and reach their audience and achieve whatever their primary goals are.” 🎙️ [16:20] “I think as… this idea of creating and owning your content and the distribution methods to get it to market continues to increase, I think traditional publishing's value continues to decrease.”🎙️ [41:24] “At the end of the day I never thought I would find inspiration in something Taylor Swift did, but here we are.”💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode, Lauren & Matt review the important metrics you need to be tracking to boost your book sales, grow your brand, and connect with a loyal audience. We take a look at social media, email, website, and customer data and share valuable tools and tips to help you make the most of the data you collect. Watch this episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper💡 Check Out These ResourcesShopify | Ecommerce Analytics Tools for Online Store OwnersSparkToro | https://sparktoro.com/ ManyChat | https://manychat.com/creators 💡 Read These Blog PostsUnlock Your Content Business Potential With User DataTracking Your Marketing Efforts With UTM TagsComplete Tech Stack for Publishing💡 Listen to These EpisodesEpisode #11 | Email Marketing for Authors & CreatorsEpisode #12 | Social Media Marketing for Authors & CreatorsEpisode #22 | Using Customer Data to Grow Your BusinessEpisode #31 | Your 7-Step Guide to Building an Online BookstoreSound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [10:38] “A lot of these metrics are interconnected, and that's kind of the whole point in tracking them and in paying attention to them. And I know that's going to sound really overwhelming as we rattle off a bunch of different types of metrics that you should be looking at, but they really do inform each other in a lot of different ways.”🎙️ [24:03] “If you're sending an email out once a week or once every two weeks or whatever, and you're asking people to buy your book and you're sending them to Amazon, you're not going to have the data as to whether or not they bought a book from that email.”🎙️ [35:55] “All roads should lead to however you get somebody to purchase a book, wherever they do that. And primarily that should be on your website.”💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode, Matt & Lauren share tips for maximizing your return on investment when you attend a conference. We have our top picks for note-taking, strategies for putting your ideas into action, and using your conference experience to establish yourself as a thought leader. Watch this episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper💡 Otter.AI💡 Ecamm Live💡 Ann Handley’s Total Annarchy Newsletter💡 Listen to These EpisodesEpisode #23 | How to Survive (and Thrive) at Conferences and EventsEpisode #29 | 3 Steps to Prep for an Author Event (and What to Do When You’re There)💡 Read These Blog PostsHow to Grow Your Author NetworkMaximize Your Time at In-Person EventsWhy Creator Events Are a Must for Creators & Entrepreneurs💡 Watch These VideosAn Author’s Guide to Attending Live EventsSound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [7:03] “You really should try to take down some sort of notes any way that you can. And we're going to talk about some ways to make it a lot easier for you to do that, especially if you're like me, where you're just terrible at it so you don't even bother. And you hope that all of the main points that are valuable will stick in your brain until you get home and they usually don't.” “How does that work out for you?” “It doesn't at all.”🎙️ [17:02] “The most important part about these events is again, how you turn that into actionable takeaways that are going to further your business, your brand, your career, whatever it is you're trying to influence there.”🎙️ [35:12] “Whatever it is, this is an opportunity for you to share something with your audience that further establishes you as somebody who knows what they're talking about.”💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

It’s officially been one year of Publish & Prosper! Join Lauren & Matt for a special Ask Us Anything episode, where we take listener questions about publishing, marketing, Lulu products, and - of course - Disney. We answer questions like: Do you start building your audience first and then write your book, or do you start writing your book first and then build your audience? What trends have you seen from Lulu creators over the years in how they've adapted their businesses to sell more books?When you mentioned releasing the right format in regards to the right go-to-market strategy, what do you mean?Watch this episode on YouTube!Dive Deeper💡 Read These Blog Posts10 Ways Modern Authors Can Build an AudienceHow to Find Your Target Audience💡 Watch These VideosThe Confetti VideoThe Life of a BookPlaylist | Audience Building💡 Listen to These EpisodesEpisode #11 | Email Marketing for Authors & CreatorsEpisode #35 | Designing the Right Go-to-Market Strategy for Your Book💡Katie Cross BooksSound Bites From This Episode🎙️[6:31] “I think a lot of people get wrapped up in this idea that it's too late, that even if I start working on my audience now I'm late to the game, so it's gonna take forever to build an audience. Or if I start writing a book now after I've waited all these years, it's too late… None of that is true. Do it now. Get started.”🎙️[16:39] “It really comes down to people realizing and understanding that this is a long-term endeavor and not short-term flash in the pan kind of thing. Something trendy like social media, we've all seen the rise and fall of different social platforms so much in the last few years, and people are realizing more and more we need a long-term way to connect with our audience and to create these relationships that are going to last with our audience.”💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.

In this episode, Matt & Lauren review the best ways to repurpose content for social media. They talk through reusing your existing social content, reposting other people’s social content, and repurposing your book material as social content. Watch this episode on YouTube! Dive Deeper💡 Listen to These EpisodesEpisode #12 | Social Media Marketing for Authors & CreatorsEpisode #25 | Author Branding 101: Building a Brand Beyond Your BooksEpisode #33 | Books You Can Create Using Your Existing Content💡 Read These Blog PostsSocial Media Content Ideas for AuthorsSocial Media 101 for Authors💡 Watch These VideosLulu U | How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Author BrandWebinar | Before Social Media: The Marketing Elements You Need Before You Post with Annie Schiffmann💡 Check out These ResourcesHootSuite | Create Engaging and Effective Social Media ContentSocial Media Examiner | Social Content RepurposingThe Social Shift by Katie BrinkleyManyChat for InstagramSound Bites From This Episode🎙️ [27:07] “You never know where the content like this that you share and create is going to wind up… If you have this little like, bite-sized content that ties back to your book you don't know where it's going to go and it could serve as a lead magnet.”🎙️ [33:05] “The riches are in the niches. So niche down as far as you can go to where you add maximum value and that's where you will see maximum engagement and revenue intake. And then if you want to scale up from there, you can.” 🎙️ [43:10] “Virality is not stability. Like, don't chase virality because you don't know how you're going to get it. And if you do happen to get lucky enough to have a viral post, you'll probably never get it again. You'll never know how or why you got it.”💀 Can’t wait for our next episode? Check out our Resources page for links to our blog, our YouTube channel, and more. 💀 Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at luludotcom!💀 Email us at podcast@lulu.com💀 Sign up for our mailing list.