The constant pressure to market can feel like quicksand—the harder you struggle, the deeper you sink. This week, LL and Tara tackle the question every indie author dreads: how much time do I really need to spend on marketing? They break down the difference between marketing (what you pay for) and PR (what you pay for in time), share their current writing-to-marketing splits (spoiler: it’s messier than the 80/20 ideal), and get brutally honest about TikTok, cognitive dissonance, and why organizing your ad workflow might matter more than another course. Plus: why you should pick one platform and actually learn it, the soul-sucking realities of social media algorithms, and a detour into quicksand fears, plane safety patents, and potential dog adoption.
What questions do you have about balancing marketing and writing time? Drop them in the comments!
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Show Notes
Episodes referenced:
* Episode 10 on BookBub (last week)
Platforms & tools discussed:
Book Promotion Sites
* BookBub - https://www.bookbub.com/partners - Featured deals that move the needle (mentioned as the gold standard)
* E-Reader News Today - https://www.ereadernewstoday.com
* - Works well for cozy mystery, less effective for historical fiction
* Written Word Media - https://www.writtenwordmedia.com
- Parent company of Freebooksy, Bargain Booksy, NewInBooks
* Book Rebel - https://bookrebel.com
* The Fussy Librarian - https://www.thefussylibrarian.com
Advertising Platforms:
* Facebook Ads - https://www.facebook.com/business/ads
* Amazon Ads -
https://advertising.amazon.com
* Amazon Attribution https://advertising.amazon.com/solutions/products/amazon-attribution
* Facebook Ads - Both hosts run ongoing campaigns
* Amazon Ads - LL testing to reach higher purchase-intent traffic
* Amazon Attribution Links - For tracking ad performance
*
Social Media Platforms:
* TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com
* Instagram - https://www.instagram.com
* Substack - https://substack.com
What we’re reading/listening to:
* Tara: Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy (dark, graphic fiction about a 16-year-old and her teacher—thought-provoking, compared to My Dark Vanessa)
* LL: Conviction by Denise Mina (to be discussed next week)
Coming next: Next week: Are You Ready to Publish Part 2—your Amazon page, metadata, and the stuff that makes people actually click ‘buy’
