Wish I’d Known Then . . . For Writers
Episode 176 / Direct sales is the current hot topic in the author community, but there’s lots of choices to be made. Landing page or store? Kickstarter or subscription? And taxes–what about taxes? Hello, decision fatigue. Fear not, we've got your back.
In this episode, we break down direct sales into five main types 🖐️. We'll walk you through the difficulty level of each type, explain what kind of authors are best suited for each, and share some invaluable resources 🧰.
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Time Stamps:
Buy Button
Difficulty: Easy
Software options: Bookfunnel, Payhip, WooCommerce, Lulu
Best for: Authors who want to add direct sales to their income stream, but don’t want to spend time on ads
Recommended resources: Bookfunnel integrations guide https://authors.bookfunnel.com/help/delivery-actions/
Landing Page
Difficulty: Medium
Software options: Bookfunnel, Lead Pages, ThriveCart, etc with BookVault, Lulu
Best for: Authors who have either a few products and don’t want to create a store or authors with a huge backlist who want to sell direct, but don’t want to spend a massive amount of time uploading backlist to a store
Recommended resources:
Russell and Monica’s Author Ecosystem https://authorecosystem.com/overview/
Store (usually Shopify)
Difficulty: Advanced
Software options: Payhip, Gumroad, Shopify, etc along with email providers like Klaviyo and ConvertKit along with BookVault or Lulu
Best for: Authors who have multiple series and enjoy ads
Podcasts:
🚀 Jami’s Launch Plan https://www.jamialbright.com/authorservices
❤️ Jami’s books https://amzn.to/3wSraA5
🔎 Sara’s books https://www.sararosett.com/bibliography/
📚 Sara’s How to Write a Series book and audiobook: https://www.sararosett.com/how-to-write-a-series/
The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes https://bookshop.org/lists/recommenced-resources-for-writers-from-the-wish-i-d-known-then-podcast
Resources from the Author and Reader Community to Help Ukrainians https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E9QQhmcpa_dlxQY-GEqBiIbIZk-_J1MgQX_BxLI3F84/edit?usp=sharing