Evan Gow is the founder and indie developer of StoryOrigin, an all-in-one platform designed to help authors manage their book marketing infrastructure. After writing short stories in high school and working in tech and entrepreneurship, Evan returned to his passion for writing while building tools for the author community. Frustrated by authors juggling eight different services and five spreadsheets just to manage their marketing, Evan created StoryOrigin to consolidate everything authors need—from growing mailing lists and finding reviewers to arranging newsletter swaps and building websites—into one cohesive platform. His philosophy is simple: reduce context switching, simplify workflows, and help authors at every stage of their career.
In this episode:
- Why newsletters are the only marketing channel you truly own
- Starting your newsletter today (even with zero subscribers)
- Reader magnet strategies for fiction and nonfiction authors
- The prequel short story vs. first three chapters debate
- Matching your reader magnet to your target audience
- Two essential newsletter sections: rapport and value
- The "Also Bought" philosophy for book recommendations
- Newsletter frequency: once vs. twice monthly strategies
- Newsletter swaps explained: one-to-one cross promotions
- Group promotions: 20+ authors promoting together
- Finding newsletter swap partners on StoryOrigin
- Starting swaps with zero subscribers (yes, really)
- Why authors with 5,000 subscribers accept swaps from beginners
- The altruistic author community helping each other grow
- Monetizing newsletters with Amazon affiliate links correctly
- Universal book links and automatic affiliate tag insertion
- Email service provider recommendations: MailerLite for beginners
- In-depth guides and video tutorials on StoryOrigin
Resources mentioned:
- StoryOrigin: https://storyoriginapp.com/
- MailerLite recommendation
- Newsletter swap directory
- Group promotions
- Universal book links
- Review copy landing pages
Book recommendations:
- He Who Fights With Monsters by Shirtaloon (Travis Deverell): https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26294/he-who-fights-with-monsters
Connect with Evan:
- Website: https://storyoriginapp.com/
- Tutorials: https://storyoriginapp.com/tutorials
- Contact Evan: evan@storyoriginapp.com
Connect with Teddy Smith:
- @teddyagsmith
- Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
- Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
- Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
- Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
- Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
- Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/
Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/
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