Episode Transcript
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Speaker (00:00):
Ever wonder which book
marketing strategies actually
work?
Well, we're about to find out.
I'm Sarah Noelle Block and youare watching the bestseller
experiment.
Hello.
Welcome back to the bestsellerexperiment where I test out book
marketing strategies.
So you don't have to, this weekI'm breaking down two
(00:22):
experiments.
I'm running in real time,building a preliminary reading
community with serial fictionand using TikTok as a discovery
tool plus a little writingupdate.
So let's get into that.
And if you don't know me, I'mSarah Noel Block, the host of
Tiny Marketing, and this is mylittle Capsule baby podcast, the
(00:44):
bestseller experiment.
So first, let's get into thewriting process.
And where I'm at with stringsattached.
So right now I'm in act three.
I have a 30 day push the, uh,get it outta my head and on
paper phase.
(01:05):
So right now strings attached issitting at 53,000 words and I'm
deep in the third act.
I'm at the part where.
My heart is breaking, mycharacters are hurting my
feelings.
That's the part I'm at.
This is the part whereeverything I've been setting up
pays off.
The stakes are high, emotionsare dialed up, and I just have
(01:27):
to get it on the page.
That's the goal.
Finish the messy first draftwithin the next 30 days.
No overthinking, just gettingthe words down.
I also put the book up onpre-order as soon as I started
writing it.
It's risky.
I know.
But I believe in marketing thebook before it's done.
(01:50):
Not apt after.
If you wait until you have afinished book to start building
demand for it, you're alreadybehind, which.
Brings me to the two marketingexperiments that I am trying for
the bestseller experiment.
Before we get into that, foranybody who doesn't know me from
my other show, tiny Marketing, Ihave been in marketing for 15
(02:15):
years.
And I have seen the importanceof building demand before
building a product.
I've seen that over and over andover again.
And the thing is, you need tobuild up that readership before
you publish the book.
(02:36):
That's how you hit bestseller.
Status.
So let's talk about experimentone first.
Building a preliminary readingcommunity with serial fiction.
So I've done serial fictionbefore.
Back in the day, Facebook groupsworked like a charm.
I would, I was using Kind Villaand I would post my book that I
(03:01):
was writing in real time.
So people were getting the messyfirst draft.
Um.
I was doing that on Kindle Vela,and I had a good solid
readership.
I had thousands of peoplereading it and giving me
feedback, which is awesome, andthat is why I really want to
test out serial fiction as a wayof creating this beta group of
(03:26):
community readers beforepublishing it.
So what has worked for me in thepast is I'd post the chapters as
episodes, engage with readers,and connect with other writers
who were also doing the samething that I was doing.
They were also, um, they werealso experimenting with serial
(03:47):
fiction on something that wouldturn into a novel eventually.
So that's where I was at, andthe idea is to support each
other, cross promote, buildsomething bigger by borrowing
other people's audiences becausethose other writers would also
want to talk about your book andyou talk about theirs and you're
(04:09):
borrowing other people'saudiences.
And it works beautifully in alltypes of marketing, including
book marketing.
Hello, people who join me.
Thank you.
Um, I'm recording a podcastepisode, so I'm also live
streaming this on TikTok, sothat's why I turned that way for
those who are going to bewatching this on the YouTube
(04:30):
podcast or listening to thisacross any podcast platform that
you might be listening to it on.
So what I am looking for is, um.
Engagement, retention andconversion.
So what worked with me for mebefore was Facebook, um, but
(04:51):
it's not what it used to be.
This time I'm testing out reamas a beta reading space.
And my goal is to build a smallbut engaged group of early
readers who aren't justconsuming the story, but they're
invested in it.
These readers will be part,they, they're gonna be my first
hype group for this book.
(05:12):
They'll be the first ones toleave reviews.
They'll help spread the word,but they'll also help build it
because they're those.
Early beta readers, they alsoget to be part of that action
because the comments that theyleave on ream will also be the
comments that will help in theediting process before it goes
live.
(05:32):
So I want engagement.
Are people commenting?
Are they asking questions?
Are they excited for the nextchapter?
I want retention.
Are they coming back for more?
And I want conversions.
Will this community translateinto buyers super fans reviews?
For the actual book when it goeslive.
So right now I'm keeping thissetup super simple, no crazy
(05:56):
tears.
I'm not charging for it.
It's just an easy way forreaders to follow along on this
journey, be part of the process,leave comments, and be part of
the writing journey with me.
Okay.
Let's get to experiment numbertwo, which is TikTok for
discovery.
TikTok is a wild card.
You can either hit it or not.
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So as an example of that, I havea post that went viral three
years ago and I still get newfollowers, new comments, new
likes every single day from thatpost three years ago.
But some of the stuff I'mproducing now will get maybe a
hundred.
A hundred hits, a hundred peopleviewing it.
So it's really a wild card.
(06:39):
So I'm experimenting with somethings that I have learned from
other creators.
I know it works for authors.
Book talk is a huge thing.
Um, but the challenge isfiguring out what works for me.
So here's the approach that I'mtesting based off of what I've
seen work for other people, whatother influencers are saying.
(07:01):
So number one.
Number one is the bottom upengagement technique.
So instead of just posting andhoping for the best, when you
are posting something to promoteyour book, I'm interacting
strategically.
So the bottom up approach isreshare.
(07:22):
Someone else's post that'swithin your niche.
So they're using the samehashtags that you would use.
Comment on it like it, and thenfollow them.
Do it in that order.
I guess that's the order thatTikTok likes, especially bookish
content that matches your genre.
That's what I'm doing for mine.
And then engaging fo engagingfirst on other people's content
(07:46):
and then posting yours because.
The algorithm loves that.
That's the way it is with allsocial media.
So for those that, well, I'vealready mentioned it.
I work, I've worked in marketingfor a really long time and it.
That's how all social mediaplatforms work.
(08:06):
You need to build a communityaround you, and the best way to
do that is to engage first andthen post, because the algorithm
will push out your content morebecause you're engaging, you're
building a community, you'redoing what they want you to do.
TikTok rewards, interactions,and I want to see if this gets
(08:27):
me in front of the right peopleand it builds up my beta
readers.
So the second experiment that Iam trying is the emotional hit
scenes slide format.
So I'm testing tiktoks 20 to 30slide carousel format.
Where each slide has a singleemotionally loaded line from the
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book, the idea is to hookreaders in immediately.
Keep them tapping those littlehearts and end on a moment that
makes them want more.
So the results so far, I.
Our two weeks in, I have 30 newfollowers.
It's slow and it's steady.
So that post that went viralthat I just mentioned, that was
(09:10):
also bookish related, and thatgot me a thousand followers
overnight.
This isn't happening right now.
I got 30 new followers in thelast two weeks.
Um.
And that's kind of expected.
It's, it's hit or miss.
It is what it is.
So the real test is what keepspeople engaged long-term.
When I start seeing in myactivity section that you know,
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similar people, the people thatI've seen before are engaging on
my content.
That's what I know it's gonnawork.
And obviously when people moveover to ream and start reading
the beta version, that's a realwin.
That'll show me it's working.
So the marketing theory behindthis is, everything I'm doing
ties back to one core belief.
(09:53):
Build the audience first, thenbuild the book or the product or
the offer.
That's how it works in all ofmarketing.
So most authors write a book.
And then figure out how tomarket it.
I'm flipping that.
The earlier I build themomentum, the easier it'll be to
launch.
You need to have reviews ready.
You need to have an audienceprimed before you launch in
(10:16):
order to hit bestseller.
So right now, that means gettingearly readers invested through
serial fiction.
Finding my ideal audience onTikTok and testing out what
content actually resonates withpeople.
So will this work?
We'll find out, but that's thewhole point of the bestseller
experiment.
We're testing out book marketingstrategies to see what works and
(10:40):
what flops and who knows.
Maybe you're going to watch mego down in flames and it's going
to be a hilarious mess thatyou'll love watching.
That's the worst case scenariofor you.
So that's good for you.
I'll go down in flames.
But it's good for you.
So that's where things standright now.
Next episode, I'll update you onthe writing progress, share
(11:01):
what's working and what's not.
With these two experiments anddive into some new launch
strategies that I'll test out.
If you wanna follow along in thejourney in real time, check out
my podcast.
I will make sure to have itlinked.
And TikTok, I am music.
Heart book, no books, heartmusic, and let me know.
(11:24):
Have you tried any of thesemarketing approaches what's
worked for you?
Drop a comment, let me know andI'll see you next time.
Thank you so much for joiningme.