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Decoders

Join 20,000 authors and learn the latest techniques to give your books an edge from advertising, branding, and algorithms, to targeting, engagement, and reader psychology. Get some cool freebies for joining too, like a guide to building your platform and a comprehensive book marketing course. Yes, it's all totally free!

Featured Post

How picking the wrong font can hurt you šŸ–Œļø

Hey, You're gonna love the latest episode of the Image Workshop - where I turn your book covers into winning Facebook Ads. This week we focus on fonts. Watch now on YouTube: We cover: how to choose the right font style for your ad where to find suitable, professional fonts - for free when to match the fonts on your book cover and why that's a sometimes a terrible idea! We take our time with the first ad, explaining the design logic behind every step so you can follow along with me. But with...

Hey, I've spent the last few days working on the very first episode of the Image Workshop - where I turn your book covers into killer Facebook Ads. And it's just gone live on YouTube. Watch it here. Episode One To kick things off, I focus on the most fundamental issue I see with authors' Facebook Ads: composition. We take things slowly for the first couple of covers, before whizzing through a bunch more - showing how these principles apply to romance, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, and...

Hey, Iā€™m going to argue with you today. Well, maybe not you specifically, but Iā€™m going to high-tackle the growing consensus that Facebook Ads Donā€™t Work Anymore. The Book Marketing Tier List is backā€¦ and Iā€™m here with it, to explain myself. Namely, why Facebook Ads are S-Tier. Still. In 2024. Before you harrumph too hard over there, let me add that I havenā€™t been boned by the 2024 changes which have caused such dismay in Authorland. My ads are still just as effective, and I think you can...

Hey, I spent the weekend hauling boxes across half of Portugal ā€“ hence the delayed newsletter ā€“ but the good news is I have my office back. Which means I can record videos again (and yes, we will cover the 2024 Facebook changes soon, which are throwing some for a loop but not yours truly, as Iā€™m dodging AI nonsense like a pro). In fact, I made a little private video just for my Decoders peeps, showing off my most used work tool ā€“ which is not my computer anymore. Yes, Iā€™m now using my...

B Tier Book Marketing Options

Hey, We're not messin' around anymore - A-Tier's here, putting the fear of Shrimp Jesus into the morass of mediocre marketing options. Today we're covering some seriously heavy hitters: Amazon Ads, Freebooksy Series Promos, and the Almighty Algorithms which increasingly rule our online lives - particularly the range of platforms used by authors to publish their work, find readers, and deepen engagement with fans. Just FYI, as Iā€™ve been asked, almost everything in this series is applicable to...

Hey, We all want to sell more books but sometimes it can be difficult to figure out the right strategy - regardless of your experience. Step 1 is examining the options at your disposal, and prioritizing. Which can be hard to do without trying everything first... and burning through a ton of cash. But why do that when you can burn through mine LOL. Yes, it's another episode in my soon-to-be-renowned Book Marketing Tier List. And today we're looking at B-Tier. Last week we reviewed C-Tier -...

book marketing tier list by decoders

Hey, I'm writing from a beautiful little town called [Redacted] on the south coast of Portugal. If anyone ever gives you the chance to go there, I recommend taking them up on it, assuming their identity, stealing their house, and then dumping their body at sea. (Guess who has been watching Ripley?) The reason I have murder on my mind today is because I have a deal for you which slays. Not just any deal ā€“ THE deal. You know the one. It comes around twice a year. Everyone goes nuts. The world...

Hey, I'm sure you know that feeling of not having enough hours in the day. Indie authors especially struggle with this because the moment we begin to unwind a sense of guilt creeps in. "Shouldn't I be doing something to promote my books?" It's an easy trap to fall into, even when at the writing desk which is supposed to be our happy place. And that's especially true when sales slow down because that tricksy inner voice we all have can plant seeds of doubt. "What's the point if no one's buying...

Hey, Google is making a big change soonā€”likeā€¦ in a matter of daysā€”which will have a huge impact on email marketing. Itā€™s highly technical (and super boring) but it could prison-shank your author newsletter unless you take a couple of steps now, and also embrace best practices generally over the longer term. Be warned: these are requirements not recommendations. Today weā€™ll run through whatā€™s happeningā€”in plain Englishā€”i.e. who is affected, how you can sort it out, and why this is ultimately a...

Hey, Writing a book is easy, I tell anyone with literary ambitions, just grab a dictionary and rearrange the words. Okay, okay, if you are one of those fussy sorts who cares about the quality of your books, things can be a little more complicatedā€”especially if you keep putting words in the order wrong. But we really do have an endless well of words and stories inside of usā€¦ if we can get out of our own way. It's the same with writing newsletters. You might think you have nothing to say to...