Reader,

BUT I’m not 🙂

Anyone else optimistically terrified about where this is all heading?

3 Secrets
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​1. Your podcast just became extremely valuable to you

To date, we’ve released 180 episodes of Before The Bestseller.

That’s 180 treasure troves of data.

All those podcasts transcribed (cost us around $60).

“What are the most common ways authors see success?”

“Pull every little method or tip related to getting on big podcasts into a PDF”

Before, I had to personally take notes during each episode in order to create takeaways.
​Now, Every episode adds a thousand book marketing data points to our (immediately searchable) knowledge base.

If our work at ShelfLife is to become the best marketing tool for authors EVER, then our podcast just became a searchable database for book marketing AS taught by the top authors in the world.

See my point?

When I realized this I ran (or at least the virtual version of running) to un-publish ALL of our episodes.

BUT that would go against our mission to empower authors whether they pay us or not…

Point being:

What did YOUR podcast just become?

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2. For example… Give me every actionable tip ever shared about getting on podcasts

Target podcasts where the host and audience match your ideal reader

Leave reviews before pitching—and mention it in outreach

Ask every host for 2 intro referrals after your interview

Use short personalized video pitches to boost response rates

Stack interviews so multiple go live weekly post-launch

Use a VA to handle research and outreach

Personalize every pitch with specific episode references

Pitch ~20 podcasts per week consistently

Build your audience before pitching top-tier shows

Prioritize quality shows over low-reach podcasts

Start pitching 1–6 months before launch

Use guesting to create content + relationships simultaneously

Track which podcasts actually drive sales

Continue guesting long after launch (long tail strategy)

Use platforms like Podmatch to get booked faster

Get blurbs from past guests of your target shows

Provide value first—don’t hard sell your book

Record interviews to repurpose content everywhere

Always plug a simple lead magnet URL

Ensure your book link is in show notes

Match your pitch to the show’s format and style

Use email tracking to optimize outreach

Expand into adjacent niches with creative angles

Follow up via LinkedIn if email gets ignored

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3. “Okay now use all the tips in the doc I shared to create a 6-month book marketing timeline”

Technically there’s nothing stopping you from doing this with any podcast you listen to…for your own use anyway.

You could actually download all of our podcast episodes…throw them into an AI transcription tool and use all that data to then create a book marketing plan tailored to your needs.

You could do this with any topic AND any podcast you listen to.

Podcast audience too small to get big named guests?

You could even attract guests to your show simply by offering to turn their interview into a database for their own thoughts about a given topic.

Additionally, chatGPT’s new text to image generator just dropped…
ME: Create an infographic for this tip: Before partnering with influencers, examine their likes-to-comments ratio to determine if engagement is from bots or real people. Joseph emphasizes you can tell within two seconds if an account is worth working with by looking at whether comments appear genuine. This due diligence helps avoid wasting money on accounts with fake engagement.

chatGPT:

Again…anyone else optimistically terrified about where this is all heading?

2 Links

  1. Marshall Karp, #1 New York Times bestselling author, TV and screenwriter, documentarian, and playwright, returns to Before the Bestseller alongside Danny Corcoran, a former NYPD detective whose 24 years on the job now inform the realism behind Karp’s fiction. Working with James Patterson, Karp co-created and cowrote the NYPD Red series before continuing it on his own starting with NYPD Red 7: The Murder Sorority. He’s also the author of Snowstorm in August and the critically acclaimed Lomax and Biggs series, along with his latest novel Don’t Tell Me How to Die. Listen here.​
  2. ​Whisper AI (to transcribe your podcast and turn it into a data advantage)​​

1 Quote

“Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”

— Seth Godin

Alex
​BeforeTheBestseller | ShelfLife​
alex@getshelflife.com
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