Why you? Why now?
Before you do anything to promote your work, you must be able to articulate plainly and without hesitation: why you write, and who cares that you write it. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and dig deep into who you are, what you stand for and why you create the work you do. Get started with my free guide to book marketing.
A MUST-READ FOR AUTHORS
- Earn a living with your writing
- Sleaze-free book marketing
- Free visibility and exposure
– USA Today Bestselling Author
Listen to a sample
Get it free on Amazon OR Listen to the Audiobook (free with a 30-day trial).
Lynn Baber
@twitterhandle1
"My email inbox teems with offers and insights from author and book marketing gurus - yet I still discovered NEW resource links and ideas in this book. I've increased my book sales by 300-500% in the past few months."
Michelle Madow
@twitterhandle2
"This book is a MUST READ for authors. If you want to be successful, then get this book ... you won't regret it!"
Sandy Nathan
@twitterhandle3
"Not just the same old washed up book marketing tips. It forces you to dig deep inside to determine what brand you want to build, the reasons for it, and how YOU can provide value while doing it."
Anthor Identity
HOW TO BUILD AN AUTHOR WEBSITE WITH WORDPRESS
Opportunity
You love writing and want to publish some books. Great! There’s never been a better time, and it’s easier than ever to make a living as an author.
Problem
Unfortunately, there’s a ton of competition, and most books fail! You’re up against savvy authors with a huge advertising budget. How can you even get started if your book is invisible?
Solution
You need to build your own author platform, so you can contact fans directly, without begging other people to share or promote for you.
DUH, THAT’S OBVIOUS…
But how?
Setting up a website is a pain if you’re not a coder, and there are so many options, and most author websites look like crap anyway… and mine doesn’t even get any traffic.
Plus I wouldn’t even know what to write about.
Why should I even bother?
Free Promotion
YOUR BOOK, FEATURED
Imagine if you could have your book placed at the front of the bookstore, or face-out on its shelf, so that everyone perusing the genre or topic would see yours first. The good news is, you can! And while most authors are competing for expensive advertising, very few authors are doing any kind of content marketing, SEO, or keyword research.
Ready to build your author platform?
I LOVE making templates authors can just tweak for their own purposes. So I made this site as an example of what I would do with my author website, if I really wanted to focus on sales and conversion. The theme I used is completely customizable, so you can build any kind of site you want. However, I structured this site deliberately, to build a reader funnel that will work on autopilot. Watch the video below to learn how to build an author platform that actually sells books.
Tell yourself a story
“I am a writer. My success is inevitable.”
Publishing Q&A
Answers to common publishing questions, you can get it on Amazon or read the full thing on my website here.
Budget Book Promotion
A motivational overview of the self-publishing process, as well as some marketing tips that will save time and money.
Cover Design Secrets
Your book cover is the single most important factor to consider. Don't publish without reading this guide to design.
Advanced Tactics
The most effective book marketing strategies I've used to help hundreds of authors hit #1 bestseller.
Get a free chapter!
Get a free chapter!
Get a free chapter!
Get a free chapter!
WORDS WILL NEVER EXPRESS. GRATITUDE.
"I've learned more from you in the past few months, since becoming a student, than I have in the last five years. Every day I give thanks, sincerely, you have given me direction and instruction on how to get to the life I have always wanted. Words will never be able to express the gratitude I have towards you."
-TOM SMITH, AUTHOR
YOU'RE NOT ALONE. PURSUE YOUR DREAMS.
"Thank you so much, Derek, for all the advice and help on this publishing journey. There's just no greater joy than knowing you're not alone in something and to have those who have gone ahead of you serve as guide. Thanks for pursuing your dreams because, that's why I have the confidence to pursue mine."
- TESSA SMOKES, AUTHOR
Free Video Training
YOU CAN MAKE A SITE LIKE THIS FOR YOUR OWN BOOKS!
HOW TO USE THIS SITE
In this video I’ll walk you through setting up your author website with WordPress, using the Divi Theme. You’ll learn how to customize your own author platform, use design and content to attract readers, and how to write a series of engaging emails that turn them into life-long fans
FREE BOOK
I recommend starting with Book Marketing is Dead, but if you’re ready for some more advanced publishing tactics, grab my new book, Guerrilla Publishing. You’ll also get a free email series with advanced tutorials (filmed in Montenegro and Bali). Click here to download.
SHARE A CASTLE WITH ME
Sometimes I rent castles and host writing retreats. You can sign up to win a free 2-week stay in a castle, and get personal help with your book.
Writing Rebellion
STAND OUT, GET SEEN
I get it, book marketing is hard and can seem overwhelming. Some people would rather just pay for someone else to do everything for them. The problem is, you can’t outsource your success. Very few people have both the skills and the experience to make your book a bestseller for you – and even if they succeed, you’ll need to keep paying or your sales will dry up. The only way to succeed long term is to take control and learn the basics. That’s why I’ve spent so much of my own time and resources building tools and tutorials for indie authors.
Free Video Training
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On your homepage, add a booktrailer if you have one, or a video talking about your current WIP. You can also make a welcome video and show off your typical writing day or tour your writing space.
Strangers may not care or want to learn more about you, so make sure you focus on the benefits: tell them what they’ll get on your site. Mention the free book or giveaway offer, tell them specifically what they get by signing up or following you.
“You’re Not Alone”
“Thank you so much, Derek, for all the advice and help on this publishing journey. There’s just no greater joy than knowing you’re not alone in something and to have those who have gone ahead of you serve as guide. Thanks for pursuing your dreams because, that’s why I have the confidence to pursue mine.”
– TESSA SMOKES, AUTHOR
"Words will never express"
TOM SMITH, AUTHOR
"I've learned more from you in the past few months, since becoming a student, than I have in the last five years,. Every day I give thanks, sincerely, you have given me direction and instruction on how to get to the life I have always wanted. Words will never be able to express the gratitude I have towards you."
"A Clear Path To Success"
With Derek's help, my debut settled nicely into Amazon’s top 500 overall and earned five-figures. With the release of the sequel, my income for January alone was just shy of $30,000. If you’re feeling overwhelmed in the literary world and haven’t settled onto a clear path to success, this could change your life! - Jonas Saul
"An Honest Approach"
One of the things that has kept me coming back to you is your honesty and your authentic approach. You have always made it clear that there IS work involved in indie publishing, and I appreciate your voice in the midst of so many others who are selling “cheat-cuts”. Your integrity is encouraging, and I applaud your willingness to tells it like it is! – Mrs. Thompson
News & Updates
Bestseller Blueprint
"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..." "There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..." orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur...
The Genius of Solitude (Now Available!)
coming soon
Create with Confidence: a guide to fearless productivity
coming soon
Coming Soon
#amwriting
Most creative people struggle with procrastination and self-doubt, at least occasionally. After years of working with writers and artists, I've decided to publish a short guide to unshakable confidence - so you can do the work without the fear.
Sneak Preview
THIS BOOK IS LAUNCHING SOON
Approaching large goals is like suddenly stepping into the spotlight; they magnify the limitations of your abilities. They make you feel weak, unprepared, insufficient. Every step closer, they loom ever greater, until you’re swallowed up in their shadow.
Big goals often wreck the journey; they are the dangerous shores that have swallowed hundreds of ships. But you instinctively know that the journey is worth the effort. That your true destiny is waiting for you across the sea. That the easier the goal, the emptier the sense of satisfaction.
That little voice in your head says
“You were meant for more than this.”
All creative fear is based on two basic insecurities:
- Am I good enough?
- Is this worth it?
The first objection is based on quality. Do you have the necessary skills to make the thing. Maybe you don't. But skills can be improved.
The second objection is about value. Will anybody else want the thing enough to pay for it? Am I wasting my time?
Fear is a necessary part of the creative process, and it's not to be avoided, numbed out or expelled. Instead, it needs to be appreciated, understood and overcome. This book will help you do that. Sign up to reserve your copy.
Fear is in your heart, not your mind. You can't talk yourself out of fear, because it’s not a thought, it’s a feeling. It’s the feeling of your heart contracting, getting smaller, closing off. It’s a defense mechanism, like petals of a flower, folding inward when the dark encroaches.
What you want to do, is not close your heart tight, but open it widely. However, this can’t be forced. You don’t open a flower by prying up its petals one by one. You give it light, you make it comfortable, and it will open on its own.
Want to read more? Sign up for a free sample!
Become a beacon of enhancement, and then when the nights are grey, all the boats will move towards you, bringing their bountiful riches.
"Many authors have trouble writing their own bio, but your author journey matters. Even if they love your book, they won't become a raging fan unless they also connect with you. That's what it means to have an author brand - you need to craft an origin story that resonates with your readers."
BOOK MARKETING IS DEAD
The first step is to invent a thing worth making, with a story worth telling, and a contribution worth talking about. The second step is to design and build it in a way that a few people will particularly benefit from and care about. The third step is to tell a story that matches the built-in narratives and dreams of that tiny group of people.
"Who would you like to become, and how will you know when you become that person? Who would you like to teach, and what specific impact would you like to have on them?"
NO BRAND IS AN ISLAND
We are attracted to art because it feels pure, so we worry that if we fixate too much on fame or success that such ambition may ruin the purity of our work. We want to believe if we just do our jobs well that our audience will just find us. But that’s not how it works… We all need our work to resonate with someone; our art needs an audience.
"Obscurity is the enemy you should be worried about above all others. Therefore, hiding everything you create until it's bound together in a book is not a smart idea. You will be quiet lonely when you start looking for readers when the book is published. The solution is to share, and share widely. And deeply. And too much."
YOUR FIRST 1000 COPIES
About the Author
Derek Murphy, PhD
Derek was a zany kid who ate too much sugar and got really exited about making and selling things at an early age. His passion for fine art, ancient history and philosophy led him first to Malta, then Florence to study painting.
After several years of painting weird absurdist art, he started an editing business, that became a book design business, which led to a book marketing consultancy. These days, Murphy prefers to write his own books and help indie authors with tons of free advice and a few online courses.
READ: 39 things you don’t know about me
or follow me to stay in touch:
THAT TIME I SAW THE EASTER BUNNY
I looked across the street
and saw a man in a rabbit costume on my neighbor’s lawn. He was joined by another, then one Easter bunny started walking calmly down the street swinging his basket. The other did a Disney poof and was a real rabbit. It hopped across the street towards my house. Seconds later I felt a dark shadow cross my bed. I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut as it leaned closer.
Start Now
Weave your net. Hook your readers. Build a sustainable author platform.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
SI
PS. Here are some of my favorite books
“Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.”
– CICERO, 30BC
What's your book about?
Join my FREE Facebook group and tell us about your book! You’ll have the chance to make friends with over 7000 indie authors who are dedicated to reaching their goals, just like you. Join today and get the help and support you need.