by Benjamin Wallace, Professional Author
A couple of months ago Molly let me share with you my plans on staging a comeback as an author. Now, I’m back to share what updates I can just to see how full of it I was.
First let’s look at what I did in each phase:
Phase One: Recognizing My Mistakes – CHECK
This was important, but I’ve covered it before. Let’s not make me relive it.
Phase Two: Control What I Can – CHECK
We are in control of our websites, mailing lists and, of course, the books we write.
I redesigned my website and focused on gaining subscribers. At first I thought that just meant for my mailing list but there was a surprise waiting for me. I’ll get to that in a minute.
Phase Three: Write More Books More Often – CHECK
Since my first post here I’ve released two new works—a short story that tied into my most popular book and a sequel to that book. I have a kids’ book that has been collecting dust for quite a while and that will be out soon as well. I’m close to finishing the third book in another series I’ve written. I’m going to put that cover here because it’s awesome.
Phase Four: Make an Ass of Myself – CHECK
After rebranding myself to be Benjamin Wallace, Professional Author, I launched a series of videos called How to Author. Using these quick two-minuteish videos, I’m able to make an ass of myself on a weekly basis. I’ve also been fortunate that Molly has allowed me to make an ass of myself on her site as well.
Phase Five: Launch the Comeback – CHECK
Check.
RESULTS THUS FAR
Phase Six is cars and money. So how close am I to scratching that off the list?
- Website traffic has increased from a couple of hundred visits a month to a couple of thousand.
- My mailing list has grown by nearly 100 subscribers with zero begging.
- I’ve picked up many, many Facebook likes. It’s not like they matter much anymore, but it is validation and validation feels good.
- My blog subscribers have increased to over 200 from a previous count of zero. This was the surprise I mentioned earlier. It’s also something I wasn’t even focused on. But it has instantly proven itself valuable.
- My sales have doubled since my original post. I’m not quite buying a Cadillac yet, but I can now afford to put gas in one.
Going Forward
I’m sticking with the plan but I’ve amended it a bit.
Of all the things I did, making an ass of myself was the most effective. How to Author has proven more popular than I ever would have guessed. So I’ve turned it into a podcast that you should subscribe to now.
It’s already ranking well in the new and noteworthy, the what’s hot and top podcast sections on iTunes and, hopefully, opening up a whole new audience.
One change will be that it will get a little longer with this new format. I plan to add interviews with other authors. If you’d be interested in appearing on the podcast, email me here. [email protected]
So that’s the comeback so far.
Note from Molly: Check out my novels on Amazon, join my Reader’s Club for freebies and book news, and follow me on Twitter. This original content is copyright protected. Thank you so much. Mwah!
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