Fellow Storytellers,
This page is one attempt to offer resources to fellow authors. When one of us succeeds, we all succeed.
What you find here is by no means definitive. These sheets evolve nearly every time I use them, and there are plenty of other tools and guides out there, some of which may be a better fit for your style.
Feel free to send me ideas to include here or share this page with others.
Marketing Tools
Amazon Ads Automation
Merch Jar is an AMS Ads automation site that makes the chore of updating keywords, bid, and targets easy, reducing the time to maintain ads by many hours per week.
Don’t let your eyes cross! The platform is a little complicated at first glance but is quick to master.
This platform is best for authors running more than 5 AMS ads and spending over $250 per month.
Newsletter Tools
Subscriber Management & Newsletter Creation/Sending
There are many options here. My personal preference is MailerLite. Their functionality is simple and easy to use, yet robust, and their fees are among the most affordable out there.
Author Swaps, Group Promos, and so much more . . .
StoryOrigin is platform where authors exchange newsletter swap dates & create and join group promos. But it’s so much more. There are functions to help manage Beta and ARC teams and copies, Universal Links for books and audiobooks with reporting, and many other features. I couldn’t run my business without this site.
Royalty & Expense Management
Author Swaps, Group Promos, and so much more . . .
Publisher Champ is one of the leading platforms to aggregate royalties from various platforms in one highly flexible dashboard.
Character Worksheets
Character Profile. Dig into who your MCs are, what motivates them, what they fear, etc.
Author Business Tools
Keep all your book info in one place for easy reference and sharing with a PA.
Calculate the Value of a New Reader
Research Your Comp Authors for target marketing (Bookbub, etc.).
Track Your Business! Budgets, ad tracking & analytics, and more. This one is not for the faint of heart. Advanced Excel users only. I’ve done my best to clear out data, but you’ll still need to customize to your work.
What’s your ACOS Target? Amazon advertising is art not science! This is a tool to guestimate what your ACOS could/should be. It does NOT take readthru into consideration.
