Kobo Writing Life Podcast – Episode 064 – Robyn Baldwin

In Episode 64 of the Kobo Writing Life Podcast, KWL Director Mark Lefebvre interviews Robyn Baldwin, author of Love Lost, Life Found: 8 Practical Steps to Heal a Broken Heart.

In the interview, Mark and Robyn discuss:

• Robyn’s past work as a Senior Integrated Marketing Manager
• How the book itself has been three years in the making – first and foremost as a journaling experience; and then, later, in response to others, who, in reading her journal, thanked her for sharing it as it helped them
• The specific identification of the target audience for this book: someone who has called off a wedding, gone through a divorce or left a toxic relationship
• The additional target for this book might be younger women for whom this book might help them to identify what a difficult relationship looks like so they never have to put themselves in that situation
• The underlying message of the book that there is a life to be found after all the “broken bits”
• The role of social media in both her demise as well as in her healing: Such as the “false picture” that she was actively portraying even while in the midst of the dark depths of the toxic relationship and then how
• The role of Pinterest in the time leading up to the wedding, and then, later, the more important role of how she used Pinterest to find motivational quotes
• The significance of the release date for this book, August 25th, and how a comment from her mother led her to want to change, or take control of that date as a positive thing
• Robyn’s identification as an Alpha Female and the inspiring Alpha Female Podcast that she hosts
• Her definition of an Alpha Female: An Alpha Female is a powerful and assertive woman. Her confidence is due to being an intelligent and intellectual problem-solver. Being an Alpha Female is a State of Mind based on choosing ambition and being proud of it. She strives for a happy and healthy work/life harmony
• How Robyn’s background in marketing helped her plan out the book and the book launch path
• The timeline, schedule, and check-lists that Robyn managed using Asana for both self-publishing as well as the marketing efforts leading up to the launch of the book
• Robyn’s advice for other first-time authors for where and how they should consider starting
• How a lot of the promotional efforts Robyn is participating in aren’t about promoting the book, but about sharing valuable pieces from the book with various online resources: such as the “calling off a wedding check-list”
• An interesting revelation of how, when Robyn reached out to literary agents regarding the book, she was told her platform reach (which was in the realm of 20,000 people), wasn’t large enough and that she should consider self-publishing it
• The authentic and organic way that the book itself was woven into Robyn’s personal and social media presence
• Robyn’s use of Gary Vaynerchuk’s concept of “Jab Jab Jab Right Hook” – from his book of the same name

After the interview, Mark discusses the importance of clearly and specifically identifying your target audience, regardless of whether or not your book is a non-fiction or a fiction title. He re-iterates how that was one of Robyn’s first steps in the entire marketing plan/process and then uses an example from Stephen King as a successful fiction author who identifies his own target audience.

Other links of interest:

• Robyn’s Website – http://robynbaldwin.com
• The Book: Love Lost, Life Found
• Robyn’s Podcast: The Alpha Female Podcast
• Robyn on Facebook
• Robyn on Pinterest
• Robyn on Twitter
• Robyn’s Instagram – http://instagram.com/RobynBaldwin
• Robyn on YouTube

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