The Kobo Writing Life team is excited to announce our latest Facebook Live Q&A on September 20th 2019. From 12:00 PM-1:00 PM EST, our takeover host, Ryan Zee from Booksweeps will be answering all your questions on the Kobo Writing Life Facebook page. If you can’t make the takeover, feel free to comment on this post with your questions and we can ask them for you! Keep reading to learn more about Ryan and his experience in the indie world, and get your questions ready!
When I started working with authors in 2014, I felt like a lot of my clients: when it came to marketing, I had no clue what I was doing.
I didn’t have a background in marketing. I didn’t grow up in a family of authors or publishing pros. I just had a passion for reading, and a desire to be of service to the folks I admired most.
So, I apprenticed myself at some of the leading literary agencies in New York, and each night after work I dedicated an hour or two to developing a new skill:
- Email marketing (we now manage a list of ~100,000 subscribers)
- Facebook advertising (I’ve run numerous successful author campaigns)
- WordPress website development (I’ve built my sites myself)
- Copywriting, search engine optimization, graphic design … the list goes on.
I didn’t try to learn everything at once. I picked a topic, found online resources and courses that could help me, and gradually began to improve. I experimented, honed the skills that I enjoyed AND helped me achieve my goals, and I ditched the rest. (Sorry, Twitter.)
Since 2016, that effort continues to pay off: I’ve been fortunate to work with 4,000+ authors both as a consultant and through BookSweeps.com, my book giveaway and lead generation platform. I’ve worked with authors across virtually every genre, from folks just starting out to multiple NY Times and USA Today bestsellers.
I was also recently recognized as a leading email marketing expert by MailerLite, one of the most popular newsletter tools for authors.
Currently my focus is on the launch of BookSweeps 3.0, coming fall 2019, which will provide both indie and traditionally published authors with a brand new suite of tools and opportunities for growing their audience, many of which will be free 🙂
If I can make sense of marketing, with my degrees in English and Philosophy, I have full confidence that you can do the same. I look forward to chatting with you soon!
Ryan Zee hopes to publish a book someday soon. Until then, he’s glad to operate Ryan Zee Author Marketing and stand at the helm of BookSweeps.com, one of the premier email list building and audience generation sites for indie and traditionally published authors. Register for free here today.
