Use your book launch to build your audience
—even if you’re a first-time author with zero fans and no email list
Everyone knows it’s easier to sell books if you already have an audience. But did you know you can use your book to build your audience?
If you’re brand new and have no audience at all, your readers can be a great start for your community.
If you already have a solid following, you can use your book to grow your influence and build your email list.
Either way, people who have bought and read your book are the best, because they’ve not just leads—they’re buyers. They’re more engaged, they’ve already spent time and money with you, and they’re far more likely to buy more from you.
Amazon won’t tell you who bought your book, but if you set it up right, you can get your readers eagerly joining your community from your book.
There’s nothing like launching your book to bestseller. But what happens after the launch?
If you haven’t set up your book to bring your readers back to your audience, the answer is probably “nothing much.”
All those people bought the book. They’re excited. You’re excited. But you have no way to communicate with them.
You can’t build a relationship. You can’t help them further. You can’t even stay in touch. You have no way to contact them.
But what if you could?
If you write other books, you can offer them to these readers. There’s a very good chance they’ll want to buy them.
If you want more reviews, you can ask. Many of your readers will be happy to oblige.
If you want to build a street team to help you spread the word for your next launch, many of your readers will be happy and excited to join.
If you offer other products or services, your readers are the best potential customers you could hope for, because they’ve already shown that they’re willing to spend time and money to solve their problem, and they already know, like, and trust you from reading your book.
Building an audience is the key to becoming successful in the long term.
But most people have no idea how to do it—so they don’t get anywhere. Many don’t even try.
I know how it feels. I remember when I had 17 people on my email list. I was a brand-new writer, and I was over the moon to have so many followers!
When it came time to launch my first book, I knew I needed more people than that, so I reached out to all the influencers I knew. Some of them were kind enough to mention my book to their audiences.
And still, my book had only 15 downloads that first weekend. And it was free!
I was crushed. I had poured my heart and soul into this book, and I wrote it to change the world. But a book can’t change the world if nobody reads it.
When you don’t have an audience, everything you try to do is really hard. To get any results, you have to pay for ads, put in the work to get PR, and make the case to strangers for every sale and download.
All that changes when you have an audience.
Emailing your people is basically free, and they already know you and like you. Whenever you release something new, a percentage of your audience will buy it—and some of them will also tell other people.
It’s a totally different experience—one that seems like an impossible dream when you’re starting from nothing.
It all became real for me two years ago, when I decided to launch my first high-ticket program. To my amazement, I sold out that program—even though the price point was $5,000. And I didn’t spend a bunch of money on ads or run PR. No friends or influencers helped me. I just emailed my audience and filled the program—a $50,000+ launch!
It felt like magic. I felt invincible. I felt like I had finally unlocked the secret to business—and maybe life itself!
But it’s not really magic. It’s just how business works on the internet. That’s the power of building an audience.
Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, your audience is the foundation for everything else.
Selling more copies of your current book
Selling more copies of your past and future books
Touching more lives and helping more people
Building your community and influence
Selling other products and services, like coaching, consulting, e-courses, or even Patreon memberships
The reality is, without an audience, everything is a struggle.
The more you build a solid, connected, loyal audience, the easier business gets. And make no mistake, even as a fiction author, selling books is a business.
I’m tired of watching great writers work really hard and not get anywhere. For most indie authors, what’s missing is building an audience. But how do you do that?
Let me show you.
Introducing Audience Now
Audience Now is an on-demand program that will show you how to use your book to build your audience. All content is delivered in both video and written form, so you can consume it in the ways that work best for you.
Here’s what you’ll discover.
How to set up your book to build your audience for you automatically
How to get your readers eagerly joining your email list
What to say to people when they join, to help build connections and loyalty
How to make the most of your audience as it grows
The simplest and easiest way to set up the tech to make this all happen on autopilot
The Audience Now training program includes:
Six concise video lessons, with closed-captioning in English
Complete handouts containing all content in written form
Worksheets with guiding questions to help you implement the material step by step, and build your audience
Bonus: Tech setup checklist, to guide you through the process one step at a time so you can’t get lost or miss anything
Bonus: Email sequence templates, so you’ll know exactly what to say when
Bonus: Sample emails, so you can just adapt the examples instead of having to start from scratch
Bonus: Demo videos walking you though how to set this up using example systems (ConvertKit and LeadPages)
Bonus: Resource guide with my recommended systems and tools
Total value: $1,000. If my team were to do this for you, we'd charge $6,000. But you can get in today for only $497.
Who is this for?
Audience Now is for you if:
You’re an indie author who wants a big, loyal audience of fans and readers, ready to help spread the word and buy more from you.
You see the value of building your audience, whether you currently have zero followers or thousands.
You want to make more of an impact and touch more lives with your work.
You’re ready to set yourself up for success and make it easier to sell more of your current book and your other work as time goes on.
You’re committed to doing great work and achieving your goals.
…but it’s not for you if:
Your book isn’t any good
Your book is published through a traditional or hybrid publisher (You won’t have control of implementing this system)
You’re just looking to make a quick buck and don’t really care about helping anybody
You don’t believe in investing in your career now to set yourself up for success in the long term
You let your excuses stop you from getting what you want, instead of finding resources and solutions
Wondering what kind of results we’ve had with my systems?
My first bestseller client hit these bestseller rankings, despite no email list, no PR, no following, and no connections:
- #2 in Communication in Management
- #3 in Human Resources & Personnel (Management)
- #3 in Strategic Management
- #3 in Organizational Change
- #4 in Organizational Learning
- #6 in Mentoring & Coaching
- #7 in Human Resources & Personnel (Industry)
- #11 in Teams
My book had been sitting in Amazon’s graveyard for five years before I launched it. By following the same system you’ll learn in the Bestseller Launch Blueprint, I was able to hit:
- #1 in Digital Publishing (US)
- #1 in Electronic Publishing (US)
- #1 in Book Making & Binding (US)
- #2 in Nonfiction Writing Reference (US)
- #5 in Authorship (US)
- #1 in Education Research (US)
- #3 in Writing Skill Reference (US)
- #3 in Business Writing Skills (US)
- #2 in Language Communication (UK)
- #1 in Electronic Publishing (UK)
- #1 in Desktop Publishing (UK)
- #2 in Authorship (Australia)
- #1 in Computer Graphic Design (Australia)
- #2 in Authorship Reference (Australia)
- #1 Book Making & Binding (Canada)
- #4 in Writing Skills Writing Guides (Canada)
- #5 in Computer Business & Culture (Canada)
- #3 in Authorship (Canada)
My first book also camps at the top of its categories, week in and week out.
It’s not just my books or my clients’ books. In 2020, I hosted a certification program to train 10 people in this system. Their clients’ books also became bestsellers, including many #1s, tons of top-10 rankings, and a few international bestsellers.
Will your book get the same kind of results? On their own, most self-published books sells fewer than 100 copies. Most authors have no idea how to market their books, so they either take the “publish and pray” approach, or they spend tons of effort on things that don’t move the needle. The result is: their books don’t sell.
I can’t tell you how your book will do. But I can tell you that, if you follow this system and it doesn’t work, I’ll refund your money.
One-Year Full Results Guarantee
If you implement everything in Audience Now and at least 25% of your book buyers don’t join your audience, I’ll give you 100% of your money back. I’m so confident, I’ll give you a whole year to try it.
What People are Saying
Great information for any level of writer. Knowing this before you publish your first book is essential and it will save you a lot of time, spare you of the frustrations of not knowing, and get you on the road to writing and publishing success right from the start.
Jason Moser
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
I bought your information. Actually, I had indie-published 4 #1 best sellers and I wanted to compare how I marketed them before and after publishing to what you did. Your information was spot on with what worked for me and had I read it earlier I would have saved a bunch of time and money for things that did NOT work. I've recommended it to many other authors.
LB Johnson
about Bestseller Launch Blueprint
Great Stuff
Course was terrific. Great information to use in the future. Thank you!
Beverly Jones-Durr
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
I'm blown away
I'm so glad I signed up for this course. I haven't even gotten halfway through yet, and I've already gotten a wealth of information! My book seems more possible than ever!!
Mercedes Bullock
about Author • Expert • Bestseller
I recommend this to anyone starting their publishing journey.
Mike Nemeth
about Bestseller Launch Blueprint
Tips to Launch Your Best Seller
I have accomplished some of the items in the course, but the amount of information was outstanding. I am armed with tips and suggestions to enhance the sale of my current books, and set the stage for the next one out the door. Great job!
James Kelly
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
Streamlined & Actionable! High-Quality Content!
I truly enjoyed this course and think that its worth every penny spent. The content has strong impact, with actionable, streamlined steps for accomplishing every Authorpreneur's goal: a growing audience with high conversions into buyers.
Lex Brown
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
Just bought and like what I'm reading. Finally a tangible, manageable and doable path. Now I've got to get to work!
Karla Kamstra
about Bestseller Launch Blueprint
Helpful Information
I was looking for someone to break down the steps to a book launch in simple, actionable terms. This course did exactly what I needed. I appreciate the timelines and templates. Worth the time and money!
Shannon Beets
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
Best Training
The best training I have taken thus far. It was very informative and inexpensive.
Thomas Wideman
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
I recommend this. She lays it out in steps. Very easy to follow and apply. Beginning work today
Randall Rittenberry
about Bestseller Launch Blueprint
Comprehensive, step-by-step plan
I was skeptical because so many courses simply don't deliver on the promised value. This is NOT one of those courses. This is a true, actionable, step-by-step guide to accomplishing a bestselling launch for your book. I'm so excited to get started!
Amy Burgess
about Bestseller Launch Starter Kit
Frequently Asked Questions
Meet Cara
Cara Stein is an idealist who has stopped trying to play it cool. She believes the only reason people don’t like business or marketing is that they don’t know how to do it well—yet. She's often praised for her no-bullshit style and her wry humor.
Cara has been helping people finish and publish their books since 2012. She’s guided over 200 books through the publishing process. She’s also the #1 international bestselling author of five books of her own, including How to be Happy (No Fairy Dust or Moonbeams Required), Getting Unstuck, and Finish and Publish: Write the Book You’ve Always Wanted to Write. Her peeves include chipmunks, fakery, and the word “peeve.”