March 20, 2025 • 26 mins
Are you spreading yourself too thin trying to be everywhere? Too many authors feel pressured to be on every social platform, attend every event, and be available to answer all requests. But that’s a fast track to burnout, not growth.
Allison Lane tackles “Focus vs. FOMO,” - that’s Fear.Of.Missing.Out - and shares how to streamline your marketing so you can grow your visibility without exhaustion. She’s sharing her exact approach to showing up in the right places, repurposing content, and leveraging AI tools to work smarter, not harder. If you’re ready to reclaim your time while still making an impact, this episode is for you.
🎧 Hit play now and let’s get into it.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to identify the right platforms for your audience (and where to stop wasting time).
- The biggest time sucks in book marketing and how to eliminate them.
- How to use AI tools strategically to repurpose content and streamline your workflow.
Resources Mentioned:
- Allison’s Free Tech Stack Pack: https://www.lanelit.com/tech
- Bestseller Launch School: lanelit.com/bestseller
- Hopper HQ (Social media scheduler): https://www.hopperhq.com/?via=allison
- Canva for Templates: https://partner.canva.com/c/3658167/647168/10068
- Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonlanelit/
Timestamps:
[00:02:12] – Why “being everywhere” is a myth and what to focus on instead.
[00:04:27] – How I use AI to organize my content (in 15 seconds).
[00:08:06] – Why too many Facebook groups are draining your time.
[00:14:35] – The two biggest time vampires killing your book marketing efficiency.
[00:18:53] – How I structure my week with Prep, Do, and Free Days.
If this episode gave you clarity, take a moment to rate and review The Author’s Edge. Your support helps us reach more authors who need these insights. If you know a writer who’s overwhelmed by marketing, share this episode with them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX77FwRoS3A
Want your question answered in an upcoming episo
Your book launch is your chance to build your visibility and grow your audience. In the Bestseller Launch School guided program, I'll show you how to get buzz before your book hits the shelves, master pre-orders and early sales to get attention and keep sales going long after launch day. Live trainings start April 30th - June 11. Grab your seat now: https://lanelit.com/bestseller
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Allison (00:00):
Ask yourself, am I working from focus or from fomo?
(00:05):
Because fear of missing out ismaking your time hurt you.
(00:35):
Hey, I'm Allison Lane and I amwelcoming you back to the
Author's Edge.
I am so happy you're making timefor yourself and you have set
aside this time because you knowthat you work needs to be in the
world in a bigger way.
That's what we're doing aroundhere.
(00:55):
We're trying to help knock downthe barriers and the obstacles
and make your path smoother andexciting and more enjoyable and
fun.
If this isn't fun, if it is aconstant headache, you will end
up saying, like many people havesaid before, I don't even know
if I would do it again.
(01:16):
Oh, it hurts my heart.
I don't want you to say that.
What I want you to be able toget from your time here is a
better way and a faster way.
And also learn from, you know,other people's experiences,
including my own.
So, today we're going to betalking about focus versus fomo
(01:38):
and why you don't need to beeverywhere.
How to streamline yourvisibility without burning out.
I hear this all the time, andtoday I wanna break down exactly
how I show up consistentlywithout running myself into the
ground.
Because spoiler alert, it's notabout doing everything.
(02:00):
You literally can't.
It's knowing what actually movesthe needle instead of doing more
for the sake of doing more.
So, let's get into it.
Focus versus fomo.
Here's what I hear all the time.
People say to me, you areeverywhere.
How do you do it?
And I think, am I everywhere?
(02:21):
And I sometimes I even lookbehind me like, what?
How am I everywhere?
And they say, you must beexhausted, aren't you burnt out?
No, I'm not everywhere.
I might be everywhere you arelooking because I'm focused on
the people I serve the most.
If I was everywhere, I will giveyou a list in a second of the
(02:42):
places where I am not, and youcan go look for me.
And PS, I am not gonna be there.
So, FOMO is the fear of missingout.
I'm not fearful, I'm focused.
And that focus gives me comfort.
It's a freaking relief.
And from that relief, I get calmand confident.
(03:06):
Calm, confidence, knowing thatyou are doing what needs to be
done and only what needs to bedone.
Oh, it's like a warm blanket.
So, here's what I put my energyinto.
My podcast, this is my ownedcontent.
This owned content is somethingonly I can do.
(03:28):
It's drives all mycommunications.
I record, you know, 15 minutesor 30 minutes of a podcast, and
I turn that into a newsletter,an email, social posts, you
know, chop it up into littlebits so that it's out in the
(03:48):
world.
But I'm only creating 20 or 30minutes of video, which also
comes with a transcript.
So, hooray.
And then, on social, I put myenergy into LinkedIn.
I barely know how Instagramworks.
(04:08):
LinkedIn is my one focusedsocial because it works for me,
it enables me to reachprofessionals, and memoirs, but
women who are busy doing thething that they do that makes
them an authority.
And anyway, that's where I findthem and that's where they find
(04:31):
me.
So, I put my energy intopodcasting and LinkedIn as my
one focus.
And I use AI as a tool, not acrutch.
And I'm gonna tell you how Ireally use ai.
This is gonna blow your mind.
Let me tell you how this episodecame together.
I was sitting at the kitchencounter waiting for my daughter
(04:57):
to get ready for school, and Ihad 15 minutes.
I wrote my notes, randomthoughts on the back of an
envelope.
This is the envelope I amholding up.
You could go to YouTube and seethis scribbled thoughts, half
finished phrases, arrowspointing here and there.
(05:20):
I mean, even when I look at it,it doesn't really make that much
sense.
And then, I took a picture ofthe front and back, and I
attached it to ChatGPT.
And in 15 seconds it turned myhandwritten notes into an
organized outline.
I don't script out our chats.
(05:41):
That's not me.
I don't script out my podcastepisodes.
It's just not the way I am andthat would lose the charm of me
and who would want that?
But if I just rambled my waythrough this episode, you'd turn
out'cause structure matters,especially when you're listening
(06:01):
and not watching.
And I know you're foldingclothes and you're making dinner
and you know you're doing,you're putting on your makeup
and trying not to poke eyelinerdirectly into your eye.
But that's the benefit of ai.
It's like a smart intern whodoesn't take lunch breaks.
(06:21):
It's not about replacingcreativity'cause I did use my
new pen and, you know, I have apen fetish.
and I'll post the pen that Ihave in the show notes'cause
it's called a jelly roll whichis hilarious.
And I don't usually use blackink, but this one looks like it
(06:42):
has a top, but it doesn't, itstill makes that awesome sound,
click click and it comes inblack and then black with a
little tiny glitters, almostlike it looks like the night
sky.
So, that's why I like it,'causeit has a sprinkle of whimsy in
it.
Anyway, I wrote these notesdown, I fed them into chatGPT
(07:05):
because I wanted to make surethat me sharing with you made
sense to you as the listener.
It helped me organize so that myideas land and are packaged for
you, the recipient.
If I wrote my notes for thispodcast on the back of this
(07:25):
envelope, and then just read offthe envelope.
Oh, you would not like it atall?
It would be a stream ofconsciousness and I would be
ad-libbing and it would be awfulas a listening experience.
So, here's where peoplestruggle.
They see that they need to bedoing more, but they're not
(07:49):
using smart tools and they'redoing everything.
custom.
We don't need you to be custom.
I'm gonna give you a couple ofmy tips and tools in a second.
But they see, where peoplestruggle is they see other
platforms, TikTok, and X, andFacebook groups, and they feel
(08:10):
like they should be there too.
How many Facebook groups are youin?
Is it over 15?
Then?
It's too many.
It's time to prune.
That's fomo.
You can't possibly keep up with15, even 15 Facebook groups.
Take a look at the Facebookgroups.
You can go to Facebook and lookat groups, it'll tell you when
(08:33):
you were last in that group.
If you haven't been in a groupin six months, it's bye-bye
group.
It's not serving you anymore.
And what Facebook's doing isstill serving you up content
from that group.
So, it's still, you're taking upyour mind space, which you don't
need to do.
You need to reclaim your mindspace because you have fomo.
(08:56):
You don't wanna make thatdecision, but that's what leads
to burnout.
If you're chasing everyplatform, if you're not using AI
tools in a smart way, like aintern that doesn't talk back,
then you're not being strategic.
What you're being is busy.
And busy is not productive.
(09:19):
Busy is a waste.
So, I'm taking the same approachin my business offerings as
well.
You know, I work with women.
I help you figure out what yourbook is and get a book deal and
launch it and grow yourvisibility.
But I don't offer a milliondifferent things.
(09:39):
I keep it simple.
I offer two courses.
These are guided programs withme live.
The big idea to book Blueprint,that's you get your book idea
clear, you craft a compellingproposal, you pitch with
confidence.
It's a five week guided program.
(10:00):
And I also offer BestsellerLaunch School.
Which is a nine week program toplan and master your book
launch.
So your book gets the visibilityit deserves.
Two courses.
I offer one membership, the NextChapter Network.
It's an ongoing community forwomen authors who are growing
(10:24):
their brand, expanding theirvisibility, and taking action
toward their publishing andbusiness goals.
Many of them are launchingbooks, many of them are still
pursuing book deals or growingtheir brand.
They're all authors, whetherthey're aspiring or seasoned or
(10:45):
on their eighth book.
Everyone needs to be marketingthemselves, and this is an
ongoing community that is fullof smart people making progress
all the time.
For a select few, I offerprivate one-on-one coaching.
Through the Author VisibilityAccelerator, which is a four
(11:07):
month experience to fast trackyour ability to show up and
stand out and build the platformyou need as an author.
So again, I'm keeping it simple.
Two courses, one community, andone private coaching experience.
That's it.
There's no a la carte.
(11:27):
There's no custom packages.
If someone asks me as they have,can you send me a proposal?
No.
Do you know how long it takes towrite a proposal that's custom?
No.
Thank you.
So, when someone asks forsomething outside of my two
courses, my community, or myone-on-one coaching experience,
(11:50):
my response is I don't offerthat.
Many times I just say best ofluck if I know specifically who
I could refer them to, who hasan offer that is a match.
I'll say, you might wanna lookinto, you know, Allison k
(12:11):
Williams, who I think is thebee's knees.
She has a wonderful way withfinding the story in your
memoir.
Or Marian Roach, who also is amemoir coach, and she can help
you structure, but these twowomen are super duper busy.
(12:32):
But a lot of times someone wantshelp with their manuscript.
I don't do that.
I know plenty of people who dothat.
Only a few of them I know verywell and have worked with
one-on-one.
So, those are the people Irecommend, but I don't do that,
and it gives me calm and comfortand confidence to say, I don't
(12:55):
offer that.
Though I have in the past, andI'm certainly capable of that.
And because simplicity gives memore free time and it gives my
brain more time to innovate.
So, focus is also includesadjusting as you go.
So, every week I removeunnecessary steps so that I
(13:20):
could focus on what reallymatters.
Here's what that looks like,reducing the number of social
posts I create.
It's really easy to over create,like, you know, what'd be clever
as this and that.
I also plan them out and use ascheduler.
The scheduler I use is HopperHQ, and I will put it in the
(13:41):
show notes.
I like it because it doesn'tcost$50 a month through App
Sumo, which is offers discounts.
I got a lifetime membership for$150, so I'm good.
Like I don't ever need anythingelse.
I'm good.
I really like it and I like thelayout'cause it's visual, which
(14:02):
for me means faster.
I also keep my newsletterssimple and direct.
So my newsletters are inLinkedIn, emails that go out to
people on my email list orpeople who've gotten my freebies
are direct.
You never have to scroll,scroll, scroll, because nobody
(14:24):
wants to read a newspaper whenthey get an email from me.
I cut out anything that takestime, but doesn't move the
needle, which is lovely.
So, this week I realized I wascreating more content from the
podcast transcript than I wasactually using.
So, we're going on 52 somethingpodcasts, maybe we're in the
(14:47):
fifties at this point.
But if I'm not using it, it'sjust something extra.
It's just adding weight to myGoogle platform.
So, I'm not gonna create itanymore.
I just don't need it.
More, doesn't equal better.
Better equals better.
So, let me break this down evenfurther.
(15:10):
What can you remove?
You can remove two things.
Anything that's a time suck, atime Vampire.
And I'll tell you, the biggesttime vampire I see is people
diving into Canva every singletime they need something.
You do not need to find theperfect shade of blue.
Or a new image with every post.
(15:33):
You've gotta use a template.
Decide which template you'regoing to use for your quote
tile, and that is the onlytemplate you're going to use.
Unless you're a graphicdesigner, please don't create
your own freaking template.
It's not gonna be good.
I mean, I love you and I'm sureit's super fun and it is pretty
(15:54):
addictive to play in Canva, butit's a time suck.
So, I use Canva templates andthen I pare down and I say to
myself, I am literally going touse this template and only this
template for my quotes because,you know, I had to have a strong
talk with myself.
And it gives me joy to deletethe other things in Canva.
(16:18):
That's why in my bestsellerLaunch School Students also get
my Author Brand kit and thetemplate design pack, which
saves you hours and hours of notonly designing things, but
figuring out what designs youneed.
You know, what templates do youneed at all?
(16:39):
There are eight or nine thatevery new book is going to need.
And if you don't know what thoseare, every time a new need comes
up, you have to stop the machineand go back into Canva and
develop it.
It's a waste of time.
So, time sucks, we've gottaclear those.
(17:01):
The second thing we need toremove is starting from scratch
every time.
So, what do I mean by that?
I mean, every time somebody asksme for my bio, which happened
three different times, today.
I don't start from scratch.
I go to my speaker package or myauthor bio package, whatever you
(17:23):
call it, and I cut and paste, orI copy and paste from my latest
bio.
It's in one document.
It is copy and pastable for me.
Then I just make sure that itmeets the need of the recipient.
If it's a podcast host, I wannamake sure it's short enough that
(17:50):
they don't feel like they haveto edit it because I don't like
to fling homework at anyone.
And I'm speaking at an S-C-B-W-Iconference coming up and I know
that they're gonna needsomething short.
They don't need my life story.
They need something short.
And a headshot.
So, I keep all of that in oneplace.
(18:12):
I don't wanna start fromscratch, so it's easy.
I know this is an anticipatedrequest I'm going to get, so I'm
going to anticipate it and havethe content ready.
Copy paste, copy paste.
I do not wanna start fromscratch or ask myself, where's
the last version that I reallyliked?
That's a waste of time.
(18:33):
Here's what I do focus on.
I write out my priorities dailyand weekly.
Even if it's on a Post-it, I putit in front of me so I know if
I've achieved this one thingtoday, it's a win.
That way it's in front of me,not, I don't put it somewhere in
a document, but it has to be infront of me.
(18:54):
'cause I wanna know, did Iachieve the thing that I set out
to.
I also restructured my timerecently.
I looked at my calendar and Iwas chunking up all this time I
was seeing clients on Tuesdays,Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and
sometimes Fridays no more.
Now, I have three types of days.
(19:18):
I break up my days into threedifferent categories.
I have prep days, due days, andfree days.
So, a prep day would bepreparing a workshop or getting
all my details ready to take ona new client or building a
(19:39):
webpage.
A due day is when I'm recordinga podcast, either alone, solo,
or with a guest.
When I'm meeting with a clientone-on-one, that's when I'm
showing up and I'm doing thething, or I'm delivering a
workshop, that's the due day.
And then a free day, which is Imean, hard to fathom.
(20:05):
But yeah, a free day, nomeetings, no prep.
Maybe I'll go to a bookstore,maybe I'll get a pedicure.
I won't get a mani pedi'cause Ican't settle for that long.
It drives me insane.
But you know, I'll give myself amanicure while someone gives me
a pedicure.
I think that's just my A DHDtalking.
(20:26):
And I also protect my time withmy family.
Now, I used to try andmultitask.
If the kids weren't looking, Iwould pop my laptop open and
then I noticed that it hurttheir feelings.
And they would say, Ugh, mom'son her laptop.
And I'd think I'm literallyworking on your doctor visits
(20:47):
and putting them into the CozyFamily scheduler, but they
didn't know that.
They just thought I was workingall the time.
So, now I don't do that at all.
I don't crack the laptop infront of them unless they know,
and they're sitting next to melike, let's take a look at your
calendar.
And that way I'm present forthem.
So, if you're feelingoverwhelmed, if you're
(21:09):
stretching yourself too thin,take a step back.
Ask yourself, am I working fromfocus or from fomo?
Because fear of missing out ismaking your time hurt you.
If you want help building yourvisibility right away, you know
where to find me.
(21:29):
If you want help getting awayfrom fomo.
Go back to the beginning of thispodcast and use some of the
things that I did recently.
And apply them to you.
Look at your schedule.
Look at what types of tasks youcan bundle.
When you plan ahead, you startto see, oh, I don't need to do
(21:54):
canva work every single day.
I can assign myself one day inthe month and that's when I'm
gonna do everything.
And that's how you get thingsdone.
Remove the time sucks.
Don't start anything fromscratch.
Make sure that you are part of acommunity that can help you.
So, you can raise your hand andask for what you need.
(22:17):
And then be ready.
Be ready for the new ideas andthe new priorities to come in.
It feels really, really goodbecause calm, confidence is what
we're going for.
I love that you're here.
I love that you're spendingtime.
Learning how to be a bettermarketer.
(22:38):
Marketing is about prioritizingand about using what works,
which you'll hear me talk aboutthis all the time.
Even in messaging, you gottanail what works and then let the
rest go.
Nobody wants the language thatdidn't make the cut.
If it didn't make the cut, wedon't need it anymore.
(23:01):
Delete with abandon.
It'll feel so good.
There are some resources I'mgonna put in the chat, some tech
resources you can grab from mebecause no one should be
starting from scratch if you arejust building your website
before you spend time trying tobecome a tech wizard.
(23:21):
Grab my list.
All the technology I use and Ihave tested a bunch of stuff
that did not work for me.
So, if it's not on my list,there's a reason why, and it's
because it was too techie forme.
And if you're like me, you'llappreciate not having to make
those expensive mistakes.
(23:43):
I'm here for you.
Make sure you ask me a question.
Please go to this podcastepisode description and click
send me a text.
Let me know what you think.
What's helping you and what youneed.
If you ask me a question, I willanswer it on the podcast next
week.
Okay.
(24:04):
Until then, you are a big effingdeal.
Ask yourself, am I working from focus or from fomo?
(00:05):
Because fear of missing out ismaking your time hurt you.
(00:35):
Hey, I'm Allison Lane and I amwelcoming you back to the
Author's Edge.
I am so happy you're making timefor yourself and you have set
aside this time because you knowthat you work needs to be in the
world in a bigger way.
That's what we're doing aroundhere.
(00:55):
We're trying to help knock downthe barriers and the obstacles
and make your path smoother andexciting and more enjoyable and
fun.
If this isn't fun, if it is aconstant headache, you will end
up saying, like many people havesaid before, I don't even know
if I would do it again.
(01:16):
Oh, it hurts my heart.
I don't want you to say that.
What I want you to be able toget from your time here is a
better way and a faster way.
And also learn from, you know,other people's experiences,
including my own.
So, today we're going to betalking about focus versus fomo
(01:38):
and why you don't need to beeverywhere.
How to streamline yourvisibility without burning out.
I hear this all the time, andtoday I wanna break down exactly
how I show up consistentlywithout running myself into the
ground.
Because spoiler alert, it's notabout doing everything.
(02:00):
You literally can't.
It's knowing what actually movesthe needle instead of doing more
for the sake of doing more.
So, let's get into it.
Focus versus fomo.
Here's what I hear all the time.
People say to me, you areeverywhere.
How do you do it?
And I think, am I everywhere?
(02:21):
And I sometimes I even lookbehind me like, what?
How am I everywhere?
And they say, you must beexhausted, aren't you burnt out?
No, I'm not everywhere.
I might be everywhere you arelooking because I'm focused on
the people I serve the most.
If I was everywhere, I will giveyou a list in a second of the
(02:42):
places where I am not, and youcan go look for me.
And PS, I am not gonna be there.
So, FOMO is the fear of missingout.
I'm not fearful, I'm focused.
And that focus gives me comfort.
It's a freaking relief.
And from that relief, I get calmand confident.
(03:06):
Calm, confidence, knowing thatyou are doing what needs to be
done and only what needs to bedone.
Oh, it's like a warm blanket.
So, here's what I put my energyinto.
My podcast, this is my ownedcontent.
This owned content is somethingonly I can do.
(03:28):
It's drives all mycommunications.
I record, you know, 15 minutesor 30 minutes of a podcast, and
I turn that into a newsletter,an email, social posts, you
know, chop it up into littlebits so that it's out in the
(03:48):
world.
But I'm only creating 20 or 30minutes of video, which also
comes with a transcript.
So, hooray.
And then, on social, I put myenergy into LinkedIn.
I barely know how Instagramworks.
(04:08):
LinkedIn is my one focusedsocial because it works for me,
it enables me to reachprofessionals, and memoirs, but
women who are busy doing thething that they do that makes
them an authority.
And anyway, that's where I findthem and that's where they find
(04:31):
me.
So, I put my energy intopodcasting and LinkedIn as my
one focus.
And I use AI as a tool, not acrutch.
And I'm gonna tell you how Ireally use ai.
This is gonna blow your mind.
Let me tell you how this episodecame together.
I was sitting at the kitchencounter waiting for my daughter
(04:57):
to get ready for school, and Ihad 15 minutes.
I wrote my notes, randomthoughts on the back of an
envelope.
This is the envelope I amholding up.
You could go to YouTube and seethis scribbled thoughts, half
finished phrases, arrowspointing here and there.
(05:20):
I mean, even when I look at it,it doesn't really make that much
sense.
And then, I took a picture ofthe front and back, and I
attached it to ChatGPT.
And in 15 seconds it turned myhandwritten notes into an
organized outline.
I don't script out our chats.
(05:41):
That's not me.
I don't script out my podcastepisodes.
It's just not the way I am andthat would lose the charm of me
and who would want that?
But if I just rambled my waythrough this episode, you'd turn
out'cause structure matters,especially when you're listening
(06:01):
and not watching.
And I know you're foldingclothes and you're making dinner
and you know you're doing,you're putting on your makeup
and trying not to poke eyelinerdirectly into your eye.
But that's the benefit of ai.
It's like a smart intern whodoesn't take lunch breaks.
(06:21):
It's not about replacingcreativity'cause I did use my
new pen and, you know, I have apen fetish.
and I'll post the pen that Ihave in the show notes'cause
it's called a jelly roll whichis hilarious.
And I don't usually use blackink, but this one looks like it
(06:42):
has a top, but it doesn't, itstill makes that awesome sound,
click click and it comes inblack and then black with a
little tiny glitters, almostlike it looks like the night
sky.
So, that's why I like it,'causeit has a sprinkle of whimsy in
it.
Anyway, I wrote these notesdown, I fed them into chatGPT
(07:05):
because I wanted to make surethat me sharing with you made
sense to you as the listener.
It helped me organize so that myideas land and are packaged for
you, the recipient.
If I wrote my notes for thispodcast on the back of this
(07:25):
envelope, and then just read offthe envelope.
Oh, you would not like it atall?
It would be a stream ofconsciousness and I would be
ad-libbing and it would be awfulas a listening experience.
So, here's where peoplestruggle.
They see that they need to bedoing more, but they're not
(07:49):
using smart tools and they'redoing everything.
custom.
We don't need you to be custom.
I'm gonna give you a couple ofmy tips and tools in a second.
But they see, where peoplestruggle is they see other
platforms, TikTok, and X, andFacebook groups, and they feel
(08:10):
like they should be there too.
How many Facebook groups are youin?
Is it over 15?
Then?
It's too many.
It's time to prune.
That's fomo.
You can't possibly keep up with15, even 15 Facebook groups.
Take a look at the Facebookgroups.
You can go to Facebook and lookat groups, it'll tell you when
(08:33):
you were last in that group.
If you haven't been in a groupin six months, it's bye-bye
group.
It's not serving you anymore.
And what Facebook's doing isstill serving you up content
from that group.
So, it's still, you're taking upyour mind space, which you don't
need to do.
You need to reclaim your mindspace because you have fomo.
(08:56):
You don't wanna make thatdecision, but that's what leads
to burnout.
If you're chasing everyplatform, if you're not using AI
tools in a smart way, like aintern that doesn't talk back,
then you're not being strategic.
What you're being is busy.
And busy is not productive.
(09:19):
Busy is a waste.
So, I'm taking the same approachin my business offerings as
well.
You know, I work with women.
I help you figure out what yourbook is and get a book deal and
launch it and grow yourvisibility.
But I don't offer a milliondifferent things.
(09:39):
I keep it simple.
I offer two courses.
These are guided programs withme live.
The big idea to book Blueprint,that's you get your book idea
clear, you craft a compellingproposal, you pitch with
confidence.
It's a five week guided program.
(10:00):
And I also offer BestsellerLaunch School.
Which is a nine week program toplan and master your book
launch.
So your book gets the visibilityit deserves.
Two courses.
I offer one membership, the NextChapter Network.
It's an ongoing community forwomen authors who are growing
(10:24):
their brand, expanding theirvisibility, and taking action
toward their publishing andbusiness goals.
Many of them are launchingbooks, many of them are still
pursuing book deals or growingtheir brand.
They're all authors, whetherthey're aspiring or seasoned or
(10:45):
on their eighth book.
Everyone needs to be marketingthemselves, and this is an
ongoing community that is fullof smart people making progress
all the time.
For a select few, I offerprivate one-on-one coaching.
Through the Author VisibilityAccelerator, which is a four
(11:07):
month experience to fast trackyour ability to show up and
stand out and build the platformyou need as an author.
So again, I'm keeping it simple.
Two courses, one community, andone private coaching experience.
That's it.
There's no a la carte.
(11:27):
There's no custom packages.
If someone asks me as they have,can you send me a proposal?
No.
Do you know how long it takes towrite a proposal that's custom?
No.
Thank you.
So, when someone asks forsomething outside of my two
courses, my community, or myone-on-one coaching experience,
(11:50):
my response is I don't offerthat.
Many times I just say best ofluck if I know specifically who
I could refer them to, who hasan offer that is a match.
I'll say, you might wanna lookinto, you know, Allison k
(12:11):
Williams, who I think is thebee's knees.
She has a wonderful way withfinding the story in your
memoir.
Or Marian Roach, who also is amemoir coach, and she can help
you structure, but these twowomen are super duper busy.
(12:32):
But a lot of times someone wantshelp with their manuscript.
I don't do that.
I know plenty of people who dothat.
Only a few of them I know verywell and have worked with
one-on-one.
So, those are the people Irecommend, but I don't do that,
and it gives me calm and comfortand confidence to say, I don't
(12:55):
offer that.
Though I have in the past, andI'm certainly capable of that.
And because simplicity gives memore free time and it gives my
brain more time to innovate.
So, focus is also includesadjusting as you go.
So, every week I removeunnecessary steps so that I
(13:20):
could focus on what reallymatters.
Here's what that looks like,reducing the number of social
posts I create.
It's really easy to over create,like, you know, what'd be clever
as this and that.
I also plan them out and use ascheduler.
The scheduler I use is HopperHQ, and I will put it in the
(13:41):
show notes.
I like it because it doesn'tcost$50 a month through App
Sumo, which is offers discounts.
I got a lifetime membership for$150, so I'm good.
Like I don't ever need anythingelse.
I'm good.
I really like it and I like thelayout'cause it's visual, which
(14:02):
for me means faster.
I also keep my newsletterssimple and direct.
So my newsletters are inLinkedIn, emails that go out to
people on my email list orpeople who've gotten my freebies
are direct.
You never have to scroll,scroll, scroll, because nobody
(14:24):
wants to read a newspaper whenthey get an email from me.
I cut out anything that takestime, but doesn't move the
needle, which is lovely.
So, this week I realized I wascreating more content from the
podcast transcript than I wasactually using.
So, we're going on 52 somethingpodcasts, maybe we're in the
(14:47):
fifties at this point.
But if I'm not using it, it'sjust something extra.
It's just adding weight to myGoogle platform.
So, I'm not gonna create itanymore.
I just don't need it.
More, doesn't equal better.
Better equals better.
So, let me break this down evenfurther.
(15:10):
What can you remove?
You can remove two things.
Anything that's a time suck, atime Vampire.
And I'll tell you, the biggesttime vampire I see is people
diving into Canva every singletime they need something.
You do not need to find theperfect shade of blue.
Or a new image with every post.
(15:33):
You've gotta use a template.
Decide which template you'regoing to use for your quote
tile, and that is the onlytemplate you're going to use.
Unless you're a graphicdesigner, please don't create
your own freaking template.
It's not gonna be good.
I mean, I love you and I'm sureit's super fun and it is pretty
(15:54):
addictive to play in Canva, butit's a time suck.
So, I use Canva templates andthen I pare down and I say to
myself, I am literally going touse this template and only this
template for my quotes because,you know, I had to have a strong
talk with myself.
And it gives me joy to deletethe other things in Canva.
(16:18):
That's why in my bestsellerLaunch School Students also get
my Author Brand kit and thetemplate design pack, which
saves you hours and hours of notonly designing things, but
figuring out what designs youneed.
You know, what templates do youneed at all?
(16:39):
There are eight or nine thatevery new book is going to need.
And if you don't know what thoseare, every time a new need comes
up, you have to stop the machineand go back into Canva and
develop it.
It's a waste of time.
So, time sucks, we've gottaclear those.
(17:01):
The second thing we need toremove is starting from scratch
every time.
So, what do I mean by that?
I mean, every time somebody asksme for my bio, which happened
three different times, today.
I don't start from scratch.
I go to my speaker package or myauthor bio package, whatever you
(17:23):
call it, and I cut and paste, orI copy and paste from my latest
bio.
It's in one document.
It is copy and pastable for me.
Then I just make sure that itmeets the need of the recipient.
If it's a podcast host, I wannamake sure it's short enough that
(17:50):
they don't feel like they haveto edit it because I don't like
to fling homework at anyone.
And I'm speaking at an S-C-B-W-Iconference coming up and I know
that they're gonna needsomething short.
They don't need my life story.
They need something short.
And a headshot.
So, I keep all of that in oneplace.
(18:12):
I don't wanna start fromscratch, so it's easy.
I know this is an anticipatedrequest I'm going to get, so I'm
going to anticipate it and havethe content ready.
Copy paste, copy paste.
I do not wanna start fromscratch or ask myself, where's
the last version that I reallyliked?
That's a waste of time.
(18:33):
Here's what I do focus on.
I write out my priorities dailyand weekly.
Even if it's on a Post-it, I putit in front of me so I know if
I've achieved this one thingtoday, it's a win.
That way it's in front of me,not, I don't put it somewhere in
a document, but it has to be infront of me.
(18:54):
'cause I wanna know, did Iachieve the thing that I set out
to.
I also restructured my timerecently.
I looked at my calendar and Iwas chunking up all this time I
was seeing clients on Tuesdays,Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and
sometimes Fridays no more.
Now, I have three types of days.
(19:18):
I break up my days into threedifferent categories.
I have prep days, due days, andfree days.
So, a prep day would bepreparing a workshop or getting
all my details ready to take ona new client or building a
(19:39):
webpage.
A due day is when I'm recordinga podcast, either alone, solo,
or with a guest.
When I'm meeting with a clientone-on-one, that's when I'm
showing up and I'm doing thething, or I'm delivering a
workshop, that's the due day.
And then a free day, which is Imean, hard to fathom.
(20:05):
But yeah, a free day, nomeetings, no prep.
Maybe I'll go to a bookstore,maybe I'll get a pedicure.
I won't get a mani pedi'cause Ican't settle for that long.
It drives me insane.
But you know, I'll give myself amanicure while someone gives me
a pedicure.
I think that's just my A DHDtalking.
(20:26):
And I also protect my time withmy family.
Now, I used to try andmultitask.
If the kids weren't looking, Iwould pop my laptop open and
then I noticed that it hurttheir feelings.
And they would say, Ugh, mom'son her laptop.
And I'd think I'm literallyworking on your doctor visits
(20:47):
and putting them into the CozyFamily scheduler, but they
didn't know that.
They just thought I was workingall the time.
So, now I don't do that at all.
I don't crack the laptop infront of them unless they know,
and they're sitting next to melike, let's take a look at your
calendar.
And that way I'm present forthem.
So, if you're feelingoverwhelmed, if you're
(21:09):
stretching yourself too thin,take a step back.
Ask yourself, am I working fromfocus or from fomo?
Because fear of missing out ismaking your time hurt you.
If you want help building yourvisibility right away, you know
where to find me.
(21:29):
If you want help getting awayfrom fomo.
Go back to the beginning of thispodcast and use some of the
things that I did recently.
And apply them to you.
Look at your schedule.
Look at what types of tasks youcan bundle.
When you plan ahead, you startto see, oh, I don't need to do
(21:54):
canva work every single day.
I can assign myself one day inthe month and that's when I'm
gonna do everything.
And that's how you get thingsdone.
Remove the time sucks.
Don't start anything fromscratch.
Make sure that you are part of acommunity that can help you.
So, you can raise your hand andask for what you need.
(22:17):
And then be ready.
Be ready for the new ideas andthe new priorities to come in.
It feels really, really goodbecause calm, confidence is what
we're going for.
I love that you're here.
I love that you're spendingtime.
Learning how to be a bettermarketer.
(22:38):
Marketing is about prioritizingand about using what works,
which you'll hear me talk aboutthis all the time.
Even in messaging, you gottanail what works and then let the
rest go.
Nobody wants the language thatdidn't make the cut.
If it didn't make the cut, wedon't need it anymore.
(23:01):
Delete with abandon.
It'll feel so good.
There are some resources I'mgonna put in the chat, some tech
resources you can grab from mebecause no one should be
starting from scratch if you arejust building your website
before you spend time trying tobecome a tech wizard.
(23:21):
Grab my list.
All the technology I use and Ihave tested a bunch of stuff
that did not work for me.
So, if it's not on my list,there's a reason why, and it's
because it was too techie forme.
And if you're like me, you'llappreciate not having to make
those expensive mistakes.
(23:43):
I'm here for you.
Make sure you ask me a question.
Please go to this podcastepisode description and click
send me a text.
Let me know what you think.
What's helping you and what youneed.
If you ask me a question, I willanswer it on the podcast next
week.
Okay.
(24:04):
Until then, you are a big effingdeal.
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