Effortless Author Magic: Simple Post Ideas to Build Your Author Brand, Sell More Books, and Go on an Adventure!
For all the authors out there who just don’t know how to start, want free help, and even get a boost in readers!
This post is for all the authors out there who just don’t know how to start. Who don’t have ideas for how to write for their blog, who want to promote their book, but can’t seem to find any ideas. They look around at other successful authors who blog once a week and post every day on social media. They wonder if they’re a failure, and not fit to market themselves.
Well, yes, you definitely are, and you definitely can. This post will try to help you - and end with insanely helpful tools - unlock effortless author magic with simple post ideas. Such as our EPIC Framework, that will change your life forever.
And at the end, you can even get tips on how to use free tools to make everything happen even faster, so that you’re actually writing your first post within 5 minutes. Actually you, not a bot. Not even kidding.
(Plus, we’ll even include a growing blogging network where you can reach more readers.)
So, if you're an author trying to sell your books and grow your brand, let’s get this straight: it's not just about selling your novel.
It's about creating a connection people love and trust.
The secret? Sharing your thoughts and stories in a variety of ways, not just promoting your book cover all the time. Some authors make that work. I’m guessing you’re still reading because that’s not you.
Let's dive into how you can create stellar content that boosts your exposure, connects with your audience, and ultimately… sells more books - without being spammy!
In fact, your readers will develop new respect for you, comment more, and share your content. Why? Because you’re actually saying interesting things - that deepen how they appreciate and understand your novel!
So, since authors are usually so unnerved by this point, I’ve built this post as a fill-in-the-blanks and color-by-numbers approach. These are not magic bullets. They’re tried-and-true marketing practices that copywriters have used for a century to sell everything from vacuums to Vader figurines.
So… ok, I guess it is a magic bullet.
Step 1: Know Your Audience and Themes
First things first, you've got to know who you're talking to. If you're writing YA Fantasy with themes like family, legends, and Arthurian myths, your crowd is teens and young adults who dig faith-based or fantasy stories. These are your people. Speak to them.
Step 2: Brainstorm Content Ideas
Don't just think about selling your book. Think about all the cool stuff around it. What themes and stories in your book can you talk about? Here's a quick rundown of some topics to get your ideas flowing:
Behind-the-Scenes: Share your writing process. Talk about how you outline, develop characters, and create scenes. People love seeing the magic behind the curtain.
Character Deep Dives: Explore the inner worlds of your characters. What makes your heroes tick? What are your villains' motivations?
Personal Stories: Share your experiences that inspired the book. Talk about your trips to a local store, Scotland, or the moon. Or share your obsession with something.
Reader Interaction: Engage with your readers through polls, quizzes, and questions. Get them involved and make them feel part of the journey.
World-Building Insights: Dive into the mythical places and creatures in your book. Explain the lore and legends that shape your world.
Mythology and Folklore: Share your take on different myths and how they influence your writing.
Love Stories and Relationships: Talk about the relationships in your book. Dive into the dynamics of love, friendship, and family, and perhaps how different eras or events might have had different outcomes.
Interactive Content: Create fun and engaging content like personality quizzes and beta reader surveys.
Step 3: Use the EPIC Framework (Excite, Problem, Insight, Call).
This framework is gold. It’s directly inspired by a copywriters’ framework called PAS (Problem, Agitate, Solution). Here's how it works, with an example:
E: Excite - Capture your audience's attention with a compelling problem or captivating idea.
P: Problem - Describe the problem or challenge in a way that resonates emotionally.
I: Insight - Provide insights or solutions that address the problem or challenge. This is how you are helpful - beyond selling your book.
C: Call to Action - Directly offer your book as a solution or key to the opening question.
Here’s an example:
Excite: Capture attention: "What if a simple wardrobe could transport you to a land of endless wonder?"
Problem: Describe the issue: "In today's busy world, many of us struggle to ignite our imagination and escape reality." Why do we need to think about magical wonder at all?
Insight: Provide the solution: "'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis offers an escape into Narnia, where children become heroes, animals talk, and every corner holds a new adventure. It's the perfect remedy for a weary mind."
Call to Action: Direct promotion: Pick up 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and step into a story that will awaken the wonder within you. (Got a reader testimonial to support your claim?)
Step 4: Share Personal Stories and Experiences
People connect with people, not products. Share your personal journey. Talk about how your experiences visiting places or doing things inspired the settings in your book. Let your readers see the real you behind the author persona.
Step 5: Engage with Your Readers
Interactive content is key. Ask questions and hang out with them in the comments. If you’re savvy, you can create polls and quizzes related to your book's themes. This not only boosts engagement but also makes your readers feel valued and involved in your creative process.
Some authors thrive on involving their readers in the process. Think about it. Include your readers along for the ride, ask for their help, brainstorm with them… and they’ll be your superfan ambassadors helping to share the news!
Step 6: Consistent Content Creation
It’s good to have a steady flow of content to stay connected with your audience. Some authors set a schedule and stick to it. Now, that schedule could be once a week, or once a month. And yes, sure. Some authors have no schedule, do whatever they want, and it works well.
For the rest of us muggles, a schedule means we can put it on a calendar, and know that we’ve created an intentional time to think about it.
Plus, batching your content creation ahead of time can really save your skin, especially when something unexpected comes up! Which… let’s be honest… is about once a week!
Consistency builds trust and friendships, especially if you’re counting down to a book launch, or writing toward a sequel.
If you want to grow as an author, it's not just about pushing your book. It's about sharing who you are, what you think, and the stories behind your story.
Be consistent, be engaging, and be real. When people connect with you, they'll want to buy your books, trust you, and follow your journey. Start implementing these strategies today and watch your audience grow and your brand thrive.
How to generate endless ideas and outline your content
Ready to eliminate your fear of the blank page and a blinking cursor? Want to get writing your first post in 5 minutes? Here’s how you can start your timer right now, and create an endless list of inspiration for yourself.
Copy this prompt and paste it in the free plan for ChatGPT 4o or Claude AI. Fill in the blanks with your ideas, and then press ‘Go’.
Note: You don’t need to answer all the prompt brackets, and you don’t need to be perfect. Delete what you don’t care about. Try testing it, and if you like it, refine it. Delete what doesn’t work for you. A bunch of them will, and you’ll be surprised by some!
PROMPT:
I need help marketing my [Insert type] novel. The genre is [Insert Genre] and the main themes are [Insert Themes].
My target audience includes [Insert Target Audience], particularly [Insert Specific Demographics/Interests].
I have a strong personal interest in [Insert Personal Interests], which aligns well with the book’s content.
Through my marketing, I aim to promote [Insert Lifestyle and Habits] and convey messages about [Insert Messages/Values].
I plan to use platforms such as [Insert Platforms] for my marketing efforts. My visual content will feature [Insert Visual Content Ideas], providing a rich visual experience for my audience. I look up to influencers and thought leaders like [Insert Influencers/ Thought Leaders] and aim to emulate their engaging and inspiring content.
Here are some content ideas I want to explore:
1. Behind-the-scenes writing process: [Insert Ideas]
2. Character/topic deep dives: [Insert Ideas]
3. Personal stories and experiences: [Insert Ideas]
4. Reader interaction: [Insert Ideas]
5. World-building insights: [Insert Ideas]
6. Mythology and folklore: [Insert Ideas]
7. Love stories and relationships: [Insert Ideas]
8. Writing romance: [Insert Ideas]
9. Interactive content (polls, quizzes): [Insert Ideas]
10. Collaborations: [Insert Ideas]
11. Book aesthetics (mood boards): [Insert Ideas]
12. Video content (short videos, live readings): [Insert Ideas]
Please help me develop a list of blog post ideas or social posts inspired by this prompt, inspired by the style of [Buzzfeed / Insert a Style]Using Generative AI: Anyone can generate a list like this. And anyone can then go on to have generative AI write complete blog posts that they can publish on their blogs. But no one can write with your experiences and ideas. No AI can, and that’s why this works best as an outlining tool. Not a content creation tool. Plus, AI will generate content outside of your experience, meaning it will write on things you don’t understanding of, or reference activities you’ve never done. Publishing that creates all it’s own problems, and goes right back to spammy, icky, unethical content. Be inspired, and collaborate with AI, but don’t replace yourself with it.
Once you get the list, copy it into a Word Document and delete all the ideas you don’t care about. Or highlight the ones that feel obviously cool and interesting to you!
At this point, some authors may open a new document, take that headline idea, and start writing.
The rest of us need a little more help. So here’s a second prompt.
Sample Post Outline Prompt
Use this post prompt to generate a post outline, eliminate your blank screen, and get you into the writing seat faster. Take the post idea you like from the list, and post it with this prompt to generate a post outline. Then fill it in with your style, remove the parts that don’t work for you, and get inspired to write more quickly.
PROMPT: take this number and make me a post outline in bullet points: each topic should follow the EPIC Framework (Excite, Problem, Insight, Call to Action). The target audience is [authors and Christian writers], and list an example reference from a popular story, and don't reference the same story twice. The Call to Action in my post should invite people to [buy my book or join my mailing list]. Inspired by this post, write a compelling 1-2 sentence invitation. I posted this prompt in ChatGPT and invented a topic idea. Here’s what it gave me -which is perfect to get my creativity going:
Post Outline: "Why Every Country Needs Dragons, and What It Says About Them"
Target Audience: Authors and Christian Writers
EPIC Framework Outline
Introduction: Hook: Dragons have captured the imagination of cultures around the world for centuries, and are a deep part of their cultural expression.
Excite: Capture attention: "Imagine a world where every country had its own dragon – a symbol of power, mystery, and awe." Example Reference: "In 'The Hobbit,' Smaug the dragon embodies greed and destruction, adding depth to the story and its themes."
Problem: Describe the issue: Many authors struggle to create compelling symbols in their stories that resonate with readers on a deeper level. Example Reference: "In 'Beowulf,' the dragon's hoarding of treasure and its eventual defeat represent the inevitable decline of heroes, adding layers to the epic's message.
Insight: Provide the solution: By incorporating dragons into their narratives, authors can tap into a rich vein of symbolism that speaks to universal themes of good vs. evil, courage, and the unknown. Example Reference: "In 'Harry Potter,' the Hungarian Horntail dragon in the Triwizard Tournament challenges Harry's bravery and resourcefulness, reflecting his growth as a character.
Call to Action: Invite readers to engage: "Ready to bring your stories to life with the magic of dragons? Join my mailing list for more writing tips and exclusive content to inspire your creative journey.
With an outline like this, copy and paste it into a document, and start filling it in with your ideas.
And if you were timing yourself, you probably had your cursor blinking at you within 5 minutes, ready for the cascade of ideas that suddenly appeared out of nowhere - now that you have an fun outline in front of you.
Got an insanely cool article?
What do you do once you have an article? Post it on your blog!
What’s better than your blog?
Someone else’s blog with a bigger readership!
What’s even better than that?
A blog network made up of Catholic nerds writing about Catholic nerd culture.
So if you write an indepth post for your blog, you can make a copy, trim it down into a fun, fast listicle, and submit it to HaloZest! DM me right here in Substack, or head over to the submissions page on HaloZest.
You’ll get more than a byline, your post will be attributed to you, and you can include buttons and images to promote anything you want after your content! That’s right. You can include an ad for your book. An invite to join your mailing list. Heck, even a button to ask people to buy you a coffee so that you keep writing!
How helpful is this article?
Let us know here in the comments. What questions do you have that we can answer together?
I love how you made the marketing formula sound cool. 👏😂 (also more engaging and easier to grasp/visualize)