My guest today is Josh Spector, a writer, podcaster, and consultant. He also runs an engaging newsletter over at fortheinterested.com.Josh has been publishing the For The Interested Newsletter for almost seven years. It exists to help creative entrepreneurs grow their audience and business. Around a year ago, Josh launched the podcast I Want to Know. It's a three-question podcast. Guests come on and ask three questions about things they're struggling with, trying to figure out how to grow their audience or business. Josh also operates as a consultant, offering clarity calls where he takes people through his framework to help them develop their strategy for audience growth.In Josh's words, "In order to build an audience, you have to provide value." "You want to help a specific person who's at point A get to point B. And your content, your product, your social posts, your services, whatever you're doing — free or paid — is the bridge that gets them from point A to point B."In this episode, we discuss:Providing value for your audienceGetting the total value out of the content you createLeveraging social mediaResources:For The Interested NewsletterJosh's WebsiteI Want To Know PodcastSkill SessionsJosh on TwitterSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!

What should writers, bloggers, and authors know about email marketing automation?Email marketing automation can be overwhelming. When I started figuring out what to send to readers and subscribers, I ended up with a smorgasbord of forms, segments, and rules to follow and check. It took me quite some time and a lot of hair-pulling to get it right.I'm currently using the email marketing software ConvertKit, which is easy to use and was initially built with bloggers and writers in mind. People with lists of all sizes use ConvertKit to send the right message to their readers, segment their list, and sell their latest books, courses, and offers.Email marketing automation can still be tricky to get your head around. So, if you're struggling, you may enjoy this week's interview with Matt Treacey. He teaches authors and writers how to monetize their lists more effectively through the power of marketing or email marketing automation. In this episode, we discuss:Email marketing automation as a powerful way to build a narrative for authorsNurturing the relationship with your readers or audienceMatt's helpful strategies and tips for email marketing automationResources: Matt's websiteSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!

AI tools like ChatGPT are all the rage these days. While they won't write everything effectively for you, they can be a real time saver if used correctly. So rather than opening up Microsoft Word or Google Docs and wondering how you will write some compelling copy for your customers or clients, you can use a tool like ChatGPT. It'll generate headlines for you. It could help you turn product features into benefits and give you a good angle or an introduction for your emails, your sales page, or even your blog post about your latest product or service. Not only that, but these tools take away some of the mystery surrounding copywriting. In other words, they make it easier for everybody to express themselves. And if you're a writer working online, copywriting is a valuable skill because it will help you sell your products, services, books, articles, and, of course, your ideas.In this week's interview, I caught up with the expert copywriter, Neville Medhora. He runs swipefile.com, a fantastic website if you want to browse new and old copy that has stood the test of time. He also runs copywritingcourse.com, where you can get your copy workshops from Neville and his team. In this episode, we discuss:How Neville got started way back in 1998How Neville built a successful finance blogNeville's approach to using AI tools to write copyThe art of using a swipe fileHow to grow your platform as a writerResources:SwipefileCopy Writing CourseSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!

This week, I caught up with a highly successful Amazon indie author. His name is Marc Reklau. He's from Germany but lives in Budapest, Hungary. Marc got into the self-publishing game about ten years ago, when selling books on platforms like Amazon was much easier. He writes about personal development, self-help and covers topics like productivity, happiness, habits, and money. He also uses Amazon ads prolifically to sell copies of his non-fiction books. Believe it or not, he's had a huge success selling books translated into different languages, specifically Spanish.I was fascinated to hear about Marc's approach – firstly, to writing his books and, secondly, to promoting them via Amazon ads. In this episode, we discuss:Marc's process for promoting his workTranslating your books into different languagesMarc's insights into self-publishing Resources:Marc's websiteSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!

When writing for YouTube, many top channel creators say the headline for a video and the thumbnail are the two most important things creators must consider. So, what can you do if you need help writing your headline and figuring out a complementary thumbnail? What other channels do you consider if you want to start a YouTube channel that complements your blog, book, or writing?This week's interviewee is Jake Thomas. He's developed a fantastic product, which I recommend you check out. It's called Creator Hooks and Creator Hooks Pro. Creator Hooks is a free newsletter where Jake debunks or analyzes top YouTube videos, including their headlines, the thumbnails, and what made them go viral.Creator Hooks Pro is like a swipe file where you can get in-depth insights into these videos. It's a real time saver for writing headlines and gives me ideas for other videos. In this episode, we discuss:How Jake came up with Creator HooksThe best way to use itWhat's working on YouTube todayEven if you're not currently running a YouTube channel, the principles behind headlines, thumbnails, imagery, and so on come straight from the world of copywriting. You can apply them to other types of writing, including — yes, you guessed it — blog posts, newsletters, Twitter threads, social media, and so on.Resources:Creator HooksSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!