The Novel Marketing Podcast costs a lot of time and money to produce. I have a whole team helping me produce the videos, blog posts, and audio versions, and helping authors is my full-time job. Almost all of the help I give away is free.
So, how do I support my family with a free podcast? The answer is patrons!
Patrons are authors who want to take their writing seriously, and they know that where their money is, their heart will be also. They support the show financially, some for a little, some for a lot. This is a value-for-value podcast. If you get value from it, I ask that you give a little bit of value back voluntarily.
What do patrons get?
In return for patron support, I shower them with gifts. All patrons get a bonus episode every month, free access to AuthorMedia.social (my private social network just for humans), and a special patron badge on that network. Patrons also get a seat at the live monthly Q&A, where you can ask me your marketing questions face-to-face, plus the replay with both video and audio. Occasionally, I’ll produce an episode that’s too controversial for the public, and those go to patrons only.
Patrons also receive over $1,000 in discounts on AuthorMedia courses and a free ticket to the annual Patrons Appreciation Ice Cream Social in Austin, Texas right before the Novel Marketing Conference. You get all of that for $4 a month, which is less than a cup of coffee, and it gets even cheaper if you apply the annual discount.
To recap, all Novel Marketing patrons get these benefits starting at just $4/month:
- Bonus episode every month
- Patrons-only episodes (too controversial for the public)
- Free access to AuthorMedia.social with a special patron badge
- Seat at the live monthly Q&A, plus video and audio replay
- Over $1,000 in discounts on Author Media courses
- Free ticket to the annual Patrons Appreciation Ice Cream Social in Austin, Texas
Why do most patrons choose the $10 tier?
However, 90 percent of new patrons don’t choose the cheapest $4-a-month option. They choose the $10-a-month option because for $10 a month, you get everything in the $4 tier plus access to the Patron Toolbox.
The toolbox includes AI Thomas, a bot trained on over 500 episodes of my podcast that answers your questions the way I would. Honestly, sometimes it gives a better answer, because it brings every bit of content to memory instantly.
You also get the Podcast Host Directory, a directory of over 10,000 podcasts with contact information so you can pitch the host about coming on as a guest.
The Patron Toolbox includes over 80 tools you can use throughout every stage of your author career. You can use these tools for the following:
- Publishing
- Book covers
- Education
- Children’s books
- Blurb generation
- Audiobooks
- Websites and blogs
- AI knowledge checkers
- Public relations
- Branding
- Advertising
- Writing and editing
- Fact-checking
- World-building
- Compendiums
I’ve even made an AI Mark Twain and an AI Jane Austen that can act as beta readers. Some people really enjoy those.
Even More Gifts in June!
June is Patron Appreciation Month, and this month I’m giving all patrons at any level lifetime access to my $249 course, How to Get Booked as a Podcast Guest.
If you’ve been a patron for years or if you sign up today, as long as you’re a patron in June, you can get this course for $0. You will have to go through the checkout process in June, but you shouldn’t owe anything. Instructions are at NovelMarketing.com/patron.
Why should authors care about podcast guesting?
Chances are, you found this podcast because you first heard me as a guest on another show. I’ve been doing podcasting and radio since 2007, nearly 20 years on both sides of the microphone. I guest on so many podcasts that I have an entire separate podcast of just my guest interviews. It’s called the Thomas Umstattd Guest Cast, and you can find it everywhere you listen to podcasts.
Over those 19 years, I’ve learned the hard way how to get booked, how to pitch a podcast, how to find shows that want you, and how to perform well enough that they invite you back.
If you do it right, the same podcast will invite you to be in their rotation of guests repeatedly. You’ll get reintroduced to their growing audience each time. Every guest appearance on a podcast, webinar, or videocast is a chance to meet a whole new audience of readers.
Over 1,000 authors have taken this course, and it works.
As author Carolyn Rice said, “I signed up for How to Get Booked as a Podcast Guest, followed the instructions, and landed my first interview very quickly. I printed out the pre-flight checklist, followed the instructions, and did the interview. It went great, and the host has already invited me back for a second interview. I highly recommend it. It is so worth it.”
Can you sign up just for the course and then cancel?
Yes.
Could you sign up as a patron for one month, get lifetime access to the course, and then cancel? Yes.
Will you keep access to the course if you do that? Yes.
Every July, I see a handful of authors cancel at the start of the month because they just wanted the free course, and that’s okay.
Most authors stick around, though, because of how many valuable gifts they get as patrons. You get to pick my brain live on air once a month, over $1,000 in discounts (including discounts on other people’s courses and tools like Bookvault), access to the Patron Toolbox at the $10 level, and free ice cream at the ice cream social.
How do you become a patron?
You can become a patron now by signing up at NovelMarketing.com/patron.
One note: the monthly patrons-only Q&A will be on pause in July. We’re expecting a new baby in July, and I’m not committing to anything live that month. We should be back in August, when you get a free bonus episode and a live Q&A where you can talk with me face-to-face or just listen in as I talk with other patrons.
I really do appreciate everyone who supports the show. I’ve been on Patreon for seven or eight years now, and I could not do this without you. I would have to get a day job and couldn’t publish nearly as many episodes or offer nearly as much help to authors. I hope you enjoy the course and all the other perks.
