Most authors overlook one of the most powerful marketing opportunities they already have: their local market. While everyone else fights for attention online, smart authors are building visibility, reader loyalty, and consistent book sales right in their own backyard — often with far less competition and far better results.

In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell unpack the local marketing strategies that actually move books. From wine bars hosting “books and bubbly” nights to thriller-and-whiskey pairings, cookbook tastings, boutique retail partnerships, fitness collaborations, farmers markets, seasonal festivals, and school appearances, we break down how authors can create events and partnerships that feel engaging, profitable, and easy for businesses to say yes to.

We also talk about why local visibility matters far more than most authors realize. Community exposure can fuel Amazon traffic, strengthen word-of-mouth marketing, create stronger reader trust, and open doors to media, speaking opportunities, and long-term platform growth. The authors seeing the best results are often the ones creating visibility in places their competitors never think to look.

You’ll hear practical strategies for pitching businesses that have never stocked books before, setting up simple consignment arrangements, building collaborative events that benefit everyone involved, and turning small local wins into momentum that compounds over time.

Plus, we share overlooked “micro marketing” tactics with surprisingly big payoff, including QR-code bookmarks, local networking opportunities, seasonal tie-ins, collaborative giveaways, and smart ways to move readers from in-person discovery into your long-term digital funnel.

If online marketing feels crowded and exhausting, this episode will show you why local visibility may be the smartest — and most underused — book marketing strategy available to authors right now.

Send us your feedback!

Help shape our 2026 content by taking our 30-second listener poll!

📱Text Penny & Amy: send us your show feedback, burning marketing questions and new topic ideas!

Text the word PODCAST to (888) 402-8940 to sign up to send us messages and receive new episode announcements. And don't forget to save our number!

Check out our Book Marketing Jumpstart options if you're ready to take your brand, platform and SEO up a few notches.

Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

1. Be sure you're following the show: by clicking the + Follow button on the top right of our show page. If you're already following you'll see a ↓ downward arrow.
2. Locate Ratings & Reviews: Scroll down on our podcast page until you find the "Ratings & Reviews" section.
3. Rate the podcast: Click on the stars to give the podcast a rating.
4. Write your review: Under the star rating there will be the most recent review and just below that click "Write a Review" and compose your review in the text box that appears.
5. Save: Once you've written your review, click "Save" to submit it.

Can't use Apple Podcasts? Email us your review and we'll put it on our website: info@amarketingexpert....

You hired help so publishing would feel easier. Instead, your Amazon listing disappears, your book ends up connected to the wrong author page, and suddenly nobody can figure out who actually owns the account. Sound dramatic? We wish it were rare.

In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell pull back the curtain on the publishing disasters they keep seeing behind the scenes, many caused not by outright scams, but by freelancers, “experts,” and AI-generated advice that sounds confident while quietly breaking your publishing foundation. From KDP accounts set up incorrectly to authors losing access to their own metadata, royalties, and retail pages, we unpack the mistakes that can create months of cleanup and long-term visibility problems.

We also talk about the growing role AI is playing in publishing confusion. ChatGPT and other tools can absolutely help authors brainstorm and streamline work, but publishing platforms evolve constantly, and outdated instructions combined with inexperienced providers can create expensive messes fast. Just because advice sounds polished does not mean it is current, strategic, or even correct.

Most importantly, we explain how to protect yourself before problems happen. We cover the must-have ownership rules every author needs to know, the red flags that should immediately make you pause, the questions to ask before hiring anyone, and why retaining control of your Amazon infrastructure, website, and publishing assets is non-negotiable if you want a sustainable author career.

If you want to avoid the publishing mistakes that cost authors time, money, rankings, and sanity, this episode is required listening.

Send us your feedback!

Help shape our 2026 content by taking our 30-second listener poll!

📱Text Penny & Amy: send us your show feedback, burning marketing questions and new topic ideas!

Text the word PODCAST to (888) 402-8940 to sign up to send us messages and receive new episode announcements. And don't forget to save our number!

Check out our Book Marketing Jumpstart options if you're ready to take your brand, platform and SEO up a few notches.

Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

1. Be sure you're following the show: by clicking the + Follow button on the top right of our show page. If you're already following you'll see a ↓ downward arrow.
2. Locate Ratings & Reviews: Scroll down on our podcast page until you find the "Ratings & Reviews" section.
3. Rate the podcast: Click on the stars to give the podcast a rating.
4. Write your review: Under the star rating there will be the most recent review and just below that click "Write a Review" and compose your review in the text box that appears.
5. Save: Once you've written your review, click "Save" to submit it.

Can't use Apple Podcasts? Email us your review and we'll put it on our website: info@amarketingexpert....

Most authors treat launch day like a verdict: the book goes live, sales come in (or don’t), and suddenly it feels like the market has spoken. Quiet numbers can trigger a brutal spiral — exhaustion, disappointment, and the sinking feeling that maybe the opportunity already passed. We disagree completely.

In this episode, Penny Sansevieri and Amy Cornell break down a four-part relaunch strategy designed to help authors stop chasing a single "big moment" and start building ongoing visibility. Because the truth is that successful books rarely explode from one launch. They gain traction through repeated opportunities, smarter timing, and consistent refinement.

We walk through the first phase: the Visibility Launch — where your goal is not perfection or massive sales, but data. You’ll learn why early readers, initial messaging, and small audience response become the foundation for everything that follows. Then we move into the Proof Launch, showing how reviews become more than social proof. They become market intelligence. Reader language often reveals stronger hooks, better positioning, and selling points authors miss entirely.

Next comes the Opportunity Launch, one of our favorite strategies. Instead of creating attention from scratch, attach your book to moments already happening: holidays, cultural conversations, seasonal trends, awareness months, news cycles, and built-in buying behavior. Borrow momentum instead of manufacturing it.

Then we get into Market Expansion, where smart authors create multiple "new release" moments by staggering formats and audience entry points. Audiobooks, hardcover editions, large print, translations, workbooks, companion guides, and special editions can each create fresh visibility and reach readers who missed you the first time.

We also unpack why Amazon rewards ongoing engagement. Updated descriptions. Improved A+ content. Fresh reviews. Better positioning. Small changes made consistently often outperform giant one-time marketing pushes.

If your launch felt disappointing, this episode is your reset button. Because one quiet launch day does not mean your book failed. It may simply mean you're still in chapter one of the marketing plan.

Subscribe for more practical book marketing strategies, share this episode with an author who needs a second chance mindset, and leave a review so more writers can find the show.

Send us your feedback!

Help shape our 2026 content by taking our 30-second listener poll!

📱Text Penny & Amy: send us your show feedback, burning marketing questions and new topic ideas!

Text the word PODCAST to (888) 402-8940 to sign up to send us messages and receive new episode announcements. And don't forget to save our number!

Check out our Book Marketing Jumpstart options if you're ready to take your brand, platform and SEO up a few notches.

Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts!

1. Be sure you're following the show: by clicking the + Follow button on the top right of our show page. If you're already following you'll see a ↓ downward arrow.
2. Locate Ratings & Reviews: Scroll down on our podcast page until you find the "Ratings & Reviews" section.
3. Rate the podcast: Click on the stars to give the podcast a rating.
4. Write your review: Under the star rating there will be the most recent review and just below that click "Write a Review" and compose your review in the text box that appears.
5. Save: Once you've written your review, click "Save" to submit it.

Can't use Apple Podcasts? Email us your review and we'll put it on our website: info@amarketingexpert....