How to Get a Big Payoff With a Small Audience
Alchemy Era™ Answers
Every week I take one subscriber question and answer it long form post style! Feel free to join below and ask your questions!
L.E. McQuinn asked:
“Hi Breanne ✨ I published my debut novel last month as an indie author. For September, I set a really big delulu goal to manifest: 100 books sold and 50,000 page reads (around 109 books read on KU). I’m turning 36 in November and I’m finally pursuing my dream of being a full-time author after fear holding me back for years. I know publishing is a long game, but I wanted to shoot for something that pushed me out of my comfort zone and past my fears/limitations.”
[The rest of her question continued below!]
First of all, I’m SO HERE for the big goals!!!! And in the spirit of support, here’s the stunning cover of her debut (which she designed herself!!!). It’s a second chance contemporary romance so if that’s up your alley - read it on KU here!
“Halfway through the month and I’m *very* far off from that target, but I’m still hoping for some magic by the end of the month. I asked for some help refining my one-sentence hook in the other thread in here, but what other main things would you focus on if you had a small audience and were trying to manifest this — would you post specific types of content X times a day on TikTok, for example, or get creative with your marketing in another way? What would you recommend to most help move the needle in a short amount of time? Thank you! I appreciate your guidance and this community you’re building.”
The answer:
So! I am obsessed with clear milestone goals like this for two reasons - it helps with manifesting AND it helps with marketing! Over on TikTok I have a little over 40k followers but I stopped posting for a while and when I started again, it seemed like the algorithm wasn't pushing my videos out. So, I started a new TikTok to kind of test my hook theory and see if I could build a new account.
I figured, that way I could also have a backup account in case anything ever happened to my first. When I started the new account I realized I needed 1,000 followers to be able to put the link in my bio (I'm going somewhere with this I swear haha). I started using my hook but WITH AN ADDENDUM.
"POV you wrote a dean winchester inspired mmc book and are trying to get 1k followers so you can put the link in your bio!! drop a [heart emoji] if you want to arc read and follow along!"
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This accomplished several things all at once - it let them know about my book, my goal, and got them dropping comments which pushes the video out in the algorithm more. I posted a variation of this same video every single day and hit 1k followers in the first week. And this was starting with zero followers!
So! Let's apply that to your goals.
"POV you're an indie author who wrote a [insert hook] book and are manifesting 50k page reads and it's now FREE IN KU! comment [keyword or emoji] if you want the link!"
You can do the same thing for physical books. Play around with wording and do some a/b testing. See what resonates with your audience. And for Pete’s sake don’t be worried about if anyone is going to comment or not. Leave embarrassment at the door. This isn’t about vanity metrics. This is about reaching your core audience. If only one person comments - that’s one reader who wants to take action and READ YOUR BOOK!
Now secondarily, a huge boost can be to reply to comments you've gotten with a video so the reply shows up on screen. I try to choose ones that focus on excitement about the book and then add on screen text to that. Here's an example I did:
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The main thing is to get people COMMENTING and interacting and for that, a call to action of some kind is necessary.
If you haven’t nailed your hook yet, read the post below that walks you through every single step of how to create an emotionally resonant hook for your ideal audience.
Lastly, post your milestones! Celebrate them! This is huge for bringing people on the journey with you. They can root for you!
"POV you're an indie author who just published her debut [insert hook] and you already have x amount of KU pages read! comment [key word or emoji] to read it for free in KU!"
I think being clear and up front about your manifestations/goals is HUGE because you're putting it out there and creating that reality. You’re closing the distance between “want” and “have.” You’re showing receipts that your goals and reality are aligning.
Keep playing around with that same hooky wording!
"POV you're an indie author who wrote a [insert hook] book who's manifesting [insert goal] by x date [insert call to action]"
For all these types of videos I keep them VERY SIMPLE because I sometimes post multiple times a day. The key here is repetition. And again, don’t feel self-conscious about people getting annoyed because, with the way the algorithm works, chances are slim that the same people are going to be seeing your post each time. And when they do start seeing multiple posts from you, this is actually a good thing because studies show that it takes 7–20 touch points before someone goes from awareness → curiosity → purchase.
And re: manifesting, here's a fabulous substack from Courtney cho who is AMAZING at breaking down the barriers of manifesting and can help you get in the right headspace for accomplishing your goals!
Now go forth and post and hit those goals!!! I believe in you. I’m cheering you on. And my chat is always open if you want to talk!
Thank you so much for such in-depth advice and for creating this community, Breanne! And for the lovely shout-out for my book. Really appreciate you. 🥹🖤 I’m excited to see what the future holds ✨