Introducing the Let’s Make Kids’ Books Podcast!

05/05/14 • 9 min

Let's Make Kids' Books - Children's Book Publishing Show

Today I’m really proud and excited to introduce you to my new Let’s Make Kids’ Books podcast. I’ve been podcasting for years, and knew when I started this site that I wanted to create a podcast on the topic of writing, publishing, and selling children’s books.

For the past couple of months I’ve been recording episodes for you, ranging from solo shows where I cover one specific topic or strategy, to interviews with other amazing authors and illustrators, getting them to share what they’ve learned from their own careers and sharing their best tips for creating books and selling as many copies as possible.

My goal with doing a podcast is to give you an easy way to learn more about creating children’s books when you’re on the go. For years I had a 90 minute commute each day, and podcasts were my favorite way to pass the time. Instead of listening to the same songs over and over, hearing all of the bad news in the world, or listening to talking heads blather on about politics or sports, I spent that time learning about marketing, business, and personal development. I gained so much incredible knowledge from the podcasts I listened to, and I hope that Let’s Make Kids’ Books does the same for you!

In the future I plan to add even more kinds of episodes, including Q&A shows where you send in questions and I answer them, or multi-part series on a big topic like marketing. If there’s anything in particular you’d like me to cover in an episode or a question you want answered, please leave it in the comments below or send it to me using the Contact page above!

I’ll be releasing several episodes right off the bat so you have more than one show to listen to, so please Subscribe on iTunes so you don’t miss any! New shows will be coming out regularly. If you enjoy the show, I have a big favor to ask: please leave a review on iTunes. It really helps get the word out about the show, which lets me help more people like you. Thanks for listening, and enjoy the show!

Keep Listening:

Subscribe on iTunes – Please leave a review if you enjoy the show! It just takes a second and really helps get the word out.
Check out more episodes

Keep Listening:

Subscribe on iTunes – Please leave a review if you enjoy the show! It just takes a second and really helps get the word out.
Check out more episodes

Next Episode

Episode 2: Bolaji O of Brave Little Heroes

This episode of the Let’s Make Kids’ Books podcast features the brilliant and entertaining children’s author Bolaji O, who writes a series of great fantasy adventure books for kids called Brave Little Heroes.

Bolaji started publishing his own children’s books a couple of years ago, although he’s been writing and making up stories since he was a kid in Nigeria. In this episode, he shares how he got started self-publishing, and how he’s brought skills and strategies he learned as an online marketer to his children’s books, helping him grow his fan base and increase sales of his books.

The episode is packed full of production and marketing tips you can start using to create and sell your books, as both Bolaji and I share what has worked for us and what we recommend to other authors. In this show, Bolaji shares:

How his love of technology led him to try self-publishing early on
Why you shouldn’t tackle every part of the publishing process yourself, and what he outsources
Where Bolaji found fantastic illustrators for his books
Why he doesn’t just release books as soon as they’re done, and “launches” them instead
How getting super-specific about his perfect customer helped increase his sales and made his job as an author easier
How to get people excited about your book before it’s released
Why building a mailing list of readers is absolutely key to your success
Freebie ideas you can offer to your readers to grow your mailing list and create rabid fans
What to actually mail to your list once you’ve built it, and how to get readers to take action
Why you shouldn’t imitate the marketing practices of big-name authors
How to maintain a healthy balance of personal life, creativity, and business growth
Why creating a series or brand can be a great sales booster
And much more!

No matter what stage you’re at in the writing and publishing process, there’s a lot of great advice in this episode. Bolaji is one of the smartest self-published authors I know when it comes to sales and marketing, so don’t miss this episode!

More from Bolaji:

Brave Little Heroes – Bolaji’s awesome series of books for kids ages 6-12. In addition to checking out his books, be sure to look at what he’s doing from a marketing and branding standpoint, and subscribe to his newsletter to see the kinds of stuff he sends out to his readers. There’s a lot to learn from watching what he does!

Keep Listening: