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According to legend, Black Friday got its name because it was historically the first profitable day of the year for many retailers. This year has been a tough one for many retailers, so they are trying to catch up with very aggressive discounts this week.
And authors have many discounts to be thankful for this year. I’ve compiled a list of some of the best and most useful deals for authors.
Thanksgiving
Before we get to the deals, I would like to talk about some things I’m thankful for.
This has been a tough year for us as a family. With two children under two-years-of-age, lockdowns were rough. We had a death in the family a few weeks ago that really shook us. My episode about Author Taglines with Jim Rubart was an emergency episode. I wasn’t in a good place to do an episode, and I asked Jim if he had any material handy for an episode. So the first person I would like to say I am thankful for is James L. Rubart. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
I am also thankful for the students of Obscure No More for being so understanding about the slow start of the course. Our very first live session had to be put on hold because I needed to spend some unexpected time with my family.
I am thankful for the students in the Novel Marketing mastermind groups. I wasn’t sure how those would turn out, and I wasn’t expecting the Slack channel to be so much fun. Those folks are a never-ending source of episode ideas. They have also been very encouraging during this season of mourning.
I am thankful for the team that helps me with these episodes. Moving forward, we are going to have credits at the end of each episode, but for now, thanks to Shauna Letellier for her help with the blog post versions of these episodes, William Umstattd for his help on post-production and editing, and Laurie Ressler for her help in editing the course videos.
I am thankful for the Novel Marketing patrons. We currently have 197 patrons, and they are the reason I can have a team to help me with each episode. When we launched on Patreon, I didn’t know what to expect. To see that we have almost 200 patrons is encouraging. I enjoy our patrons-only Q&A episodes. Receiving questions from the patrons each month has helped me feel more connected during this disconnected year.
Finally, I am thankful for our listeners. Thank you for your emails, questions, Apple Podcast reviews, and for telling your friends about the show. Many authors hear about Novel Marketing from a current listener.
So with all that said, let’s talk about deals for authors.
BlueHost
- Discount: 60%
- Affiliate Link
This is the hosting we recommend for most authors. It is the best, cheap hosting out there. It is very WordPress friendly. BlueHost (Affiliate Link) is perhaps the most popular web host among authors. They have reasonable prices and a solid offering for the cost. This year on Black Friday, they’re offering the lowest price I’ve seen. Only $2.65 per month for hosting!
They are also offering:
- Free Migrations
- Free Multi-Website Management
- 60% Off Select Website Plans
- 30% Off Select Domains
Deposit Photos
- Discount: 70%
- Affiliate Link
Deposit Photos has long been my go-to source for stock photos. They have an amazing search tool where you can filter search results by the number of people in the photo, photo orientation, photo color, and so much more. Normally credits are $1.00 per image, and you can buy any size image for one credit. But AppSumo has a Black Friday deal where you can buy 100 credits for only $39. If you blog weekly, that’s two years of weekly blog post stock photos!
Happy Scribe
- Discount: 80%
- Affiliate Link
Happy Scribe (Affiliate Link) is an AI audio transcription service. We use it to help create the blog post versions of our podcast episodes. You could also use it to transcribe your book. This is a more advanced transcription service than Dragon. You don’t have to worry about punctuation. You just talk.
Normally Happy Scribe is around $14 per hour of transcription. But there is an AppSumo deal (Affiliate Link) where you can get a lifetime subscription of two hours per month for a one-time payment of $69.
NameCheap
- Discount: Up to 98%
- Affiliate Link
I have used NameCheap (Affiliate Link) for over a decade for my personal domain collection. They have the best prices on a normal day, but on Black Friday, their prices are crazy! Domains ending in .com are only $4.98 per year.
How to Build an Amazing Author Website (Free Course)
- Discount: 100%
- Link
This is our popular course on how to build an author website. I just doubled the size of the course. So for those of you who have already taken the course, you might want to check back. The course is free.
Five Year Plan
- Discount: 50%
- Link
Christy Hall of Fame author James L. Rubart and I have a popular course called The 5-Year Plan To Become A Bestselling Author. Jim likes to joke that it’s a five-year plan to becoming an overnight success. We begin the course by focusing on the craft of writing, and as the course advances, we transition to learning how to grow your platform.
Amazon Kindle
- Discount 33%
- Affiliate Link
Amazon always has big Black Friday deals, and this year is no exception. If you don’t have a Kindle yet, this is a great time to get one.
Publisher Rocket
- Discount: Bonus Course
- Affiliate Link
Before you spend money on Amazon ads, you should spend money on Publisher Rocket’s software to help you do keyword research. This is the first time Publisher Rocket has run a Black Friday promo. Anyone who purchases Publisher Rocket will also receive a free Kindle Keyword course.
We have a Novel Marketing episode about Amazon Search Optimization with Dave Chesson, the CEO of Publisher Rocket.
Samson SR350 Over-Ear Stereo Headphones
- Discount: 30%
- Affiliate Link
I was hoping to put more podcasting gear on this list, but most of what I normally recommend is either sold out or in limited supply. One exception is the Samson SR350s. These are the best, cheap monitor headphones you can buy. The last time I bought these, they were $13.99. Now they are only $9.62 on Amazon.
MyBookTable Pro & Dev
MyBookTable is a plugin that allows you to quickly and easily build an online bookstore on your WordPress website. Use it to rank #1 on Google for your book and to boost your book sales on sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The pro version comes with grid view mode, landing page mode, and many other cool features.
Featured Patron
Linda Thompson, author of The Mulberry Leaf Whispers
A WWII Japanese naval officer. The teenage daughter of a legendary Christian samurai. Three centuries separate them, but a crucial question binds their destinies together. Which lives have value?
Do you have a question you would like us to answer on the show? Call our listener helpline! 512-827-8377. You can also send us a high-quality recording on AuthorMedia.com/contact.
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