James and Cissy discuss new marketing insights and mindset strategies for indie authors navigating an increasingly complex publishing landscape. From experimenting with BookBub ads and improving AI-assisted translations to analysing breakout success in romance adaptations, the conversation explores how authors can stay competitive in a crowded market. Cissy also shares a creative direct-to-reader marketing tactic, sending postcards to readers, as a way to build stronger audience relationships beyond digital platforms. The episode concludes with the hosts' "Three Things" mindset practice, a simple daily habit designed to help authors maintain perspective, gratitude, and motivation in a challenging creative career.

Key Talking Points

How BookBub ads and promotional pricing strategies can create long-tail sales effects beyond the initial campaign.
Lessons learned from improving AI-assisted translations and the impact of higher-quality translations on international book sales.
Why certain romance stories and adaptations suddenly explode in popularity — and what authors can learn from those breakout successes.
Creative marketing experiments, including sending postcards and physical mail to readers to build stronger audience connections.
The "Three Things" daily mindset practice: identifying something that made you happy, something that moved your work forward, and something you're looking forward to.

Links & Resources Mentioned

ProWritingAid (Sponsor – code IWC15 for 15% off annual subscriptions) https://prowritingaid.com
AI Translations Course https://learnselfpublishing.com/aitranslations
BookBub Advertising Platform https://bookbub.com/ads
James Blatch's donation link: http://jamesblatch.com/marathon
The Self Publishing Show 2026 https://www.learnselfpublishing.com/spslive
Heated Rivalry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35495073/

SPS-438: Bring Back the Mail! with James Blatch & Cissy Mecca