Use a Book Funnel to grow your business

Hey everyone,

This week’s episode is packed with strategies that could change the way you think about books—not just as something to sell, but as tools to build your business.
Plus: amazing conference deal in the sponsor slot—scroll down for $50 off!

🚀 Personal Update

I’ve been deep in the weeds with funnels and lead magnets this week—testing, tweaking, and trying not to throw my laptop out the window. 😅

It’s reminded me just how powerful books can be when you stop thinking of them as products and start seeing them as entry points.

If you listen to my podcast, you’ll probably be bored of how much I talk about how you should be thinking of yourself as a publishing business, not just an author, and funnels are my favoutrite way to grow your audience and reader base.

This is my plan for book funnels. I am in the process of writing a series of books on how to self publish with the aim of getting more book consulting clients. I will publish them on Amazon. But I will also give the first book in the series away for free on Bookfunnel, in exchange for an email address.

🎙️ This Week on The Publishing Performance Show

🔹 Damon Courtney - From Free Books to Lifetime Readers
Damon, the founder of BookFunnel, breaks down how authors can use free content to attract readers, build mailing lists, and turn browsers into buyers. Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, BookFunnel gives you the tools to turn a single book into an ongoing relationship with your readers.
📌 Key takeaway: Use free content + automated delivery = an email list that grows itself.

🔹 Nat Eliason - The Entrepreneur’s Approach to Self-Publishing
Nat made the leap from traditional publishing (with a $275k deal!) to self-publishing his new sci-fi novel. Why? Because indie lets him control the customer relationship, experiment with premium product tiers, and own the audience. This is a masterclass in turning your book into a business model.
📌 Key takeaway: Go indie to build direct sales, not just book sales.

🔹 Joanna Penn - Multiple Income Streams for Authors
What an honor to have Joanna on the podcast, she is the best self publishing podcaster out there. Joanna shares how she’s built a writing career that doesn’t rely solely on book royalties. Think courses, affiliate marketing, public speaking, and more. If you’ve ever wanted to future-proof your writing career, this episode is for you.
📌 Key takeaway: Don’t just sell books—build an ecosystem around your expertise.

🧠 Writing Tip: Turn Your Knowledge Into a Funnel

Here’s the thing most people miss: your book doesn’t have to be the end product. It can be the start of your sales journey.

👉 Say you’re a dentist. You write a short book on “The 7 Biggest Oral Health Mistakes People Make” and offer it as a free download on your website.
Boom. You’ve got a lead magnet that attracts the right people, builds trust, and gets them on your email list. From there? Teeth cleanings. Whitening. Retainers. Whatever you want.

Fiction writers, you’re not left out. Write a free novella prequel to your romance series. Offer it on BookFunnel. Build your email list.
Then, when book one drops, you’ve got readers waiting to buy.

Joanna Penn called this “owning your platform.” Damon built BookFunnel to make it easy.

The takeaway? Your book can be a business card with a plot twist.

📖 Teddy’s Book Club - Free Book of the Week

Something a little bit different this week. My Romance Reads give you free romance books every day, starting with Grim and Bear it by Heather Novak. My Romance Reads uses a classic book funnel to get new readers, so even if you aren’t interested in romance books, you might like to see how the marketing works to get inspiration.

Sign up for free Romance books here.

🎯 Your Call to Action

🎧 Listen to the episode with Damon Courtney
🎧 Check out Nat Eliason on going indie
🎧 Catch Joanna Penn on author income streams

🙋‍♂️ Over to you
What’s your funnel idea? Got a book you could use to grow your email list or business? Hit reply—I’d love to hear about it.

Until next time,
Teddy
@teddyagsmith everywhere