90-Day Author
Launch Strategy
Before You Launch — Critical First Step
Google AdSense Website Readiness Checklist
Google has significantly tightened approval standards in 2026. Your website must meet every requirement below before applying. A rejection now creates a waiting period. Do this right the first time.
Original Content — 15 to 25 Articles Minimum Each must be 800+ words, original, and genuinely helpful. No AI-generated filler. Your writing already meets this standard.
Required Pages About page, Contact page, Privacy Policy, and Terms & Conditions must all be present, accessible from header or footer.
Custom Domain Must be a .com or similar paid domain. Free subdomains reduce approval chances significantly. No stan.store/yourname URLs.
Domain Age — 3 to 6 Months Minimum Google wants to see a long-term project, not a new site. If your site is newer than 3 months, wait before applying.
Clean Navigation Easy to browse, clear menu structure, no broken links, no under construction pages.
Mobile Responsive Site must display correctly on phones and tablets. Google checks this.
Page Speed Fast loading. Compress images, clean code. Test at PageSpeed Insights before applying.
HTML Access Google requires you to add a small code snippet to your site's HTML head section. You must have access to your site's source code.
No Copyright Violations All content, images, and materials must be owned by you or properly licensed. No borrowed content of any kind.
Separate Your Four Content Categories Medical, Holistic, Theology, and Business content should be in clearly labeled separate sections or pages, not mixed together.
⚠ Important Note on Medical Content: Google places medical and health content under "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL) guidelines — the highest scrutiny category. Your medical and holistic content will be evaluated more strictly. Ensure all health-related content includes appropriate disclaimers and cites credible sources. This is not optional.
Before running a single ad or posting a single pin, your website must be AdSense-ready and conversion-ready. This week is for fixing, not building.
- Confirm all four content categories are clearly separated
- Add Privacy Policy, Terms, About, and Contact pages if missing
- Test mobile responsiveness on multiple screen sizes
- Run PageSpeed Insights — fix any score below 70
- Ensure email capture form is on every page above the fold
- Add copyright notice © 2026 to footer of every page
- Connect Google Analytics and Google Search Console
Stan Store is built for creators selling digital products and courses. It integrates Stripe natively and requires zero coding. Start with the Creator plan.
- Sign up and start 14-day free trial immediately
- Connect your existing Stripe account
- Upload your first 3 to 6 products — no more than 6 on the storefront
- Create one free lead magnet — a snippet or sample chapter
- Set up email capture through Stan's built-in tool
- Link Stan Store URL from your main website
- Test full purchase flow before going live
One Substack per content category. Never mix audiences. Each Substack feeds a separate email list which you own and control permanently.
- Create: Medical Substack
- Create: Holistic Substack
- Create: Theology Substack
- Create: Business Substack
- Write one short introduction post for each — do not publish full content yet
- Post ONLY teasers and excerpts — never full book content
- Add © copyright notice to every Substack post footer
LinkedIn is where magazine editors, event organizers, and serious readers live. Your profile must be fully built before you post anything.
- Professional headshot — even a well-lit phone photo works
- Headline: Author | Educator | [Your Expertise Areas]
- About section: Your story in 3 paragraphs — raised by journalist, creative writing award, board member, published author
- Add all four book/course categories as featured work
- Connect with 50 people in your industry this month
- Link to your website and Stan Store in profile
Pinterest is a search engine not a social platform. Pins drive traffic for years. Your visually stunning books are a natural fit for Pinterest's audience.
- Set up Pinterest Business account — free
- Claim your website in Pinterest settings — required for analytics
- Create 4 boards — one per content category
- Create 2 additional boards: Behind the Book, Author Life
- Install Pinterest tag on your website for tracking
- Design 10 pin templates in Canva using your book imagery
After 25 days of consistent content and a complete website, apply for AdSense. Do not apply before the checklist above is fully complete.
- Publish minimum 15 original articles before applying
- Verify domain is at least 3 months old
- Create Google AdSense account at adsense.google.com
- Add AdSense verification code to website HTML head
- Submit application and allow 7 to 14 days for review
- Continue publishing content during review period
Phase 1 Weekly Rhythm
- Website content — publish 1 article
- Update one Substack with teaser
- LinkedIn post — 1 thought leadership piece
- Engage with 10 LinkedIn connections
- Create and schedule 5 Pinterest pins
- Pin to all 4 category boards
- Stan Store product update or new listing
- Email list — send one value email
- Analytics review — what worked this week
- Plan next week content
Your Sales Funnel — How Strangers Become Buyers
Discovery — Pinterest Pin or LinkedIn Post
Stranger sees your visually stunning book cover or a powerful quote on Pinterest or LinkedIn
Interest — They Click Through to Your Website
They land on a high-quality article or free course snippet. They see your expertise immediately.
Capture — Email Sign-Up for Free Lead Magnet
They trade their email for your free content. You now own that relationship forever regardless of any platform.
Nurture — Email Sequence or Substack
Over 5 to 7 emails they get more value from you. Trust builds. They start reading everything you send.
Purchase — Stan Store or Your Website Paywall
They buy a book, a course, or a membership. Stripe processes payment. You keep the majority.
Your Four Content Pillars — Separate Audiences, Separate Substacks
Evidence-based health content. Must include disclaimers. YMYL category requires extra credibility signals — cite sources, note credentials.
Wellness, natural health, lifestyle. Strong Pinterest category. Visual content performs extremely well here.
Faith-based content with a dedicated loyal readership. Substack performs particularly well for theology writers. Deep readers, high retention.
Your strongest LinkedIn category. Entrepreneurship, branding, business building. Your board experience and credentials are powerful here.
Platform Strategy — Days 31 to 60
Pinterest rewards consistency above everything else. 10 pins per week is the minimum for algorithm traction. Your book covers and course graphics are your best performing content type.
- Pin 10 images per week across all 4 boards
- Every pin links back to your website — not Stan Store directly
- Use keyword-rich descriptions — Pinterest is a search engine
- Create quote graphics from your books — these get repinned constantly
- Add book cover images with clear call-to-action text overlay
- Track which pins get the most clicks in Pinterest Analytics
LinkedIn rewards personal storytelling and professional insight. Your background as a board member and your father's journalism legacy — without naming him — gives you credibility that most authors cannot claim.
- Post 3 times per week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- Mix: 1 personal insight, 1 business tip, 1 book or course promotion
- Write in first person — LinkedIn rewards authentic voice
- End every post with one clear question to drive comments
- Reach out to 5 Dallas area magazine editors or journalists this month
- Join 3 LinkedIn groups in your subject areas
Four Substacks means four separate audiences being nurtured simultaneously. Post excerpts, insights, and behind-the-scenes content only. Never full book chapters.
- One post per Substack per week — that is 4 posts total
- Keep posts to 400 to 600 words — leave them wanting more
- Always end with a link to full content on your website or Stan Store
- Cross-promote between Substacks carefully — only when relevant
- Activate Substack's paid tier when each list reaches 100 subscribers
In-person events in Dallas create your most loyal buyers. People who meet you buy everything. Start small — a workshop or author talk for 15 to 20 people.
- Create free Meetup.com group in Dallas — choose your strongest category
- Plan first event for approximately Day 60 — small and intimate
- Partner with a Dallas library, bookstore, or coffee shop for free space
- Charge a small attendance fee — $10 to $25 establishes value
- Every attendee goes on your email list
- Sell books and courses at the event — Stan Store handles payment
By Day 61 your AdSense should be approved and your content is proven. Now you can add Google Ads to amplify what is already working. Never run ads to cold content — only to pages that are already converting.
- Start budget at $5 to $10 per day — no more
- Run ads to your best performing free content — not directly to paid products
- Use Google Search Ads targeting keywords in your four categories
- Track cost per email subscriber — this is your key metric
- Pause any ad that costs more than $3 per email subscriber
- Scale only what is already working organically
Local Dallas publications are your most accessible first press. You don't need to be in a national magazine first. Local credibility builds to national credibility.
- Target: D Magazine, Dallas Observer, Dallas Morning News, Voyage Dallas
- Write a one-page press kit — your story, credentials, book titles
- LinkedIn outreach to editors — personal note, not mass email
- Pitch your personal story first — the author journey is compelling
- Do this on YOUR timeline — when you feel ready and not one day before
- Your LinkedIn following by Day 90 makes this outreach far warmer
Your first event is your most important marketing asset. Even 15 people in a room who buy your book is proof of concept and generates testimonials, photos, and content for months.
- Host your first author event or workshop in Dallas
- Price point: $25 to $75 depending on format
- Promote on LinkedIn, Substack, Pinterest, and Meetup.com
- Sell books and courses at the event through Stan Store
- Collect email addresses from every single attendee
- Take photos for future LinkedIn and Pinterest content
- Ask 3 attendees for written testimonials
By Day 75 you have proven content and an audience. Now distribute your ebooks beyond your own website without giving Amazon a single dollar. Kobo reaches 190 countries, 70% royalties, no exclusivity.
- Create free Kobo Writing Life account
- Upload your best performing ebook first — test the market
- Set price between $4.99 and $9.99 for maximum 70% royalty
- Add all four content category books over time
- Also submit to Apple Books — free, 70% royalties, no exclusivity
- Consider Barnes and Noble Press for US market reach
You don't need production equipment. A well-lit phone and your voice is enough to start. YouTube videos rank on Google, drive traffic for years, and establish you as a visible authority — when you are ready.
- This is optional for Day 61 to 90 — do not add pressure
- If you start: one video per week, 5 to 10 minutes, your expertise
- Topics: insights from your books, author journey, business advice
- Every video links to your website and Stan Store in description
- YouTube builds long-term — do not expect fast results
- Start only when everything else in Phase 1 and 2 is running smoothly
Register your completed works at copyright.gov. Group registration for multiple works of the same type reduces cost. Registration gives you statutory damages — without it, proving infringement in court is extremely difficult regardless of when you published.
- Visit copyright.gov to register completed books
- Current filing fee: approximately $45 per single work online
- Group registration available for multiple unpublished works
- Register BEFORE wide distribution if possible
- Keep physical records of all draft dates and versions
- Add formal copyright page inside every book file
- Your website and domain
- Your email list — export it regularly
- Your books and courses — registered copyrights
- Your Stripe customer data
- Your reputation and credentials
- Pinterest — visual, evergreen, search-based
- LinkedIn — professional, credibility-based
- Substack — loyal reader relationships
- Google AdSense — passive revenue from traffic
- Google Ads — paid amplification of what works
- Events and Meetups — highest conversion of all
- Your website — highest margin, you keep everything
- Stan Store — digital products and courses
- Kobo Writing Life — wide ebook distribution
- Apple Books — Apple ecosystem readers
- Barnes and Noble Press — US bookstore reach
- Live events — highest revenue per person
The One Rule That Overrides Everything
Every platform you use should serve one purpose — moving people onto YOUR email list and toward YOUR website. Never build your business on someone else's platform. Stan can close. Substack can change. Pinterest can update its algorithm. Your email list and your website are the only things that cannot be taken from you.
Build everything else to feed those two things and your business will survive anything.
The world needs to read
what you have written.
Fourth grade creative writing award. Raised by a journalist. Board member. Published author. The credentials were always there. Now the world finds out.
90-Day Author
Launch Strategy
Before You Launch — Critical First Step
Google AdSense Website Readiness Checklist
Google has significantly tightened approval standards in 2026. Your website must meet every requirement below before applying. A rejection now creates a waiting period. Do this right the first time.
Original Content — 15 to 25 Articles Minimum Each must be 800+ words, original, and genuinely helpful. No AI-generated filler. Your writing already meets this standard.
Required Pages About page, Contact page, Privacy Policy, and Terms & Conditions must all be present, accessible from header or footer.
Custom Domain Must be a .com or similar paid domain. Free subdomains reduce approval chances significantly. No stan.store/yourname URLs.
Domain Age — 3 to 6 Months Minimum Google wants to see a long-term project, not a new site. If your site is newer than 3 months, wait before applying.
Clean Navigation Easy to browse, clear menu structure, no broken links, no under construction pages.
Mobile Responsive Site must display correctly on phones and tablets. Google checks this.
Page Speed Fast loading. Compress images, clean code. Test at PageSpeed Insights before applying.
HTML Access Google requires you to add a small code snippet to your site's HTML head section. You must have access to your site's source code.
No Copyright Violations All content, images, and materials must be owned by you or properly licensed. No borrowed content of any kind.
Separate Your Four Content Categories Medical, Holistic, Theology, and Business content should be in clearly labeled separate sections or pages, not mixed together.
⚠ Important Note on Medical Content: Google places medical and health content under "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL) guidelines — the highest scrutiny category. Your medical and holistic content will be evaluated more strictly. Ensure all health-related content includes appropriate disclaimers and cites credible sources. This is not optional.
Before running a single ad or posting a single pin, your website must be AdSense-ready and conversion-ready. This week is for fixing, not building.
- Confirm all four content categories are clearly separated
- Add Privacy Policy, Terms, About, and Contact pages if missing
- Test mobile responsiveness on multiple screen sizes
- Run PageSpeed Insights — fix any score below 70
- Ensure email capture form is on every page above the fold
- Add copyright notice © 2026 to footer of every page
- Connect Google Analytics and Google Search Console
Stan Store is built for creators selling digital products and courses. It integrates Stripe natively and requires zero coding. Start with the Creator plan.
- Sign up and start 14-day free trial immediately
- Connect your existing Stripe account
- Upload your first 3 to 6 products — no more than 6 on the storefront
- Create one free lead magnet — a snippet or sample chapter
- Set up email capture through Stan's built-in tool
- Link Stan Store URL from your main website
- Test full purchase flow before going live
One Substack per content category. Never mix audiences. Each Substack feeds a separate email list which you own and control permanently.
- Create: Medical Substack
- Create: Holistic Substack
- Create: Theology Substack
- Create: Business Substack
- Write one short introduction post for each — do not publish full content yet
- Post ONLY teasers and excerpts — never full book content
- Add © copyright notice to every Substack post footer
LinkedIn is where magazine editors, event organizers, and serious readers live. Your profile must be fully built before you post anything.
- Professional headshot — even a well-lit phone photo works
- Headline: Author | Educator | [Your Expertise Areas]
- About section: Your story in 3 paragraphs — raised by journalist, creative writing award, board member, published author
- Add all four book/course categories as featured work
- Connect with 50 people in your industry this month
- Link to your website and Stan Store in profile
Pinterest is a search engine not a social platform. Pins drive traffic for years. Your visually stunning books are a natural fit for Pinterest's audience.
- Set up Pinterest Business account — free
- Claim your website in Pinterest settings — required for analytics
- Create 4 boards — one per content category
- Create 2 additional boards: Behind the Book, Author Life
- Install Pinterest tag on your website for tracking
- Design 10 pin templates in Canva using your book imagery
After 25 days of consistent content and a complete website, apply for AdSense. Do not apply before the checklist above is fully complete.
- Publish minimum 15 original articles before applying
- Verify domain is at least 3 months old
- Create Google AdSense account at adsense.google.com
- Add AdSense verification code to website HTML head
- Submit application and allow 7 to 14 days for review
- Continue publishing content during review period
Phase 1 Weekly Rhythm
- Website content — publish 1 article
- Update one Substack with teaser
- LinkedIn post — 1 thought leadership piece
- Engage with 10 LinkedIn connections
- Create and schedule 5 Pinterest pins
- Pin to all 4 category boards
- Stan Store product update or new listing
- Email list — send one value email
- Analytics review — what worked this week
- Plan next week content
Your Sales Funnel — How Strangers Become Buyers
Discovery — Pinterest Pin or LinkedIn Post
Stranger sees your visually stunning book cover or a powerful quote on Pinterest or LinkedIn
Interest — They Click Through to Your Website
They land on a high-quality article or free course snippet. They see your expertise immediately.
Capture — Email Sign-Up for Free Lead Magnet
They trade their email for your free content. You now own that relationship forever regardless of any platform.
Nurture — Email Sequence or Substack
Over 5 to 7 emails they get more value from you. Trust builds. They start reading everything you send.
Purchase — Stan Store or Your Website Paywall
They buy a book, a course, or a membership. Stripe processes payment. You keep the majority.
Your Four Content Pillars — Separate Audiences, Separate Substacks
Evidence-based health content. Must include disclaimers. YMYL category requires extra credibility signals — cite sources, note credentials.
Wellness, natural health, lifestyle. Strong Pinterest category. Visual content performs extremely well here.
Faith-based content with a dedicated loyal readership. Substack performs particularly well for theology writers. Deep readers, high retention.
Your strongest LinkedIn category. Entrepreneurship, branding, business building. Your board experience and credentials are powerful here.
Platform Strategy — Days 31 to 60
Pinterest rewards consistency above everything else. 10 pins per week is the minimum for algorithm traction. Your book covers and course graphics are your best performing content type.
- Pin 10 images per week across all 4 boards
- Every pin links back to your website — not Stan Store directly
- Use keyword-rich descriptions — Pinterest is a search engine
- Create quote graphics from your books — these get repinned constantly
- Add book cover images with clear call-to-action text overlay
- Track which pins get the most clicks in Pinterest Analytics
LinkedIn rewards personal storytelling and professional insight. Your background as a board member and your father's journalism legacy — without naming him — gives you credibility that most authors cannot claim.
- Post 3 times per week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- Mix: 1 personal insight, 1 business tip, 1 book or course promotion
- Write in first person — LinkedIn rewards authentic voice
- End every post with one clear question to drive comments
- Reach out to 5 Dallas area magazine editors or journalists this month
- Join 3 LinkedIn groups in your subject areas
Four Substacks means four separate audiences being nurtured simultaneously. Post excerpts, insights, and behind-the-scenes content only. Never full book chapters.
- One post per Substack per week — that is 4 posts total
- Keep posts to 400 to 600 words — leave them wanting more
- Always end with a link to full content on your website or Stan Store
- Cross-promote between Substacks carefully — only when relevant
- Activate Substack's paid tier when each list reaches 100 subscribers
In-person events in Dallas create your most loyal buyers. People who meet you buy everything. Start small — a workshop or author talk for 15 to 20 people.
- Create free Meetup.com group in Dallas — choose your strongest category
- Plan first event for approximately Day 60 — small and intimate
- Partner with a Dallas library, bookstore, or coffee shop for free space
- Charge a small attendance fee — $10 to $25 establishes value
- Every attendee goes on your email list
- Sell books and courses at the event — Stan Store handles payment
By Day 61 your AdSense should be approved and your content is proven. Now you can add Google Ads to amplify what is already working. Never run ads to cold content — only to pages that are already converting.
- Start budget at $5 to $10 per day — no more
- Run ads to your best performing free content — not directly to paid products
- Use Google Search Ads targeting keywords in your four categories
- Track cost per email subscriber — this is your key metric
- Pause any ad that costs more than $3 per email subscriber
- Scale only what is already working organically
Local Dallas publications are your most accessible first press. You don't need to be in a national magazine first. Local credibility builds to national credibility.
- Target: D Magazine, Dallas Observer, Dallas Morning News, Voyage Dallas
- Write a one-page press kit — your story, credentials, book titles
- LinkedIn outreach to editors — personal note, not mass email
- Pitch your personal story first — the author journey is compelling
- Do this on YOUR timeline — when you feel ready and not one day before
- Your LinkedIn following by Day 90 makes this outreach far warmer
Your first event is your most important marketing asset. Even 15 people in a room who buy your book is proof of concept and generates testimonials, photos, and content for months.
- Host your first author event or workshop in Dallas
- Price point: $25 to $75 depending on format
- Promote on LinkedIn, Substack, Pinterest, and Meetup.com
- Sell books and courses at the event through Stan Store
- Collect email addresses from every single attendee
- Take photos for future LinkedIn and Pinterest content
- Ask 3 attendees for written testimonials
By Day 75 you have proven content and an audience. Now distribute your ebooks beyond your own website without giving Amazon a single dollar. Kobo reaches 190 countries, 70% royalties, no exclusivity.
- Create free Kobo Writing Life account
- Upload your best performing ebook first — test the market
- Set price between $4.99 and $9.99 for maximum 70% royalty
- Add all four content category books over time
- Also submit to Apple Books — free, 70% royalties, no exclusivity
- Consider Barnes and Noble Press for US market reach
You don't need production equipment. A well-lit phone and your voice is enough to start. YouTube videos rank on Google, drive traffic for years, and establish you as a visible authority — when you are ready.
- This is optional for Day 61 to 90 — do not add pressure
- If you start: one video per week, 5 to 10 minutes, your expertise
- Topics: insights from your books, author journey, business advice
- Every video links to your website and Stan Store in description
- YouTube builds long-term — do not expect fast results
- Start only when everything else in Phase 1 and 2 is running smoothly
Register your completed works at copyright.gov. Group registration for multiple works of the same type reduces cost. Registration gives you statutory damages — without it, proving infringement in court is extremely difficult regardless of when you published.
- Visit copyright.gov to register completed books
- Current filing fee: approximately $45 per single work online
- Group registration available for multiple unpublished works
- Register BEFORE wide distribution if possible
- Keep physical records of all draft dates and versions
- Add formal copyright page inside every book file
- Your website and domain
- Your email list — export it regularly
- Your books and courses — registered copyrights
- Your Stripe customer data
- Your reputation and credentials
- Pinterest — visual, evergreen, search-based
- LinkedIn — professional, credibility-based
- Substack — loyal reader relationships
- Google AdSense — passive revenue from traffic
- Google Ads — paid amplification of what works
- Events and Meetups — highest conversion of all
- Your website — highest margin, you keep everything
- Stan Store — digital products and courses
- Kobo Writing Life — wide ebook distribution
- Apple Books — Apple ecosystem readers
- Barnes and Noble Press — US bookstore reach
- Live events — highest revenue per person
The One Rule That Overrides Everything
Every platform you use should serve one purpose — moving people onto YOUR email list and toward YOUR website. Never build your business on someone else's platform. Stan can close. Substack can change. Pinterest can update its algorithm. Your email list and your website are the only things that cannot be taken from you.
Build everything else to feed those two things and your business will survive anything.
The world needs to read
what you have written.
Fourth grade creative writing award. Raised by a journalist. Board member. Published author. The credentials were always there. Now the world finds out.
90-Day Author
Launch Strategy
Before You Launch — Critical First Step
Google AdSense Website Readiness Checklist
Google has significantly tightened approval standards in 2026. Your website must meet every requirement below before applying. A rejection now creates a waiting period. Do this right the first time.
Original Content — 15 to 25 Articles Minimum Each must be 800+ words, original, and genuinely helpful. No AI-generated filler. Your writing already meets this standard.
Required Pages About page, Contact page, Privacy Policy, and Terms & Conditions must all be present, accessible from header or footer.
Custom Domain Must be a .com or similar paid domain. Free subdomains reduce approval chances significantly. No stan.store/yourname URLs.
Domain Age — 3 to 6 Months Minimum Google wants to see a long-term project, not a new site. If your site is newer than 3 months, wait before applying.
Clean Navigation Easy to browse, clear menu structure, no broken links, no under construction pages.
Mobile Responsive Site must display correctly on phones and tablets. Google checks this.
Page Speed Fast loading. Compress images, clean code. Test at PageSpeed Insights before applying.
HTML Access Google requires you to add a small code snippet to your site's HTML head section. You must have access to your site's source code.
No Copyright Violations All content, images, and materials must be owned by you or properly licensed. No borrowed content of any kind.
Separate Your Four Content Categories Medical, Holistic, Theology, and Business content should be in clearly labeled separate sections or pages, not mixed together.
⚠ Important Note on Medical Content: Google places medical and health content under "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL) guidelines — the highest scrutiny category. Your medical and holistic content will be evaluated more strictly. Ensure all health-related content includes appropriate disclaimers and cites credible sources. This is not optional.
Before running a single ad or posting a single pin, your website must be AdSense-ready and conversion-ready. This week is for fixing, not building.
- Confirm all four content categories are clearly separated
- Add Privacy Policy, Terms, About, and Contact pages if missing
- Test mobile responsiveness on multiple screen sizes
- Run PageSpeed Insights — fix any score below 70
- Ensure email capture form is on every page above the fold
- Add copyright notice © 2026 to footer of every page
- Connect Google Analytics and Google Search Console
Stan Store is built for creators selling digital products and courses. It integrates Stripe natively and requires zero coding. Start with the Creator plan.
- Sign up and start 14-day free trial immediately
- Connect your existing Stripe account
- Upload your first 3 to 6 products — no more than 6 on the storefront
- Create one free lead magnet — a snippet or sample chapter
- Set up email capture through Stan's built-in tool
- Link Stan Store URL from your main website
- Test full purchase flow before going live
One Substack per content category. Never mix audiences. Each Substack feeds a separate email list which you own and control permanently.
- Create: Medical Substack
- Create: Holistic Substack
- Create: Theology Substack
- Create: Business Substack
- Write one short introduction post for each — do not publish full content yet
- Post ONLY teasers and excerpts — never full book content
- Add © copyright notice to every Substack post footer
LinkedIn is where magazine editors, event organizers, and serious readers live. Your profile must be fully built before you post anything.
- Professional headshot — even a well-lit phone photo works
- Headline: Author | Educator | [Your Expertise Areas]
- About section: Your story in 3 paragraphs — raised by journalist, creative writing award, board member, published author
- Add all four book/course categories as featured work
- Connect with 50 people in your industry this month
- Link to your website and Stan Store in profile
Pinterest is a search engine not a social platform. Pins drive traffic for years. Your visually stunning books are a natural fit for Pinterest's audience.
- Set up Pinterest Business account — free
- Claim your website in Pinterest settings — required for analytics
- Create 4 boards — one per content category
- Create 2 additional boards: Behind the Book, Author Life
- Install Pinterest tag on your website for tracking
- Design 10 pin templates in Canva using your book imagery
After 25 days of consistent content and a complete website, apply for AdSense. Do not apply before the checklist above is fully complete.
- Publish minimum 15 original articles before applying
- Verify domain is at least 3 months old
- Create Google AdSense account at adsense.google.com
- Add AdSense verification code to website HTML head
- Submit application and allow 7 to 14 days for review
- Continue publishing content during review period
Phase 1 Weekly Rhythm
- Website content — publish 1 article
- Update one Substack with teaser
- LinkedIn post — 1 thought leadership piece
- Engage with 10 LinkedIn connections
- Create and schedule 5 Pinterest pins
- Pin to all 4 category boards
- Stan Store product update or new listing
- Email list — send one value email
- Analytics review — what worked this week
- Plan next week content
Your Sales Funnel — How Strangers Become Buyers
Discovery — Pinterest Pin or LinkedIn Post
Stranger sees your visually stunning book cover or a powerful quote on Pinterest or LinkedIn
Interest — They Click Through to Your Website
They land on a high-quality article or free course snippet. They see your expertise immediately.
Capture — Email Sign-Up for Free Lead Magnet
They trade their email for your free content. You now own that relationship forever regardless of any platform.
Nurture — Email Sequence or Substack
Over 5 to 7 emails they get more value from you. Trust builds. They start reading everything you send.
Purchase — Stan Store or Your Website Paywall
They buy a book, a course, or a membership. Stripe processes payment. You keep the majority.
Your Four Content Pillars — Separate Audiences, Separate Substacks
Evidence-based health content. Must include disclaimers. YMYL category requires extra credibility signals — cite sources, note credentials.
Wellness, natural health, lifestyle. Strong Pinterest category. Visual content performs extremely well here.
Faith-based content with a dedicated loyal readership. Substack performs particularly well for theology writers. Deep readers, high retention.
Your strongest LinkedIn category. Entrepreneurship, branding, business building. Your board experience and credentials are powerful here.
Platform Strategy — Days 31 to 60
Pinterest rewards consistency above everything else. 10 pins per week is the minimum for algorithm traction. Your book covers and course graphics are your best performing content type.
- Pin 10 images per week across all 4 boards
- Every pin links back to your website — not Stan Store directly
- Use keyword-rich descriptions — Pinterest is a search engine
- Create quote graphics from your books — these get repinned constantly
- Add book cover images with clear call-to-action text overlay
- Track which pins get the most clicks in Pinterest Analytics
LinkedIn rewards personal storytelling and professional insight. Your background as a board member and your father's journalism legacy — without naming him — gives you credibility that most authors cannot claim.
- Post 3 times per week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- Mix: 1 personal insight, 1 business tip, 1 book or course promotion
- Write in first person — LinkedIn rewards authentic voice
- End every post with one clear question to drive comments
- Reach out to 5 Dallas area magazine editors or journalists this month
- Join 3 LinkedIn groups in your subject areas
Four Substacks means four separate audiences being nurtured simultaneously. Post excerpts, insights, and behind-the-scenes content only. Never full book chapters.
- One post per Substack per week — that is 4 posts total
- Keep posts to 400 to 600 words — leave them wanting more
- Always end with a link to full content on your website or Stan Store
- Cross-promote between Substacks carefully — only when relevant
- Activate Substack's paid tier when each list reaches 100 subscribers
In-person events in Dallas create your most loyal buyers. People who meet you buy everything. Start small — a workshop or author talk for 15 to 20 people.
- Create free Meetup.com group in Dallas — choose your strongest category
- Plan first event for approximately Day 60 — small and intimate
- Partner with a Dallas library, bookstore, or coffee shop for free space
- Charge a small attendance fee — $10 to $25 establishes value
- Every attendee goes on your email list
- Sell books and courses at the event — Stan Store handles payment
By Day 61 your AdSense should be approved and your content is proven. Now you can add Google Ads to amplify what is already working. Never run ads to cold content — only to pages that are already converting.
- Start budget at $5 to $10 per day — no more
- Run ads to your best performing free content — not directly to paid products
- Use Google Search Ads targeting keywords in your four categories
- Track cost per email subscriber — this is your key metric
- Pause any ad that costs more than $3 per email subscriber
- Scale only what is already working organically
Local Dallas publications are your most accessible first press. You don't need to be in a national magazine first. Local credibility builds to national credibility.
- Target: D Magazine, Dallas Observer, Dallas Morning News, Voyage Dallas
- Write a one-page press kit — your story, credentials, book titles
- LinkedIn outreach to editors — personal note, not mass email
- Pitch your personal story first — the author journey is compelling
- Do this on YOUR timeline — when you feel ready and not one day before
- Your LinkedIn following by Day 90 makes this outreach far warmer
Your first event is your most important marketing asset. Even 15 people in a room who buy your book is proof of concept and generates testimonials, photos, and content for months.
- Host your first author event or workshop in Dallas
- Price point: $25 to $75 depending on format
- Promote on LinkedIn, Substack, Pinterest, and Meetup.com
- Sell books and courses at the event through Stan Store
- Collect email addresses from every single attendee
- Take photos for future LinkedIn and Pinterest content
- Ask 3 attendees for written testimonials
By Day 75 you have proven content and an audience. Now distribute your ebooks beyond your own website without giving Amazon a single dollar. Kobo reaches 190 countries, 70% royalties, no exclusivity.
- Create free Kobo Writing Life account
- Upload your best performing ebook first — test the market
- Set price between $4.99 and $9.99 for maximum 70% royalty
- Add all four content category books over time
- Also submit to Apple Books — free, 70% royalties, no exclusivity
- Consider Barnes and Noble Press for US market reach
You don't need production equipment. A well-lit phone and your voice is enough to start. YouTube videos rank on Google, drive traffic for years, and establish you as a visible authority — when you are ready.
- This is optional for Day 61 to 90 — do not add pressure
- If you start: one video per week, 5 to 10 minutes, your expertise
- Topics: insights from your books, author journey, business advice
- Every video links to your website and Stan Store in description
- YouTube builds long-term — do not expect fast results
- Start only when everything else in Phase 1 and 2 is running smoothly
Register your completed works at copyright.gov. Group registration for multiple works of the same type reduces cost. Registration gives you statutory damages — without it, proving infringement in court is extremely difficult regardless of when you published.
- Visit copyright.gov to register completed books
- Current filing fee: approximately $45 per single work online
- Group registration available for multiple unpublished works
- Register BEFORE wide distribution if possible
- Keep physical records of all draft dates and versions
- Add formal copyright page inside every book file
- Your website and domain
- Your email list — export it regularly
- Your books and courses — registered copyrights
- Your Stripe customer data
- Your reputation and credentials
- Pinterest — visual, evergreen, search-based
- LinkedIn — professional, credibility-based
- Substack — loyal reader relationships
- Google AdSense — passive revenue from traffic
- Google Ads — paid amplification of what works
- Events and Meetups — highest conversion of all
- Your website — highest margin, you keep everything
- Stan Store — digital products and courses
- Kobo Writing Life — wide ebook distribution
- Apple Books — Apple ecosystem readers
- Barnes and Noble Press — US bookstore reach
- Live events — highest revenue per person
The One Rule That Overrides Everything
Every platform you use should serve one purpose — moving people onto YOUR email list and toward YOUR website. Never build your business on someone else's platform. Stan can close. Substack can change. Pinterest can update its algorithm. Your email list and your website are the only things that cannot be taken from you.
Build everything else to feed those two things and your business will survive anything.
The world needs to read
what you have written.
Fourth grade creative writing award. Raised by a journalist. Board member. Published author. The credentials were always there. Now the world finds out.
90-Day Author
Launch Strategy
Before You Launch — Critical First Step
Google AdSense Website Readiness Checklist
Google has significantly tightened approval standards in 2026. Your website must meet every requirement below before applying. A rejection now creates a waiting period. Do this right the first time.
Original Content — 15 to 25 Articles Minimum Each must be 800+ words, original, and genuinely helpful. No AI-generated filler. Your writing already meets this standard.
Required Pages About page, Contact page, Privacy Policy, and Terms & Conditions must all be present, accessible from header or footer.
Custom Domain Must be a .com or similar paid domain. Free subdomains reduce approval chances significantly. No stan.store/yourname URLs.
Domain Age — 3 to 6 Months Minimum Google wants to see a long-term project, not a new site. If your site is newer than 3 months, wait before applying.
Clean Navigation Easy to browse, clear menu structure, no broken links, no under construction pages.
Mobile Responsive Site must display correctly on phones and tablets. Google checks this.
Page Speed Fast loading. Compress images, clean code. Test at PageSpeed Insights before applying.
HTML Access Google requires you to add a small code snippet to your site's HTML head section. You must have access to your site's source code.
No Copyright Violations All content, images, and materials must be owned by you or properly licensed. No borrowed content of any kind.
Separate Your Four Content Categories Medical, Holistic, Theology, and Business content should be in clearly labeled separate sections or pages, not mixed together.
⚠ Important Note on Medical Content: Google places medical and health content under "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL) guidelines — the highest scrutiny category. Your medical and holistic content will be evaluated more strictly. Ensure all health-related content includes appropriate disclaimers and cites credible sources. This is not optional.
Before running a single ad or posting a single pin, your website must be AdSense-ready and conversion-ready. This week is for fixing, not building.
- Confirm all four content categories are clearly separated
- Add Privacy Policy, Terms, About, and Contact pages if missing
- Test mobile responsiveness on multiple screen sizes
- Run PageSpeed Insights — fix any score below 70
- Ensure email capture form is on every page above the fold
- Add copyright notice © 2026 to footer of every page
- Connect Google Analytics and Google Search Console
Stan Store is built for creators selling digital products and courses. It integrates Stripe natively and requires zero coding. Start with the Creator plan.
- Sign up and start 14-day free trial immediately
- Connect your existing Stripe account
- Upload your first 3 to 6 products — no more than 6 on the storefront
- Create one free lead magnet — a snippet or sample chapter
- Set up email capture through Stan's built-in tool
- Link Stan Store URL from your main website
- Test full purchase flow before going live
One Substack per content category. Never mix audiences. Each Substack feeds a separate email list which you own and control permanently.
- Create: Medical Substack
- Create: Holistic Substack
- Create: Theology Substack
- Create: Business Substack
- Write one short introduction post for each — do not publish full content yet
- Post ONLY teasers and excerpts — never full book content
- Add © copyright notice to every Substack post footer
LinkedIn is where magazine editors, event organizers, and serious readers live. Your profile must be fully built before you post anything.
- Professional headshot — even a well-lit phone photo works
- Headline: Author | Educator | [Your Expertise Areas]
- About section: Your story in 3 paragraphs — raised by journalist, creative writing award, board member, published author
- Add all four book/course categories as featured work
- Connect with 50 people in your industry this month
- Link to your website and Stan Store in profile
Pinterest is a search engine not a social platform. Pins drive traffic for years. Your visually stunning books are a natural fit for Pinterest's audience.
- Set up Pinterest Business account — free
- Claim your website in Pinterest settings — required for analytics
- Create 4 boards — one per content category
- Create 2 additional boards: Behind the Book, Author Life
- Install Pinterest tag on your website for tracking
- Design 10 pin templates in Canva using your book imagery
After 25 days of consistent content and a complete website, apply for AdSense. Do not apply before the checklist above is fully complete.
- Publish minimum 15 original articles before applying
- Verify domain is at least 3 months old
- Create Google AdSense account at adsense.google.com
- Add AdSense verification code to website HTML head
- Submit application and allow 7 to 14 days for review
- Continue publishing content during review period
Phase 1 Weekly Rhythm
- Website content — publish 1 article
- Update one Substack with teaser
- LinkedIn post — 1 thought leadership piece
- Engage with 10 LinkedIn connections
- Create and schedule 5 Pinterest pins
- Pin to all 4 category boards
- Stan Store product update or new listing
- Email list — send one value email
- Analytics review — what worked this week
- Plan next week content
Your Sales Funnel — How Strangers Become Buyers
Discovery — Pinterest Pin or LinkedIn Post
Stranger sees your visually stunning book cover or a powerful quote on Pinterest or LinkedIn
Interest — They Click Through to Your Website
They land on a high-quality article or free course snippet. They see your expertise immediately.
Capture — Email Sign-Up for Free Lead Magnet
They trade their email for your free content. You now own that relationship forever regardless of any platform.
Nurture — Email Sequence or Substack
Over 5 to 7 emails they get more value from you. Trust builds. They start reading everything you send.
Purchase — Stan Store or Your Website Paywall
They buy a book, a course, or a membership. Stripe processes payment. You keep the majority.
Your Four Content Pillars — Separate Audiences, Separate Substacks
Evidence-based health content. Must include disclaimers. YMYL category requires extra credibility signals — cite sources, note credentials.
Wellness, natural health, lifestyle. Strong Pinterest category. Visual content performs extremely well here.
Faith-based content with a dedicated loyal readership. Substack performs particularly well for theology writers. Deep readers, high retention.
Your strongest LinkedIn category. Entrepreneurship, branding, business building. Your board experience and credentials are powerful here.
Platform Strategy — Days 31 to 60
Pinterest rewards consistency above everything else. 10 pins per week is the minimum for algorithm traction. Your book covers and course graphics are your best performing content type.
- Pin 10 images per week across all 4 boards
- Every pin links back to your website — not Stan Store directly
- Use keyword-rich descriptions — Pinterest is a search engine
- Create quote graphics from your books — these get repinned constantly
- Add book cover images with clear call-to-action text overlay
- Track which pins get the most clicks in Pinterest Analytics
LinkedIn rewards personal storytelling and professional insight. Your background as a board member and your father's journalism legacy — without naming him — gives you credibility that most authors cannot claim.
- Post 3 times per week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- Mix: 1 personal insight, 1 business tip, 1 book or course promotion
- Write in first person — LinkedIn rewards authentic voice
- End every post with one clear question to drive comments
- Reach out to 5 Dallas area magazine editors or journalists this month
- Join 3 LinkedIn groups in your subject areas
Four Substacks means four separate audiences being nurtured simultaneously. Post excerpts, insights, and behind-the-scenes content only. Never full book chapters.
- One post per Substack per week — that is 4 posts total
- Keep posts to 400 to 600 words — leave them wanting more
- Always end with a link to full content on your website or Stan Store
- Cross-promote between Substacks carefully — only when relevant
- Activate Substack's paid tier when each list reaches 100 subscribers
In-person events in Dallas create your most loyal buyers. People who meet you buy everything. Start small — a workshop or author talk for 15 to 20 people.
- Create free Meetup.com group in Dallas — choose your strongest category
- Plan first event for approximately Day 60 — small and intimate
- Partner with a Dallas library, bookstore, or coffee shop for free space
- Charge a small attendance fee — $10 to $25 establishes value
- Every attendee goes on your email list
- Sell books and courses at the event — Stan Store handles payment
By Day 61 your AdSense should be approved and your content is proven. Now you can add Google Ads to amplify what is already working. Never run ads to cold content — only to pages that are already converting.
- Start budget at $5 to $10 per day — no more
- Run ads to your best performing free content — not directly to paid products
- Use Google Search Ads targeting keywords in your four categories
- Track cost per email subscriber — this is your key metric
- Pause any ad that costs more than $3 per email subscriber
- Scale only what is already working organically
Local Dallas publications are your most accessible first press. You don't need to be in a national magazine first. Local credibility builds to national credibility.
- Target: D Magazine, Dallas Observer, Dallas Morning News, Voyage Dallas
- Write a one-page press kit — your story, credentials, book titles
- LinkedIn outreach to editors — personal note, not mass email
- Pitch your personal story first — the author journey is compelling
- Do this on YOUR timeline — when you feel ready and not one day before
- Your LinkedIn following by Day 90 makes this outreach far warmer
Your first event is your most important marketing asset. Even 15 people in a room who buy your book is proof of concept and generates testimonials, photos, and content for months.
- Host your first author event or workshop in Dallas
- Price point: $25 to $75 depending on format
- Promote on LinkedIn, Substack, Pinterest, and Meetup.com
- Sell books and courses at the event through Stan Store
- Collect email addresses from every single attendee
- Take photos for future LinkedIn and Pinterest content
- Ask 3 attendees for written testimonials
By Day 75 you have proven content and an audience. Now distribute your ebooks beyond your own website without giving Amazon a single dollar. Kobo reaches 190 countries, 70% royalties, no exclusivity.
- Create free Kobo Writing Life account
- Upload your best performing ebook first — test the market
- Set price between $4.99 and $9.99 for maximum 70% royalty
- Add all four content category books over time
- Also submit to Apple Books — free, 70% royalties, no exclusivity
- Consider Barnes and Noble Press for US market reach
You don't need production equipment. A well-lit phone and your voice is enough to start. YouTube videos rank on Google, drive traffic for years, and establish you as a visible authority — when you are ready.
- This is optional for Day 61 to 90 — do not add pressure
- If you start: one video per week, 5 to 10 minutes, your expertise
- Topics: insights from your books, author journey, business advice
- Every video links to your website and Stan Store in description
- YouTube builds long-term — do not expect fast results
- Start only when everything else in Phase 1 and 2 is running smoothly
Register your completed works at copyright.gov. Group registration for multiple works of the same type reduces cost. Registration gives you statutory damages — without it, proving infringement in court is extremely difficult regardless of when you published.
- Visit copyright.gov to register completed books
- Current filing fee: approximately $45 per single work online
- Group registration available for multiple unpublished works
- Register BEFORE wide distribution if possible
- Keep physical records of all draft dates and versions
- Add formal copyright page inside every book file
- Your website and domain
- Your email list — export it regularly
- Your books and courses — registered copyrights
- Your Stripe customer data
- Your reputation and credentials
- Pinterest — visual, evergreen, search-based
- LinkedIn — professional, credibility-based
- Substack — loyal reader relationships
- Google AdSense — passive revenue from traffic
- Google Ads — paid amplification of what works
- Events and Meetups — highest conversion of all
- Your website — highest margin, you keep everything
- Stan Store — digital products and courses
- Kobo Writing Life — wide ebook distribution
- Apple Books — Apple ecosystem readers
- Barnes and Noble Press — US bookstore reach
- Live events — highest revenue per person
The One Rule That Overrides Everything
Every platform you use should serve one purpose — moving people onto YOUR email list and toward YOUR website. Never build your business on someone else's platform. Stan can close. Substack can change. Pinterest can update its algorithm. Your email list and your website are the only things that cannot be taken from you.
Build everything else to feed those two things and your business will survive anything.
The world needs to read
what you have written.
Fourth grade creative writing award. Raised by a journalist. Board member. Published author. The credentials were always there. Now the world finds out.
90-Day Author
Launch Strategy
Pinterest · LinkedIn · Substack · Stan Store · Google AdSense
Prepared exclusively for the author · April 2026
This strategy was built specifically for an actively publishing author with an existing website, Stripe merchant processing, paywalls, and memberships already in place. You are not starting from zero. You are positioning what you have already built so the right readers can find it.
The strategy covers three phases over 90 days: foundation and infrastructure in Days 1 through 30, audience building and first sales in Days 31 through 60, and amplification and positioning in Days 61 through 90. Each phase builds directly on the one before it.
Before any platform is touched, your website must be ready for Google AdSense. That readiness checklist is the first order of business and is covered in full beginning on page 2.
The platforms covered in this strategy are Pinterest, LinkedIn, four separate Substacks, Stan Store, Google AdSense, Google Ads, Kobo Writing Life, Apple Books, and Dallas area events and meetups. None of these require social media. None of them require Amazon.
Everything in this strategy points toward one outcome: moving readers onto your email list and toward your website — two assets no platform can ever take from you.
Google AdSense Readiness
Google has significantly tightened approval standards in 2026. Your website must meet every requirement below before you apply. A rejection now creates a waiting period and flags your domain. Do this right the first time.
The 10-Point Approval Checklist
Each article must be 800 words or more, original, and genuinely helpful to readers. Your writing already meets this standard.
About, Contact, Privacy Policy, and Terms and Conditions must all be present and accessible from your header or footer navigation.
Must be a paid domain such as .com. Free subdomains reduce approval chances significantly.
Google wants to see a long-term project. If your site is newer than 3 months, wait before applying.
Easy to browse, clear menu structure, no broken links, no pages marked under construction.
Your site must display correctly on phones and tablets. Google checks this during review.
Fast loading pages. Compress images and clean your code. Test at PageSpeed Insights before applying.
Google requires you to add a verification code snippet to your site's HTML head section to confirm ownership.
All content, images, and materials must be owned by you or properly licensed. No borrowed content of any kind.
Medical, Holistic, Theology, and Business content must be in clearly labeled separate sections — not mixed together on one page.
Important: Medical Content Warning
Google places medical and health content under its highest scrutiny category. Your medical and holistic content will be evaluated more strictly than any other category on your site. All health-related content must include appropriate disclaimers and cite credible sources. This is not optional. Failure to comply will result in AdSense rejection.
This applies to both your Medical Substack and your Holistic Substack. Every post in those categories should carry a clear disclaimer that the content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Add these disclaimers before you apply for AdSense.
Once your site meets all ten checklist requirements, apply at adsense.google.com. The review process takes 7 to 14 days. Continue publishing content during that window.
Phase 1: Days 1 Through 30
Foundation and Infrastructure
"A house built on the right foundation never needs to be rebranded. Build it correctly once."
Before promoting anything, every platform must be fully built and properly connected. Phase 1 is infrastructure — not marketing. Resist the urge to skip ahead. Everything in Phase 2 and Phase 3 depends on this foundation being solid.
The goal of Phase 1 is to have your website AdSense-ready, Stan Store live with your first products uploaded, all four Substacks launched with introductory posts, your LinkedIn profile fully built, your Pinterest Business account set up and verified, and your AdSense application submitted by Day 25.
By the end of Day 30, every channel should be live, connected to your website, and pointing readers toward your email capture. Nothing should be sending traffic anywhere that does not lead back to your list.
Phase 1 Platform Setup
Stan Store is built for creators selling digital products and courses. It integrates Stripe natively and requires zero coding. Start with the Creator plan. Test every purchase flow before going live.
- Sign up and start the 14-day free trial immediately
- Connect your existing Stripe account
- Upload your first 3 to 6 products — no more than 6 on the storefront at launch
- Create one free lead magnet — a snippet or sample chapter from one of your books
- Set up email capture through Stan's built-in tool
- Link Stan Store from your main website
- Test the full purchase flow before going live
One Substack per content category. Never mix audiences. Each Substack feeds a separate email list that you own and control permanently regardless of what happens to the platform.
- Create your Medical Substack
- Create your Holistic Substack
- Create your Theology Substack
- Create your Business Substack
- Write one short introduction post for each — do not publish full book content
- Post excerpts and teasers only — never complete chapters
- Add your copyright notice to every Substack post footer
LinkedIn is where magazine editors, event organizers, and serious readers live. Build the full profile before you post anything.
- Professional headshot — a well-lit phone photo works fine
- Headline: Author | Educator | Your Expertise Areas
- About section: your story, your credentials, your four subject areas
- Connect with 50 people in your industry this month
- Link to your website and Stan Store in the profile
Phase 1 Platform Setup, Continued
Pinterest is a search engine, not a social platform. Pins drive traffic for years after they are posted. Your visually formatted books are a natural fit for Pinterest's audience.
- Set up a free Pinterest Business account
- Claim your website in Pinterest settings — required for analytics
- Create 4 boards — one per content category
- Create 2 additional boards: Behind the Book, and Author Life
- Install the Pinterest tag on your website for tracking
- Design 10 pin templates in Canva using your book covers and course graphics
After 25 days of consistent content and a complete website, apply for AdSense. Do not apply before the 10-point checklist on page 2 is fully complete.
- Confirm minimum 15 original articles are published
- Verify domain is at least 3 months old
- Create your Google AdSense account at adsense.google.com
- Add the AdSense verification code to your website's HTML head section
- Submit the application and allow 7 to 14 days for review
- Continue publishing content throughout the review period
Phase 1 Weekly Rhythm
| Day | Platform | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Website + Substack | Publish 1 article · Update one Substack with a teaser |
| Tuesday | Post 1 thought leadership piece · Engage with 10 connections | |
| Wednesday | Create and schedule 5 pins across all 4 category boards | |
| Thursday | Stan Store + Email | Update a product listing · Send one value email to your list |
| Friday | Analytics | Review what worked · Plan next week's content |
Phase 1 Goals and Phase 2 Overview
Phase 1 Success Metrics — End of Day 30
Phase 2: Days 31 Through 60
Audience Building and First Sales
"You do not need millions of followers. You need the right 1,000 people who trust you completely."
By Day 31 every platform is live. Phase 2 is about showing up consistently on each one and beginning to move readers through your sales funnel. The goal of this phase is your first sale, your first 100 email subscribers, and your first in-person event planned.
Your Sales Funnel
Your Four Content Pillars
Separate Substacks, separate audiences, separate positioning. Never mix these categories. Each one speaks to a different reader with different needs and different reasons to trust you.
Medical
Evidence-based health content. Every post must include a disclaimer that the content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Cite credible sources throughout. Google evaluates this category under its highest scrutiny standard. Your credentials and thorough sourcing are your credibility here.
Holistic
Wellness, natural health, and lifestyle content. This is one of the strongest performing categories on Pinterest. Visual content performs extremely well here. Your book covers and course graphics will attract this audience naturally. This audience also responds well to personal story and lived experience.
Theology
Faith-based content with a dedicated and loyal readership. Substack performs particularly well for theology writers because the platform rewards deep, thoughtful writing. Theology readers have high retention, strong word of mouth, and consistent engagement. This audience reads everything you send them.
Business
Entrepreneurship, branding, pricing, and business building. This is your strongest LinkedIn category. Your credentials as a board member for a college marketing and entrepreneurship program, and your experience teaching people to build globally sellable businesses from the ground up, give you authority in this space that most business content creators simply do not have. Lead with your credentials here.
Each of these four categories gets its own Substack, its own Pinterest board, its own section on your website, and its own content calendar. They are four separate audiences being nurtured simultaneously. Do not cross-promote between them unless the content is genuinely relevant to both groups.
Phase 2 Platform Strategy
Pinterest rewards consistency above everything else. Ten pins per week is the minimum for algorithm traction. Every pin links back to your website — not to Stan Store directly. You want readers on your site first so they are captured on your email list.
- Pin 10 images per week across all 4 boards
- Use keyword-rich descriptions — Pinterest is a search engine
- Create quote graphics from your books — these get repinned consistently
- Pin your book covers with a clear call-to-action text overlay
- Track which pins get the most clicks in Pinterest Analytics each week
Post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. LinkedIn rewards personal storytelling and professional insight. Write in first person. End every post with one clear question to drive comments. Your goal this month is to reach out to 5 Dallas area magazine editors or journalists by direct message — not mass email, personal note only.
- Monday: personal insight or author story
- Wednesday: business or expertise-based tip
- Friday: book or course promotion
- Join 3 LinkedIn groups in your subject areas
- Reach out to 5 Dallas media contacts this month
Keep posts to 400 to 600 words. Always end with a link to the full content on your website or Stan Store. Never post complete chapters. Activate the paid subscription tier on each Substack when that list reaches 100 subscribers.
Events, Meetups, and Phase 2 Goals
In-person events in Dallas create your most loyal buyers. People who meet you in person buy everything. Start small — a workshop or author talk for 15 to 20 people. The goal of the first event is not revenue. The goal is email addresses, testimonials, and photographs for your content calendar.
- Create a free Meetup.com group in Dallas in your strongest content category
- Plan the first event for approximately Day 60 — keep it intimate
- Partner with a Dallas library, bookstore, or coffee shop for free space
- Charge a small attendance fee between $10 and $25 to establish value
- Collect email addresses from every single attendee
- Sell books and courses at the event through Stan Store
- Ask 3 attendees for written testimonials before they leave
Phase 2 Success Metrics — End of Day 60
Phase 3: Days 61 Through 90
Amplify, Monetize, and Position
"Positioning is not what you do to a product. It is what you do to the mind of a prospect." — Al Ries
By Day 61 your foundation is built, your audience is growing, and your content is proven. Phase 3 is about turning that momentum into consistent revenue and establishing your public positioning as a serious published author in Dallas and beyond. This phase introduces paid advertising, wide distribution, and your first press outreach.
Phase 3 Platform Strategy
Never run ads to cold content. Only advertise pages that are already converting readers organically. If a page is not working for free traffic, paid traffic will not fix it. Start small and scale only what is proven.
- Start budget at $5 to $10 per day — no more in the first 30 days
- Run ads to your best performing free content — not directly to paid products
- Use Google Search Ads targeting keywords in your four categories
- Track cost per email subscriber as your primary metric
- Pause any ad that costs more than $3 per email subscriber
Local Dallas publications are your most accessible first press. Local credibility builds to national credibility. Do this when you feel ready and not one day before.
- Target: D Magazine, Dallas Observer, Dallas Morning News, Voyage Dallas
- Write a one-page press kit — your story, credentials, and book titles
- Reach out to editors through LinkedIn with a personal note
- Pitch your personal story first — your credentials are compelling
Host your first author event or workshop. Price between $25 and $75 depending on format. Promote across LinkedIn, Substack, Pinterest, and Meetup.com. Sell books and courses at the event through Stan Store. Take photographs for future content.
Both platforms are free to join, pay 70% royalties, require no exclusivity, and reach readers in over 190 countries. Upload your best performing ebook first to test the market before uploading your full catalog.
Phase 3: Copyright and Optional Platforms
Register your completed works at copyright.gov before distributing them widely. Registration gives you statutory damages and attorney fees if you ever have to pursue infringement in court. Without registration, proving ownership — regardless of when you published — is extremely difficult and expensive.
- Visit copyright.gov to register your completed books
- Current filing fee is approximately $45 per single work online
- Group registration is available for multiple unpublished works
- Keep records of all draft dates and file versions
- Add a formal copyright page inside every book file
Do not add YouTube until everything in Phase 1 and Phase 2 is running smoothly. YouTube builds long-term and does not produce fast results. If you start, commit to one video per week on your expertise. Every video links to your website and Stan Store in the description.
Phase 3 Success Metrics — End of Day 90
Master Strategy Overview
Every platform in this strategy serves one purpose: moving readers onto your email list and toward your website. Those two assets cannot be taken from you by any platform, algorithm change, or policy update. Build everything else to feed them.
| What You Own Forever | What Drives Traffic | Where You Sell |
|---|---|---|
| Your website and domain Your email list Your books and courses Your Stripe customer data Your reputation and credentials |
Pinterest — visual, evergreen LinkedIn — professional credibility Substack — loyal reader relationships Google AdSense — passive revenue Google Ads — paid amplification Events — highest conversion rate |
Your website — highest margin Stan Store — digital products Kobo Writing Life — wide reach Apple Books — Apple readers Barnes and Noble Press — US stores Live events — highest per-person revenue |
The One Rule That Overrides Everything
Stan Store can close. Substack can change its terms. Pinterest can update its algorithm. Google can revise AdSense policies. Every platform you build on belongs to someone else. Your email list and your website are the only things that belong entirely to you.
Every pin, every LinkedIn post, every Substack teaser, every event, every ad — all of it points back to your website and builds your email list. That is your business. Everything else is just a road leading there.
At the end of 90 days, you will have a real audience, a proven content system, multiple distribution channels, and the foundation for consistent revenue from work you have already written. The books exist. The website exists. The merchant processing exists. The only thing left is letting the right readers find you — and this strategy is how that happens.
"The world needs to read what you have written. Fourth grade creative writing award. Raised by a journalist. Board member. Published author. The credentials were always there. Now the world finds out."
90-Day Author
Launch Strategy
A Written Plan for Positioning, Distribution, and Revenue
Prepared exclusively for the author · April 2026
This document presents a written plan for an actively publishing author who already has a website, Stripe merchant processing, paywalled content, and membership infrastructure in place. The plan is not theoretical. It is built around the specific assets, platforms, and goals identified through direct consultation, and it assumes that the person executing it has a working knowledge of their own content, audience, and business objectives.
The strategy unfolds across three phases spanning ninety days. The first phase, covering Days 1 through 30, is dedicated entirely to infrastructure and platform setup. The second phase, covering Days 31 through 60, focuses on consistent audience-building activity and achieving the first sales. The third phase, covering Days 61 through 90, introduces paid advertising, wide distribution, and public positioning through local media and live events.
The platforms addressed in this plan include Pinterest, LinkedIn, four separate Substacks organized by content category, Stan Store, Google AdSense, Google Ads, Kobo Writing Life, Apple Books, and in-person events and meetups in the Dallas area. At no point does this strategy require Amazon, social media, or any platform that demands creative or financial control over the author's work.
Every element of this plan points toward a single outcome: building an email list and driving traffic to a website that the author owns and controls entirely. Those two assets are the foundation of a publishing business that can survive platform changes, algorithm updates, and any other disruption that affects the digital landscape.
Google AdSense Readiness
Before any phase of this strategy begins, the author's website must meet the approval standards required by Google AdSense. Google has significantly tightened these standards in 2026, and submitting an application before the site is fully prepared risks rejection and a waiting period that delays the entire monetization timeline. The correct approach is to build the site to standard first and apply once, rather than applying early and correcting afterward.
The most important requirement is original content. Google expects a minimum of fifteen to twenty-five published articles before it will approve an AdSense application, and each article should be at least eight hundred words in length, written in the author's own voice, and genuinely useful to the intended reader. The author's existing writing ability and subject matter expertise make this requirement straightforward to meet. The content simply needs to be published and organized correctly on the site before the application is submitted.
In addition to content, the website must include four essential pages: an About page, a Contact page, a Privacy Policy, and Terms and Conditions. These pages must be accessible from the site's header or footer navigation. Their absence is one of the most common reasons for AdSense rejection, and their presence signals to Google's reviewers that the site is a legitimate long-term project rather than a temporary or opportunistic one.
The site must also be hosted on a paid custom domain, load quickly on both desktop and mobile devices, have clean and intuitive navigation with no broken links, and be accessible for Google to add a verification code snippet to the HTML head section. This snippet is how Google confirms site ownership before granting approval.
One requirement deserves particular attention. The author's content spans four categories: Medical, Holistic, Theology, and Business. Google places medical and health-related content under what it calls the Your Money or Your Life classification, which represents the highest scrutiny category in its review process. All medical and holistic content must include clearly visible disclaimers stating that the material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Credible sources must be cited throughout. Failing to meet this standard will result in rejection regardless of how strong the rest of the site is. These disclaimers should be added to all relevant content before the AdSense application is submitted, which should occur no earlier than Day 25 of Phase 1.
Phase 1: Foundation and Infrastructure
Days 1 Through 30
The purpose of Phase 1 is to build every platform correctly before any promotion begins. This is not the exciting part of a launch strategy, but it is the part that determines whether everything that follows will work. An author who begins promoting before the infrastructure is in place will send traffic to incomplete pages, lose email subscribers to broken capture forms, and create a first impression that is difficult to recover from. Phase 1 eliminates those risks by ensuring that everything is ready before anything is announced.
The first platform to configure is Stan Store, which will serve as the primary digital storefront for the author's books and courses. Stan Store charges a flat monthly fee of twenty-nine dollars and takes no commission on sales, making it economically favorable compared to platforms that take a percentage of every transaction. It integrates directly with Stripe, which the author already uses, and requires no coding knowledge to operate. The setup process involves creating an account, connecting the existing Stripe account, uploading between three and six products, creating at least one free lead magnet such as a sample chapter or course preview, configuring the email capture tool, and linking the Stan Store page from the main website. Before anything is promoted, the complete purchase flow should be tested from a customer's perspective to confirm that payment processing and product delivery work correctly.
Simultaneously, the author should establish four separate Substack publications, one for each content category. The Medical Substack, the Holistic Substack, the Theology Substack, and the Business Substack each serve a distinct audience with distinct needs, and mixing content across them would dilute the trust the author is trying to build in each space. Each Substack should launch with a short introductory post that establishes the author's voice and purpose for that particular publication. No complete book chapters or full course content should appear on any Substack. The function of these publications is to build reader relationships through consistent, valuable excerpts and insights that direct interested readers back to the author's website and paid offerings.
Phase 1 Continued
LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Weekly Rhythm
LinkedIn is where the author's professional positioning will take root during Phase 1. Before any content is published on the platform, the profile itself must be complete. This means a professional photograph, a headline that clearly identifies the author as a published author and educator across their four subject areas, and an About section that communicates the author's background with specificity. The author's credentials are genuinely compelling: a fourth-grade creative writing award, a lifetime of writing practice, board membership for a college marketing and entrepreneurship program, and experience teaching others to build sustainable and globally scalable businesses. These details belong in the LinkedIn About section because they establish authority immediately and differentiate the author from the large volume of generic content that populates the platform. The profile should also include links to the website and Stan Store, and connections should grow to at least fifty relevant individuals within the first thirty days.
Pinterest should be configured as a business account rather than a personal one, a distinction that unlocks analytics and advertising features that will be needed later in the strategy. The author's website must be claimed within Pinterest's settings, which enables performance tracking and improves the distribution of pinned content. Four boards should be created corresponding to the four content categories, along with two supplementary boards covering the author's writing process and professional life. The Pinterest tag, a small piece of code, should be installed on the website to enable conversion tracking. Before Phase 1 concludes, ten pin templates should be designed in a tool like Canva using the author's book covers and course graphics. These books are described as visually stunning and designed with the care of a designer outfit, which means the covers themselves are strong marketing assets that require minimal additional design work to perform well on Pinterest.
Throughout Phase 1, the author should maintain a consistent weekly rhythm: publishing one article on the website and updating one Substack on Mondays, posting one LinkedIn piece and engaging with ten connections on Tuesdays, creating and scheduling five Pinterest pins on Wednesdays, updating a Stan Store product listing and sending one email to the growing list on Thursdays, and reviewing analytics and planning the following week's content on Fridays. This rhythm keeps every platform active without overwhelming the author's writing schedule.
Phase 2: Audience Building and First Sales
Days 31 Through 60
Phase 2 begins with every platform live and connected. The work of this phase is consistency. Platforms like Pinterest and LinkedIn do not produce immediate results. They build over time through repeated, quality activity, and the authors who benefit most from them are the ones who show up regularly rather than the ones who post heavily for a week and then disappear. The goal of Phase 2 is to establish a sustainable content rhythm across all platforms, move the first readers through the sales funnel, and achieve the first sales from the Stan Store or the website's paid content.
Understanding the sales funnel is essential to making Phase 2 work. A reader's journey from stranger to paying customer follows a predictable path. It begins with discovery, typically through a Pinterest pin or a LinkedIn post that catches the reader's attention. From there, the reader clicks through to the author's website, where they encounter either a high-quality article or a free course preview that demonstrates real expertise. If the content is compelling, the reader exchanges their email address for access to a free lead magnet. This email address is the most valuable outcome of the entire funnel because it belongs to the author permanently, regardless of what any platform does in the future. Over the following days and weeks, a sequence of emails or Substack posts delivers additional value to the reader, building trust and familiarity. When the reader is ready to buy, they do so through Stan Store or the website's paywall, with payment processed through Stripe.
Every platform decision in Phase 2 should be evaluated against this funnel. Pinterest pins should link to website content, not directly to paid products, because readers who land on the website can be captured on the email list. LinkedIn posts should end with questions that invite comments, because LinkedIn's algorithm rewards engagement and extends the reach of posts that generate conversation. Substack posts should close with links to the website, not to Stan Store directly, because the goal is to own the reader relationship through email before asking for a purchase.
During Phase 2, Pinterest activity should increase to a minimum of ten pins per week distributed across all four category boards. Quote graphics pulled from the author's books tend to perform particularly well on the platform because they are easy to repin, demonstrate intellectual depth, and carry an implicit endorsement from the person who repins them. LinkedIn posting should maintain the three-times-per-week schedule established in Phase 1, with a mix of personal insight, professional expertise, and book or course promotion. Each Substack should receive one post per week, keeping posts between four hundred and six hundred words and always directing readers toward the full content available through the author's paid channels.
Phase 2 Continued
Content Pillars and In-Person Events
The four content categories deserve individual attention in Phase 2 because each one serves a different audience with different habits and different expectations. The Medical content category operates under Google's strictest content standards and requires the most careful handling. Every post in this category must include clear disclaimers and cite credible sources, not only for AdSense compliance but because readers seeking medical information are vulnerable and deserve accurate, responsibly presented material. The author's credibility in this space comes from demonstrating thorough research and appropriate epistemic humility alongside whatever expertise they bring to the subject.
The Holistic content category is well-suited to Pinterest's visual environment and performs strongly when paired with appealing imagery related to wellness, natural health, and intentional living. This audience tends to be highly engaged on Pinterest and responds well to content that combines practical guidance with personal narrative. The author's own experience with holistic health, including the carnivore diet experiment referenced earlier, represents exactly the kind of first-person credibility that this audience values. The Theology category is perhaps the most natural fit for Substack's format, because Substack was built for thoughtful long-form writing and the theology reading audience is one of the most loyal and consistent readerships on the platform. Readers in this space subscribe to authors rather than topics, which means the author's distinct voice and perspective are the primary asset rather than any particular subject matter position. The Business category is the strongest fit for LinkedIn, where the author's board experience and expertise in helping entrepreneurs build globally scalable businesses from the ground up gives them genuine authority that the platform's professional audience will recognize and respect.
By Day 31, the author should begin planning the first in-person event in Dallas, with a target launch date of approximately Day 60. In-person events consistently produce the most loyal buyers of any channel because they create personal connection that digital content cannot replicate. People who meet an author in person and find them credible, interesting, and generous with their knowledge will buy their books, recommend them to others, and return to future events. The first event should be small, between fifteen and twenty people, hosted in a borrowed space such as a library, independent bookstore, or coffee shop, and priced between ten and twenty-five dollars to establish that the author's time and expertise have value. The primary objectives of the first event are to collect email addresses from every attendee, gather three written testimonials, and take photographs that can be used in future LinkedIn posts and Pinterest pins.
Phase 3: Amplify, Monetize, and Position
Days 61 Through 90
Phase 3 introduces elements that require the foundation of Phases 1 and 2 to work correctly. Paid advertising, wide distribution, and press outreach all perform better when the author already has a proven content library, a growing email list, and a track record of audience engagement. An author who attempts these steps without that foundation will spend money on ads that convert poorly, distribute books to readers who have no context for the author's work, and pitch publications that cannot find a credible digital presence to verify the pitch. Phase 3 is not a shortcut. It is the amplification of what has already been built.
Google Ads should be introduced conservatively during Phase 3, with a daily budget of no more than ten dollars in the first thirty days of use. The most important principle governing Google Ads at this stage is that paid traffic should only be sent to content that is already working with organic traffic. If a particular article or landing page is successfully converting organic visitors into email subscribers, paid ads can accelerate that conversion by bringing more of the right readers to the same page. If a page is not converting organically, no amount of paid traffic will fix the underlying problem. The primary metric for evaluating ad performance at this stage is cost per email subscriber, and any campaign that costs more than three dollars per subscriber should be paused and reconsidered. The goal of Google Ads in Phase 3 is not immediate revenue. It is accelerating list growth at a manageable cost so that the email list, which is the author's most durable asset, grows faster than organic activity alone would allow.
Wide distribution through Kobo Writing Life and Apple Books should begin in Phase 3 after the author has at least one proven ebook to distribute. Both platforms are free to join, pay seventy percent royalties on all sales, require no exclusivity, and together reach readers in more than one hundred ninety countries. The author should upload their best-performing ebook first, using it as a test of the market before committing the full catalog to additional distribution channels. Barnes and Noble Press is worth adding for its reach within the United States specifically. None of these platforms require the author to sacrifice pricing control, creative rights, or the customer relationships that accrue through the author's own website and email list.
Phase 3 Continued
Press Outreach, Copyright, and Long-Term Positioning
Local press outreach in Dallas is one of the most underutilized tools available to independent authors, and Phase 3 is the right time to begin it. Publications like D Magazine, the Dallas Observer, the Dallas Morning News, and Voyage Dallas regularly feature local authors and creative professionals, and a well-crafted pitch to the right editor can produce coverage that reaches an audience the author could not build on their own. The most effective approach to this outreach is through LinkedIn, where the author can identify editors and journalists by name, review their recent work to understand what kinds of stories they cover, and send a personal message that demonstrates genuine familiarity with their publication rather than a generic press release. The pitch should lead with the author's personal story rather than the books themselves, because editors are looking for human interest and the author's story — raised by a journalist who covered major crimes and national controversies, writing in four distinct content areas, building a publishing business independently — is genuinely compelling material.
Copyright registration is a practical necessity that should be completed during Phase 3, before the author's work achieves wide distribution. The common belief that copyright protection is automatic upon creation is technically true but practically incomplete. While unregistered work is legally protected, pursuing infringement in court without a registered copyright is prohibitively expensive and often unsuccessful. Registration with the United States Copyright Office, which currently costs approximately forty-five dollars per single work submitted online, grants the author the right to statutory damages and attorney fees in an infringement case. This makes it economically feasible to defend the work if someone reproduces it without permission. Given that the author's books are visually distinctive, professionally formatted, and distributed across multiple digital platforms, registration is a prudent investment. All completed works should be registered before wide distribution begins, and a formal copyright page should appear inside every book file.
YouTube represents an optional long-term addition to the strategy that should not be pursued until the systems from Phases 1 and 2 are running smoothly and producing consistent results. The platform builds authority over time and produces content that ranks in Google search, but it demands consistent effort and does not generate fast results for new channels. If the author chooses to add YouTube during Phase 3, one video per week on a topic related to the author's four subject areas is a sustainable starting point. Every video should direct viewers to the website and Stan Store in the description, maintaining the same principle that applies across every other platform: all roads lead back to the email list and the website.
The Foundation Principle
Every decision in this strategy rests on a single principle: the author's email list and website are the only assets in this plan that cannot be taken away. Stan Store is a platform operated by a company that could close, change its terms, or alter its pricing at any time. Substack is a platform with its own business interests that may or may not align with the author's long-term goals. Pinterest, LinkedIn, Kobo, Apple Books, and every other platform mentioned in this plan are tools — useful, sometimes essential, but ultimately controlled by parties other than the author. The email list is different. It belongs to the author regardless of what any platform does. It can be exported, migrated to any email service provider, and used to reach readers directly without asking permission from any third party. The website, hosted on the author's own domain, carries the same permanence. These two assets are the business. Everything else is infrastructure that serves them.
This principle has practical implications for how every platform in this plan should be used. No pin, post, Substack entry, event, or advertisement should be designed to keep the reader on that platform. Every piece of content should create a clear path back to the author's website and, from there, to the email list. An author who builds a large Pinterest following but fails to capture those readers on an email list is building an asset that Pinterest owns. An author who builds a large Substack following but fails to direct those subscribers to the website is building an asset that Substack owns. The goal is not followers. The goal is email addresses and website visitors who can be served directly.
This strategy was written for an author who has already demonstrated the clarity of thinking, the business knowledge, and the creative ability required to execute it. The books exist. The website exists. The merchant processing exists. The paywalls and memberships exist. The four content categories are defined and the writing is already done. The only remaining work is consistent, systematic execution of the platform strategy outlined in these pages so that the readers who need this author's work can find it.
At the end of ninety days, the author should have a functioning content machine across multiple platforms, a growing email list that belongs entirely to them, proven distribution channels that do not require Amazon or any other platform that extracts control in exchange for reach, and the foundation for a publishing business that grows with every book published and every reader who discovers the work. The credentials were always there. The writing was always there. Now the strategy is there too.