34 | My Top 5 Christian Book Marketing Strategies That Actually Work

Tired of choosing between book sales and your faith? This episode changes everything.

Every Christian author faces the same brutal tension: You want to sell more books and build a profitable author business, but you refuse to compromise your values or become another pushy marketer screaming "buy my book."

What if I told you that's a false choice?

In this episode, I'm revealing my personal top 5 marketing strategies that have generated real results over my 8 years of indie publishing—strategies that actually work BETTER because they're rooted in Kingdom principles, not worldly tactics.

You'll discover:

• Why "email marketing with soul" gets higher open rates than traditional sales pitches
• The lead magnet strategy that attracts loyal readers (not freebie hunters)
• How to use social media without feeling like a desperate salesperson
• Why consistent presence beats launch panic every single time
• The faith-infused launch approach that transforms sales events into ministry opportunities

Plus: The 3 discernment questions that will help you choose which strategies align with YOUR calling (because what works for others might not be God's best for you).

Stop believing the lie that you have to choose between faithfulness and profitability. In God's economy, the strategies that honor Him are the ones that work best.

Ready to market your books with integrity AND see real results? Hit play now.

Resources mentioned:

Episode 22: 5 Steps to Discern the Right Marketing Strategies

Transcript

What is working in book marketing right now?

I feel like this is the question burning in every author's mind.

Because, let's be honest,

we want to sell more books, right?

You want to make more money from your writing, but as a Christian authority, you also don't want to compromise your faith or feel like a sleazy salesperson in the process.

I get it. I've been there.

That tension between wanting commercial success and staying true to your calling. It's real and it's exhausting.

Well,

what if I told you that you don't have to choose?

What if the marketing strategies that honor God are actually the ones that sell the most books?

In today's episode, I'm sharing my personal top five marketing strategies that have generated real results in my nearly eight years of indie publishing.

Strategies that increased my sales while deepening my faith.

These aren't feel good platitudes.

These are practical, proven tactics that work because they are rooted in Kingdom principles.

My only regret is that I didn't start using them sooner.

So if you are ready to stop choosing between faithfulness and profitability and find out what I use in my own author business,

you might want to grab your notebook, friend.

This is episode 34.

I'm Urcelia Teixeira, ex real estate agent turned award winning Christian fiction author.

When I wrote my first novel on a bucket list whim, I had no idea it would spark a spiritual journey that would redefine my calling. But you know what friend?

Self publishing wasn't easy. I got caught in the hustle chasing rankings and sales while desperately trying to stay rooted in Christ.

Now, by God's grace, I'm building my author business his way. And now he's called me to help you do the same, saying,

welcome to the Anointed Scribe Podcast where faith meets business for Christian writers. Let's write, publish and grow our author business God's way. Are you ready? Well then, let's get started.

Hey, it's your author friend, Urcelia. And welcome back to the Anointed Scribe Podcast.

As always, I am so grateful you're here sharing your time with me, friend.

If you're a regular listener and follower,

thanks for choosing to be here each week. You are awesome and I absolutely love hearing from you. So thanks for sharing your triumphs and struggles with me.

I will tell you, it's sometimes really hard to be on this side of the microphone not seeing if any of what I'm sharing each week lands well or has any impact.

So if it weren't for all your emails and messages. I'd probably be really despondent because I'm a very results driven individual,

which just makes me having to trust God more. Right?

Anyway, thanks for the boost and encouragement. And of course, if you are new here,

let me officially welcome you to the Anointed Scribe Tribe.

May today's episode be a huge blessing to you, and I pray that it speaks to your author, season and situation at exactly the right time God intended it to okay, so let's get started because today's episode is about a question I keep hearing everywhere I go lately.

And I mean everywhere.

In Facebook groups, on my author membership loops, in my DMs, even in casual conversations with fellow authors. And it's this one what's working in book marketing right now.

And of course it's top of mind because I feel like it's really hard to break into the market right now as more and more books are getting published every single day.

And standing out in a crowded space space takes a lot of effort.

Frankly, it's sometimes an uphill battle for me too. But I also know that I'm not the only one clambering for a piece of the publishing pie.

Just this week,

someone posted this exact question in the ACFW community.

And honestly, it got me thinking.

Because here's the thing,

when we ask what's working,

we're usually looking for those magic bullet tactics, those viral strategies, those quick wins that promise to skyrocket our book sales overnight.

And if I'm being honest, I'm not sure that actually exists anymore.

See, I think as Christian authors, perhaps we need to be asking a different question entirely.

Instead of what's working,

maybe we should be asking what's fruitful, faithful and sustainable in this season.

Because there's a big difference between worldly success and kingdom impact.

The way the world sees and measures marketing success isn't necessarily how we should be measuring it, right?

In the secular world, it's all about the bottom line,

profit. Whereas kingdom writers success becomes more about impact and purpose and being faithful to our calling, isn't it?

At least that's how I see it. Successful marketing depends on so many things like genre, your target market, your budget, your message. It's impossible to measure success under the same industry umbrella.

The world defines marketing success by likes,

viral launches,

six figure book deals, and fast roi.

And listen, there's nothing wrong with success.

God wants us to be good stewards and to thrive.

But when those metrics become our measuring stick, we can find ourselves chasing after things that leave us empty and Burnt out.

Ask me. I've been there.

As Christian authors, we have to ask ourselves a different what is God calling me to steward? Well,

in this season?

Because here's what I've learned through my own journey. It's not just about the results we see.

It's about the rest,

obedience and impact that might not show up in our analytics, but absolutely shows up in eternity.

I was reading Colossians 3:23 this morning during my quiet time, and it hit me fresh when it said,

whatever you do,

work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord,

not for human masters.

See, Paul wasn't talking about ministry here. He was talking about whatever we do,

which includes our book marketing.

So when we refrain the question from what's working to what's fruitful, faithful and sustainable in this season,

everything changes, right?

We stop chasing every shiny marketing strategy and start asking God to show us the path that aligns with his heart for our ministry.

This doesn't mean we become passive or lazy with our marketing.

It means we become intentional.

We become prayerful. We become strategic in a way that honors both the gift God has given us and the readers he's called us to serve.

And here's the beautiful thing.

When we approach marketing from this place of of faith and obedience,

we often see better results than when we're striving and hustling.

Because God blesses the work of our hands when we surrender it to Him.

So today I'm pulling back the curtain to share what I've learned. Works for Christian authors of all genres right now.

Not just the tactics that might boost your numbers, but strategies that are honor God,

serve your readers well, and actually sell more books.

And these are ideas you can take and implement today,

knowing that it has both impact and is rooted in the faith first thinking that keeps Christ at the center of our author business.

In fact, these are my personal top five strategies I have benefited from the most in my nearly eight years of indie publishing,

and they are working beautifully for Christian authors right now. And more importantly, I'm sharing why they work from both a marketing and kingdom perspective.

So if you've got your notebook handy, grab it now because you might want to start jotting a few things down here. All right, so let's get into it.

First up,

email marketing with soul. Now, I know, I know you've heard email is king a million times.

But what's working now isn't just any email marketing.

It's emails that read like letters to a friend,

not sales pitches.

I'm seeing Christian authors with incredible open rates because they're writing emails that offer encouragement behind the scenes, glimpses into their writing life and relatable stories about faith and writing struggles.

They're also including soft, intentional calls to action that feel like invitations rather than demands.

And here's why this works so well.

People are craving authentic connection in our increasingly digital world.

When your email feels personal and genuine, you're not just building a mailing list, you're building relationships. And relationships are the foundation of everything we do as Christian authors.

Plus, when people feel genuinely cared for rather than sold to, they naturally want to support you and share your work with others.

It's the difference between having customers and having a community of readers who become your biggest champions.

Here's your action step.

Include a reader spotlight in your emails.

Share how your book impacted someone.

Add a short scripture reflection that ties to your book's theme.

Write like you're talking to your best friend over coffee.

I encourage you to put it to the test. I did and it works.

Take your most recent email and subject line and rewrite it using a conversational tone.

Then resend it to the people who didn't open the first email and then compare your results.

You might actually be surprised at the difference.

Next, let's talk about lead magnets. But before you tune out. Not the usual free ebook or workbook lead magnet. I'm talking about lead magnets that actually minister to people.

And here's why this works so well.

It's not just a freebie that focuses on growing your list. Because honestly, I'm not convinced that this works these days anymore.

Readers are savvy and they're signing up to get your freebie and then instantly unsubscribe.

But if you offer a lead magnet that offers valuable, meaningful content that connects with your faith based readers and meets a real need, thank you. They'll be more likely to stick around.

The best lead magnets I'm seeing right now and use myself are things like seven day devotionals tied to your novel's theme,

prayers for writers, downloads, or a first in series novella that has a spiritual thread running through it.

These draw in the right readers people who actually want what you're offering, not just freebie seekers.

So here's your action step.

Ask yourself,

what does my ideal reader need help with spiritually or emotionally?

Create a small solution that meets that need and points them toward the deeper themes in your books.

Now strategy number three is huge, friend, and it will go against your natural default to talk about yourself and and your books rather than posting about yourself or just your books all the time.

A strategy that's working for me right now is shifting to a reader focused lens.

Your content should invite engagement through questions, polls, and this or that posts.

Share your relatable faith struggles not in a way that makes you the victim, but in a way that shows God's favorite faithfulness.

The goal is building a reader community,

not just a following.

I don't know about you, but I don't want fans. In fact, I hate referring to my readers as fans. And I don't use the word hate lightly.

I don't want people to see me.

I want them to see Jesus through all I do and write. And that's the point I'm trying to make with this strategy.

I love seeing Christian authors post things like what's one way God surprised you with his goodness this week?

Or sharing a picture of their writing space with a caption. This is where the magic happens. And by magic I mean lots of coffee and prayers for wisdom.

Where do you feel closest to God? Isn't that just beautiful?

See, as Kingdom authors, it's never about us, is it? It's always about God and service.

So here's your action step.

Brainstorm five social media posts that show empathy, offer value,

and ask questions tied to your book's themes.

Make your readers feel seen,

not sold to.

Strategy number four is consistent presence over launch panic.

Here's something that might surprise you. What's working is isn't a big promotional push every time you launch a book.

It's small, steady, faithful presence in between releases.

Consistent showing up builds trust, authority, and readiness for your next book.

Your readers start to know, like, and trust you not just as an author,

but as a person of faith they want to journey with.

Think about it this way.

Would you rather hear from someone only when they're selling something or from someone who's been faithfully showing up, encouraging you and sharing their heart? Regularly focus on building relationships and steer clear of the salesman Persona.

So your action step here is to create a simple weekly rhythm you can repeat consistently.

Something like one email one Encouraging social media post one one behind the scenes story.

That's enough.

Don't overwhelm yourself or your readers. The key is to be consistent and to be real.

Okay, our final strategy is putting a whole new spin on book marketing.

Next time you do a book launch,

include prayer and scripture with your launch.

Christian authors are seeing beautiful results when they plan launches that include prayer,

scripture, and reader participation in this spiritual journey.

This isn't about being preachy in your marketing it's about being authentic, about the God who inspired your story.

Pray through your launch plan.

Invite a prayer team to support you. Use a theme verse throughout your promotional content.

I've seen authors ask their readers to pray for specific aspects of their book's impact or to share how God used the story in their lives.

It transforms a book launch from a sales event into a ministry opportunity.

So here's your action step.

Choose a theme verse for your next launch and weave it naturally through your promotional content.

Let it be the heartbeat that guides your entire campaign.

Okay, so these were my top five book marketing strategies. But now here's the thing, dear friend,

Even with all these strategies,

not everything will fit every author or every season.

Before you dive into implementing any of these,

I want you to ask yourself three discernment questions.

Question 1 Is this aligned with your calling and your readers needs?

Just because something works for one author doesn't mean it's God's best for you.

Pray about it. Seek his guidance.

Question 2 is this something you can do with joy and consistency?

Because if a strategy makes you feel anxious or overwhelmed, it might not be the right fit for this season.

Park it for now and revisit it at a later stage.

God doesn't call us to marketing strategies that steal our peace.

Question three to ask yourself, Am I doing this from a place of faith or fear?

Marketing from fear leads to desperation and pushy tactics that turn readers away.

Marketing from faith leads to genuine connection and kingdom impact.

Remember,

oftentimes what works in the traditional publishing industry doesn't always work in indie publishing. They speak to the masses while we have the chance to speak directly to our readers on a one on one basis.

Stay anchored in God's voice, not the noise of what everyone else is doing.

Friend, I want to leave you with this encouragement.

Marketing doesn't have to feel like striving.

God has equipped you with everything you need for this season of your author journey.

Trust him in it.

You don't need to implement every strategy we talked about today. In fact, please don't pick just one,

the one that resonated most deeply with your spirit, and commit to doing it faithfully for the next 90 days.

Let God show you how he wants to use it in your specific way. Calling as Galatians 6:9 reminds us,

Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. I'm preaching to myself today with that verse.

Your faithful, consistent efforts matter more than you know.

God sees every email you Send with love.

Every social media post that encourages someone,

every prayer you breathe over your marketing efforts, he's going to use your obedience in ways you can't even imagine.

Don't get overwhelmed by the plethora of marketing tools and strategies either.

The social media algorithms shove them down your throat. So do not get tripped up by it.

Take a step back and pray about it. It's vital to your peace and bottom line because we can very easily be convinced to follow the masses.

Practice discernment. And if you'd like, help discerning your next best marketing step. I recorded an entire episode on it, so do go Back to episode 22 that's titled Five Steps to Discern the Right Marketing Strategies for your Author Business.

If you've heard it before, go back re listen to it.

I'll leave a link to it in the episode description.

There's also an entire Google folder full of free resources to help you with some of the daily tasks. Again, the link is in the show description.

Friend, you don't have to figure this all out alone. That's why we have community.

If nothing else,

we can pray for each other.

So let me leave you with this final thought.

The marketing strategies that feel most foreign to your flesh,

the ones that require you to serve before you sell,

to give before you get,

to love before you leverage.

Those are exactly the strategies that will set you apart in a marketplace drowning in desperation and noise while everyone else is screaming, buy my book.

You get to whisper,

let me serve you. And watch as God multiplies your impact beyond anything you could manufacture on your own.

See, the world taught us that we have to choose between integrity and income,

between faithfulness and financial success.

But God's economy doesn't work that way.

In his kingdom, the last become first,

the servant becomes the leader, and the one who loses their life finds it.

Your willingness to market differently isn't just changing your business,

it's changing you and that transformation.

That's the real profit.

Friend, before I let you go, I want you to use the Send me a message link in the show notes and let me know where you need God to show up for you today so I can pray for you.

It's 100% anonymous. I can't see your name or your email or your phone number.

I can't even reply to you. But I can read your request and I can pray for you. So I encourage you to use this feature to send me a private message to let me know what you are struggling with right now so we can come together and take this to the Lord in prayer.

And if you found today's episode helpful, please consider subscribing and leaving a review.

You know firsthand the impact this has on discovery. So. So please help me get this show into more listeners ears. I have a mission and I cannot do it without you.

Oh, and if you want more tips outside of the show, sign up to my monthly five minute manna emails. The link is in the show notes. Okay, so that's it for today's show.

Thank you for listening. And remember, for such a time as this,

you have been called to thrive as God's anointed scribe.