65 | 5 Signs Another Christian Writer's Marketing Strategy Isn't Right for You

Ever tried a marketing strategy because it was working for someone else… only to feel drained, behind, and totally out of your depth a few weeks later?

Yep. Been there.

In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 clear signs a marketing strategy might not be right for you — even if it’s producing results for another Christian writer. Because the online author world is loud, and it’s so easy to start chasing what’s “working”… instead of discerning what’s actually yours in this season.

We’ll talk about anxiety, comparison, dread, feeling inauthentic, and the BIG one: when marketing starts pulling you away from writing.

I’ll also share a simple filter I call The Peace Test so you can stop second-guessing every decision and start moving forward with clarity (and peace).

If you’re a Christian writer trying to grow your author platform, market your books, build your email list, and do it in a way that doesn’t steal your peace — you’re in the right place.

👉 Listen now to uncover the secret to becoming an anointed scribe!

Mentioned in this episode:

❤️‍🔥 Clarity Quiz: https://bit.ly/AnointedScribe-Quiz

❤️‍🔥 The Revive to Thrive Way™: AnointedScribe.com/ReviveToThrive

Transcript

Have you ever jumped into a marketing strategy because everyone said it was working,

only to feel completely drained a few weeks later?

Maybe you started posting on a platform you didn't enjoy.

Maybe you launched an email funnel that felt too complicated. Maybe you tried running ads when deep down something felt off about the timing and you kept pushing because you thought, well, it's working for them,

so I should make it work too.

But then you ended up exhausted, overwhelmed, and wondering what's wrong with you?

I've certainly been their friend,

and here's what I want you to know today.

Just because someone else is doing it does not mean you should do it to.

And I know that's hard to accept because the online author world is loud.

Everyone has a strategy,

everyone has a method.

Everyone swears this is what's working right now.

And if you're not careful, you end up feeling behind,

like all the time, right?

Then you start chasing, you start copying.

You start jumping into marketing strategies that aren't right for you.

And then you wonder why you are drained, overwhelmed, and doubting yourself.

So here's the question I want to answer.

How do you know whether a marketing strategy is actually your next step or just a distraction that looks like wisdom?

Because once you can answer that question with confidence,

everything changes. You stop second guessing every decision.

You stop feeling guilty for saying no.

You stop comparing your process to everyone else's,

and you finally get to move forward with peace instead of pressure.

And I'm going to share a really simple filter that you can use this week to help you discern the difference so you can build your author business without burning out.

So if you're a Christian writer trying to grow your author platform,

market your books, build your email list, and do it in a way that doesn't steal your peace,

you're in the right place.

This is the Anointed Scribe Podcast.

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

When I wrote my first novel on a bucket list whimsical, 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.

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.

This is the podcast for Christian writers and authors where we talk about ways to grow a successful author business while also growing your relationship with God.

So if this is your first time here, let me officially welcome you to the Anointed Scribe Tribe.

If you feel a little stuck or confused about your next steps,

or perhaps why you're not further along in your author life,

you'll find a handy free quiz in the show notes which will help you recognize what's blocking you from moving forward and how to break through it.

All right, let's get into today's episode,

which is about something I definitely struggled with before I implemented the three shifts I now teach you in my Revive to Thrive Way program.

We're talking about discernment and how to know if a particular book marketing strategy is right for you.

But first, I want to say this really clearly. Discernment isn't a super spiritual thing. It's not this mysterious, dramatic thing where you have to wait for lightning to strike and a sign to appear in the clouds, right?

Discernment is simply wisdom. It's biblical wisdom, too. It's the ability to judge. Well,

discernment is also a business skill because as an author,

you are constantly making decisions, right?

Should I run ads or not?

Should I run Facebook ads or Amazon ads? Should I be on TikTok? Is it evil? Will it drain me?

Should I do a BookBub feature deal? Should I build my email list or focus on writing and publishing faster?

Should I do Kindle Unlimited or should I go wide? Should I. Should I write in this genre or that one? The list is endless, right?

And it seems as the publishing industry grows, there are more and more options thrown at us daily.

And here's what I've learned in the eight years that I've done self publishing.

The enemy isn't that you don't have options.

The enemy is that you have too many.

And if you don't learn how to discern what's yours in this season,

you could end up doing the wrong thing altogether, right? Which not only leaves you burnt out,

but it also leaves you out of alignment with a plan God has for you.

So why is discernment so hard? Why do we skip it? Why do we just follow the herd? Well,

one of the biggest reasons is that copying feels tempting.

It feels like a shortcut when you see someone online saying,

this one strategy doubled my income or this One tweak blew up my subscriber list. Or this one reel went viral.

This one promo made me five figures.

Well, it's really hard not to think, okay, then I should do that. And then there's pressure and you do it quickly.

And listen, I'm not saying that their strategies won't work.

Sometimes those strategies are absolutely legitimate and they do work.

But here's the problem with just blindly following what someone else is doing.

You are usually seeing someone else's success without seeing their season,

without seeing how much time they have or how big their backlist is. We don't know those figures.

Or whether they enjoy doing what they're doing on that particular platform, or whether they have support,

whether they are in a sprint season or a rest season,

whether they have the budget in place for doing that promotion. We don't know their backstory, full stop.

So you copy the method, but you don't have the grace for the method, and then it drains you.

What I've learned is that when something is truly mine in this season,

there's usually provision and peace attached to it.

Not always instant, not always perfect.

But I'm not fighting my way into it, right? I'm not forcing it to happen.

And I want to pause here for a second because I think this is really important for us as Christian writers to understand.

When God calls you to do something, he equips you for it.

The resources show up, the time becomes available,

the doors open in unexpected ways.

You might still have to work hard, but you're not constantly hitting walls or feeling like you're swimming upstream. Right?

That's what grace on something actually looks like.

It doesn't mean it's always easy.

It doesn't mean you won't face challenges.

But there's a flow to it, a rightness to it.

Even when it stretches you, there's the sense of, okay, I can do this. I can totally do this.

Versus, when you're trying to force a strategy that isn't yours,

everything feels harder than it should.

The learning curve feels impossible.

The time required feels unreasonable.

Your energy drains faster than you can replenish it.

And friend, that's not a sign that you are failing. That's often a sign that you are working outside of your assignment, outside of what God's wanting you to do in this season, where you are at right now.

Okay, so before I start preaching and going too much into the word, let me make this super practical for you. Today,

I've narrowed it down to five signs that a strategy might not be right. For you, even if it works for other people.

Sign number one.

If a strategy makes you anxious,

not nervous because it's new,

but anxious. Anxious in a way where you can't breathe.

You dread creating social media posts, or you dread learning how to do TikTok, or you dread looking at the Facebook ads dashboard because you have no idea what you're doing.

So being anxious is not always a sign you should stop,

but it is a sign you should pay attention.

Sign number two. It makes you compare.

If a strategy fuels comparison, it will usually steal your peace.

I'm going to say that again. If a strategy fuels comparison,

it will usually steal your peace. And comparison is not a neutral thing.

It always turns into discouragement.

Working harder, striving,

rushing, working under pressure, or even worse, quite quitting.

The third sign is it requires you to be inauthentic. Listen, friend. If you have to become a different version of yourself to do something,

it's probably not wise to pursue it.

If you feel like you have to act louder or be more dramatic or be more polished or be more salesy, whatever it is, that's a red flag. Be yourself. Be authentic.

Sign number four. It produces dread, that heavy shoulder dropping feeling.

If your whole body is saying no to something, friend,

pay attention and listen.

Because not every no is necessarily fear.

Sometimes that dreaded feeling is actually wisdom.

And the fifth and final sign you should pay attention to is this.

It constantly pulls you away from your writing. This is a big one for us authors. If a marketing strategy consumes you so much that you stop writing,

it's not a strategy, it's a distraction.

Because your books are the foundation of everything. If you stop writing, you have nothing to sell.

Marketing should support your writing life, not destroy it. Right now I want to talk about something we don't discuss enough in the author world. And that's the hidden cost of ignoring these warning signs.

Because here's what happens when you push through despite all these red flags. You don't just lose time or money.

You lose something far more valuable.

You lose trust in yourself.

You lose trust in God. You. You start second guessing every decision. You wonder if maybe you're not cut out for this. You wonder if you were really called for this.

You start believing the lie that everyone else has figured it out except you.

It's that whole woe to me thing, right?

And spiritually, you start questioning if God really called you to right in the first place. You wonder if you heard him wrong. You feel destined from him because you're so consumed with trying to make Something work that was never actually meant for you in the first place.

That's the real cost, not the failed ad campaign or the wasted hours or social media.

It's the erosion of confidence,

peace, and connection with God and friend that's too high a price to pay for chasing someone else's strategy.

Now let's talk about signs that tell you that you should pursue something.

This is the green light signs. I've come up with four of these. Number one,

you feel steady and in control. You don't feel frantic or panicked or pressured.

You feel anchored,

even if it's a stretch.

The second sign is you feel peace, even if it's something completely unfamiliar. Notice I'm saying peace,

not comfort. Peace. There's a difference.

Comfort says, oh, it's a piece of cake. I already know how to do this.

Peace says,

I don't know how to do this. But you know what? I'm not scared.

The third sign is it aligns with your season. This matters so much because there are many seasons we go through as Christian writers.

Some seasons are writing seasons.

Some seasons are building seasons. Others are healing seasons or rest seasons.

And then you get those visibility seasons and simplification seasons. We have endless seasons coming up, and we rotate through them. And if you try to run, for example, a big visibility strategy in a season where God is calling you to slow down,

it will absolutely feel heavy.

Sign number four. The strategy supports your writing life.

A good strategy gives you clarity and direction.

It doesn't consume your mind 247 and keeps you up at night. Right?

It doesn't leave you exhausted. It supports your creativity. It keeps you showing up consistently,

not necessarily perfectly.

Okay, I promised you a simple filter you can use this week, so here it is.

Let's keep it simple and let's just call it the peace test.

Before you commit to a marketing strategy, you need to ask yourself these three questions. Okay, number one. Question number one.

Is there grace on this meaning? Does it feel supported?

Do doors open?

Does it flow? Do you feel it resonates with your spirit?

Do you feel an inner relief? Do you know what you know what? You know that this is the door you need to walk through right now?

Second,

do you feel pulled or do you feel led? It's important to know the difference.

Pulled feels frantic,

panicked,

derived from feeling behind like you're always behind,

or that you're having FOMO to be led feels steady,

calm,

joyful, lighter and happier and clearer.

Third,

ask yourself if you are trying to prove something.

That question has saved me from so many unnecessary Detours.

Because sometimes we're not choosing a strategy because it's the wise thing to do in that season.

We choosing it because we want to feel validated or impressive or ahead or successful enough. It comes from a place of self and pride.

But here's the thing I need you to remember, friend. You don't have to prove anything.

You know, there's a song that Shania Twain sang back in the. When is it? 1990s.

And it said, you don't impress me much. Well,

God says, you don't impress me much. You don't need to prove anything because guess what? I called you. You're already called.

So stop proving yourself. I know what you're worth. I know what you're capable of.

You don't have anything to prove right now. I know some of you might be thinking, okay, but what if I stop? Still don't know. What if I ask these questions and I look at these signs and I'm still uncertain?

Here's what I want you to do when you're in that space.

And this is what I do. I wait. Not forever, but I give it time.

My grandmother used to say, sleep on it.

So sleep on it.

Even if it's a day or a week or whatever, sleep on it. If you are rushed to pull the trigger, so to speak,

then it means that you're working from pressure. So if it's meant for you, trust me, whatever that marketing strategy is, we'll wait. It'll be there. That special price, it'll be there for you if it's meant for you.

Okay? So give it some time and just wait.

If something truly is from God, the clarity will come, the peace will settle over it. The provision will show up.

And if it doesn't,

that's often God's way of protecting you from a detour.

Because here's something I've learned. God is not playing hide and seek with your calling, friend. He's not trying to confuse you or make things harder than it needs to be.

If he wants you to do something, he will make it crystal clear. You'll know.

So if you're sitting in an uncertainty right now, that's okay. Don't rush into something just because everyone else seems to be moving.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is pause,

pray, and wait for clarity.

You'll know.

You'll know if it resonates with your spirit. Right?

In the meantime, focus on what you know for sure. And that is to write your books,

serve your readers,

steward what's already in front of you.

Okay, so I want to leave you with this Today.

You're allowed to build slower.

There's nothing chasing you.

You're allowed to build differently.

And you're allowed to say no.

You don't have to chase every trend.

You don't have to copy every author who seems like they've figured it all out.

Because here's the beauty in where you are right now.

You get to build your author business in a way that protects your peace,

protects your creativity, your family, your health,

and most importantly,

your relationship with God.

If something pulls you away from your relationship with God, if it's pulling you away from your quiet time with God or connecting with God,

pay attention.

It is not the right strategy for you.

Because the goal isn't to build a big business that drains you and separates you from God. The goal is to build a sustainable writing life that gives you peace,

freedom, and joy.

And I can tell you something. When you finally stop chasing what everyone else is doing and start building what God has specifically for you,

something shifts.

You stop feeling behind you Stop feeling inadequate. You stop feeling like you have to prove yourself. Instead,

you start feeling aligned, focused, and at peace with your unique path and that freedom.

That's when your best work happens. That's when you show up consistently without burning out. That's when you walk around with a permanent smile on your face.

That's when you build something that actually lasts.

Now, here's another thing I want you to know today. You don't have to keep doing this on your own.

You don't have to keep trying to force growth through pressure.

You don't have to keep second guessing every decision.

And you don't have to figure out what marketing strategies are yours and which ones aren't through trial and error and burnout.

Because if right now you're thinking all of what I said, yeah, you can resonate with, yes, that's me. I need this kind of clarity. I need the focus. I need to know where I'm going.

I'm exhausted from choosing the wrong strategies and ending up drained and out of step with God.

Then I want to invite you very gently, no pressure, to check out my Revive to Thrive Way program.

Because I was there. I was that author. And God revealed these shifts to me, and it changed everything for me.

This is the program where I teach you those three foundational shifts that changed the way I write, the way I publish me as a Christian writer,

and it deepened my relationship with God. I grew with God. I grew in my business, and I grew with God.

It's a fully spirit led experience that gave me clarity, peace, confidence,

a deeper relationship with God.

It also grew my income because I was finally aligned with what God had for me instead of chasing what everyone else was doing.

And here's what I also love about this program. It's not a hustle program.

It's entirely self paced. In fact,

it's God paced.

It's going at God speed. It's as the Holy Spirit will lead you through these shifts and it'll help you apply the kind of discernment filter we talked about here today.

Not just once,

but in every decision and in every season of your author business.

If you're interested and if you're feeling a little nudge right now, then you can learn more@anointedscribe.com revivetothrive the link is also in the show notes. No pressure, just an invitation.

Just an open door.

All right friend, thank you for spending time with me today. Keep writing,

stay rooted, and remember,

for such a time as this,

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

I'll see you back here next week friend. Before I let you go, if you found today's episode helpful, please consider subscribing and leaving a review.

You know firsthand the impact this has on discovery. 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, stay sign up to my monthly 5 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.