Hey, you weirdo!

I’m glad you’re here.

What you’ll be getting with this newsletter:

• Weirder
• A free ebook
• Marketing tips
• Writing and editing resources
• Snippets of my sci-fi books
• Sneak peeks of my erotic queer sci-fi, Decadent Plague
• New content twice a month

1. What's the name of the psychics who can predict crimes in 'Minority Report'?

2. The 1933 movie 'The Invisible Man' is based on a book by what author?

3. What crime-riddled city serves as the setting for the 1987 movie 'RoboCop'?

Remember your answers. The truth'll be revealed at the end ;)

Marketing often feels like a dirty word, especially to us writers.

Talk to our fellow humans? Step a foot out from under our favorite rock?

"Nope. Love my granite."

It doesn't have to be like this: dread and avoidance. Marketing can be fun, and we can do it!

Tip #1: Find the kind of marketing you like

There are tons of types.

• Love writing short content? Blog.
• Don't wanna show your face? Podcast.
• Got a wicked personality? YouTube yourself.
• Know how to twerk? Start a Booktok.
• Enjoy posting pics? Hello, Bookstagram.
• Try one of these for a few months. See if you like it.

I like X and YouTube. Can't twerk, so TikTok was out. Oh well, I probably would've broken my butt anyway.

Ask yourself: Can I see myself doing this for a long time? Is it fun?

If not, try something else.

Photo by Bjorn Snelders on Unsplash

Tip#2: Write evergreen content

Instead of focusing on a particular day or year, create info that'll be relevant for years. The dubstep may be out of style, but your content doesn't have to follow it.

Example title: Five Simple Ways To Make Sure Your Sci-Fi's World Is Consistent

Tip#3: Focus on helping, not asking

This is big. Marketing is connecting with people. Instead of focusing on how much you can get, obsess over how much you can give.

You don't have to know everything. It doesn't have to be perfect. Someone always knows less than you.

Help often and consistently, and your audience will grow naturally.

• Share what you're learning
• Write about your problems and how you solved them
• Like people's stuff. Comment with helpful information
• Support others in your space (Love sci-fi? Focus on sci-fi folx)

Photo by Anete Lūsiņa on Unsplash

Tip #4: Getting technical here

If you've got a website, check your site speed.

Do you know who doesn't like slow websites? Snails. Ha, ha, kidding!

They probably don't, but we know people don't. When your site loads slowly, people go. Fast.

Google's recommended loading times

• Desktop, less than 2 seconds
• Mobile, less than 1 second

So, your website should show content fast, not buffer.

Here are a few ways to make your site faster

• Compress images (In WordPress, I use WP-Optimize)
• Use as few plugins and third-party scripts as possible

Places to test your site speed

• PageSpeed Insights
• Pingdom
• webpagetest dot org

These sites give you detailed information to make your site faster.

A faster site can:

• give your readers a better experience
• possibly boost your SEO (search engine optimization) ranking on Google
• raise your page views

Photo by Thomas Bormans on Unsplash

Tip #5: Be yourself

There isn't— and never will be— another glorious you.

• Don't be afraid to let your humor out. It hates being locked up
• Add your personal experiences
• Write in your voice

People want to care about you. They want to know you. They want to see what you believe in. They want to root for you.

Post the weird stuff. We're all weirdos. We pretend we're not because we get scared no one'll love us for ourselves.

Not true.

So, remember… Unlike moist, marketing isn't a dirty word. Share what you're passionate about. Help others a ton.

More marketing tips every week.

BONUS tip

Goodreads Reviewers' Groups is an awesome place to find reviewers for your book. There’s tons of rabid humans waiting to read and review your work, no matter the genre.

Are you struggling to capture the attention of your readers? Have you browsed hundreds of books and still cannot find the balance between showing and telling?

If this sounds familiar, Well Wishes from a Prompt is the book you need—in a format you have not encountered. 

A mixture of education, entertainment, and thought-provoking questions, you will learn to write better while sitting back and enjoying short stories from various genres.

Click image to read the first chapter!

1. PRECOGS

  2. H.G. WELLS

  3. DETROIT

So, how'd you do?

Awesome :D

Meh :|

Thought I knew more. Welp, I learned something :)

Be well,

Deon Ashleigh 👽

Don't forget to safe list mail@deonashleigh.com! When you do, my newsletter, Sci-fi With That Weirdo, Deon, won't go to your spam folder.

If you don't know how to safe list an email address, you can find instructions here. If you have Gmail, all you have to do is add me to your contacts.

Get more on my website!