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Welcome to Season 6 of The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson, where we give you information you can immediately implement to increase your influence and market your books more successfully.
In today’s episode, Becky is joined by author and poet Marla Taviano, who shares how her authentic online presence—one that embraces imperfection and interaction—has resonated with her followers. She explains her creative process, how she builds strong and genuine connections with her audience, and the significance of sharing her personal journey while uplifting other voices in her space.
Key Points From This Episode:
[01:53] Marla shares about herself, her writing, her books, and her other work in the world.
[05:07] Marla and Becky discuss the challenges of selling books and reflect on other, more meaningful measures of success.
[12:56] Marla explains her goal of being on 50 podcasts before she turns 50 on Halloween (this one is number 18).
[14:52] Discover some of the specific strategies that have helped Marla grow her following on Instagram and spread her important messages.
[20:24] (AD) Schedule a call with Becky Robinson to discover how Weaving Influence’s custom strategies can support your book launch.
[21:42] Marla talks about some of the content that has worked well for her, like poetry art, and the creative process behind that.
[27:59] Learn how Marla keeps her Substack subscribers engaged and how important it has been in growing her brand.
[32:02] Marla reveals what happened to her previous blog posts and whether or not she would like to revisit them one day.
[35:01] Marla shares some final words of wisdom and inspiration by reciting some of her poems and explaining the meaning behind them.
Action Steps:
- Don’t be afraid to be weird. Look for ways to show up as your authentic, vulnerable self online.
- Take some steps to start repurposing your content. What you have created in the past can be used in new ways to share value with your audience.
Resources:
- Purchase Marla’s poetry collection—unbelieve, jaded, and whole—as well as her latest release, what makes you FART?
- Follow Marla’s personal Instagram account and her account for amplifying authors of color, @whitegirllearning.
- Follow Marla on Threads.
- Subscribe to Marla’s Substack. She has an upcoming series for people who want to be podcast guests that will detail how to reach out to podcasters.
- To feature Marla on your podcast and help her reach her goal of 50 podcasts before her 50th birthday, reach out to her through her website or send her a DM.
Key Quotes:
What I was born to do is read and write, and I love to promote other people’s writing as well. —Marla Taviano
We think that marketing will always translate into sales, but sometimes it translates into different opportunities in the world, or relationships. —Becky Robinson
It’s difficult to tell people how to replicate what you’ve done, but what you’ve done is just bring the best of who you are to online spaces. —Becky Robinson
People have thoughts, they have opinions, and when you are open to them and listening to them and engaging with them, that’s exciting for them. —Marla Taviano
You don’t have to come up with new content every single day. There are so many ways to reuse and repurpose. —Marla Taviano
I’m really passionate about people’s wholeness. Like, that’s my thing. I want people to be whole. —Marla Taviano
When people ask me, “What’s your best advice?” I’m like, “Be weird. Be you.” —Marla Taviano
Take imperfect action. Be weird. That’s what’s going to resonate with people. That’s what’s going to connect with people. —Marla Taviano
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I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.