Nicole Bianchi

Writing, Copywriting, & Marketing Strategies

How I Grew my YouTube Channel from Zero to Over 20,000 Subscribers (And How You Can Grow an Online Audience Too)

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In February, my YouTube channel passed 20,000 subscribers! 

Thank you so much to everyone who has watched the videos, left a like or a comment, and subscribed. It encourages me to keep making more videos, and I’m loving connecting with so many amazing writers.

YouTube is one of the best platforms for writers to share their ideas and reach an audience online. It feels a bit counterintuitive — it’s a video platform, not a writing platform.

But the truth is that you can take blog posts you’ve written, narrate the audio as a voice over, and add pictures and video for a visual presentation. Or if you enjoy being on camera, you can read your blog post from a teleprompter or ad lib from an outline.

(Another cool feature of YouTube: you can monetize your videos through their partner program if you have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours throughout the year.)

In today’s post, I’m sharing the five steps that helped me grow my channel from 0 to over 20,000 subscribers and craft one video that has been viewed over 500,000 times.

I think many of these lessons can apply no matter whether you’re making videos or writing blog posts.

Let’s dive in.

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The Power of Stories in Marketing: Four Inspiring Examples from Successful Businesses

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Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash

Back in 2021, I teamed up with two of my brothers, John and Michael, to launch our own marketing agency.

It all started with John’s fantastic idea that the three of us could join our talents. He had honed his skills at top-tier agencies but craved the freedom and creativity of entrepreneurship. Michael, a whiz at Google and Facebook ads, brought his tech-savvy expertise to the table, while I contributed my freelance background in web design, copywriting, and SEO.

It’s been quite an adventure as our agency has grown and more people have joined our team. I love when I get the chance to share here on my blog some of the marketing strategies that we’ve implemented, helping a wide array of businesses and influencers grow their brands online (from brick-and-mortar stores to national companies to personal brands to authors and more!). 

One strategy, however, has consistently stood out as the most powerful: storytelling. As a fiction writer, I love showing clients how they can captivate their audience with a well-told story.

In today’s post, I’m sharing four ways we’ve harnessed the power of storytelling to elevate our clients’ marketing efforts. Whether you’re a small business owner, a freelancer promoting your services, or an author eager to market your book, I hope these will give you ideas and inspire you.

(And if you’re struggling with your marketing and interested in my agency’s help, you can learn more here.)

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How to Create Buzz for Your Launch With This Powerful Netflix Strategy

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Photo by anna-m. w.

I’m starting a new series of posts here on the blog where I will be sharing examples of marketing and copywriting strategies that will help you more effectively promote your books, products, services, and unique message online.

Over the past several years, I’ve been working with clients in a digital marketing agency that I started with my two brothers. I’ve learned lots of marketing strategies from helping many different types of businesses and influencers grow their brands online (brick-and-mortar stores, national companies, personal brands, coaches, and more!). 

Additionally, I love to keep an eye out for fantastic strategies I come across online that my clients can use too. 

And why not shares those lessons and strategies here on the blog as well? I’ll give you examples that will show how you can use them as an author or personal brand.

Today’s post is about a powerful marketing technique that I recently saw in action from Netflix. You can use it to build interest around the launch of your product, book, or whatever else you’re creating. It’s a wonderful way to turn followers into fans.

Let’s dive in.

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How to Self-Publish a Book (Part 2): Launching a New Website!

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Photo by Leyre Labarga

Hello, fellow writers!

It’s been several months since my last update about my self-publishing adventure. However, I am excited to report that I’ve spent those months working hard to get a new site built and start implementing the first steps of my self-publishing marketing plan.

Now I’m ready to pull back the curtain and reveal it to all of you! 

First, be sure to check out my previous post (chapter 1 of this adventure) for all the background details about my book and my marketing strategy. 

My goal with this series of posts is to share my experiments. I’m looking forward to seeing what works and what doesn’t with self-publishing and marketing a book. I’m hoping that this can help other writers who want to build an audience and more effectively market their work too. 

Let’s dive in.

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How to Self-Publish a Book in 2023: Part 1

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Photo by Mikołaj on Unsplash

Back in January, I shared my writing goals for 2023 and what I was planning for this website and my YouTube channel this year. 

One of my goals was to finally take the first steps towards self-publishing a book. (I like the term “indie publishing” better, but I’m using the term “self-publishing” for SEO reasons).

This book will be the first I ever self-publish. So, as I wrote in my January post, I’ll be focusing on researching and experimenting to find out what works and what doesn’t. Then I’ll share what I learn here on the blog. I’m excited for this adventure, and I hope you will enjoy reading these updates and find them helpful.

In February, I began working on planning out a marketing strategy. While my book is a novel, I believe these strategies can be used for a nonfiction book as well. 

I’ll break these down into steps for those of you who also want to self-publish a book or more effectively market a traditionally published book. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into chapter one of my indie publishing adventure.

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