We were lucky to catch up with Kim Stewart recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kim thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I started my business in 2014. I had felt the call (or thought I did) to write a book about my journey as a special needs mom. I attended my first writing conference and soaked up everything I could, but never wrote that book. I returned to the conference the next year and felt the call from God to pause on writing my own book and combine my past corporate marketing experience with my love for Christian nonfiction books to serve authors.

Oh how I wish I would have started way sooner as I know I could have helped more authors spread their God-given messages far and wide. But I know before that time, I was in a different season of life as a wife, mom and family caregiver. I’m so thankful for the opportunities I had to serve my family and give free marketing advice to friends even before I started my own business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a book marketing strategist, host of the Book Marketing Mania podcast, and I help Christian nonfiction authors market their books on podcasts. I’ve found that most authors love to write but hate to market. I’m just the opposite. :) Throughout my online marketing journey, I’ve helped authors behind the scenes with posting their social media content, building and nurturing their email lists of target readers, creating search engine-friendly blog posts, responding to journalist inquiries to land media quotes, and pitching and booking them for TV and podcast interviews.

It brings me such joy to create a podcast strategy for an author and see them implement it and be successful at reaching and serving the exact target readers they wrote their book for.

I love serving my clients and I think they love the way I live out my values: Faith, relationships, trust, and fun.

Throughout my online marketing journey, I’ve seen how important relationships are. Some of my BFFs in the business are ones that I met when I first started 9 years ago. Make genuine relationships a priority with both your target clients and industry peers. It’s so worth the time!

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Word-of-mouth from previous clients and my online friends has been the best source of clients for me and I’m so grateful! I try to go above and beyond to serve my clients and their goals of marketing their books on podcasts. Relationships are key with your clients and peers both. Take time to nurture them.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

My podcast for sure, Book Marketing Mania, in addition to the word-of-mouth mentioned before. Before when past clients or friends referred new clients to me they found a simple landing page to get in touch with me. A few years ago I realized I had so much knowledge to share about book marketing and podcasting, but nowhere to share it. Starting a podcast allowed me a place to create evergreen content on my own as well as collaborate with guests to share their expertise in book marketing and podcasting. It’s been such a blessing to my listeners, website visitors and potential clients, and I think hearing my voice and getting to know me online has helped build my reputation as a marketing strategist they can get value from who will serve them well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kimstewartmarketing.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/kimstewinspired
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimstewartmarketing/
• Other: Podcast: https://bookmarketingmania.buzzsprout.com

Image Credits
Brittany Tinsley