Before The Bestseller

Alex Strathdee
  • 4.9 (149)
  • Books
  • Weekly

This show is for book lovers and creators who want to go behind the scenes with their favorite authors to hear about how they were able to not just write a book but create a movement. 

  1. 4d ago

    BTB204: Retire Today: 5 Steps to Smarter Retirement Planning with Jeremy Keil

    Joining us for this episode is Jeremy Keil, author of Retire Today, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and host of the Retire Today podcast. Known as “Mr. Retirement” on YouTube, Jeremy has spent more than two decades helping people make smarter retirement decisions, reduce taxes, and avoid costly financial mistakes. He joins Alex Strathdee to share why planning for retirement involves much more than saving money and choosing the right investments. Jeremy walks us through his five-step Retirement Master Plan, from understanding what you'll actually spend in retirement to making the most of Social Security, managing taxes, and protecting your investments. They also explore the risks of relying on historical stock market returns, whether international investing and cryptocurrency belong in a retirement portfolio, and why entrepreneurs shouldn't depend entirely on selling their businesses to fund retirement. Plus, Jeremy shares his perspective on using AI for financial planning and where it might fall short. Planning for your financial future involves more than just saving and investing. Tune in to hear Jeremy's practical advice on making smarter financial decisions, avoiding costly mistakes, and building a retirement plan that works for you. Learn more about Jeremy Keil and his book Retire Today here: www.jeremykeil.com Explore Jeremy's five-step approach to retirement planning here: www.5StepRetirementPlan.com Estimate your life expectancy to help plan for retirement here: www.LongevityIllustrator.org — Subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover the show, the author and their books.  — Subscribe to our popular weekly 3-2-1 newsletter and get 3 book marketing secrets, 2 useful links, and 1 book recommendation delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here:https://getshelflife.com/category/newsletter/ Head to our new website for more content and updates.: www.getshelflife.com If you're interested in connecting further or have any questions, feel free to email me at Alex@getshelflife.com

  2. Oct 26

    BTB203: AI Agents for Authors: Automate Your Book Marketing | Thomas Umstattd Jr. of Novel Marketing

    We're back with a special episode featuring Thomas Umstattd Jr., founder of Author Media and host of the Novel Marketing Podcast. This time, Thomas is sharing something he's been working on: building his own team of AI agents to help run his business. We talk about how authors can use these tools to simplify their book marketing, automate everyday tasks, and spend less time managing the technical side of their business. We explore how AI agents can update author websites, analyze Amazon reviews, uncover insights about readers, and handle repetitive marketing tasks. Thomas shares how he built his AI team, which tasks he recommends automating first, and how authors can get started without needing advanced technical skills. We also discuss the costs, security concerns, and practical challenges of working with AI agents, including how to make them more effective over time. You don't need to be a tech expert to start using AI agents for your book marketing. Tune in to hear Thomas explain where to start, what to automate, and how to make these tools work for you. Connect with Thomas Umstattd Jr.: Grok Bot Website Tutorial: https://www.authormedia.com/get-more-time-to-write-by-using-a-grok-bot/  Novel Marketing Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/novel-marketing/id721122555  Author Media: https://authormedia.com — Subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover the show, the author and their books.  — Subscribe to our popular weekly 3-2-1 newsletter and get 3 book marketing secrets, 2 useful links, and 1 book recommendation delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here:https://getshelflife.com/category/newsletter/ Head to our new website for more content and updates.: www.getshelflife.com If you're interested in connecting further or have any questions, feel free to email me at Alex@getshelflife.com

  3. Oct 19

    BTB202: How AI Is Changing Book Sales in 2026 | Thomas Umstattd Jr. of Novel Marketing

    We're excited to welcome back Thomas Umstattd Jr., founder of Author Media, host of the Novel Marketing Podcast, and creator of the Novel Marketing Conference. With more than a decade of experience helping authors market their books, Thomas joins us to talk about how AI is changing publishing, what’s happening with book sales, and what authors need to understand about reaching readers in 2026. We explore how AI is reshaping nonfiction, why certain fiction genres are growing while others are struggling, and what these changes reveal about reader preferences. Thomas also shares how authors can turn their expertise into AI-powered experiences, why even a great book can struggle to find an audience, and what the latest trends mean for book marketing. Through it all, we come back to something that hasn't changed: the importance of knowing exactly who you're writing for. If you're wondering how to adapt your writing and book marketing strategy as the publishing industry changes, listen to the full conversation for Thomas's perspective on what matters now and what authors should be paying attention to next. Check out his podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/novel-marketing/id721122555  Visit Thomas Umstattd Jr.'s website for book marketing advice, podcast episodes, helpful articles, courses, and AI tools designed to help authors reach more readers and sell more books here: https://authormedia.com — Subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover the show, the author and their books.  — Subscribe to our popular weekly 3-2-1 newsletter and get 3 book marketing secrets, 2 useful links, and 1 book recommendation delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here:https://getshelflife.com/category/newsletter/ Head to our new website for more content and updates.: www.getshelflife.com If you're interested in connecting further or have any questions, feel free to email me at Alex@getshelflife.com

  4. Oct 12

    BTB201: 250 Beta Readers, 16,000 Comments: Ryan Levesque's Book Marketing Strategy

    We welcome back Ryan Levesque, author of Ask and Choose, to talk about the book marketing strategies behind his newly released book, Return to Real. After selling hundreds of thousands of copies of Ask, Ryan shares what he's learned from his previous launches and how he's applying those lessons to his latest book. In this episode, Ryan takes us behind the scenes of writing and marketing Return to Real, including how feedback from roughly 250 beta readers and more than 16,000 comments helped shape the manuscript. We talk about testing ideas before writing, using readers' own words to strengthen a book, and creating bulk sales offers that give people a reason to buy multiple copies. Ryan also shares his approach to generating reviews, building reader relationships, and experimenting with different book formats and distribution strategies. If you're writing a book or looking for ways to get more copies into readers' hands, listen in for a closer look at the strategies Ryan is putting into practice and what you can learn from his approach. Get your copy of Return to Real: returntorealbook.com Read and Subscribe to Ryan’s weekly newsletter, The Digital Contrarian: thedigitalcontrarian.com — Subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover the show, the author and their books.  — Subscribe to our popular weekly 3-2-1 newsletter and get 3 book marketing secrets, 2 useful links, and 1 book recommendation delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here:https://getshelflife.com/category/newsletter/ Head to our new website for more content and updates.: www.getshelflife.com If you're interested in connecting further or have any questions, feel free to email me at Alex@getshelflife.com

  5. Oct 5

    BTB200: Our Advantage in the Age of AI | Ryan Levesque, Return to Real

    For our 200th episode of Before the Bestseller, today’s special guest is Ryan Levesque, founder, seven-time Inc. 5000 CEO, and #1 national bestselling author of Return to Real. Ryan has generated more than $100 million in revenue, and his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, and Entrepreneur. His experience building businesses has given him a front-row view of how technology is changing the way we work and connect, something he also explores in The Digital Contrarian, his weekly newsletter on business, technology, and where things are headed. We’re living in a time when it’s becoming easier to create almost anything. AI can write, generate ideas, produce content, and give us information in seconds. But as more of what we see starts to look and sound the same, Ryan began asking a different question: What becomes more valuable when artificial becomes everywhere? That question led to Return to Real and the idea that being real might actually become an advantage. Ryan and I talk about what that means for authors and creators, from holding on to your own voice and becoming a better storyteller to creating the kind of human connection technology can’t easily replicate. Along the way, we get into his analog, oxytocin, and contrarian advantages, the “great bifurcation,” and why some of the things that are hardest to scale may become the things worth doing. If you’ve ever wondered whether your voice, your ideas, or even your writing will still matter as AI gets better, listen to this special 200th episode with Ryan Levesque. Get your copy of Return to Real: returntorealbook.com Read and Subscribe to Ryan’s weekly newsletter, The Digital Contrarian: thedigitalcontrarian.com — Subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover the show, the author and their books.  — Subscribe to our popular weekly 3-2-1 newsletter and get 3 book marketing secrets, 2 useful links, and 1 book recommendation delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here:https://getshelflife.com/category/newsletter/ Head to our new website for more content and updates.: www.getshelflife.com If you're interested in connecting further or have any questions, feel free to email me at Alex@getshelflife.com

  6. Sep 28

    BTB199: 1.6M+ Books Sold: Mike Michalowicz on What Makes Books Keep Selling

    Mike Michalowicz is back on Before the Bestseller to talk about his latest book, The Money Habit, and what he’s learned from writing more than ten books and selling roughly 1.6 to 1.7 million copies across his titles. This time, we look beyond the launch itself and into what Mike has learned about writing books that continue to find readers over time. Mike breaks down the framework he uses to think about why some books keep growing while others fade, including how quickly a book delivers value, how deeply it helps the reader, and how easy its ideas are to put into practice. We also talk about writing for a clearly defined audience, building genuine relationships with readers, collaborating with other authors through social selling, and why Mike is leaning further into storytelling as AI changes the way people find and consume information. For authors thinking about the long game, this episode goes beyond getting more attention at launch. Listen to the full conversation to hear how Mike approaches the book itself, the readers behind it, and what can help a book keep spreading long after release. Check out The Money Habit here: https://a.co/d/00icp0op Explore Mike’s other books here: https://mikemichalowicz.com/books/ Learn more about Mike and his work here: www.mikemotorbike.com — Subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover the show, the author and their books.  — Subscribe to our popular weekly 3-2-1 newsletter and get 3 book marketing secrets, 2 useful links, and 1 book recommendation delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here:https://getshelflife.com/category/newsletter/ Head to our new website for more content and updates.: www.getshelflife.com If you're interested in connecting further or have any questions, feel free to email me at Alex@getshelflife.com

  7. Sep 21

    BTB198: From $300K in Debt to The Money Habit with Mike Michalowicz

    We welcome back bestselling author and entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz, whose books have tackled nearly every corner of entrepreneurship, from profitability in the bestselling Profit First, to building a business that can run without you in Clockwork, to standing out in a crowded market with Get Different. After building and selling two multimillion-dollar businesses, Mike turned those experiences into practical systems that entrepreneurs around the world have put to work. Now, for his third appearance on Before the Bestseller, he joins us to talk about his newest book, The Money Habit, and why the way we behave with money may matter just as much as how much we earn.  Mike gets personal about becoming a self-made millionaire, losing it all, falling roughly $300,000 into debt, and the systems that eventually helped him climb back out. We talk about why earning more money doesn't necessarily solve money problems, how small wins can change financial behavior, the hidden cost of subscriptions and credit cards, and why your bank account may be a better tool than another budgeting app. Mike also walks us through the six accounts behind The Money Habit, the four financial seasons, and how a simple system can make money easier to manage, especially when you're managing it with a partner. For anyone who has avoided looking at their numbers, struggled to stick with a budget, or simply wants to make managing money feel less complicated, this conversation offers a different way to think about it. Listen to the episode and hear how Mike built The Money Habit around the way people actually behave with money. Check out The Money Habit here: https://a.co/d/00icp0op Explore Mike’s other books here: https://mikemichalowicz.com/books/ Learn more about Mike and his work here: www.mikemotorbike.com — Subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover the show, the author and their books.  — Subscribe to our popular weekly 3-2-1 newsletter and get 3 book marketing secrets, 2 useful links, and 1 book recommendation delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here:https://getshelflife.com/category/newsletter/ Head to our new website for more content and updates.: www.getshelflife.com If you're interested in connecting further or have any questions, feel free to email me at Alex@getshelflife.com

  8. Sep 14

    BTB197: How Jayson Gaignard Raised $200K on Kickstarter for His Book Launch

    We’re back with Jayson Gaignard, author of Community Made: The Truth About Success and the Relationships That Created It. Jayson is a veteran entrepreneur known for building communities and bringing entrepreneurs together through his invite-only events, with past guests including Tim Ferriss, Marc Ecko, and Dave Asprey. His work has also been featured in Forbes, Lifehacker, and Business Insider. In this episode, Jayson breaks down the strategy behind his Kickstarter campaign and why he chose to build his book launch around relationships rather than reach alone. We talk about using Kickstarter to test audiences, getting books into the hands of the right readers, using bulk orders as a distribution strategy, and building around the idea of 1,000 true fans. He also shares how documenting the writing process helped build support for the book long before he ever asked anyone to buy it. Tune in to hear how he put the ideas behind Community Made into practice and built his book marketing strategy around relationships, community, and getting the right people invested early. Check out Community Made here: https://a.co/d/04ZhFQYJ Learn more about Jayson and his work here: https://www.jaysongaignard.com/ — Subscribe and leave a review. Your support helps more people discover the show, the author and their books.  — Subscribe to our popular weekly 3-2-1 newsletter and get 3 book marketing secrets, 2 useful links, and 1 book recommendation delivered straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here:https://getshelflife.com/category/newsletter/ Head to our new website for more content and updates.: www.getshelflife.com If you're interested in connecting further or have any questions, feel free to email me at Alex@getshelflife.com

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4.9
out of 5
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About

This show is for book lovers and creators who want to go behind the scenes with their favorite authors to hear about how they were able to not just write a book but create a movement. 

Information

  • Creator
    Alex Strathdee
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    256
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Before The Bestseller
  • Show Website
    Before The Bestseller

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