If you've used social media for any period of time, you've probably realized that simply posting about your work doesn't just lead to sales on its own. The thing is, there's a strategy behind social media posts that sell, and without it, you're posting and spending your time on something that isn't going to change your business.

That's why I've been working on a framework for years, based on my own experience selling tens of thousands of books and working with thousands of creatives. I call it the Sell-Through Sequence!

It's easy to follow and just two parts, but it changes everything about how you post on social media.

I put it all into my brand-new course called The Sold-Out Creative, and this week to celebrate its launch, I've got a special offer for you! Get all the details and instant access to the program here: https://www.marketingbyshelby.com/the-sold-out-creative

CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebie

What if your email list was making sales for you, even on the days you don't post, don't show up, and don't think about marketing at all? That's what a well-built email automation system does. And Brevo is the tool to help you do just that! Check out Brevo, an intuitive, easy-to-use tool for your email marketing and get 50% off with my code BYSHELBY50: http://get.brevo.com/byshelby

In this video I'm walking you through everything email automation, from the very first email a beginner should set up, all the way to the advanced sequences that turn a cold subscriber into a loyal buyer, completely on autopilot.

This one goes from beginner to advanced so whether you've never sent an automated email in your life or you already have a welcome email running and want to know what comes next, there's something here for you.

In this video:— The welcome email: what it should say — The welcome sequence: how to turn a new subscriber into someone who wants to buy and stick around— The evergreen sequence: the automation that sells your work around the clock without you touching it— Segmentation: the more advanced strategy that makes sure the right people get the right emails at the right time— A behind-the-scenes example of setting this up in minutes!

Want more lead magnet ideas? Check out these past videos on email marketing:

How to Grow Your Email List in 2026: https://youtu.be/Yv0q7GLrV-A?si=dy63yZeMJLKmGR4W

2026 Guide to Email Newsletters: https://youtu.be/r8q5T4Z9TbI?si=gpyahot-KzvT16k5

Want to dive even deeper?

📩 Emails That Make Sales is my step-by-step course for creatives. It covers WHAT to say in your emails to make sales, with 20 plug and play templates so you have 6 months of weekly emails covered. https://marketingbyshelby.com/emails-that-make-sales

CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebie

JOIN THE CREATIVE'S CONTENT CLUB WAITLIST! Want hands-on marketing support, templates and shortcuts, feedback, step by step marketing strategies and more, every single month?! Join my all-in-one marketing membership, The Creative's Content Club! Add your name to the waitlist to receive an invite soon: https://marketingbyshelby.com/waitlist-yt

If you've ever sat down at a blank page trying to think of what to post this week on social media as an author, artist, or creative, this video is going to help you solve that problem... for this week at least! If you want this problem solved every week, join the Creative's Content Club, open for enrollment now through August 12!

https://marketingbyshelby.com/clubWe haven't been open to new members since April, so this is truly the time to join us for:

- a monthly content calendar with templates every single month designed for authors and artists- weekly email templates- our new content kitchen app, which personalizes your content with the click of a button- access to our community FB group where I am there as your marketing sidekick to answer your questions, and review your content each month- or consider joining my new tier, Club Catalyst, for 1:1 support, personalized strategy and more every month

Join us here by August 12! https://marketingbyshelby.com/club

Ever scroll past a post from another author or artist and think, "Why did that one blow up?" In this video, I'm breaking it down for you. I went through real high-engagement Instagram posts from authors, artists, and a musician, including reels and carousels. And today, I'm walking you through exactly what makes each one work: the hook, the format, the storytelling, the structure. Not just what performed well, but why it performed well and how you can apply the same principles to your own content today.

If you've been posting consistently and wondering why some content lands and some doesn't, this episode will help!

In this episode:— Real examples of high-engagement reels and carousels from creatives— Why each post worked, broken down— The patterns in content that gets shared and saved— How to take what's working for other authors and artists and make it your own

DONE-FOR-YOU SOCIAL MEDIA for authors and artists!Want a done-for-you content system that puts these strategies into practice every single month? That's exactly what the Creative's Content Club is, and we just launched a new app, exclusive for Club members, that makes monthly content creation even faster!

JOIN THE CREATIVE'S CONTENT CLUB WAITLIST! We open doors publicly later THIS WEEK! Make sure you're on our waitlist so you don't miss it:

https://marketingbyshelby.com/waitlist-yt

Want to watch past editions of reviewing viral content?

TikTok Viral Videos: https://youtu.be/tct8h1cla_I

Instagram Viral Posts: https://youtu.be/81TWN7c8-D8

CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebieABOUT SHELBY: Hey, I'm Shelby, bestselling writer and marketing/business coach for creatives. After growing my own audience as an author to more than 500k on social media, working in social media management for 8+ years, becoming a full-time writer and selling over 60k books with social media and content marketing, I now teach other creatives, like authors, musicians, artists, poets, photographers and more, how to grow and sell their creative work with marketing!

Open me for additional resources mentioned in today's Q&A! Is success really about talent and luck, or is something else going on? I'm answering real questions from authors and artists in my community on mindset, growing followers that actually convert, and marketing your work when it doesn't fit neatly into one category.

In this video, I'm answering marketing questions submitted by authors and artists in my newsletter community, covering everything from mindset and comparison to growing an audience that actually converts to sales, and marketing across two different genres, mediums, or age groups at once. Whether you're an indie or trad author, or a visual artist building your following, this one's for you.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Join the Creative's Content Club waitlist: my popular marketing membership with monthly templates, support, and more to help you grow your sales: https://marketingbyshelby.com/waitlist-yt

Email marketing platform: Check out Brevo, an intuitive, easy-to-use tool for your email marketing and get 50% off with my code BYSHELBY50: http://get.brevo.com/byshelby

CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebie

Timestamps:0:00 - Is marketing about talent or luck?4:00 - Marketing a series8:30 - Marketing to two age groups or genres11:10 - Gaining followers & sales14:00 - Get your questions answered & personal marketing help15:20 - Getting 200 views every time17:55 - Boosting posts and metrics that matter19:45 - Email marketing platform recommendations20:45 - How often to send email newsletters (is once a month enough?)22:25 - Let's talk about Substack24:45 - Visuals in your marketing 26:10 - Marketing to an English audience from outside the US27:05 - Using personal stories in marketing

To write great emails, you need a great email platform. Check out Brevo, an intuitive, easy-to-use tool for your email marketing and get 50% off with my code BYSHELBY50: http://get.brevo.com/byshelby

You can write the best email newsletter ever, but what's inside your email won't matter if they're not getting opened. Subject lines and pre-header text are a crucial part of writing a great email newsletter.

If you're an author, artist, maker, or other creative who wants better results from your email marketing this year, tune in to this episode as we break down research on subject line and pre-header text that work well to increase your open rates.

Plus, I'll show you an email marketing platform I love, Brevo, and a subject line and pre-header text tool that we created for you to write better subject lines in seconds.🛠️ Want to write better subject lines in seconds? The subject line and pre-header text generator tool is included inside Emails That Make Sales — my step-by-step course on email marketing for creative entrepreneurs.

You can grab "Emails That Make Sales" here and get instant access to our subject line generator: https://marketingbyshelby.com/emails-that-make-sales

OTHER TOOL MENTIONED: WISPRFLOW - the voice-to-text app that's saved me hours of typing: (Use my link for a 30-day free trial of Pro!): https://wisprflow.ai/r?SHELBY5154

CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebie

In this week's episode, let's look at examples of powerful scroll-stopping hooks that get the attention of our audience and pull them in with storytelling and human connection!

Want to never start from scratch with your social media posts? Check out the Social Media Suite 2.0, a powerful collection of months of templates perfect for authors and artists, created by me and our human designer, with captions, graphics, video templates, and more!

GRAB THE SUITE HERE: https://marketingbyshelby.com/sms-20

In this episode, we'll look at before and after examples of hooks that you can use on any social media to grab the attention of your ideal customers. These examples are perfect for authors and artists who are looking to create better social media content that grows their engagement and makes more sales.

Whether you're an author trying to grow your readership, an artist building an engaged following, or a creative who knows their content could be working harder — this one is for you.

In this video you'll learn:

— What makes a hook scroll-stopping vs. scroll-past

— Real before-and-after hook examples you can swipe and adapt

— How to use storytelling and human connection to pull your audience in

— How to write better opening lines for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and more

📌 Save this video — you'll want to come back to these examples next time you sit down to write!

CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebie

JOIN THE CREATIVE'S CONTENT CLUB WAITLIST!

Want hands-on marketing support, templates and shortcuts, feedback, step by step marketing strategies and more, every single month?! Join my all-in-one marketing membership, The Creative's Content Club! Add your name to the waitlist to receive an invite soon: https://marketingbyshelby.com/waitlist-yt

ABOUT SHELBY:

Hey, I'm Shelby, bestselling writer and marketing/business coach for creatives. After growing my own audience as an author to more than 500k on social media, working in social media management for 8+ years, becoming a full-time writer and selling over 60k books with social media and content marketing, I now teach other creatives, like authors, musicians, artists, poets, photographers and more, how to grow and sell their creative work with marketing!

CONNECT WITH SHELBY:

I post marketing tips here on YouTube (subscribe for more videos!) as well as on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/marketingbyshelby

https://marketingbyshelby.com/

Thanks so much for watching! Please subscribe for weekly marketing videos and give this video a like so more authors and creatives can find these tips.

In this week's episode, I'm breaking down a 2026 Instagram study that analyzed over 24 million posts. We'll talk about:

- Instagram carousels versus reels

- interesting stats about watch time and engagement

- how to get more interactions on your post

- what size accounts are finding it easiest to grow in 2026

- and more

Get the full study here from Metricool: https://metricool.com/instagram-research-study/

CHECK OUT MY LATEST MARKETING FREEBIES created for you at: https://marketingbyshelby.com/freebie

JOIN THE CREATIVE'S CONTENT CLUB WAITLIST!

Want hands-on marketing support, templates and shortcuts, feedback, step by step marketing strategies and more, every single month?! Join my all-in-one marketing membership, The Creative's Content Club! Add your name to the waitlist to receive an invite soon: https://marketingbyshelby.com/waitlist-yt

ABOUT SHELBY:

Hey, I'm Shelby, bestselling writer and marketing/business coach for creatives. After growing my own audience as an author to more than 500k on social media, working in social media management for 8+ years, becoming a full-time writer and selling over 60k books with social media and content marketing, I now teach other creatives, like authors, musicians, artists, poets, photographers and more, how to grow and sell their creative work with marketing!

CONNECT WITH SHELBY:

I post marketing tips here on YouTube (subscribe for more videos!) as well as on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/marketingbyshelby https://marketingbyshelby.com/

Thanks so much for watching! Please subscribe for weekly marketing videos and give this video a like so more authors and creatives can find these tips.