Building a Book Marketing Agency: Alex Strathdee on Specialization, Scaling, and Success

What does it take to turn a side hustle into a thriving agency serving some of the biggest names in publishing?

In this episode, Corey chats with Alex Strathdee, founder of Advanced Amazon Ads, who started with a simple goal: sell more books. Fast forward, and Alex now manages millions in ad spend, helping nonfiction authors like Mike Michalowicz and Dan Sullivan grow their influence.

But Alex isn’t stopping there. He’s pulling back the curtain on a game-changing rebrand to Shelf Life, expanding his services to offer authors a complete marketing arsenal. From mastering Amazon ads to diving into influencer programs and TikTok strategies, Alex shares the secrets of scaling a specialized business while staying laser-focused on his niche. If you’re looking for a blueprint to grow your agency and adapt to a changing market, this episode delivers the goods.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

• Understanding the limitations of your advertising channels.
• Differentiating your niche agency. How Alex’s agency doubles its revenue every year since its inception. Strategies for overcoming imposter syndrome.
• How to gain more personal free time while scaling your business.
• “Seeding the Market”: An effective strategy for book marketing.
• Myths and misconceptions of book launches that will save authors time and money.
• The secret to agency growth: Having a consistent lead generation source.
• Why being a “best seller” doesn’t guarantee higher sales.
• Underrated benefits of outsourcing.

Here are some actionable key takeaways for agency founders:

• Specialization in both the audience served and the services offered is essential.
• As an agency, you need a consistent lead generation source to scale up. Beyond that, diversifying client sources is crucial for agency growth and stability.
• Building relationships through podcasting has been a significant client acquisition strategy.
• One way to overcome imposter syndrome is by networking with influential figures.
• Advertise where your audience lives. TikTok is becoming a significant platform for book sales because of the amount of readers reviewing books and sharing book recommendations.
• Outsourcing tasks can lead to better efficiency and productivity.

The resources mentioned in this episode are:

• Connect with Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-strathdee
• Check out Advanced Amazon Ads: https://www.advancedamazonads.com
• Buy Alex’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B07L7FMPYB
• Listen to Before the Bestseller: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/before-the-bestseller/id1352053720

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This episode is sponsored by E2M, the #1 white-label partner for digital agencies. Visit https://www.e2msolutions.com/the-deep-specialization-podcast