I met Bonnie Dillabough in 2014 in a Facebook group for coloring book creators. The idea was good — rally a community of authors to market their work together. The execution was herding cats. Bonnie was a moderator, the calm in the storm while the rest of us argued about book covers and Amazon keywords. She led by listening, then gently steering everyone back to the point.
The group fizzled. The friendship didn’t. We started talking outside the group, then regularly. She had a sharp mind for marketing, real talent for copywriting, and a technical background from decades in broadcast television. I was building my ghostwriting business. Complementary skills, similar goals, shared belief that writers could support each other without tearing each other apart.
Bonnie understood something most authors never figure out: book marketing isn’t about shouting louder. It’s about building the infrastructure that lets readers find you — quietly, systematically, over time. She didn’t post desperate “please buy my book” messages. She built community presence. She gave value first. She understood that readers buy from authors they already feel like they know.
She passed away on April 5, 2025. I think about what she taught me every time I watch an author exhaust themselves with random promotional activity that produces nothing while the systematic approach sits unused because nobody ever explained it clearly.
This course is that explanation. Everything I’ve learned about book marketing — including what Bonnie understood instinctively and spent years teaching me — organized into nine phases that build on each other. From Amazon optimization to launch execution. From no list and no budget to sustainable reader infrastructure. The system she would have built if she’d written it down.
I’m Richard Lowe. 113 published books. Ghostwriting clients who’ve secured over $30 million in venture capital. And a decade of friendship with someone who knew that the difference between authors with readers and authors with silence wasn’t talent — it was system.
The 9-Phase Zero-Budget Marketing System
Each phase builds on the previous one. Complete them in order for best results.
Phase
Focus
What You Build
0: Before You Begin
AI Setup
Cleanup workflow, time expectations
1: Foundation
Amazon Optimization
Listing that converts traffic
2: Home Base
Platform Setup
Where readers can find you
3: Seeding Reviews
Social Proof
ARC teams, reviewer relationships
4: Discovery Content
Reader Attraction
Content pillars, email list
5: Community Activation
Reader Communities
Reddit, Facebook, Discord presence
6: Collaboration
Reach Multiplication
Newsletter swaps, cross-promotion
7: Launch Execution
Coordinated Launch
Timeline, email sequences, momentum
8: Scale & Systematize
Long-Term Systems
Repeatable processes, sustainable pace
Questions
How do I market my book with no email list?
You build one. Phase Four covers reader magnets and email capture in detail. Phase Six covers group promotions that grow your list even when it’s tiny. The course assumes you’re starting from zero because most authors are. Every phase works without requiring an existing list — because Bonnie understood that everyone starts from nothing, and the system has to work from there or it doesn’t work at all.
What actually separates authors with readers from authors with silence?
System, not talent. One author posts constantly, desperate energy leaking through every “please buy my book” message. Crickets. Another posts half as often, builds genuine community presence, and sells steadily without ever seeming to sell at all. Both wrote good books. Both work hard. The difference is that the second author understood what Bonnie understood: readers buy from authors they already feel like they know. You build that recognition through content that helps, communities where you show up consistently, and infrastructure that lets readers find you. This course teaches you to build that infrastructure from zero.
How much time does book marketing actually take?
Minimum viable marketing is 3-5 hours weekly. Launch periods require more. Phase Zero breaks down exactly how much time each phase takes and how to fit marketing around a day job. The AI integration dramatically reduces content creation time — AI can generate twenty social posts in thirty seconds. The problem is those posts sound like AI wrote them. The course includes a cleanup workflow that transforms AI drafts into content that sounds like you.
My book is already published and basically dead. Is it too late?
Most of this course applies to backlist as much as new releases. Phase One optimizes your existing listing. Phases Three through Six build audience regardless of when your book came out. Phase Seven includes specific guidance on relaunching books that never got a proper launch. The infrastructure you build for one book serves every book after it — which is why building it now matters even if the first book never takes off.
Does this work for my genre?
The principles apply across genres. The course covers genre-specific considerations for romance, fantasy, thriller, mystery, science fiction, historical fiction, literary fiction, and nonfiction — because where readers gather and how they discover books differs significantly by genre. Romance readers live in Facebook groups and BookTok. Fantasy and science fiction readers congregate on Reddit and Discord with well-developed promotional radar. Thriller and mystery readers trust reviews more than social media. The system adapts to where your readers actually are.
How is this different from free marketing advice online?
Free content gives you pieces without showing how they connect or what order to do them in. This course is a complete system in sequence. Phase One, then Phase Two, then Phase Three — each building on the previous. You’re not collecting random tactics. You’re following the roadmap that Bonnie would have recognized: systematic, patient, focused on building infrastructure that compounds over time instead of burning energy on activity that produces nothing.
Refund policy?
14 days. If this course doesn’t give you a clear path to marketing your book, full refund. No questions.
Bonnie didn’t shout over the noise. She built presence quietly, systematically, over time. She understood that readers buy from authors they already feel like they know, and that you build that recognition through consistency and value — not desperation.
This course is what she knew, written down. Nine phases, 78 lessons, and the complete roadmap from nothing to sustainable book sales. Build the infrastructure. Find your readers. Do it the way she would have done it.
Part of the AI Writer’s Library Series. See also: Book Promotion Handbook | Author Platform Handbook
