Ok, I’m totally guilty of this one, too…and especially as an author who is trying to do #allthethings related to writing, publishing and selling your book, it’s easy to fall into the habit of posting content without evaluating its effectiveness. BUT – and it’s a big but – performing a content audit is essential if you want to actually reach your readers. You need to make sure you stay relevant, maintain audience engagement, and ensure your messaging aligns with your goals. It feels overwhelming to play the algorithm game, which is why I want to help.
Here’s why auditing your content—whether on social media, email marketing, or in long-form formats like blog posts—should be a regular part of your strategy.
Social Media Content Audit: Refining Your Brand’s First Impression
Social media is often the first place readers or clients encounter your brand. A content audit helps you see which posts are resonating, what your audience engages with, and how well you’re conveying your message. Reviewing metrics like likes, shares, comments, and saves gives you an understanding of what’s working and what needs improvement. You don’t have to do anything fancy or know about the algorithm for this, either. All you have to do is see which ones are getting HIGHER numbers.
Remember, likes are considered a vanity metric and not truly effective in the algorithms, BUT I think they can be a good indicator of who is actively seeing your posts. For example, checking out that like list means you can send messages to those people and ask them about how your content is resonating.
Saves & Shares are going to get you more visibility.
Comments are going to get you more engagement and more connection — so while it might not have you REACHING more people, this metric is so important for your actual sales.
Regularly auditing your social media also ensures that your visuals, captions, and calls-to-action are consistent and align with your goals.
Email Marketing Audit: Optimizing Engagement with Your Audience
Email marketing is one of the most direct ways to communicate with your audience, so it’s crucial to make sure your emails are impactful. It’s also an area that I see a lot of authors struggle with.
By auditing your email content, you can see what content your audience wants in their inbox. Is it just sales and book updates? Or do they really resonate with a “Coffee chat” style message?
Metricly, you’re looking at which subject lines have the best open rates, what content boosts click-through rates, and which types of emails (like newsletters or promotional blasts) your audience finds most valuable. This allows you to optimize your email strategy, refine your messaging, and potentially increase conversions.
Long-Form Content Audit: Building Trust and Authority
Long-form content, such as blog posts or articles, establishes your authority in your field and provides valuable information to your audience. These can be done sparingly as an author – but do help with things like showing up when people search for certain books. So writing blog posts about tropes or topics in your books are great.
Sharing book lists are also a great idea.
Auditing long-form content is a little more difficult, especially if your website doesn’t get a lot of traffic to begin with. As an author, this is really just standing to get more people onto your website so they will buy your book. IF you aren’t able to dedicate a lot of time to your content marketing, this is the area I usually recommend skipping.
Why Content Audits Matter for Authors and Book Professionals
For authors and book professionals, consistent messaging and valuable content are critical to building a loyal following that turns into readers. A content audit ensures that your posts, emails, and blog content align with your personal brand, connect with your audience, and ultimately support your goals—whether it’s increasing book sales, building an email list, or expanding your readership.
🎉 Content Audit!
Checkout my newest offer – an in-depth audit of their content strategy, complete with actionable insights to improve engagement and results across social media, email marketing, and long-form content. Whether you have a structured plan or are posting as you go, this audit will help you unlock the full potential of your content.
Good luck, and happy content creating!
