A practical companion to Dale L. Roberts’s public work on smarter book marketing.
Free. No login, card, or subscription.
4 lessons. 60 minutes of teaching. One practical next step.
Total video minutes after each lesson
Pause between lessons to try the exercises.
Measured from the linked YouTube videos. Exercises add time. Checked 2026-10-26.
Dale L. Roberts is an author, self-publishing educator, and Video Content Advisor for the Alliance of Independent Authors. His public work helps indie authors make practical decisions about publishing, discoverability, and book marketing.
Dale’s videos make a strong case for focus before spending. This companion turns that starting point into original worksheets for identifying the right reader, improving a book’s presentation, and testing one next step.
Your videos on marketing traps and the limits of Amazon Ads suggested a useful next step: a small course that helps an author diagnose the problem, then choose one experiment. I paired that learning path with an original companion workbook.
Four selected videos and practical exercises to help indie authors choose a better next marketing step.
An independent learning path curated by ImagineYourBook. Videos belong to Dale L. Roberts.
Lesson 1 · 18:58
Dale describes how spreading effort across too many tactics can obscure what works. Start here to separate a disappointing sales result from the specific reader step that needs attention.
Take away: More activity is not automatically better marketing. Look for the point where readers stop moving.
Try it: Sketch your reader’s route from discovery to purchase. Circle the first step for which you have no evidence.
Lesson 2 · 20:05
Dale examines discoverability signals including titles, keywords, categories, and descriptions. He also distinguishes a metadata problem from a book that still needs relevant visitors.
Take away: A clear listing and a plan to reach readers do different jobs. Check both before choosing a fix.
Try it: Write the promise of your book in one sentence. Compare it with your title, cover, and description. Note one mismatch.
Lesson 3 · 14:31
Dale discusses why increasing an advertising budget does not guarantee better results, and why relying on one source of traffic creates risk. Use this lesson to frame a spending decision.
Take away: Know what you want an ad experiment to teach you before deciding what to spend.
Try it: Write one testable question, a spending limit you can afford, and a clear stop condition. Leave outcomes blank until measured.
Lesson 4 · 6:24
Dale introduces a collection of promotion services and explains how to narrow the options, investigate them, and track results. The practical goal is a suitable shortlist, not 111 simultaneous campaigns.
Take away: Evaluate fit first. Treat promotion options as candidates to investigate, not guaranteed sources of sales.
Try it: Shortlist three relevant options. Pick one, record your baseline, and choose a review date before starting.
We chose Dale for his practical focus on the decisions indie authors can actually improve: understanding readers, presenting a book clearly, and choosing a thoughtful marketing experiment.
An editorial selection by ImagineYourBook, 2026-10-26.
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This is an independent learning path curated by ImagineYourBook from Dale’s publicly available videos. The exercises and companion book are our original additions. Dale has not endorsed this page.
Indie authors who want to review their marketing before spending more. Start with the first lesson, use the exercises on your own book, and visit Dale’s linked resources for more of his teaching.
One free companion book is prepared using ImagineYourBook’s normal book engine and a sourced research brief. When it is ready, download EPUB for your e-reader or Word for editing. No login or card is needed for this gift. The book is credited to ImagineYourBook.
They help you make and evaluate a more focused experiment. Results depend on your book, audience, execution, and available evidence. No sales result is promised.
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