#023 - A Big Change We’re Making in 2023

As I mentioned yesterday, I think this time of year is a great time to reflect and to really just say, is there anything that I want to do differently in 2023? For you, it could be with your writing routines, how you're publishing, your books, your marketing. And for us, you know, we have an entire business that we're running behind the scenes. But one of the things I really sensed that I wanted to change was just how we're marketing our business. And that's why this podcast was born. The Hit Splits. We want to go deeper with you, we want to be able to really connect with you. And it just seems like the way that, you know, emails work and, and the, you know, just the copywriting and all of that, it just, it doesn't feel quite as authentic. So that's why I love coming here to hit Splits, be able to just connect with you in a behind the scenes way. And you can, you can hear my voice, you can hear what, what you know is behind those words differently than you can an email. But so how that's, you know, all going to play out is still being worked out. But a big change that we're making as a result of that is we are going to have Christian Book Academy be always open. We've had this membership for 7 1/2 years and we've kind of went back and forth a few times of being always open or being closed and just opening for launches. And, and there have been different reasons and, and different things that we've done it, you know, at different times and, you know, that's the way business goes. You, you, you adapt and change. But the always open model really just, I just feel like it fits us better. You know, when you need what we have to offer, you can get it, you can join us whenever you need it. And so it is now open, you know, for you to join@christianbookacademy.com we actually just had a new member join the other day and I was like, hey, you know, this is awesome. Because she needed what we had and she joined. So that is a big change that we're making. And I wanted to let you know that you're welcome to join us anytime@christianbookacademy.com and we would love to have you join our community of kingdom writers. I've really been working hard to update things, make things better in Christian Book Academy and we're always, you know, coming back to our members and saying, what can we do differently? How can we make this better? And one thing that I really wanted to do for years is to spend less time on social media. And yeah, our group for Christian Book Academy has been on Facebook. And so we did make that transition. We're moving to our own platform. It's called Heartbeat. And those of you that are in Christian Book Academy, if you haven't joined us yet, join. Because I am going to be active in the new group right now through the end of January. We'll still be posting in both groups, but then we will transition in February to just the Heartbeat group. But I think it's just going to be better for everyone. It's going to be less distracting for all of you that are members. You're going to be able to come in, get what you need, come out and stay on track and not get distracted by that red notification bell.

It is a transition, it is a change. And I know it is, it is a little bit hard for some of you, but I just really sense that this is going to be a great, great change. And I know some of you aren't on Facebook, want to be on Facebook. And so this is a great option for you and a way to be involved in our community without having to be on Facebook. And we, in this new platform, we have something called matchups and our first matchups went out yesterday. And so I'm excited to see how that goes and how our Christian Book Academy members like that feature. It's a way to get matched up with other members in the group for accountability, prayer and encouragement. And you can do everything within the Heartbeat platform. So you can have an audio call on there, you can have a group message. You know, everything can be done on there and it's just a great way to have that, that place where you go for writing. But like I said, the biggest change that we're making is that Christian Book Academy is going to be always open and we're having some special promotions that we're going to run in January and February. If you have purchased one of our.

Workshops or the all access pass for our conference. So if you have and you're on our email list, stay tuned. We will be sending some information to you. It won't go out to our entire list, but if you've purchased something like that from us in the past, you should be getting something from us in January or February. And then we are going to do.

More conferences. And instead of doing one like really big one, like we've done three conferences, two of them have been five day conferences and one was just a smaller conference that was.

With I think eight people in Total. And so we are going to do one day conferences but we're going to do them more often on very specific subjects and topics. So that way you can pick and choose what you want to come to. It won't be overwhelming. There will be seven to eight speakers. It'll be one day, you know, we'll have a couple zooms, you can get on with C.J. and I and you know, we will get in, we'll get out and it will just be, be really, I think much better for all of you, less overwhelmed. You know, some feedback I was getting is people said, you know, they were signing up for all the freebies but then they were on all these email lists and then their email list was getting crazy with all the, the this, the emails from all the speakers. And, and I get it, I get it. It's, it can be overwhelming. And you do have permission to unsubscribe at any time if an email is no longer serving you. If it's not something you need right now, please, please, please. But we've gotten some feedback from you and I know you love these events, we love hosting them. But I really think this is going to be, make it much easier for you to consume the content to get what you need to move forward in your call to write, publish and market your book and to really make it easier for us too for to host them. So we're going to, we're just going to see I have right now planned out like anywhere from three to five times this year to do a one day conference. But it really just depends, it depends on how it goes. If, if it's not something people are really showing a ton of interest in, then we may rethink it. But I just, I think it's going to fit our audience for, I think it's going to fit you much better because I just know how overwhelming those big events can be. So anyways, lots of fun things coming and you know, change is good. It's hard. You know, I told cj, I just don't think it's even realistic to think you can have a business and just set something up and just expect it to keep working and working and working. The way things are changing and how rapidly they're changing now, we have to keep being willing to adapt. And that's where I think as Kingdom writers, we're listening to the Lord, we're listening to him, we're staying tuned into him. And as he leads and guides us, we can continue to change and adapt. If you're not willing to change and adapt, then you may not see the results and the things that you want to see this next year. And that's where just, you know, just come to God with your heart and say, lord, show me, show me what you have for me in 2023. But also ask him to give you what you need to make those changes. So the wisdom, but also the strategy, but also the finances, you know, to do the things that he's called you to do. So I just hope that this has encouraged you. You know, we are constantly making changes as well. And I know that, that as you continue to have your business meetings with God, as you meet with him, he's going to lead you into 2023 with what is best for you. Let me pray. Lord, thank you for every single person listening. I thank you for every Christian Book Academy member that is listening right now, for all of our friends, that and kingdom writers that are listening right now. We just pray a blessing on them as this year closes 2022. We pray that you would begin to draw them to your heart. I pray that there would just be.

A desire and a longing, a yearning, a hunger and a thirst for time with you, Lord, that they would just long for those business meetings with you to really just connect with you. Not just to get strategy, not just to get the next steps and get what they need, but to be with you. And I pray that we would all just seek your face even, even more this next year in 2023. I also pray that you would lead and guide my friends, Lord. I pray that you would lead them into what is the next step for them. I pray that you would help them to not get caught up in what is expected as far as the results of the world or what, what should happen, and that they would just trust you with the outcome, whatever it is, Lord, and that, but yet also continue to seek you for how to improve, how to change, how to do things even better in 2023 as far as what you have for them and for their audience. But we just pray God your blessings on them, Lord, remove any pressure, any expectations as they move into the new year. Pray that you would remove any heaviness, any disappointment or discouragement from 2022, that all of those things would just fall away and that as they walk into this new year, they would have an expectation for what you're gonna do. We pray this in Jesus powerful name. Amen. Amen, friends. So if you wanna join us, I encourage you to go over to ChristianBookAcademy.com join us. We have a lot of fun things happening in January. And we are going to continue to make this one of the best memberships for, for writers that we can and writers who want to keep keep the Kingdom of God at the center. So Kingdom writers, we want to make this the place for you that really helps you and helps you do the things that, you know, God has called you to do with your writing. So we are excited to see what he does in this new year for you, and we invite you to join us. Go to ChristianBook Academy.com you can also swipe up on the show notes and the link will be there. All right. Talk to in the next episode, Friends.