Author Update Iran Just Destroyed Your Book Sales This Weekend -- Here's What Happened
22 snips
Mar 6, 2026 Coverage of Iranian drone strikes that disrupted cloud services and the fallout for online platforms. A deep dive into Audible and Spotify’s audiobook strategies and how cheap plans reshape discovery. News on Apple’s MacBook Neo and practical advice for writers. A broad conversation about AI’s effects on language, content homogenization, and marketing that targets young men’s appetite for glory.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Single-Platform Launches Are Fragile
- Major platform outages and even regional attacks can cripple single-platform launch plans and Amazon rankings.
- Thomas cites an AWS data-center drone strike plus an Amazon software update that downed amazon.com, warning exclusivity increases risk to launches.
Spotify's Freemium Audiobook Threat
- Audible launched a lower-priced membership to fight Spotify's audiobook push, changing how listeners sample books.
- Jonathan and Thomas explain Spotify's music plans let new listeners sample audiobooks cheaply, threatening Audible's subscriber funnel.
Use WordPress Not Substack For SEO And Launches
- Avoid using Substack if your priority is search discoverability and advanced email marketing tactics.
- Thomas recommends WordPress with Kit for sitemaps, canonical URLs, schema, onboarding sequences, and launch email control.