Book Coach Cat Margulis Helps Nonfiction Writers Through Her Newsletter, Memberships, and More

Entrepreneur: Cat Margulis

Biz: Passion Project

Tilt: Helping speakers, coaches, experts, and thought leaders write, finish, publish, and market their books

Primary Channel: Newsletter (2.5K)

Other Channels: Website, LinkedIn (1.8K), Instagram (1K), X (1.6K), Substack

Time to First Dollar: 12 months

Rev Streams: Book coaching, membership

Our Favorite Actionable Advice

• Look for unexpected opportunities: Book coaching as a service line came about through unsolicited referrals. Cat’s success led her to make it her primary offering.
• Stay focused: Cat Margulis closed her content agency so she could put all her energies into her content tilt with a membership program and coaching services. 
• Be strategic: A few months after launching her podcast, Cat created a newsletter partly to drive listeners to join the email database.

The Story of Cat Margulis

Cat Margulis never planned to be a book coach. With a background in journalism and writing, it is a natural fit but completely unplanned.

Cat spent over 20 years in publishing, climbing the magazine editor ladder. She honed her skills as an editor, content creator, and strategist. Having twins in 2012 led Cat to reevaluate her position as an editor, as working full time in the city did not jive with her desired family life.

Cat wanted more control of her time, so she branched out and created her own content agency, Hot House Media. She worked with major brands like Walmart. 

In 2019, Cat focused on her personal development, first as a student and then as a coach. She also started working on her passion project — a book. 

“I spent three years in personal development and working as a coach. I was basically coaching people through their transformations and still working, being a mother, and working on my book all at the same time,” she explains.

Despite the chaotic times, Cat enjoyed helping others with personal development and finding their passion projects. She wanted to help others make their dreams happen. 

Becoming a business

To pursue her desire to help others make their dreams happen, Cat launched a podcast, Passion Project, in February 2020. She reached a broader audience and interviewed a lot of interesting people in a way that was different from her journalistic work.

The podcast also taught her a valuable lesson about outcomes.

“If you’re not strategic about the podcast, where you’re driving people, and how you’re capturing the audience, it can be kind of a lost effort,” she explains.

Consequently, Cat launched a newsletter as a companion to the podcast in April 2020. Her goal was to drive people to the newsletter from the podcast. The newsletter offered inspirational tips, stories, and more passion project content. Both content products helped establish Cat as an expert in making one’s dreams happen.

Becoming a book coach

The turning point in Cat’s career happened by accident. 

“Book coaching kind of fell into my lap. I got two referrals in the summer of 2021. They were both through people I knew, and both were coaches seeking help writing books for their business,” she says.

Both projects were successful, leading to more referrals and Cat’s reputation as a book coach grew rapidly. Until recently, Cat considered herself an “undercover book coach.” She did not advertise or seek out clients. Cat’s podcast and newsletter, as well as word of mouth, brought in quality clients. 

Simultaneously, Cat grew her following on LinkedIn and newsletter audience. She felt both platforms afforded her the opportunity to be herself and to attract new clients. 

“Growing the newsletter and LinkedIn presence has been really pivotal because it’s just been a way for me to really talk about what I’m passionate about, and if people are receiving my newsletter, that means they vibe with me, they vibe with my content, and then they get my message, and then they are my client or will become my client,” Cat says.

She slowly changed the newsletter’s content from personal development to storytelling and writing to accommodate her new undercover book coaching business. 

In 2022, Cat decided to close her agency and focus on book coaching full time.

Entering a new chapter

As a full-time book coach, Cat looked for new ways to grow, generate revenue, and continue to attract quality clients. She understands the importance of providing value to attract new audience members. 

In 2022, Cat interviewed Stu McLaren, a well-known expert in memberships. After the interview, they conducted a special closed-door session to provide extra value to her audience. The audience asked questions, and Stu answered and provided advice in real time. 

Cat, inspired by his insights, enrolled in his membership platform and launched her own membership program.

The basic membership ($50/month) provides access to weekly writing prompts, community Slack channels, and group writing sessions. The premium membership includes all the basic features plus monthly masterminds with Cat, personalized feedback on writing, and advanced content strategies.

Cat’s approach to the membership is to provide consistent value while fostering a supportive environment. “The community has been pivotal. It’s a place where members can share their progress, get feedback, and stay motivated,” she says.

Recently, Cat ended her podcast in favor of gated content to attract and retain her audience. Cat creates content specifically for her new sign-ups and promotes this content as a lead magnet when participating in summits and webinars.

This gated content is an effective growth tactic for Cat. She has also created numerous series of evergreen gate content that she gives out for free in exchange for signing up for her newsletter. 

During the summer of 2024, Cat has been experimenting with a free, eight-week Summer Challenge group. The group meets twice weekly and gets a free writing prompt that everyone writes about together. This group also has a Slack community. Cat hopes to convert numerous Summer Challenge members into paying community members. 

The transition to a membership and coaching model has allowed Cat to focus on delivering high-quality, consistent value to her members. This model also aligns with her philosophy of building meaningful, long-term relationships with her clients, allowing her to acquire more clients for her high-ticket book coaching. 

Looking ahead, Cat plans to continue refining her membership program and expanding her reach through her newsletters and community engagement. She is also contemplating launching a new podcast, but this time with a more strategic approach to capturing and nurturing her audience.

Are you a content creator turning content entrepreneur? The Tilt newsletter can help. Subscribe today.

The post Book Coach Cat Margulis Helps Nonfiction Writers Through Her Newsletter, Memberships, and More appeared first on The Tilt Publishing.