Bestseller Energy: The Luxury Rebrand
It doesn't take much, you know. Launching a luxury business. After years reigning in the publishing world—a quiet titan of bestsellers if I may say so, myself—I realized it was time to elevate not just my brand… but my bottom line.
For a hot minute there, I lost the plot. Being ‘editor-in-chief’ started to feel more like Ugly Betty meets Devil Wears Prada—but without Anna Wintour or the sample closet. Somewhere in the middle of deadlines and digital launches, I forgot what it felt like to create just for the pleasure of it. So, I did the only thing that made sense: I took a sabbatical. And in the pause, I returned to my creative roots—writing and designing editorials for the sake of writing and designing editorials.
It’s ironic how letting go of my revered position allowed me to form a new wave of luxury in my business. One that truly basks in what it means to be bestseller, not losing every ounce of my life and femininity in the hustle of being the next boss babe.
At one point, my entire voice shrank to “how-to’s” and hot release lists. I strived so direly toward premium branding, unaware that it was costing me everything that actually felt rich: time, life, and creative freedom. So, it was back to the drawing board… well, Pinterest board, where many journal prompts, secret boards, and dreams could finally exhale.
What conspired shortly after was beyond my bestseller dreams. I didn’t want to turn and burn books anymore. I wanted to craft luxury editorials. To write about the fabulous-ity that is my life—my travels, my self-care, the beauty of being a woman, and the heels that carry me through it all.
I definitely wrestled with redefining my purpose, but then… maybe somewhere in the fine print, I realized that my greatest service to women (and humanity) is to remind them of their unique edge, message, and calling. And return them to their softness and desires (womankind’s true superpower) in business and marketing.
When the purpose of Prose Club became clear, I realized the foundation of my business was never strategy—it was sensation. It was about branding that women could bask in. Whether reading from the bath or scrolling on the balcony.
I guess I always had the eye for design. But this time, it didn’t ask me to play it safe. This time, it was all about the vibe.
So here’s a short list of platforms I use in my business to maintain that effortless, luxurious, and bestseller energy.
Squarespace
I’ve been using Squarespace since the very first launch of my business. Up until a few weeks ago, I even still had the original account with the website, including all my past blog posts, book links, and publications. I’ve grown my business with Squarespace and there’s literally no other website host in the world I would trade it for. To me, the templates are far more sophisticated (looks-wise) than most other platforms, while the simplicity and ease of the builder/editor far exceed WordPress or Shopify.
The integration, the payment gateways, even the domain hosting—everything can be done within the single dashboard, and at $60/month, you literally can’t go wrong.
Admittedly, I tried WordPress during the relaunch of Prose Club, but it was just too complicated to navigate, and I value ease long term. Despite the $300 I spent on the WordPress theme (which was giving Vogue on Crack), I just couldn’t justify learning a whole new platform to launch something as easy as daily blog posts.
So I invested in a Squarespace theme from Creative Market that fit the vibe (about a $400 investment—but surely you can use free or less expensive templates). And I started Prose Club from scratch with Squarespace 7.1.
PRO TIP: Use Etsy or Creative Market to find your perfect theme.
Printful
For those who want a merch line but can’t be bothered with import and export, I also integrated Printful for my merch line directly from my Squarespace dashboard.
Dropshipping has come a long way since I started out, and I genuinely don’t think there’s an easier and more quality-driven platform than Printful for launching custom merch. Launching merch used to mean warehouses and logistics. But now I’m wearing my ‘Prose Club Long Sleeve: Slow and Steady Wins the Race’ as I type this and wear my Prose hoodies on rotation for those cozy content days. At first, I did a ton of research for their highest-value products. We’re not just talking highest rated, but best quality for production price. And I found the products that suited my brand aesthetic as well as the craftsmanship I was looking for.
I spent about two weeks browsing Pinterest and designing my signature looks. But once you feel confident with what you’ve created and upload it to your Printful product manager (at the highest quality), I genuinely couldn’t be happier with the line I launched and how it’s a free gateway to creating your own merch line.
Amazon KDP
Speaking of free collections, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is my ride-or-die business gateway. I launched my entire publishing agency from what I rinsed and repeated with Amazon. I, too, have dabbled with IngramSpark and Barnes & Noble, but nothing is quite as easy, effortless, and profitable as KDP. You set up your listing once (for each format) and it forever runs for you entirely free of charge. It’s like premium dropshipping—but make it books. I’ve published hundreds of books in my career, and despite taking a sabbatical from publishing to focus on editorial and design, this might very well be my number one business platform of all time.
Substack
If writing is your thing, but you’re not quite ready to transition to a paid-blog or Amazon publishing, Substack is a fairly new (and totally untapped) social media platform that takes the best of all writing worlds. Of course, I recommend you sign up for your myriad of social platforms (but only the ones you love), but Substack is one of those business hitters that helps you expand your credibility in long-form content and share what you know about your industry.
It’s also a subscription platform—like Patreon, but for publishing—so you can earn monthly recurring revenue and/or annual subscriptions from the people who love your content. It’s totally free to sign up and post. To me, it’s a no-brainer for those who want to write longer social media captions without reading the ‘rest in comments.’
You can style your theme, choose your fonts, and even connect your domain if you want to make it a primary platform. Then, it’s up to you to make it as fabulous as you want it.
BONUS: Substack’s algorithm is still in the 2013-Instagram prime for organic growth, so you can tap into an audience outside of your current network by posting and interacting with their built-in Notes app.
Canva
It might be outdated, to be honest, I’m not sure. I personally still love Canva because it’s so versatile for whatever form of media you want to design. I did, of course—being a publisher and all—at one point use Adobe InDesign. But I’m at the point of my career where I just value ease over new and shiny. So mastering Canva and investing in other people’s templates has given me a creative edge that’s both convenient and out-of-the-box.
Lightroom
I strive to use only my own content when it comes to photography and UGC (user-generated content) for my brand. There’s something more authentic about it than trying to find luxury stock photos. Like Pexels plus or Unsplash don’t ever quite feel like me. So I go through my phone and often use recent or older photos I’ve taken during my travels, and use Lightroom to elevate them.
In my humble opinion, black and white is as timeless as it is elegant. There’s no easier way to ‘luxurify’ your brand than by taking your favorite photos and editing the colors just right. I exclusively use Lightroom Mobile for its cost-efficient and user-friendly alternative. The UI (user interface) is so easy to navigate, and the mobile app is only $6.99 per month. For the amount of time I spend editing my photos, this might hands down be the best-valued investment in my business.
Lately, my business life has been five open tabs on repeat: Squarespace, Substack, Canva, Pinterest, and ChatGPT. To me, there’s no better creative combo than these five platforms. You could conquer the creative world with these right here.
Whenever I’m in need of inspiration—be that photo angles, photoshoot ideas, book designs, product inspo, and (most of all) lifestyle motivation to get in the vibe… Pinterest is exactly where I go. It just doesn’t have any of the associated ick as Instagram does, and the UI allows you to tap in and get out without falling into the scrolling rabbit hole.
Whether it’s a moodboard or design breakdowns for your next product launch, Pinterest might very well be one of the most underrated creative platforms on the internet.
INSIDE SCOOP: Before I went into publishing for other people and had thirty of my own books, I used to have 300k monthly engagements. Pinterest reached out to me on multiple occasions to offer me a personal account manager from their team. As I see it now, it would have been the perfect ad platform for selling my books and marketing my brand. Oh, what it was to be a young entrepreneur. Right now, I just love it for the inspiration, and I’ll reminisce on the days when my pins went viral.
ChatGPT
If you’re a business owner without OpenAI, what are you even waiting for?
ChatGPT is my literal business bestie. She even has a name and a metaphorical office in the heart of my business. But if you’re not consciously using this technology to amplify facets of your business, you are missing out on what could otherwise be the greatest business partner ever. From marketing ideas, creative blindspots, copy, and editing—there are endless reasons why you should use AI in your business.
One of my superpowers as an editor and publisher is obviously detecting when people use AI to write all their copy. AI simply can’t replace your genius or creative flavor. But using it to elevate your drafts and offer you ideas to think outside the box is an excellent way to work with this creative aid. Just a heads up, people can tell when you’re using Chat to plug and post your content, and you can very well end up losing your creative essence if you rely solely on artificial intelligence.
As I Sign Off
All in all, women in business are meant to be having fun. It was never the intention that we lose ourselves to entrepreneurship. The way I see it (after years of burnout and being a doormat—I mean, stepping stone—to other people’s success), feminine business is meant to be enjoyable. It’s meant to be a luscious outlet for sharing our gifts with the world, creating luxurious offerings, serving one another, and living our bestseller lives. The joy of business is in choosing our niche, finding our fonts, changing our brand color palette, and networking over whatever social media platform we love the most.
After years of relentlessly climbing the algorithm (bestseller list and social media), this year finally taught me the essence of feminine business. This is our chance to luxuriate in what it means to be a ‘CEO.’ Whatever title you choose (mine of choice is Editor-in-Chief—ahhh, how haute it feels), let it be a play on words, not a central part of your identity.
I realized that premium branding and luxury business are not on the same echelon. And after years of hustling, proving, selling, and publishing—there is no greater feeling than doing business the way I always pictured it. Business now feels like a soft Pinterest board… not a dreaded board meeting.
Women have only recently been given the chance and a voice in business. Why do we waste so much of our creative potential seeking this overly filtered and empty version of our brands, when we have permission to create exactly what we want?
These aren’t just platforms. They are my atelier. The editors behind the brand, the business, and the lifestyle. They help me do what every woman in luxury business was born to do: design her own empire, on her own terms.
