Self Publishing Formula

Self Publishing Formula is Mark Dawson's author education platform, focused almost entirely on paid advertising. Dawson built his own seven-figure writing career with Facebook and Amazon ads before launching SPF to teach the same systems. The platform's Ads for Authors course has trained tens of thousands of authors and remains the primary reference point for indie author advertising education.

What You Get#

• Launchpad ($597): The foundational self-publishing course, formerly Self Publishing 101. Covers the full publishing workflow — keyword research, cover strategy, ARC distribution, launch execution, and post-launch momentum. 40+ hours of video with lifetime access. Also available as 12 monthly payments of $54.
• Ads for Authors ($749): The flagship course. Core modules on Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads, BookBub Ads, and TikTok for Authors, plus supplementary courses on Advanced Facebook Ads, ad design training, and email/copywriting modules. Now available for direct enrollment (evergreen) rather than the old twice-yearly cohort model. Also available as 12 monthly payments of $62.
• SPF Mastermind (~$1,499/year): Premium tier with live coaching from Mark Dawson and James Blatch, prioritized peer community access, and direct feedback on campaigns.
• SPF University: Included with Ads for Authors. An expanding library of expert sessions covering various aspects of self-publishing beyond advertising.

Who It's For#

• Authors ready to invest in paid ads: The courses assume authors already have at least one book published and a budget for advertising spend beyond the course tuition.
• Fiction authors with a series: SPF's ad frameworks are optimized for series and deep catalogs. Standalones generate far lower ROI from Facebook targeting.
• Authors who want live coaching: The Mastermind tier provides direct instructor access most programs don't offer at any price.

Pricing: Launchpad $597 (or 12×$54), Ads for Authors $749 (or 12 monthly payments of $62), SPF Mastermind ~$1,499/year. All purchases include a 30-day money-back guarantee and lifetime access to future updates. As of 2026, SPF courses are hosted on a self-hosted platform (learnselfpublishing.com) and Ads for Authors is available for direct enrollment year-round.

Strengths#

• Proven track record: Dawson built a multi-figure author business with the same systems he teaches, and the program has produced a large number of verifiable student success stories.
• Platform updates: The course materials are updated when Facebook and Amazon change their ad interfaces — a key advantage over self-paced courses that go stale after platform changes.
• Community scale: The SPF Facebook group and community forums provide peer accountability that extends well beyond the video content.

Limitations#

• Cost escalates quickly: Launchpad plus Ads for Authors together cost ~$1,346 — before accounting for ongoing ad spend. Adding the Mastermind pushes the annual investment to nearly $3,000.
• Facebook-heavy methodology: Despite covering Amazon and BookBub ads, much of the framework is built around Facebook targeting. Rising CPMs and post-iOS 14 privacy changes have compressed returns for some authors.
• Not for beginners without a book: The advertising courses assume a published catalog exists. Authors still writing their first book should start with Launchpad before committing to Ads for Authors.

Alternatives#

Kindlepreneur's Authorpreneur Academy ($179) covers the full publishing process at a fraction of the cost, with no enrollment windows. For Amazon Ads specifically, Kindlepreneur's Amazon Ads course ($49.99) offers focused training without committing to the full SPF stack.