| Hey, I remember my first Black Friday in Portugal like it was yesterday. Mostly because it kicked off a few weeks early – "Black Month," some retailers called it. I may have raised an eyebrow at the time, but it seems these guys were ahead of the game. Virtually every retailer is jumping the gun these days, with Amazon even jamming an extra Prime Day into October for good measure. It's enough to make you wonder if the true meaning of Black Friday is getting lost. But fear not, pilgrim, your trusty Deals Sherpa has been hard at work, curating the finest deals on the planet so you can avoid the dreaded Crevice of False Bargains – whose yawning mouth grows ever bigger. The focus here is on tools to grow your audience and build your business. While Black Friday might not longer be that One Special Day when coveted products are sold at record low-prices, it still holds true for tech companies and the tools and services they offer; I've gathered the very best below and explained why I've chosen each one. Note: some of these are affiliate links – marked (aff link) – and some are not. All are things that I personally use, enjoy, and recommend. This doesn't affect the price you pay, it just means I may earn a commission if you purchase via my link. That money goes towards creating a ton of free resources for authors, like my new video tutorial for Facebook Ads – which has just gone into production so please stop emailing me lol. Back to them deals: I've split them up into sections so you can drill down to what you need – we have Writing Tools, Marketing Tools, Website Tools – even a bunch of Content Creation Tools for any non-fiction authors like me who lean into the creator side of things too. A whole bunch of tools! Ahem. Let's dive in. Marketing tools GoOnWrite – Premade Book Covers - $32 GoOnWrite is my recommended source for pre-made book covers, and they are running a sale with up to 50% off a variety of things but I'm sure most interest will be in those pre-mades for just €30 (approx. $32). Get pre-made covers from GoOnWrite for $32 DepositPhotos – 100 Stock Photos - $49 For those who prefer designing their own stuff, Canva might never have a deal, but DepositPhotos is always reliable. The structure of the deal was a little different this year, however, with the biggest price cut dropping early (which I emailed about a couple of weeks ago, don't blame me!!). It's still a cracking deal now at $49 and, while that is a touch more than before, the size of the image and video collection has grown considerably since – almost doubling to a whopping 300m assets to choose from now. As always, you get a block of 100 stock photos credits for the price, the credits never expire, you can stack as many blocks as you like, and everything is covered by the usual 60-day guarantee from AppSumo which you can take to the bank. This is always the most popular deal among authors, every single year, for very good reason – the regular price for these credits is $300. Get 100 DepositPhoto credits for $49 from AppSumo (aff link) Set Sail Studios – Fonts – 20% off Want to pretty up your designs with some beautiful fonts? I love the free collection on Canva too (and love even more the giant collection of free fonts from Google which you can easily import to Canva btw). But sometimes a special job requires a special font and Sam @ Set Sail Studios makes really lovely stuff. I especially like his hand-drawn handwriting fonts, but there are so many lovely things here – including some freebies! Strictly speaking, not a Black Friday deal. But if you sign up to the newsletter you get a permanent 20% discount. They only email when a new font drops, so you only get a few emails a year – and you get some freebies to sweeten the deal. The site also has a cool Typetester where you can take any font for a test drive and see how it looks before you splash the cash. Suuuuuuper handy. Get a permanent 20% off fonts by signing up at Set Sail Studios (aff link) Kit – Email Service – 30% off If you are thinking about switching your email marketing service – or making the leap from Free to Paid – Black Friday is often the very best time to do it, as you can get a tasty discount… and then lock it down in an annual plan. This here newsletter is powered by Kit (formerly known as ConvertKit) – which has been the case for four years now, and I've no plans to move it; I'm very happy with the service. It's a more full-on email marketing service than MailerLite (which I also use and recommend), and more expensive as a result. If you need the extra integrations, if you do anything like sell ebooks direct, or other digital products, or perhaps have a course or a membership or something like that... or just like to use complex automations because you're a complex kind of guy… then ConvertKit is the best choice IMO. It's literally designed for and by people who run businesses like that. Get 30% off the annual Creator plan at Kit (aff link) MailerLite – Email Service – 33% off MailerLite is cheaper, more pared-back, and probably more suitable for the typical author – a service I've happily used on the fiction side of my business for 5 years now. If you are not sure what email marketing service to use, go for MailerLite; it's a safe choice with a good feature set and some of the best deliverability around (the most important thing!!). Existing customers take note: you can get 50% off upgrading to New MailerLite right now. I still haven't made the leap – that hasn't been enough to tempt me tbh. But if you were eyeing the move… there's yer discount. Get 33% off annual plans at MailerLite (aff link) Publisher Rocket – Keyword/Categories Tool - $30 off + free course $30 off Rocket plus a free course called Mastering Keywords and Categories (valued at $50). The pricing on Rocket has changed quite a bit since I spoke about it last, but there are a ton of new features reflecting that change. Honestly, I haven't played with Rocket since the new stuff was added so I can't speak to those - mostly highlighting this deal for those who were already considering a purchase. It is a lifetime license, so no subscription to worry about. Get $30 off Publisher Rocket (aff link) Writing tools reMarkable 2 – Digital Notepad – save $79 Digital notepad? E-ink tablet? Smart paper? It's hard to attach a label to the reMarkable 2 that fully captures what it does, especially now that you can draft a novel from start to finish on it, starting off with plotting, then drafting, then auto-converting your handwriting to typed text, and then whipping out the nifty keyboard cover to polish it up even further. You can even back up your writing to the cloud or send it by email – but you are otherwise blissfully free of distractions which manages to both greatly increase your productivity while making that time spent altogether more pleasant. Like a flow state generator. Yeah, that's what I'm calling it from now on. There's a fancy new color e-ink version, but I'm not tempted at all – I think the reMarkable 2 is pretty much perfect and it goes everywhere with me. There are a variety of bundles, and a range of discounts depending on what you choose and the taxes where you live, but I'm seeing discounts of up to $79/€79 my preferred bundle – i.e. the Marker Pro and the Type Folio. And don't forget they have a stellar guarantee where you can try the device for up to 100 days and return it for a full refund if you don't like it. But that's not even my favorite thing, which is just how accurate that handwriting conversion is even when you are drinking espresso martinis on a rooftop somewhere. Get the reMarkable 2 for $79 off (aff link) New range of Kindles The entire Kindle range has been refreshed this year, with more interesting changes than usual, so if you are looking for a new e-reader, you now have lots more choices – including an improved Kindle Scribe. The Kindle Scribe was what first got me interested in these types of writing/productivity devices, but I was steered towards the reMarkable 2 by several of you guys before hitting that Buy button. And thank you for that because subsequent reviews weren't crazy about the user interface of the Kindle Scribe or its writing feel – particularly when compared to the reMarkable 2. By the sounds of things, Amazon made great strides on the software side over the last couple of years, and is beginning to close the gap on the hardware front also. This isn't a Black Friday deal – it's not even out yet – but the updated Kindle Scribe drops on December 4 in the USA, a little slower elsewhere. Just a heads-up for those who want one device to do all their reading and writing on. Here's a good preview from CNet on all the new devices. Freewrite – Drafting Device – 20% off I've had the new Freewrite Alpha sitting in a box for over a year. In my defence, I've moved house six billion times during that period. I feel like I have been terribly unfair to my Freewrite – whose passionate users rival that of the reMarkable. All these devices are hard to pin labels on – Freewrite calls this one a "drafting device" but it's basically like a smart typewriter you can bring anywhere with you, with a small LCD or e-ink screen so you can see (some of) what you are typing. Again, the idea is to keep distractions at bay, create a focused environment, and keep those fingers moving. Some models are more mobile than others, so choose carefully depending on how you plan to use it – the Alpha is half the weight of the Smart Typewriter, for example. Man, I should really get this thing out of the box! Anyway, along with the discounts, Freewrite are throwing in some nice gifts to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Get Freewrite devices for up to 20% off Nuphy – Mechanical Keyboards – 20% off But hey, maybe you prefer writing indoors instead on a regular computer. It's warmer there and you have snacks, after all. Maybe do yourself another favor and get a nice mechanical keyboard for Christmas. There are many fine brands out there these days, and I particularly like Nuphy, Keychron, and Das Keyboard for that intersection of stellar quality and good value. Everyone always asks about my keyboard when it pops up in videos or on social media – it's the Nuphy Air60. It's sturdy enough to have been my daily driver for a couple of years now, but also light enough to take traveling. Has handy little fit to sit on your laptop keyboard, and can be connected to your computer via wifi, Bluetooth, or a fetching little threaded cord. If you don't like the slimmed down 60-key version, there are others with numpads and function keys too. Really love this keyboard, and it's a bright addition to your desk (which you can customize further as well – there are a range of colors and it comes with extra keycaps!). Make sure to use code NF20 on checkout. Get 20% off keyboards at Nuphy (aff link) Website tools WP Rocket – Site Speed Plugin – 40% off I happily used WP Rocket for a couple of years before my traffic grew to the point where it was worth upgrading to the more-expensive Nitro (below), but I was particularly impressed with just how much it sped up my website right out of the box – before even diving into the settings and eking out even more speed improvements. The plug-and-play aspect should appeal to anyone who doesn't want to get too technical here as site performance can be a serious rabbit hole. Plus, you can return it for a full refund in the first two weeks if it doesn't do much for you. Get WP Rocket for 40% off (aff link) Nitro – Pro Site Speed Plugin – 37% off Nitro (37% off annual plans – you can upgrade/downgrade/cancel any time, and you can also get a full refund here within the first 14 days if you aren't seeing the benefits. I've been using the Business plan for a couple of years now and it speeds up the 100s of pages on my website significantly with virtually no input needed from me. The more expensive plans are unnecessary unless you have a very large amount of traffic. Get Nitro for 37% off (aff link) Yoast – SEO Plugin – 30% off Yoast is the leading SEO plugin and I've been using it for several years now to make my content more discoverable on Google. The free version is pretty powerful – and perhaps should be your first port of call. But after a year or two, I upgraded to Yoast Premium and haven't looked back – even springing for a couple of add-ons too, which are handy if you host or embed a lot of video content and can really increase your visibility on video search. Get Yoast at 30% off Divi – WordPress Theme – 25% off Divi is the most popular website theme in the world and always does a big Black Friday deal – and there are a huge range of things discounted this weekend. The biggest savings are on the Pro bundle (73% off) but I suspect more interest will be in the 25% off the standard package. Existing users can play too with lots of big discounts on various add-ons, as per usual. Get 25% off Divi (aff) Siteground – Web Hosting - 87% off I've been using and recommending Siteground for years and the combination of price and value is hard to beat – and that goes double during Black Friday when there is up to 87% off various packages. The biggest discount is on the package of most interest too – with the $15.99 hosting bundle reduced to a killer $1.99 a month. Get 87% off Siteground (aff link) Namecheap – .com Domain Names – 57% off I own more website domain names than I care to admit and I've used some bad services over the years. Namecheap manages to be brilliant while also being one of the cheapest around. They also run one of the biggest Black Friday sales with a headline-grabbing 97% off certain domains. You're probably going to want a .com domain though – those are a slightly less headline-grabbing, but still tasty, 57% off. Make sure to use code BFCMTLD24 at checkout. Get 57% off .com domain names at Namecheap Content tools I'm reliably informed that it's 2024, and even more reliably informed that it will become 2025 next year, which is very futuristic sounding. As you well know, being an author these days involves wearing a ridiculous amount of hats but that doesn't stop some authors reaching for more. Some of you guys dip your toes into content creation as well – especially my fellow non-fiction authors – so let me recommend my favorite tools to make your content more pro, as there are some really big deals this weekend. Thinkific – Course Platform – 50% off Thinkific is the platform I have used to seamlessly deliver my course Starting from Zero for the last few years – and a superior choice to the alternatives IMHO. It also integrates perfectly with my email service provider (Kit) which means it is fully automated and I can be completely hands-off – aka the dream. I'm on the Basic plan – more than enough for my needs. This is the cheapest plan and includes free access to the Accelerator program so your course can hit the ground running. Get up to 50% off Thinkific (aff link) Tella – Screen Recorder – 30% off Tella is like the dream screen recording tool – super handy for anyone doing teaching, recording a quick demo, or streaming anything from their computer. I'm constantly amazed with the features they keep adding, and it's basically an editing suite now too, allowing you to import clips from anywhere and make a complete video from start to finish. You can record talking to camera, record your screen, or both, and it has an entire array of features the competition hasn't even thought of yet. I'd give this 12 out of 10 if that didn't break the laws of math. (You could say that I like this quite a bit.) I've also been using it for a few years and am very impressed with the support any time I had an issue… especially because in 100% of cases the issue was that I am an idiot. You can get 30% off annual plans with the code BLACKFRIDAY24. I'm on the Basic plan which suits my needs perfectly as it has no limitations, lets me store as many videos as I want in the cloud, and even allows you to export in 4k – premium features you pay more for elsewhere. You can try Tella for free for a week too – without giving them card details, which is nice – and I really recommend doing that just to see how slick and cool this tech is, especially compared to the more heralded competition. Get 30% off Tella (aff link) Lapse – Timelapse Recorder – 50% off Unlike pretty much everything else in this email, I have only used Lapse a couple of times, but it's only $9.99 and pretty unique – and solves a couple of tricky problems for the handful of people who might need it. Basically, it records a timelapse of your screen – so could be really great for artists of all kinds, or anyone wishing to jazz up a tutorial perhaps. I can see digital artists in particular doing all sorts of creative things with this. Now, I should warn you that it's not a super fancy app; it's very pared back and only does a couple of things. You set the time delay on the time lapse, hit record, and that's it. You are either happy with the output… or you have to do another take. There's no editing after the fact. The reason why is kind of cool. Video files take up a gargantuan amount of space, and if you get into video work in any capacity, it's one of the first issues you run into. Lapse is neat because it's a true time lapse – in that it just takes screenshots of your screen every few seconds. So the files are relatively small and won't gobble up your hard drive. This also makes it a neat solution for places where you have a tricky file size limit on uploads – like Facebook Reels or YouTube shorts. It could be a cool way of hacking vertical video to funnel viewers to your longer content. If you have a full-on editing program like DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro or whatever, this app is unnecessary as you can just speed up things to your heart's content in the editor. But for those who are looking for a cheap-and-easy solution, one that is straightforward to use, saves on hard drive space, and doesn't need a powerhouse computer to run, this could be the answer. Plus, it's from AppSumo, so the usual handy protections apply around refunds etc. Get Lapse for just $9.99 (aff link) Tubebuddy – YouTube Toolkit – 50% off Lots of big creators use Tubebuddy to make their content more discoverable on YouTube. I'm on the Pro plan which is like $2.50 a month. (The Legend Plan looks like overkill to me unless YouTube is central to your business and you really love this tool). Free plans are also available if you want to test it out – and maybe that's your best starting point here. While it taught me a lot about how people search for content on YouTube, and I still find it useful… I like it rather than love it tbh. Like a Publisher Rocket for YouTube, if that makes sense. Get TubeBuddy for 50% off (aff link) OK, I think the Crevice of False Bargains has been safely bested for another year. Dave P.S. Writing music this week is Cat Power with Sea of Love. | 
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