Chapter 1: How many books did the guest sell during their launch week?
For people that want to understand what that launch looks like, a concentrated volume of sales in a week, can you share some numbers around volume in that week for the one thing launch? Was it more or less than 20,000 units sold?
Uh, more, more. Okay. When we peaked, we peaked, we sold 27,000 copies in one week and we had to build up to that over the course of the month, but we had done some research and we had figured out that we would have a really good chance of making it if we sold about 20,000 copies. Okay. And Gary, of course, we made a plan to be bigger, and he doubled that again.
Because if you plan your activities around your minimum needs, you're probably going to fall short. So we had a huge plan. We had all kinds of promotions. At that time, we had about... I want to say 43,000 associates of which I would say about 4,300. Usually I look at about 10% of the total agents in our network. They're going to be really engaged.
And so some of them bought one, some of them bought more, but we use them, right?
Chapter 2: What strategies did the guest use to achieve high sales volume?
We work from the inside out to help us seed the market. So it was a huge strategy to launch a lot in a small period of time and then hopefully sustain it over time.
So you just gave the top tribe one gold nugget and we'll lay out all the numbers and data and a link to the book in the show notes at nathanlatka.com forward slash the top three, six again, forward slash the top, the number three, the number six, but Jay, You just gave us one brilliant strategy, which was, again, start seeding from the inside.
So for people, you know, the top tribe listening, that might be your employees. It might be family, you know, anyone you have a great relationship with. For Gary and Jay, it was 4,300 agents. That's one.
Jay, can you give us two other, you know, you said you had a bunch of marketing activities, but two other high impact marketing activities that helped you hit that 27,000 units sold mark in one week? You're going to have a list.
I think almost everybody here has the ability to build an email list. You do. Almost all the media entrepreneurs out there do. I'll tell you, all of my research, there's no more effective way to sell your books than to get a bunch of people who subscribe to your blog or your writing who want to hear from you. They've invited you into their inbox.
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Chapter 3: How important is building an email list for book sales?
So pure and simple, build your list. We also launched with live events. So we leveraged local sponsors. And we had 35 events over a fairly short period of time. And here's how we did it. We only said it was, I think, $25 to get a day of training. We got the sponsors to cover the hotel rooms. And then everybody who showed up got a book. And we fulfilled those books through a bookstore.
If you don't fulfill them through a bookstore, they don't count towards a bestseller list. So that month... We were speaking like crazy. Both of us were on the road and we were trying to get as many people in the seats as possible. And everybody in their seat was waiting for them was a copy of the book. So that was a big part of our launch strategy to get a lot out in one month.
Chapter 4: What role do live events play in a successful book launch?
Wow. Of those 35 events, add up all the people that had butts in seats at every event. Would you say there was over 10,000 people across 35 events?
I want to say that we averaged about, I want to say 450. Gary averaged higher than I did, but that was a huge part of our base. So 16,000 people total about. There you go. Boom.
That's a big part of our launch. Wow. That's amazing. So that was number three. Again, number one, you said...
4,300 agents, you know, some amount of them bought, you had a list and then the launch strategy, just for people that, again, have their own lists thinking about writing a book and if their list is big enough yet or if they should keep lists building before launch, how big was your guys' list when you launched the book?
I mean, I was counting our associates, right?
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Chapter 5: How did the guest leverage their network for book sales?
Today, our list is about 35,000. It's bigger than it was then. So we just weren't as focused on it. And now I know it's absolutely the tool. Let's put it this way. Our opt-in list is 35,000. We had the rights back then to spam about 60,000 agents. You heard it here first, guys. The right to spam. There you go. Well, they're affiliates with us, right?
So they have to accept our email, but I don't think that's the same thing. So we really, during the launch, we switched and I said, you know what? We are really pushing a lot and I want it to be a pull. And so we just flipped it and we started...
Chapter 6: What are the benefits of permission-based marketing in book promotion?
actively saying, everybody who just wants to hear about the book, let us know, and we will only email to you going forward. And that's when we started that list. And I feel much better about sending emails to people who said, I want to hear from me.
No, that is such a good point for, again, everyone listening right now, whether you're thinking about a book launch or not, but permission-based podcasts pull marketing. So Jay, I'm going to summarize real quick, and then we're going to get into my favorite part of the show. I can't wait for it. But first, again, Top Tribe, you've taken some gold nuggets from this so far.
You know, Jay worked hard, worked with Gary. They brainstormed hundreds of ideas about what to make timeless over being timely, and they came up with the one thing. They optimized all of their marketing to get 20,000, at least 20,000 book sales in one week to hit the bestseller list. But they planned for double or triple that to make sure they crushed it.
And they did with three specific sales strategies, selling to their agents or their affiliate or their partners. Maybe Top Tribe, you have affiliates or partners you can work with.
Chapter 7: How can authors ensure their book has long-term sales success?
Number two, they used their list. And number three, they used live in-person events. Jay, did I get that right? You nailed it.
And I want to highlight timeless. A lot of people do this strategy and they sell all of those books at a great cost in time and money in that first month. And then the book dies.
Hmm.
And I'll just tell you that our sales are up year over year for July, 43%. For the year, almost 26%. Wow. And this is kind of the validation. I'm going to knock on wood. I don't want to jinx it. But the word of mouth is growing.
Chapter 8: What advice does the guest have for aspiring authors?
And if you invest the energy in making the product really as good as you can possibly make it, you're maximizing your chances that you'll have a timeless something that actually can grow over time. You don't want to just show up, be the hit of the moment, have your 15 minutes of book fame and fade. Not if you're trying to build a business around it.
I don't want to say we got lucky because we were trying to do it, but I do feel fortunate because you can't always control that. But that's something worth working hard for.
If you are loving this episode, you will love episode number eight, where we talk to the head of strategy at GoPro, responsible for taking them from $300,000 a year in sales to $300 million in sales. And to celebrate the top tribe, I am giving you guys the chance to win a GoPro and my top three favorite business books. In order to win, simply text the word NATHAN to 33444.
Again, N-A-T-H-A-N to 33444 for your chance to win hundreds of dollars in prizes every week. The first one is a GoPro and my favorite business books. And Jay, with that, do you know what time it is? It's time. Dude, it's time for the famous five. Are you ready? Yes. Number one. Jay, what is your favorite business book? Besides the one thing, of course.
Oh, but I hate this question. But I'm going to tell you what I'm giving away right now more than anything else. Because in any given time, this changes. Right now, it's Give and Take by Adam Grant. It's really about how to grow your life through strategic giving and how to grow your business. And I love it because it lines up with a lot of things I believe.
Like philanthropy?
Yes. Okay, great. We're working right now. We've been sponsoring a charity with our real estate business for the last four years and raising six figures for them. Now we're going to start one in our name. Think about the Papazan Real Estate Foundation or whatever it is. We can do all the good is directed at what cause we want and it's in alignment with our business.
And I can tell you, the two are very synergistic and you're not doing good for evil's sake. You can do it all the right way. You just got to read the book. It's a huge book for me.
Such an important message. Again, we'll link to that in the show notes at nathanlaca.com forward slash the top 36. Jay, which CEO are you following to study right now?
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