5 unseggsy things about book marketing
my books have driven more than $50m in business revenue (so far), & eight figures in personal income (barely) during the time I was growing a family from 0 to 10 children - so lots of lessons learned there in both crafting books efficiently and making money around them...
i was listening to a podcast about a guy who's helped all kinds of books become NYT bestsellers (Tim Grahl, CEO of StoryGrid). he said a few things that resonated with me, looking back on my journey of selling hundreds of thousands of books.
i've always focused my limited time & enthusiasm on the book writing and relationships (like product-led growth) rather than the book marketing (marketing-led growth).
some lessons Tim shared on selling lots of books, primilary in fiction, but i've seen the same things in b2b business books:
"There’s no secrets" (there are no silver bullets, hacks or magic systems)
“Your first goals is to get your first 10,000 books into people's hands, and after that you’ll find out if your book is any good”. (I'd say 1,000 in b2b)
“It’s easier to sell a book then to get someone to read it”
"Don't bother working to get onto the bestseller lists" (I'm mangling the quote, but he said something to this effect.)
“It takes a year for your marketing to kick in” (at least!)
of course being able to craft a great book and execute amazing marketing would be ideal, but each person has to pick their battles!
i told some version of these to Matt A. Smith, a co-author on our forthcoming "Income Operating System", and I think I heard him throw up in his mouth, ha!
it's a cliche, but great books that sell themselves for years and drive a lot of revenue are a marathon, not a sprint.
if you want to catch Tim's podcast yourself: How To Write A Book That Sells For Decades: on Apple | on Spotify.
getting closer to sharing the specifics of a new program for a handful of b2b founder/CEOs who want to write a book: I'll personally help them to craft and publish kickass books that grow revenue.
want to do a book? comment here with any book questions you have or throw your title and premise down and I'll let you know if it's great or needs sharpening.
:D
Aaron
ps: know a founder / CEO looking to write a book they’re proud of, that makes money?