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Reader, each year I might be lucky enough to have a top 10 life moment… this past week included at least 3 of the top 10 moments of my entire life. That’s because last week our Chief Marketing Scientist, Laura Russom, and I traveled to Franklin, TN to present about Amazon Ads to many of our lifelong heroes. The requirement to be in that room is to have sold over a million copies of your books. We’re pretty happy just to be at around 4,000 for Before The Bestseller. That said, we HAVE sold over a million copies of other people’s books! Safe to say Laura and I were over the moon for the chance to learn from this elite group.
You won’t be surprised to hear that today’s secrets come from what we learned in that room full of incredibly successful authors. Thank you to Alex Wieckowski of the alexandbooks Instagram account for taking such great notes at the event. 3 Secrets ​ 1. How Jefferson Fisher built an Instagram following of 7 Million. Instagram is still relevant. Jefferson’s current book rank proves it. Jefferson only started growing his account in 2022 (~4 years ago). His tips for growing a dedicated following:
Check out Jefferson’s Instagram for examples and inspiration. ​ 2. I still believe the best way to market a book is to write a damn good book… It’s the author’s job to sell the first 20,000 copies and it’s the books job to sell the next million. Enter Charles Duhigg. Charles has sold over 3 million copies of The Power of Habit so he knows how to write a good book. “Your voice emerges in what’s not strictly necessary.” As we reckon with the fear of being replaced by AI, what will readers stick around for? In every recent episode of Before The Bestseller, I ask the author, what are you focusing on here in 2026? Their answer? Almost always, “becoming a world class storyteller” People will read books because they like you, not just because they want information from you. So what’s Charles advice on how to be likeable in your writing? Most authors aren’t funny. I’m not funny. But our voice comes through when we try to be funny. According to Charles, that’s one way to be more likable in your writing. Another way to keep readers coming back? Find a way to surprise the reader. An author writes a story about a plane having a mid-air emergency. If the book is about whether or not the captain is able to land the plane, the reader knows the plane lands safely. The surprise comes when the author convinces the reader the plane will land one way, but then lands it in a way the reader did not expect. In summary: Is your personality coming across in your writing? Is your reader surprised along the way? ​ 3. Least and most competitive months Thank you to Rory Vaden at Brand Builders Group for sharing the competitive ranking for each month of the year to hit the NYT list based on extensive study his team undertook. Most competitive month = December
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​ 1 Book History remembers Genghis Khan as a brutal conquerer taking whatever and whoever he wanted. A common rumor is that a significant percentage of people alive today have some of his DNA running through our bodies. BUT…there’s more to the story. – religious freedom It’s worth taking a closer look at who he really was and how he helped shape the modern world. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World 3 Stars (If you can’t tell by now, I’m a history nerd) ​
Alex P.S. Know someone who needs help marketing their book? We offer a $500 referral bonus 🙂 |