an undervalued aspect of book marketing: 3 secrets, 2 links, 1 quote

Over 15 years Jim Murphy sold 8,000 copies.

That’s 533 copies seeded/year.

Last year, during an NFL playoff game, Eagles receiver A.J. Brown was seen reading Inner Excellence on the sideline.

Over the next two days that book sold 100,000 copies.

This is why we talk about putting yourself in a position to get lucky.

Jim Murphy says that when you can’t control exactly when your work will get noticed, so just spend your time continue improving your message and craft.
​

3 Secrets

1. Undervalued aspect of book marketing: As mentioned in the story above, Jim Murphy kept focusing on improving his writing – re-releasing the book in 2019.
​
In that re-write he was guide by this book by Anne Lamott which was also recommended to me by Dan Pink.
​
Something that’s undervalued in book marketing is the quality of content.
​
If you can design a book where 3 out of 10 people recommend it vs. 2 in 10 that will significantly improve the ROI of all your marketing tactics and reduce the number of books you need to see before the book takes off.

2. Lets do the math: If you focus on quality of content, here is the difference it makes for all your marketing efforts.

This graph plots readers per month based on a 5% recommendation rate vs. a 10% recommendation rate. You can see here that after 24 months 100 readers turn into 307 readers at a 5% recommendation rate vs. 895 readers at a 10% recommendation rate.

I can’t emphasize enough working with a ghost writer, publisher, or coach who knows how to put your brain into a recommendable format. Also read books like Bird By Bird to learn how to write well. 2-3 hours reading this book can be difference between selling 300 books vs. 900 books over 24 months.

3. “From the publisher section”: The deal with A+ content (also known as the “from the publisher section”: If you’re going to do A+ content, do it well. It’s not something you can just throw up as it WILL hurt your sales. On the mobile version of Amazon – it’s the first thing that pops up. Treat it as importantly as your book description, IF you choose to do it. You do not NEED it. Here are some examples of quality A+ content. Scroll to the “From the publisher” section.
​One example.
​Another example.
(Also you can use custom sizes in Canva to create it yourself). If you’re traditionally published, reach out to someone on Fiverr to get it designed and send it to your publisher to get it added to your listing.

2 Links
​​
1. Nicole was nice enough to share the recording with me from last week in case you missed it. We talked about:
– Why your first 1,000 books matter more than you think
– How to seed your book for long-term results (not just launch week)
– How to use podcasts and Amazon ads smartly (no huge budget required)
– Why your business backend matters more than ever

Check out our chat here: nichepressworks.com/alex-replay​

2. I’m releasing the entire audiobook for Before The Bestseller in 2 episodes per week over 9 weeks. Listen along here. Topics covered so far:
​What you need to know before spending an hour or dollar on marketing your book​
​Make marketing your book much easier​
​Building your marketing team​
​Your Author Twin and Time Hacks​
​Email Lists for Authors​
​FREE Reader Seeding​
​Amazon and Amazon Ads​
​Meta Ads​
​Additional Pay-to-Play Strategies​
​Organic Social Media​
​Podcast Guesting​
​One by One & Corporate Bulk Buy​
​Ratings and Reviews​
​Moonshots & Turning Speaking Into Events​
​Gatekeepers​

​

​
​
​

1 Quote

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”
– Richard Bach

with love and sincere appreciation,

Alex
​BeforeTheBestseller | ShelfLife​
​alex@getshelflife.com