Check out part one here first:
Today we’re digging even deeper into what helps new books achieve escape velocity.
Welcome to part two of my conversation (recorded live for paid subscribers, big thanks to all who joined!) with Todd Sattersten, publisher and owner of Bard Press. Todd is so committed to helping his authors succeed that he only publishes one book each year.
In this conversation, Todd shares ways of investigating and possibly repositioning when a launch isn’t gaining traction, his three-sentence problem statement that has the greatest chance of attracting ideal readers, and why the design and readability of the Table of Contents and first chapter are essential parts of the marketing process.
More About Todd
Before Bard Press, Todd served as general manager of IT Revolution and president of business book retailer 800-CEO-READ (now Porchlight). He is the author of Every Book Is a Startup and the co-author of The 100 Best Business Books of All Time (Portfolio, 2009). Todd lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Amy and their three awesome kids.
🌟 5 Key Takeaways
Advance copies are a marketing event: Will they do something with the physical book that I send? The importance of giving them the thing to share and consider a bulk purchase is a critical component. The authors we tend to with typically have some other activity that is connected, like speaking or training. JB tip: Create an advance copy survey to start sending and collecting email addresses even a year before your publication date.
“As someone who reads over 80 books on my computer a year (to index them), holding a book in my hands makes such a difference.” —
Two B’s for categories of people that can be most helpful:
Bulk buyers—is there someone out there who could buy a box of books? Includes book clubs—to help activate communities within your ideal readership. Think leaders (book clubs, companies, associations).
Broadcasters: who are the people, big or small, who have an audience of people around them? From ten to ten thousand (and beyond).
“What’s easier: selling one book at a time to 100 people or 100 books to one person?”
Most book launch activities don’t scale: There are a lot of people who want to “buy the single ad that costs $1,000 and have it be magical,” but you are the beacon for people to find the book. Connect them to the felt need, and the beginning that felt need is because you wrote it. Don’t be shy about buying a few boxes of books and sending them yourself if your publisher doesn’t agree to send galleys (also known as ARCs, or Advance Reader Copies).
Title should always be a change function: show the change that they will experience reading the book with the title, subtitle, and book description. For example: Good to Great, Never Eat Alone, and If I Stay (fiction).
Statement 1: State the truth (ie you don’t have enough time).
Statement 2: What’s the surprise, the unexpected thing, the thing I don’t know? (ie your time is far more precious than your money).
Statement 3: Ex: It’s always your move . . . there’s always time for. What could I take from all this feedback to turn it into what’s true, what’s the unexpected twist, and what’s the second unexpected twist that drives the point home?
The Table of Contents is marketing copy! It should read like sales copy, break the rules! You are trying to draw people in. Chapter one is also marketing copy, and be sure to include a quick win, because most people won’t finish (sadly). And write short chapters! Give the reader payoffs.
📝 Permission
Drop the idea that your launch day is 24 hours. We are still running marketing campaigns for The One Thing and it’s going into its eleventh year. Taking a page from Tim Grahl’s Your First 1000 Copies, just do one thing a week. Use the HBO model of a little bit every week, not the Netflix binge release-watch.
✅ Do (or Delegate) This Next
With the Free Time book approaching its two-year bookiversary on March 22, 2024, I encourage you to grab your copy if you haven’t already! For a limited time, I’m re-opening the launch BOGOGO campaign (Buy One, Get One, Give One) if you want to 🎁 give the gift of free time in 2024 :D
Don’t miss the handy Chapter Summaries and Leader Kit (PDFs)
Want to try before you buy? Read the free excerpt here » (Web)
🔗 Resources Mentioned
Todd on the web, IG, X, LinkedIn
Publisher: Bard Press
Bard Press Articles: The Magic Number and The Few, The Many, and the Reality of Power Laws
Hilarious article from McSweeney’s: MY COMMENTS ARE IN THE GOOGLE DOC LINKED IN THE DROPBOX I SENT IN THE SLACK h/t
Jenny’s Author Toolkit and Free Time Leader Kit
Take the Free Time reader survey I sent, whether you’ve read the book or not!
Our real-time ChatGPT analysis of how the NPS 9 and 10 respondents would describe Free Time to a friend
What is Net Promoter Score (NPS)?
VIP Day with Jenny: via Free Time Operations Dashboard
Join the waitlist: 1:1 Voxer Coaching, Business Bestie Brunch + Pop-up Mastermind
Book Indexer:
— Line by Line Indexing (web) and (Substack)X thread by Jason Colavito: Publishing stats for 2022 (h/t Dorie Clark)
EPJ Data Science: Success in books: predicting book sales before publication
📚 Books Mentioned
The One Thing by Jay Papasan and Gary Keller
Taking a Career Break for Dummies by
Sustainable Ambition: 12-Month Workbook + Planner by
American Kingpin by Nick Bilton
Your First 1000 Copies by Tim Grahl
The Snowball System and Give to Grow by Mo Bunnell (out Aug. 2024)
Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One by
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🎧 Related Episodes
Michelle Guiliano’s Freelance Indexer Exchange (for professional indexers)
Self-Publishing School: The Engineer Approach to Millions of Copies Sold with Todd Sattersten
Billion Dollar Creator: 018: How to Write a Book That Sells for Decades with Tim Grahl
Free Time: 268: Strategies for Surpassing “The Magic Number” of Book Sales with Todd Sattersten
249: Systems for Selling Over One Million Books and 012: Generating Personal MBA Momentum with Josh Kaufman
084: Sprinkling the First 1,000 Serendipity Seeds of a Launch
103: How to Land a Literary Agent and Publisher with David Moldawer (Part One)
105: “Don’t write the wrong book!” with David Moldawer (Part Two)
203: 🎢 Riding the Emotional Rollercoaster of Launching with Natalie Lue
Pivot: 207: How to Develop Your Book and Big Idea (Part 1) and 208: Your Book and Big Idea (Part 2)
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271: Specific Road-Tested Tips for Book Sales and Marketing with Todd Sattersten (Part Two)