268: Strategies for Surpassing “The Magic Number” of Book Sales with Todd Sattersten

Written By Jenny Blake

What mysterious ingredients make a book launch successful? What number of first-week and first-year sales truly make a difference to a book’s longevity? What can you do to turn lagging numbers around?

These vexing questions set today’s guest on a quest to examine a dataset of five years of book sales data across 6,775 titles in business and self-help to find answers—and he did.

In a flagship illuminating post for the industry, Todd Sattersten, publisher and owner of Bard Press, shared his findings in The Magic Number. In this behind-the-business conversation from October 2023, you’ll hear him generously talk me through how I could help Free Time get there—with a much-needed morale boost at the end.

Before you listen, two important announcements!

  • 🎁 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

  • 📆 Bonus for paying subscribers! Join (or upgrade) your Free Time newsletter subscription here to attend our live taping of part two of this conversation on Thursday, March 7 at 12pm ET! You’ll get the link to register in the footer of the newsletter below the paywall, and can ask Todd your specific questions during the second half of the session.

More About Todd: Todd Sattersten is the publisher and owner of Bard Press, a book publisher that works with authors to create best-selling books in business, personal development and technology. Before Bard Press, Todd served as general manager of IT Revolution and president of business book retailer 800-CEO-READ.  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.

🌟 3 Key Takeaways

  • A book launch is a set of activities to engage people and create momentum, and there is no common blueprint for success. “Each book is different—in its approach to a problem and delivery of solution. Each author is different—in what they bring to the launch. And the world itself is different every time you bring a book into the world.”

  • The Magic Number: The data says is that if you can get into the 10,000 to 25,000 copy range for first year sales, you have a 42% chance of selling more than 25,000 copies in lifetime sales. If you get past that 10K mark, there is a 4 in 10 chance of getting beyond 25K copies sold.

  • Endorsements should triangulate the reader to think this book is for them. Who is the highest comp author? A practitioner (someone doing the work or even a related recognizable company), a reader who demonstrates utility.

📝 Permission

Put your ego down. Remember, you want your readers to be better, to improve their lives. Our job is to find more people to help, and there are still so many opportunities for that. You don’t actually have to stop promoting the book after it’s launched—there is nobody stopping you!

✅ Do (or Delegate) This Next

Send a survey out to your readers and community, ideally 90 to 120 days after the book comes out. Check out the one Jenny sent here—and please take it if you can at the same time!

Your introduction / call to action might sound like, “I need 90 seconds of your time. I want to ask you about {Your Book Tile}. It’s just three questions, would you take the time to give me some feedback?”

Questions to ask (see full show notes here if you can’t see these):

  1. Did you get a copy of the book? (Did they perceive the value? This thing fits for me)

    1. → Branching, end the survey there

    2. Multiple choice: Was it time, money, not the right topic?

    3. For the first 100 people, if they don’t have a copy, send one, then follow-up with those 100 people → does it work?

    4. If they say no, they would ask, can I get you a copy? Send you a copy? First five chapters? (Trial-ability is very important)

  2. Did you read it?

    1. Can I write you in a few weeks and see if the book has been helpful? 30% will give you their email and give you permission to be an accountability buddy

  3. Would you recommend it to a friend or colleague? (Net Promoter Score, scale from 0 to 10; promoters are 9s and 10s, neutrals are 7s and 8s, detractors are 0 to 6s)

    1. Branch: for the promoters, ask them: How would you describe the book to someone else?

    2. Update book description to update word-of-mouth language

🔗 Resources Mentioned

📚 Books Mentioned

🎧 Related Episodes

🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review

✍️ Check out Jenny’s personal business essays on Substack, Rolling in D🤦🏻‍♀️h

💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter for access to the Free Time Toolkit

🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts

📝 Check out full show notes and share: https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/268

Jenny Blake

Jenny Blake is a career and business strategist and international speaker who helps people people organize their brain, move beyond burnout and create sustainable careers they love. She is the author of PIVOT: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One (Portfolio/Penguin Random House, September 2016). Jenny left her job in career development at Google in 2011 after five and a half years at the company to launch her first book, Life After College, and has since run her own consulting business in New York City. Find her on Twitter @Jenny_Blake and subscribe to the Pivot Podcast. 

http://PivotMethod.com
Previous

269: “I am not a bank” — Strategies for Getting Corporate Clients to Pay on Time with Joey Coleman
Next

267: Insights from Google's Productivity Expert—On Saying No, Cozy Corners, The Laundry Method, and More with Laura Mae Martin