How this social media process sold me 10,000 self-published books online

Back in 2015, I sat myself down on a Greek beach and wrote a book.

I’ll hold my hands up now and say that it wasn’t the best book I’ve ever written.

In fact, I cringe when I look at it now.

But the book went on to become the #1 book in its category on Kindle for over three years.

Why?

Because it fixed a specific problem for specific people.

The book was called ‘How My Blog Got 1 Million Visits in 7 Months’ and it was essentially, a walkthrough of how I’d done just that.

The book was short, helpful, and pretty basic.

But it was the learning of the selling process that was of most use to me.

It’s a process I still use to this day.

You can apply it to almost any small online business because it works.

Here’s the process broken down:

#1 I defined my audience

I had achieved something that my peers hadn’t. I showed them how I did it.

At that time, I was hanging out with a lot of other bloggers who were struggling to get any traffic to their blogs. When my blog exploded, they all wanted to know how I had done it. Without consciously realising it, I had created a product that I could sell to them (in this case, a book); it also meant that I already had an audience who would need my product (this could apply to a professional service too). It also meant I could just divert people to my book when they got in touch to ask how I’d got so many people to my website. In short, I’d found a ready-made audience.

#2 Figured out where they spent most of their time online

I focused on one social media platform only.

Facebook was much less complicated than it is now and it was pretty much the go-to social media platform at the time. No TikTok, no Snapchat. But this was where most of my audience hung out. I spent a lot of time there, nurturing professional relationships that would go on to help later in my sales process.

#3 Got people onto an email list

Get people OFF social media and ONTO an email list.

I used Mailchimp (which I still use for some clients) but Beehiiv is now my choice of email provider due to its extra features and growth capabilities.

I got people OFF social media and ONTO an email list for one good reason - Facebook had previously deleted one of my accounts during another book launch - and I lost an entire audience.

An email list is yours and gives you direct contact with your audience (like this email does).

#4 Got everyone to buy the book at the same time

I emailed everyone and told them to buy my book at a specific time.

Once my audience were on my email list, and my book had already been published, I told them to buy my book at exactly the same time.

Why?

Because the bulk-buying rocketed my book up the Amazon charts and it became an instant bestseller.

Not only did I get a bestseller’s badge (which I screenshotted) but the fact that it was the #1 book in its category meant that I now reached a new audience - Amazon’s visitors.

#5 Amazon did the rest

My book stayed in the #1 spot for over three years.

Once it was up there, much like a helium balloon that gets stuck to the ceiling, it stayed there.

I had used social media to create curiosity.

I had levered that curiosity to get people onto an email list.

I had used that email list to nurture my audience.

When the time was right, I was then able to easily convert them.

The book sold, became a bestseller, and found a new audience on Amazon.

It’s the same process I now use for all my other online businesses.

Creating an online business takes time because you need to build that trust.

In short:

1. Build an audience online by posting great content and engaging with potential future customers

2. Get people OFF social media and ONTO an email list

3. Nurture your business on your email list

But by using a process similar to the one above, you can almost sell anything online.

Let me know what your side hustle is.

And have a great week ahead.

Patric

PS. Included in this week’s Premium Download Bundle below (Premium Download Bundle won’t show if you’re a free subscriber - you can upgrade here to get instant access all of these)

1. An 8-page, in-depth guide to building your brand on social media - a deep dive into creating a brand on social media from Day One. Perfect if you are starting out or need a reset.

2. Social Media Content Templates - 25 proven formats for engagement.

3. 30 social media prompts for your small businesses - a month’s worth of social media post ideas, designed to boost your engagement levels.

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