Address your book to one or two real people, or even yourself, rather than a general audience. This approach makes the content more powerful and interesting, paradoxically leading to a wider reach.
Do not write a single word of your book until you have a solidified Table of Contents. This structure acts as the foundation, mapping the exact steps and milestones to guide your target reader from ‘zero to hero’ and making the writing process significantly easier.
Before writing, present your Table of Contents to real target readers and ask for feedback on which sections are ‘hell yes,’ ’eh,’ or ’not relevant.’ This data validates your structure, ensures it meets reader needs, and removes guesswork from the writing process.
Become the embodiment of your book’s message before writing it, speaking from a place of having already achieved the transformation you describe. This authenticity prevents projecting a false bravado and resonates more deeply with readers.
Target readers who are on lower rungs of expertise than yourself, aiming to pull them up to your level. Writing for peers or those above you will not create a good book, as you cannot push someone further than you have gone yourself.
Allocate a significant portion of your editing time to the first 50 pages, ensuring the introduction and Chapter 1 contain your most compelling stories and impactful messages. This strategy maximizes reader engagement and retention, as many readers drop off early.
Avoid burying your best content or starting with extensive historical theory; instead, front-load your book with practical, actionable insights. Readers are often busy and looking for immediate solutions, so ‘hit them with your best stuff right here’.
Focus on creating a book title that evokes curiosity, FOMO, or other strong emotional reactions, making it easy to remember and recommend. This is the most critical marketing decision as word-of-mouth drives sales for most successful books.
Create titles that are fun, easy, and memorable to say, almost a ’tip of the tongue’ phrase that gets triggered regularly in conversation. This conversational ease is crucial for driving word-of-mouth recommendations.
Before finalizing a title, test it by saying it aloud and observing people’s reactions to ensure it sounds natural and appealing when recommended. A title should not be embarrassing to say, as this can hinder recommendations.
Employ multiple methods for title testing, such as Google Ads for click-through rates, identifying ‘unlock phrases’ used with clients, scoring titles against criteria (FOMO, memorability), using AI tools, and utilizing platforms like PickFu.com for audience polling and feedback.
Analyze feedback from title tests (e.g., PickFu) to ensure your chosen title accurately sets reader expectations for the book’s content. Misaligned expectations can lead to negative reviews, even if the book is otherwise good.
Invest in a professional book cover designer who specializes in covers, rather than a general designer or cheap service. A bold, iconic cover is a direct representation of the book’s quality and instantly communicates its message, compelling readers to pick it up.
Strive for iconic, bold, and differentiated book covers that claim the most courageous visual representation possible. While genre guidelines are helpful, avoid making your cover too derivative, as it will blend into the sea of other books.
Engage with clients or an online audience to intimately understand their questions, challenges, and obstacles. Then, observe their struggles and successes firsthand to ensure your book effectively addresses their needs and provides tangible transformation.
Before writing your book, ideally, you should have coached, consulted, or helped at least three people achieve the transformation you plan to codify. This ensures your methods are proven and effective, providing a solid foundation for your content.
Engage in an interactive, communal process of producing your book’s structure with readers to overcome the ‘curse of knowledge.’ Your expertise can make what’s remarkable to you confusing or boring to your target audience, so reader input is vital.
Emulate Brene Brown’s style by presenting your talking points or ideas to a trusted group for feedback and discussion. This collaborative approach helps refine your content and ensures it resonates with your audience before formal writing.
When writing prescriptive nonfiction, lean into a formulaic chapter structure: hook, thesis, body, key takeaways, and a segue to the next chapter. This consistent framework provides clarity and makes the content easier to process.
Utilize AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude on the backend to efficiently clean up transcripts and structure content, especially after over-indexing on structure. This can produce first drafts significantly faster without direct interfacing.
Overcome writer’s block, imposter syndrome, and perfectionism by speaking your content conversationally, which is eight times faster than typing. Then, use AI to clean up and structure these transcripts, retaining your original words for efficient content creation.
Instead of manually crafting prompts, ask AI to ‘give me the ideal prompt that will achieve this outcome,’ as AI is often better at communicating with itself. Regularly experiment with AI to discover its full capabilities and enhance your workflow.
Avoid surprising your audience with a sudden book launch by continuously engaging them throughout the writing process. Letting them feel like co-creators builds emotional investment, making promotion easier and more natural.
Regularly share updates, ask for feedback on surveys (e.g., pain points, questions), title concepts, or cover designs, and even share struggles. This creates a ‘buildup of anticipation’ and makes readers feel part of the journey, like movie studios do.
Upload chapters or full manuscripts to platforms like helpthisbook.com to gather clear data on reader confusion, value, and drop-off points. This service also allows you to test multiple cover concepts with your audience.
Deeply involve your community during the book’s creation so they feel invested and excited. This engagement leads to natural word-of-mouth and purchases during the pre-launch phase, making promotion effortless.
Leverage the two highest conversion windows (book announcement and live launch) by packaging multiple book purchases with existing valuable services or products, such as coaching calls. This strategy facilitates selling a lot of books at once.
If you are self-published and not chasing bestseller lists, aim to hit your sales goals during pre-launch so that launch week can be a stress-free ‘victory lap’ and a celebration of your significant achievement.
During launch week, prioritize accumulating reviews, aiming for 1% of copies sold, as this establishes a strong foundation for the book’s long-term conversion success and visibility.
Develop an automated post-launch email series that delivers standalone value and quick wins from your book, subtly mentioning its origin and encouraging reviews. This approach converts readers and drives sales without being overbearing.
For a book to be enduring and highly shareable, it must offer a quick, tangible transformation that is noticeable to others, prompting discussion and recommendations, similar to how successful diet books gain traction.
Ensure your book addresses a current, relevant issue (timely) while being rooted in timeless concepts. This balance prevents sales from crashing down after a topical moment passes, ensuring lasting impact.
Create a shareable book by addressing a prevalent societal issue (zeitgeist) with a contrarian, unexpected, or revitalized timeless message. Mark Manson’s ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck’ is an example of hitting a perfect time with a relevant message.
Avoid projecting a false bravado or acting like someone you’re not in your writing, as readers have ‘BS detectors’ and will discount content that doesn’t feel authentic or human. Authenticity builds credibility and connection.
Emulate Ryan Holiday by identifying a dead or obscure topic (like Stoicism) and revitalizing it, effectively creating a new category for your book to dominate. This ‘blue ocean’ strategy can lead to a ‘winner take all scenario’.
Treat category creation and positioning like title generation: experiment in public, observe what resonates, and once a successful ‘oil well’ is found, focus on drilling deeper into that area. This iterative approach leads to ultimate success.
If considering traditional publishing, aim for an advance of $100,000 or more (adjusted for audience size). A significant advance indicates the publisher has enough ‘skin in the game’ to seriously invest in your book’s success.
For self-published authors, invest in making the best possible product, as most people ‘screw up self-publishing.’ High-quality production is crucial for standing out and competing effectively in the market.
Recognize that self-publishing, especially for first-time authors, carries a higher likelihood of ‘stepping on a landmine’ that hurts your book’s success. Traditional publishers, despite their flaws, offer a more structured process.
Consider continuously revising your book based on negative reviews and reader feedback, much like Hal Elrod did with ‘The Miracle Morning.’ This iterative approach, though not for most, can significantly improve a book over time and achieve long-term success.
Focus on selling at least 1,000 copies of your book, as this places you in the 90th percentile of all books ever published. This threshold is achievable by following the right sequence of actions.
When publishers suggest tactics to hit bestseller lists, reject those that make you uncomfortable or feel low-integrity. Such actions could be detrimental to an editorialized list’s perception and your personal brand.
Focus on creating the most helpful and impactful book possible for your audience, viewing bestseller lists as a potential byproduct rather than the primary goal. Chasing lists doesn’t guarantee sustained visibility or reach.
Consider revisiting ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’ for insights on motivation and the balance between positive reinforcement and criticism. Continuous negativity can cease to be effective in fostering growth.