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Promoting Your Books Selling Books Via Amazon.com Amazon Sales Rank: What It Means Morris Rosenthal, author of Print-on-Demand Book Publishing, has written two articles that I think many of you should read. They are . . . Estimating How Many Books Sold by Amazon — This article suggests that a ranking of 100 means about 30 book sales per day, a ranking of 1000 means 10 book sales per day, a ranking of 10,000 means 2 book sales per day, and a ranking of 100,000 means 1 book sale per week. In the article he gives you more details, but these numbers pretty much match my estimates of what Amazon's rank means in terms of actual book sales. His article is worth reading completely. A Lightning Source Book Example — In this article Morris describes how working with Lightning Source to publish a book via print-on-demand can be as cost-effective as self-publishing. He makes a good argument. Read it if you have ever thought about using POD for some of your titles. Austan Goolsbee, an economist at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and Judith Chevalier, an economist at the Yale School of Management, wrote an article on Amazon.com rankings for the June issue of Quantitative Marketing and Economics. They figured out how to turn the book rankings into sales figures (their calculations unfortunately are now out of date because online sales have grown since 2001). Anyway, then they recorded prices and sales for more than 18,000 titles at three points in 2001, when Amazon tested various pricing strategies and BN.com responded. With that information, they examined how price changes at one site affected sales by both that retailer and its competitor. The detailed academic paper can be downloaded from http://gsbadg.uchicago.edu/vitae.htm. But here is the most important information they discovered: Sales approximately double every time the rank is cut in half. A book at rank 2,000 sells a bit less than half the books as a book at 1,000. That means it's relatively easy to climb the low ranks. A book selling two copies a day at the time of the study was ranked at 14,468. The economists bought six copies in a 10-minute period and drove the rank to 2,854. Of course, it would take more sales now to create the same effect, but the basic principle probably still holds. For a great discussion on how bestseller lists are created and also flawed, see: http://www.michaelhyatt.com/ fromwhereisit/2006/12/toward_a_better.html. And here's another one: http://www.2blowhards.com/ archives/2003/07/bestseller_lists.html.

John Kremer, Book Promotion Expert John is the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books and editor of the Book Marketing Update newsletter. Amazon.com Secrets The Inside Secret of Book Marketing An Interview with John Kremer Selling Novels Q&A: Selling Children's Books My websites: BookMarket.com The Self-Publishing Hall of Fame The Biology of Business JohnKremer.com JohnKremer.net JohnKremer.org CelebrateToday.com Hot Times, Cool Places WayBackWords.com Free Books For All Quotable Books My blogs: Promoting Your Books Teleseminars & Free Reports Hot Times, Cool Places Blog Open Horizons P O Box 2887 Taos NM 87571 505-751-3398

Amazon.com Sales Rankings

According to Dan Poynter, here are the approximate sales per week for books ranked in Amazon.com. It's probably as good an estimate as any other I've seen.

Rank	Average Sales per Week
10,000 on up	5 or less copies
3,000 to 9,000	5 copies
750 to 3,000	40 copies
450 to 750	90 copies
200 to 300	175 copies
100 to 200	235 copies
75 to 100	265 copies

The Long Tail Phenomenon at Amazon.com

For those of you who would like to get a better look at how Amazon.com works in between the top 100 and the bottom millions, check out the discussion of the long tail at Amazon at http://longtail.typepad.com/the_long_tail/2005/08/a_methodology_f.html.

It is a long discussion, some back and forth, with a bunch of technical details and numbers, but it really shows the unpredictability of Amazon.com, especially in the 1,000 to 100,000 range of sales rank.

Amazon Useful to Small Publishers

Excerpted from the Southern Review of Books, a monthly ezine edited by Lee Xavier and published by Anvil Publishers.

Wonder if Amazon.com can be of any use to small publishers? Wonder no more. Take the case of cellular biologist Bruce Lipton, whose story was told recently by Elizabeth Gillespie of the Associated Press. One by one, the big houses in New York looked at the manuscript for his Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles, but eventually said no. “I wasted a whole year with them,” Lipton told her. Then he signed on with an independent press that relies heavily on Amazon.com. Since then, he and his publisher say, more than 42,000 copies have sold in six months.

Today, when I checked, the book was rated at #83 on Amazon.com — and without an Amazon.com bestseller campaign of any kind.

If you'd like your story featured in the Southern Review of Books, email the editor-in-chief Lee Xavier at lxavier@anvilpub.com.

How to Make Your Book an Amazon Bestseller
(with Ethical Marketing)

by Joe Vitale

Terri Levine's book, Work Yourself Happy, became an official Amazon.com bestseller on Friday, February 22. She sold 600 books in less than 12 hours. How? By simply following the strategy radio talk show host Mike Litman created to make his book, Conversations with Millionaires, a #1 bestseller at Amazon on January 18th.

In short, Terri created a compelling reason to go buy her book. Like Mike, she gathered or created (retail value) $700 worth of e-information. These were e-books, e-transcripts, and other freebies of hers that could be delivered by email. In other words, whenever someone would buy her book at Amazon, she had a no-cost but highly valuable gift for them: E-information. Mike Litman did the same thing by offering numerous e-transcripts of past radio shows by him. Buy his book and you got access to the transcripts.

Then Terri issued a letter to her email list saying if you buy just one copy of her book at Amazon on 2-22-02, she would give you the e-materials for free. Litman had done the same thing, of course. It's what marketing legend Jay Abraham calls “an ethical bribe.” I sent the same type of letter to everyone on my email list, too, on behalf of Mike Litman in January and Terri Levine in February. Obviously, this simple strategy worked once again.

The marketing lessons here? There are several —

1. Find what works and duplicate it.

2. Overwhelm your customers with so many gifts they simply can't refuse your main offer.

3. Ask your friends — your email list, if you have one — to help you achieve your goal.

That's the basic strategy, developed by Litman, to help make your book sell on Amazon. But let's look at an issue this strategy brought up. After Terri's book reached #3 at Amazon, a handful of people wrote to her and said they objected to our approach to making her book an Amazon bestseller. They felt it was stuffing the ballot box.

I found that fascinating. While I can see where they are coming from — I was once in that mindset myself — I have since come to a few more beneficial conclusions: For one thing, Terri didn't buy copies of her own book, as many authors have done to promote their books. For example, Wayne Dyer began his career as a bestselling author by buying the entire first printing of his book from his publisher. It is not uncommon for CEO's to buy copies of their books and distribute them to employees, then saying their book is a bestseller. Terri didn't do that. Instead, she and I sweetened the deal so people would want to buy her book, which is just good business. Adding incentives is a proven marketing technique to increase sales, no matter what you are selling. It's called the psychology of the second interest. People will often buy your featured product in order to get the free product offered as a bonus.

For another thing, every product needs marketing. Even word of mouth marketing won't kick in unless some form of marketing starts the fire. And if the book or product isn't any good, no amount of marketing will help it. The classic example is the Ford Edsel. Despite mega bucks behind that now infamous car, the public laughed it off. When it comes to books, more than 1,000 are published every single week and most of them die within six weeks without any public exposure. Clever marketing could keep those books alive — at least long enough for the public to pass judgment on them. (Just today I received an email from Mike Litman, saying his book is again on the Amazon bestseller list — only this time he didn't have to help put it there. Word-of-mouth marketing is now doing it for him.)

Finally, whenever you step in the direction of your dreams, you will find people jealous of your success. Most people won't be honest enough to admit that they want the same success as you. At least one of the people who complained to Terri about stuffing the ballot box admitted that when his book came out, he would practice anything-goes marketing to sell it. Why? Because he believes in his book. He believes he has a message of value to people. Well, Terri believes in her book, too. Mike Litman believes in his. And I believe in my books.

When you have something that will benefit the world, don't hold back in finding ways to tell them. And don't worry about the occasional complaint about your success. For every two people who complain, there will be 2,000 who admire you but say nothing. Don't let the nay-sayers destroy your dreams, or deprive the world of your offerings.

Finally, and maybe more importantly, complaining about marketing may be a sneaky way to self-sabotage your desire for success. Marketing is part of the process of doing business. Ethical marketing is in the eye of the beholder. As long as you aren't doing anything illegal or immoral, you are probably practicing good business. Complaining about those who succeed will hamper your own success. Don't complain; emulate. Don't be jealous; be inspired.

Ironically, just as I was writing this very article, an email came in to me from New York Times bestselling author Robert Allen. He said if I go to Amazon.com on Tuesday and buy a copy of Brian Tracy's new book, Focal Point, he would give me several hundred dollars in free e-information! Sound familiar?

The thing is, I'm not going to buy the book. Why not? Because I don't want it. Nor do I want the freebies being offered. They simply don't appeal to me.

So let this be a lesson to you: You can't sell just anything to just anyone. Make a great offer to the right list and you might sell your book, product, or service. If you manage to do so, celebrate. And if a few negative people write you, showing signs of jealousy or concern over ethical marketing, let them clack and clutter. You're going for your dreams. The rest is commentary.

— Joe Vitale is the bestselling author of numerous books and tapes. His latest book is now available at http://www.HypnoticMarketing.com. He also has a seven-day marketing course by email that anyone can have for free by sending a blank email to hypnoticmarketing@getresponse.com.

B&N Versus Amazon Bestsellers

Question: Is it easier to become a #1 bestseller on Amazon or B&N?

If one becomes #1 on B&N (through the Internet promotion we all know how to do), does being #1 or in the top 10 have the same cache as being a top seller on amazon?

John's Answer: It is easier to become a #1 bestseller on BN.com (or barnesandnoble.com) for one simple reason: B&N doesn't have as much business so any business you send their way will have greater impact than via Amazon.

But, alas, B&N is now on a rampage against authors or publishers manipulating their bestseller list. Indeed, while at the National Speakers Association convention, I heard of one author who had gotten the B&N buyers to place a 1700-copy order because he was going to be doing a B&N bestseller campaign via the Internet. When the B&N brass heard about it, they cancelled the orders that had been generated by the campaign. They cut the orders because they did not want anyone tricking out their bestseller lists.

Since this apparently is now B&N's policy, you should use the Amazon.com strategy. Amazon isn't going to turn away any orders, no matter how they are generated.

The B&N uppity-ups, on the other hand, have decided that they don't want the business right now. Alas. Poor them.

Amazon.com Bestseller Campaigns:
Why They Work and Why They Fail

Question: Can you please summarize what big mistakes almost all publishers make selling books via an Amazon.com bestseller campaign?

John's Answer: The biggest mistake authors or publishers make in trying to become an Amazon.com bestseller is simple: They don't line up enough owners of lists who are committed to sending out the promotional message about the book.

The second biggest mistake: They don't line up enough partners who are giving away something nice for those people who place an order for the author's book.

An Amazon bestseller campaign only works if there are enough bonuses to encourage potential buyers to act right away. And if enough people get the message so the author can make a dent in the Amazon sales.

There is no shortcut to make this happen. You can't rent lists. You can't settle for mailing to just three or four lists. You need at least 15 to 20 lists to make a dent. And you can't provide all the bonuses yourself. That simply does not work. Because then you do not have any incentive for other list owners to mail to their customers. The only reason a list owner announces a new Amazon.com bestseller book promotion is in the expectation of adding to his or her list via the giveaways that he will send out as part of the overall promotion.

Each participating list owner offers something free — a report, an audio MP3, an e-book — that can be fulfilled via email. When the recipients of the Amazon.com promotion buy the promoted book, they also are sent the other free items, either via a download link at the list owner's site or via email from the list owner providing the free item.

It is the obligation of the person carrying out the promotion to share the emails of everyone who bought a copy of the book as a result of the promotion. It is those email addresses that the various participating list owners can add to their lists.

The list owner, thus, gains two valuable assets by participating in the Amazon.com promotion. 1. He gets to add the names of the people who bought the book (these are good names because they are the names of people who bought via email notice). 2. He gets to expose these buyers to his work via the item that he is giving away free. If your report or e-book is good, chances are that the person will want to buy something else from you.

That's the key elements of a good Amazon.com bestseller promotion. And in almost every case where such a promotion has failed, it's either because there are not enough list owners involved (with a cumulative list total of 100,000 or more) or because the freebies are not enticing enough to get the potential buyer to act right away. In both cases, the fault is in the bookselling promoter who was not willing to go out and sell his promotion to targeted list owners with something valuable to give away to potential buyers (something that the buyers want as much as the promoter's book).

If you want to learn more about how to carry out an Amazon.com Bestseller Campaign, listen in to a teleseminar being given by Steve Harrison where he will be interviewing Randy Gilbert and Peggy McColl, two experts who help people create such campaigns. The teleseminar is this Wednesday (July 20) at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. To register, go to: http://www.freepublicity.com/Amazon/?10005.

http://www.Book-Marketing-Update.com/?10005

http://www.Appear-On-Top-TV-Shows.com/?10005

http://www.National-Publicity-Summit.com/?10005

Amazon Goes Big with Downloadable Audiobooks!

Amazon.com is asking book publishers to send them your digital audiobooks. Now!

Amazon is developing a new store to offer downloadable audiobooks to its customers. If you are a publisher of audiobooks or other spoken audio content and would like your products to be included in their store, email them at digital-audio@amazon.com.

That's all it takes to find out more. Do it today if you already have any MP3s of books, seminars, talks, chapters, ebooks, etc.

Add More Photos to Your Amazon.com Listing

Did you know that you could add extra photos of your book (and you) on your book page at Amazon.com? They invite customers to add photos. You, as the author or publisher, are just as welcome as anyone else to add more photos.

Check out the photos I've added to my Amazon.com listing for 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by clicking here.

Amazon Bestsellers: Comments Upon Comments

Many people have been commenting on my last post about Amazon.com bestsellers. I need to answer some of those commentaries because they are inaccurate and misleading. Here goes:

1. 1001 Ways to Market Your Books is not published by PublishAmerica. They do sell it to their customers, but Open Horizons, my company, publishes my book and has done so from the beginning (under the name of my old company Ad-Lib Publications and then, once I sold that, under Open Horizons). I will also be publishing the new 6th edition when it comes out in November.

2. Amazon.com does not have a flaw. And no one is manipulating such a flaw. Amazon simply lists the bestselling titles as they occur. If you as an author or publisher can get your book to the top of the list, even for an hour or a day, that's an accomplishment. It's not that easy to do. That's why so many people fail, even when they've taken a course or read a book or checked out my web site on how to do such a bestseller campaign on Amazon.

3. People know that becoming an Amazon.com bestseller does not mean that the book is a bestseller elsewhere, but people do pay attention to such sales. Foreign rights buyers, book club buyers, larger publishers have all contacted people who have been successful at creating an Amazon.com bestseller. And for good reason. Such an achievement, while temporary, does say that the author/publisher is willing to do what is necessary to get attention and to sell a book. That is significant.

4. I do get a referral fee if you sign up for the Amazon.com bestseller promotion. That link is a referral link. I'm not ashamed of getting a referral. I think the program is good. I know people who have done it successfully. I know others who have done Amazon.com campaigns successfully without the course. Indeed, I have told people many times that the essence of such a campaign is outline on my web site for free: http://www.bookmarket.com/jason.html.

5. I know authors who knew about the details of the program and still signed up for the course — simply because they wanted to have someone guide them through the process and help them complete all the steps properly. Some people want their hands held for them while they do something like this. I see nothing wrong with this.

6. You are not harvesting email addresses from other people's newsletter lists. When you do such a promotion, only the people who buy as a result of the promotion are added to the list. They have raised their hands and have said: “I want this book and I want all the freebies as well. Please let me get all of them.” Nobody is being spammed. No list owner would buy into such a proposal. Not if they respected the members of their list.

7. Reputable publishers and editors are doing Amazon.com promotions all the time. They do see it as being valuable. I know many of them. They have no problem in someone working within the system to stand out. Every major publisher does the same thing with the New York Times and other bestseller lists. They do everything they can to get their books onto those lists. While getting onto such lists is harder than a one-day appearance on Amazon.com, these lists are just as susceptible to being manipulated -- only the cost in time and money is much higher. I know these lists can be manipulated. I've worked with several authors who have done it.

8. Obviously some people, including another ezine, have completely misunderstood what I wrote in my post a few days ago about Amazon.com. No list owner who participates in an Amazon.com bestseller promotion is going to add anyone to their list who is not interested in what they have to offer. Ideally, they mail to the customer once asking if they'd like to be on their list, probably with an offer for another free report if they say yes. This is an absolutely legitimate way to add people to your list. There is nothing about spamming in any of this. And this is nothing like harvesting names or emails from a discussion list. I obviously was incomplete in my previous written statement for anyone to interpret it as spamming or harvesting. My apologies for being unclear.

9. Anyone who thinks that bestseller lists reflect what people are actually buying have no idea how such lists are compiled. The New York Times bestseller list is actually a self-fulfilling prophecy. They send participating bookstores a list of the books they think will be selling well in a particular week. They then ask the bookstores, in essence, to tell them if they are right or not. Well, 90%+ of time, of course, they are right. Most booksellers won't write in the title of a book that is selling much better, and even if they do, it won't count for much unless many others bookstores do the same. What are the chances that will happen? Not good. So the list becomes a list of the books the NYT thinks should be bestsellers -- and rarely reflects the regional bestseller lists. Check out the San Francisco Chronicle list versus the NYT list. The differences are remarkable in most cases. Of course, some books are real bestsellers and deserve to be on the list, but others are simply there because their publishers convinced NYT to add the book to their prospective list. There are a lot of things that the major publishers do to manipulate such bestseller lists.

10. I saw one bestseller promotion done on B&N.com that allowed the book not only to become a bestseller online but also in the stores as a whole. The book remained one of the top 1,000 bestsellers at B&N.com for months afterwards. Was the promotion worthwhile? You bet it was.

11. I really don't know what to say to people who think that such campaigns are “manipulating the system and not playing fair.” Such campaigns are simply working within the system as it is set. Why is it more fair to ignore the system and beg for notice in some other way?

12. Any bestseller campaign only works if it is part of an integrated marketing plan. Doing an Amazon.com campaign is really worthless if you are not doing some other things to help keep your book high on the list. For most of the past 5 to 10 years, my 1001 Ways to Market Your Books has hovered between 4,000 and 10,000 in the Amazon bestseller list. Right now, it's around 100,000 only because Amazon is not selling the book anymore because I'm down to about 100 copies and won't reprint until the new edition is ready. BUT I'm selling 2-3 copies every day because I list that I have copies for sale. I get more money per book this way, but then I do have to ship them out as well. I'd rather Amazon.com did this, but for now it's still allowing me to sell my book on Amazon.com until I run out of copies of the current 5th edition.

13. Have you ever tried to get Amazon.com to change something in your listing? I tell you it's nigh to impossible. They list the 5th edition as published in 2001. Well, its publication date is 1998. Even worse, they have a review of my book that is completely inaccurate, saying that I said things in the book I never said. Things that contradict each other. I've written Amazon.com many times to try to get it corrected but, alas, no sale. Perhaps when the new edition comes out, they'll get it right.

14. I will be doing an Amazon.com bestseller campaign for the 6th edition of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. And I will hold my head up high the whole time.

15. Do you think that Scholastic was manipulating the system when they embargoed any book sales until the publication date for the latest Harry Potter book? Oh, dear yes, they were manipulating the system. And it worked perfectly. They got news stories for weeks leading up to pub date, and even more news stories afterwards. Were they cheating? No way. But if you call the Amazon.com strategy cheating, then you'd have to call their strategy cheating as well. Both strategies manipulate the system by working within the system. Would Harry Potter have been a bestseller without the manipulation? Sure, absolutely. Would it have gotten all the run-up and follow-up publicity without the manipulation? The answer is no. They would have gotten a lot, but probably 50% of what they did. Would it have affected the sales numbers? Yes, perhaps by as many as a million copies. At least during the first few days of the frenzy, but the sales simply would have come later.

16. It took The DaVinci Code more than a year to sell 7 million copies. It took the new Potter book two days or so. Is either book a great book? In some people's minds, yes. In some others, no way.

17. Bridges of Madison Country was a bestseller for over two years. Is it a great novel? No way. Did it reflect real-life Iowa? Hardly. Did people cry when reading the book? Oh, dear yes. And the book had incredible word of mouth for such a poorly written novel. Does your book deserve to be a bestseller? Compare your novel to either Bridges or DaVinci and I'm sure that most of you can make a case that your novel is better. I know hundreds of novels myself that have been published in the past 10 years that stand head and shoulders over these bestsellers.

18. Why shouldn't these novels have a chance to call themselves bestsellers, even if for just an hour? Won't we all be richer if we discover a new book that is so much better than anything the major New York publishers publish? I've compared the books published by the larger publishers versus those published by indie publishers and, in almost every case, the books from the indie publishers are better. Better information, better written, more timely. Should we let the New York publishers manipulate the bestseller system and stand by and say “It is good” without trying to do the best we can to draw attention to our better books? Well, I won't stand still.

19. Again, any bestseller campaign should be part of an integrated marketing plan that can make use of the campaign within the context of everything else you are doing to promote your book.

20. Being a bestseller does not guarantee a good book, a good read, or anything else. Most people in the industry know this. Most of the books are the NYT bestseller list are simply promoted to that status. Few get there by other means. Some good books do make it on the list, but most of these start by being promoted by hand by good independent booksellers. But there are authors way past their prime who still get on the bestseller lists with poorly written or uninteresting reads simply because of their past history. Many nonfiction books make the bestseller list simply because of the author's celebrity (which never guarantees a good book) or because of other costly promotions. If you've watched the lists for very long, you know that the best books don't rise to the top. Never have, never will. The books that rise to the top have done so because the publisher and author promoted the hell out of the book. Is that cheating? Is that a scam? Well, gosh, it must be. How could we be so fooled all these years? And by the sacrosanct New York Times!

21. Who ever thought that actor Jimmy Stewart's poems were the best written during the year they were published? Did anyone buy into that idea? Of course, not. We know that bestseller lists don't have anything to do with whether a book is good or not. Word of mouth matters much more. When our friends and family tell us to buy a book, that's when we do it. No bestseller campaign can do more than get the book into some peoples' hands so, if they like it, they can pass the word on to their family and friends. That's what made the Chicken Soup books sell. I know because I had to buy dozens of copies for my wife to give to her family and friends.

22. Well, obviously I'm a little riled up by someone who calls my integrity into question. I see nothing wrong with working within a system to sell books. The Amazon.com campaign idea is not a scam, it is not cheating, it is not manipulation. It is, in a very real way, simply working within the system as defined by Amazon.com. And, yes, announcing that your book is an Amazon.com bestseller does not have the power now that it once did because people know that the system can be worked — and at very little cost in money and time. If the NYT bestseller list could be worked the same way, with very little cost in money and time, more people would be doing that as well. But right now, the NYT list manipulation does cost a lot more money and time, which the New York publishers do all the time. Both lists, you can say have been cheated, spammed, and manipulated. But apparently it's okay to do so with the NYT list as long as you spend a lot of money and time. Why is one “manipulation” worse than the other? Why is one ignored where the other scandalizes people? To me, that is what is so unfair. That's what scandalizes me.

23. Have a good day. Remember: All marketing should be fun or you shouldn't do it. If you like what you are doing and if you love your book, then whatever action you take on behalf of your book should be fun. Enjoy that.

24. Ultimately, all marketing is building relationships. No bestseller campaign will produce good results if you don't build upon them to create true relationships with your readers, your distribution partners, and the media.

25. For more on Amazon.com and how to sell your book there, go to http://www.bookmarketingbestsellers.com/amazon.htm.

— John Kremer, blogger

Tracking an Online Bestseller

One of the neat things you can do at PublishersMarketplace.com, if you are a member, is track the online sales of any book (as long as you know its ISBN number). Besides tracking my own books, I track a number of other related titles. One title I've tracked sporadically since its publication date last September is Networking Magic by Rick Frishman and Jill Lublin. There are some interesting things you can spot when you track a title like this. Note that some dates are skipped because those were dates I did not check the listing.

As you can see from below, there was a major blip on September 8th, probably caused by a media hit. But you can see how their special online promotion really hit on the 13th when they sent a lot of people to BN.com to buy their book. While they and their partners with personal mailing lists focused on getting sales via BN.com, you can see how their push also affected sales at Amazon.com. You can see that they had several other key dates when media hit or additional online promotions were done. I've highlighted those dates in bold blue.

I think one of the great things that resulted from their online promotions is that they have been able to maintain a high ranking on BN.com now for four+ months, with a steady ranking of late around 1,025. If you remember my tip from 9/21 (see top of page), a ranking of 1,000 on Amazon.com means about 10 books sales every day. I'm not sure what such a ranking on BN.com means, but it's probably similar. Now, that's not a lot of sales, about 300 a month, but it does create great word-of-mouth potential for the book—and it's word-of-mouth that sells books. This book is going to continue to sell for many months and years to come.

Networking Magic: Find the Best — from Doctors, Lawyers, and Accountants to Homes, Schools, and Jobs by Rick Frishman and Jill Lublin

Format: Paperback	Released: September 1, 2004
Publisher: Adams Media Corporation	List price: $12.95
ISBN: 1593370202

date/time	Amazon rank	BN.com rank
Sept. 05, 2004	1,315,415	222,699
Sept. 06, 2004	1,315,415	221,307
Sept. 07, 2004	1,255,622	108,015
Sept. 08, 2004	8,672	109,125
Sept. 09, 2004	86,418	109,125
Sept. 11, 2004	73,115	84,238
Sept. 12, 2004	62,459	83,340
Sept. 13, 2004	62,459	92,696
Sept. 14, 2004	2,132	12
Sept. 15, 2004	1,451	1
Sept. 16, 2004	42	2
Sept. 17, 2004	38	2
Sept. 19, 2004	3,885	14
Sept. 20, 2004	2,392	12
Sept. 21, 2004	2,076	14
Sept. 22, 2004	708	1
Sept. 23, 2004	668	4
Sept. 24, 2004	2,590	23
Sept. 26, 2004	2,490	18
Sept. 27, 2004	2,421	90
Sept. 28, 2004	2,421	2
Sept. 30, 2004	8,352	34
Oct. 04, 2004	2,057	121
Oct. 05, 2004	5,495	132
Oct. 06, 2004	3,930	525
Oct. 08, 2004	1,973	229
Oct. 10, 2004	6,042	690
Oct. 11, 2004	6,042	1,111
Oct. 16, 2004	3,353	362
Oct. 17, 2004	1,840	1,025
Oct. 20, 2004	9,016	664
Oct. 21, 2004	7,356	960
Oct. 22, 2004	7,356	882
Oct. 23, 2004	7,444	438
Oct. 25, 2004	10,586	850
Oct. 27, 2004	11,008	1,014
Oct. 30, 2004	7,832	1,022
Nov. 01, 2004	10,672	1,017
Nov. 02, 2004	10,597	1,492
Nov. 08, 2004	43,431	1,024
Nov. 12, 2004	30,956	1,018
Nov. 16, 2004	83,234	1,014
Nov. 17, 2004	106,718	1,016
Nov. 18, 2004	19,239	1,018
Nov. 19, 2004	100,818	1,018
Nov. 22, 2004	18,629	42
Nov. 26, 2004	43,455	1,146
Dec. 02, 2004	39,158	1,009
Dec. 07, 2004	45,163	1,008
Dec. 12, 2004	63,716	1,024
Dec. 14, 2004	6,801	1,021
Dec. 15, 2004	25,884	1,025
Dec. 18, 2004	68,516	1,039
Dec. 19, 2004	67,741	1,045
Dec. 21, 2004	33,472	1,047
Dec. 22, 2004	38,661	1,047

Reader Response: Making Your Book an Amazon Bestseller

One reader's response to the free audio:

Sorry, John, but I think you should WARN those who go onto this website of Steve Harrison's that they have to listen to an hour and a half promotion BEFORE discovering that they will have to pay about $2700 !!! to learn the “secret” of how to make their title an Amazon bestseller.

And what it boils down to is that authors must sign up a bunch of corporate sponsors who give “free” products away (hoping that people will eventually plunk down money for some of them). THEN, with that, those folks get an author's BOOK. So people aren't REALLY “buying” a book, they're buying a CHANCE to get something for free (they think) by the book purchase.

So an author's book becomes an “Amazon bestseller” because people have to buy it (even if they don't give a damn WHAT the book is ABOUT), because they hope to get free products.

This comes VERY close to being a scam, John, and I believe you should warn your subscribers about it.

Another reader's response to the free audio:

John, the Steve Harrison conference call was not about sharing information. It was a sales pitch to get people to spend $2500 for yet another meeting to get the information. It was a bit like a Harv Ecker Millionaire Mind meeting. In fact, I bet these guys are all sharing their marketing strategies.

Beware what you promote.

I love your book! Now, that's real information.

John's response:

The Amazon.com bestseller program is not a scam. It's one way to encourage people to buy a book when it first comes out—a way to begin creating the word-of-mouth that any book needs to get. Yes, some of the books are sold with a lot of hype and more emphasis on what you're getting free along with the purchase of the book, but many others focus on the value of the book to the reader. They offer the free things to get the reader to act right away—and buy the book from Amazon.com where the book can get noticed more quickly than any other way except, perhaps, on BN.com.

I am aware that the free audio pitches the speakers' $2500 program, but there is enough good information on the tape that a resourceful and energetic person could re-create their program on their own without buying into their program.

The “corporate” sponsors are simply other authors and ezine publishers who have something they are willing to give away free while promoting the main author's book—in the hopes, yes, that some of the people getting the freebies will also want to buy their more extensive for-pay products. I don't think that is a bad thing. If you don't like the sample product, if it doesn't give you value, then you won't buy their further products. But, if you do like what they have to say, now you know where to go for more information from a reliable source that you've had an opportunity to sample. That's a good deal in my mind.

So, yes, there's some hype, some weak products, some over promotion. But the reality underlying the Amazon bestseller strategy is fantastic: Creating relationships and working with the people behind those relationships to let others know about your books. That's the key to selling anything: Creating relationships, making friends, and working together for the best results for everyone. I would never criticize that impulse.

More Reader Responses:
Making Your Book an Amazon Bestseller

One reader's response to the free audio:

Thanks for including my scam admonition on the seminar in your latest newsletter. It's appreciated.

While I do have some disagreement with your reply, it's honest and forthright, and that too is appreciated. Perhaps we simply differ in our estimation of them asking people to fork over $2700 for the information that they offer. That seems like a hell of a lot of money, when, as you acknowledge, “... there is enough good information on the tape that a resourceful and energetic person could recreate their program on their own without buying into their program.”

Your newsletter is packed with great information, and performs a real service.

Another reader's response to the free audio:

“The scheme may not be a scam, John, but it does smack of cartel manipulation in order to get rich by selling books ... just for the sake of making money. A true writer writes because they enjoy their creativity and that will always bring true prosperity ... not manipulated ratings on Amazon ... that is what is known as faking it! Any author who stoops that low will never know what true prosperity means ... even if they sell a billion books.” — a professional optimist

Another reader's response to the free audio:

Recently, I too was solicited by the duo of Randy Gilbert and Peggy McColl to spend about $2500 for this exact same marketing approach. While I agree with you that the approach is great, it's nothing new in Internet marketing. In fact, I recall reading about this very same marketing approach in a Robert Allen book, Multiple Streams of Internet Income, a number of years ago. It's an endorsement sales letter, carefully crafted and targeted to select audiences. It's a great concept — and something I've incorporated into my marketing plan for our books. I hope to launch my Amazon Bestseller campaign sometime in March.

Being a skeptical soul, however, I did some research before plunking down my $2500 and contacted someone who actually did this. They confirmed that the plan is legit, and it works. Now, they didn't spend $2500 — no, only $95 for an eBook some time ago. It contains essentially the same information from the same people that now sell that information through their pricey teleseminars. I guess the authors figured the value-added from the live interactions was worth the extra $2,400. I personally couldn't justify the extra expense and have instead found much of the information online. A little detective work and some common sense save me a sizable chunk of change.

This plan is by no means a scam. It does work and is legitimate. This type of thing is done all the time through other marketing channels by some very reputable companies. Yet, when it's done through the Internet, some people label it a scam, shady, or misleading. Go figure!

I just wanted to share my thoughts on this with you and your readers.

Still another reader's response to the free audio:

John, while I didn't hear about the teleseminar from you, I participated in it and decided to sign up for the “Make your book an Amazon.com #1 bestseller” program. Admittedly it is disillusioning to know that the market is manipulated...but hasn't this been going on forever? I remember a scandal reported in the trades a number of years ago when a large chain store received cartons of “new” books that had price stickers from several of their competitors’ stores on them. Employees of the publisher had been sent out to buy books to increase the sales of the title. These books were then repackaged and sent back out to the stores to be sold again.

I agree with you that the teleseminar gave me enough information to duplicate their program myself. I elected to sign up for 2 reasons. First, I think they will help me achieve my goals faster by shortening my learning curve, and secondly, the price is a bargain for the value received. It is incredibly expensive for a self-publisher to get attention. We figure we lost $7 for every one of the 2500 copies we sold of our first book because of advertising, promotion, and fulfillment costs. If their plan works and we get off the ground this time, I would have gladly paid twice the price for this idea and their help in implementing it. Since we have merely repackaged our first book for this release, it should be a pretty fair comparison.

And still another reader's response:

Thank you so very much for this information about the FREE telephone seminar. This information was very informative because they said FREE and I know that you can't get anything for FREE. I am a self-published author and I have put everything that I had into publishing my books and getting my website designed for my readers. My books can be purchased from any Barnes & Noble bookstores from around the world and even in the United Kingdom and I know that when people start talking FREE, it's something to it. Mr. Kremer, your newsletters are very informative especially for self-published author and I want to thank you so much for being up front with us.

And another:

Just wanted to let you know that I agree with the two comments you had in your most recent newsletter regarding the recent telephone seminar. I attended the seminar with high hopes and also felt it was just a sales pitch. I wasted 73 minutes of long distance charges only to find out that I would need to pay an outlandish amount of money in addition. Money I cannot afford. I am now being bombarded with emails lambasting me for not signing up. I emailed him back that I was not interested but to no avail. Anyway, I enjoy your newsletter. Keep it coming.

And another:

I'm sorry, John, but I don't find your explanation of the Amazon-corporate tie-in/ freebie program persuasive. I suggest you think about it very carefully again and decide whether or not this is the kind of marketing you want to support. I've never seen anything in your own promotional methods that is this devious.

And yet one more reader's response:

My 2 cents... I listen to a lot of free teleclasses, and expect them to provide at least some good or perspective along with a pitch for something else. The Amazon class was VERY HEAVY on pitch, and DID NOT deliver info. It was a sales pitch, not in any way a class. I would NOT recommend it.

There's another issue here which is that I now receive so many “help us make this a bestseller and get free stuff!” emails every week (sometimes several in a week and often 3 or more of the same ones on the same day from different participants) that they have become an annoyance, and I delete them unread. Dealing with my business emails takes enough of my time every day, and I'd rather miss a good offer than have to wade through all the solicitations. I've even unsubscribed from some newsletters that are too-eager participants in these deals.

As a publisher, sure, it sounds like a good idea, but as a consumer I've been turned off, and I bet I'm not alone in this.

And a final reader response before I send this out:

John, your reader pointed out a big problem with the Amazon campaigns: If the book is buried amid thousands of dollars of bonuses, is anyone buying the book to get the book—and if not, does being an Amazon.com bestseller still have any meaning? Sometimes I get three or four different Amazon or BN campaigns in my mailbox in a single week, and pretty much all of them are front-loading with some absurd number of bonuses.

Since my book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, is about business ethics, I wanted the book to succeed on its own merit. My goal was to break the Amazon Top 100 for the day without any extra bonuses. I offered only a PDF copy of the same book they were buying in paperback from Amazon, but with the advantages of immediate delivery and clickable URLs.

In other words, nobody bought the book for the bonuses; they bought because they wanted to support and learn from the ideas in the book: that ethical, cooperative businesses will be more profitable, that success is not about market share but relationships (you'll remember that I quote from you at some length on that subject), and that business can make a difference in the world.

The one-day Amazon campaign (which reached #83) was the first major post-publication marketing effort for the book. Since then, I've sold foreign rights in India and Mexico, won one award and received honorable mention for another, used the book as a launch platform for an international campaign to actually change the business paradigm (http://www.principledprofits.com/25000influencers.html), and been named a columnist for the premier magazine in the ethical business space!

I did this campaign without paying for expensive mentorship programs—but with the help of many newsletter editors, with whom I'd established long and positive relationships, in some cases over a period of years. So they were very willing to spread the word. I feel it helped prove many of the principles in the book. — Shel Horowitz, also author of Grassroots Marketing

John's response:

Ah, this Amazon bestseller thing really hits a lot of people's buttons. I understand that. There are seven emails this issue. Well, let's see if I can cover the issues one more time.

1. For a short summary of how to go about this program on your own, check out http://www.bookmarket.com/jason.html. The basic secret is outlined in detail there. And it has been on my web site for several years now, free for anyone who wanted to take advantage of it.

2. I still disagree with people that such a program is unethical or a scam. It's working within the parameters of Amazon.com's own system to highlight and promote your book. Anyone can do it. And many people have, including the top sellers like Harry Potter and so on.

3. For smaller publishers or self-publishers or unknown authors, it allows us a way to highlight and bring attention to our titles, if even for a day. That's long enough to get attention. The major reason for doing this program is not just to say your book was an Amazon #1 bestseller, it's also to draw attention to your book from rights buyers, foreign publishers, distributors, and other decision makers along the way.

4. Yes, Randy and Peggy's program is expensive, but that's because it involves, from what I understand, a lot of hand-holding and assistance to help you carry out a program that you could do on your own if you had the time. What their system does is actually get you to do the darn thing. That's why you pay them the big bucks. Personally, I'd just do it on my own, but I know many of you don't have the time, inclination, networks, etc. to do it on your own. That's why I highlight such programs for you. And why I will do it again. That's part of my job with this free newsletter.

5. Steve Harrison is one of the good guys. Those of you who have slammed him because he brought you the free teleseminar are doing an injustice to one of the good guys in this business. There aren't enough good guys to start slamming them. I would stand behind anything Steve and Bill Harrison do. I might not always agree with every little detail (like the excessive follow-up emails), but these two are good guys. They have been for years, and they haven't changed. You know that I tell you when someone's not on the up-and-up. My word is important to me. Listen to me. These are good guys.

6. Darn it, the seminar was free (well, I wrote this comment before someone pointed out the 73 minutes in phone charges it cost her, my apologies). I've seen so many of you spend all sorts of money on crazy things that weren't worth a plug nickel. You're quite happy to throw $10 here and $90 there and another $150 someplace else, but when someone brings you something that works and is willing to put a lot of time into helping you make it work, you don't want to pay them a cent. Shame on you. I might lose some of you as subscribers for this diatribe. Well, then I do. But I believe in paying value for value received. And getting value for value paid. If you pay someone $2,500 to get your book to #1 on Amazon, well, then they better perform. If they don't, then there should be something in your agreement with them that specifies how much they should pay you back for not performing. And, if you sign up for their program in the first place, it's because you see your book being a #1 Amazon bestseller as something important to achieve.

7. I charge people $500 per hour for consulting. I'm worth it. But, you know, many times the people who pay me that kind of money don't follow my advice. Such stupid people. Why pay me that much and then not listen to my advice? I only give the best advice in the world on book marketing. If you're going to pay me, pay attention to me.

8. Someone on my last Book Marketing Blast-Off Seminar suggested that I start charging people $1,000 per hour for consulting. And then, only if they actually do what I say, I can refund them $500 per hour. That made sense to me. I think I might just start doing that. The refund will only be given if I judged that they followed my advice. Watch for an announcement if I decide to do that.

9. Somewhere along the line, you have to decide if you're in the business of publishing or the hobby of publishing. Both are legitimate endeavors. I consult for those in the business of publishing. It would be silly for people to pay me to help them in a hobby unless, of course, they are extremely wealthy. People do pay coaches to help them with their tennis game or their yoga workouts. Sometimes, they even pay a ton of money for such service. Well, I'm happy to take a ton of money from people who would like my service for their hobbies. But the people I really want to help are the people who have something important to say, something worth contributing to society and the individuals who make it up. And those people who have something to say should not be doing it as a hobby. It should be a passion and a business.

10. Back to the Amazon.com thing. Many ezine readers are becoming saturated with such offers. Somewhere along the line, this program will stop working. People will stop buying every new book that comes out just because it's mentioned in every ezine they read and is accompanied with lots of freebies. First, they will begin looking at new solicitations as just one more blah thing. Two, they will already have as much reading as they can handle. Three, they will have all the freebies they can handle. Four, hey, I've got a life already. Five, enough already. — John Kremer

More Reader Responses:
Making Your Book an Amazon Bestseller

Randy Gilbert's story:

“This Amazon Best Seller strategy is so powerful, and yet so simple. It turned my book into a bestseller and it took me only 28 days to prepare for it. After 27 days of preparation I figuratively pressed the GO button. At that time, my book was ranked 67,131 on Amazon.

“By 10:31 a.m. on day 28 (which was September 18, 2002), my book ranking jumped up to number 81. In just a few short hours Success Bound made it onto Amazon's Bestseller list. And it didn't stop there. By 8:36 p.m. that evening it had leapt up to number 10. Success Bound was now on the front page of Amazon's Best Seller list. And still it climbed higher through the night! At 4: 16 a.m., Sept 19, 2002, Success Bound reached Number 5 on Amazon's Best Seller list.

“That morning, publishers and agents began calling. Right away, that very morning, I began receiving calls and emails from major publishers who wanted to buy the rights to my book and review any future books I had coming out. ... and that was just the beginning! For days I received calls and emails from literary agents and foreign rights buyers. Now my book is sold in Chinese, Finnish and Korean, and soon in Spanish, Greek, Japanese, and Hebrew. I didn't do anything special except make my book a Bestseller!” -- Randy Gilbert, author

John's Comment on April 9, 2006: His book is now ranked #760,093. I guess it's time he did another campaign.

One reader's response to the free audio:

“Pavel's The Naked Warrior on Amazon — As a result of this online marketing campaign, our title reached the #2 spot on the Amazon Bestseller list and the #1 spot for Amazon's Health, Mind, & Body. As a result of the promotion, we sold over 2,000 copies of a $40.00 paperback in less than a week. Those familiar with the industry will know that this is no mean feat. Peggy and Randy are highly conscientious, detail-oriented, very well-connected in the industry, excellent writers, personable and very accessible. I felt they both went the extra mile to help us succeed. I won't hesitate to engage them for similar projects in the future.”

— John Du Cane, CEO, Dragon Door Publications

John's Comment on April 9, 2006: This book is still ranked pretty high: #7,957 as of today.

Book Marketing Success Story:
New York Times Bestseller List!

“Just thought I'd share my good news. Managed to market my newest book, The Thyroid Diet, for maximum publication release impact, and it spent the month before publication in the Amazon top 100, and publication week in the top ten, with 2 days at #5, generating 3 printings in the first week of publication, and landing me a space on the NY Times Bestseller list! Shows the power of author marketing, as the HarperCollins marketing, radio tour, etc. haven't even started yet!!” — Mary Shomon; Web: http://www.thyroid-info.com

I asked Mary for a few more details on what she did before publication date. Here is her brief answer:

* Massive distribution list for my thyroid & diet newsletters.

* High ranking for my website in search engines.

* Sending out notification on publication day, sending folks to Amazon.com for purchase.

* Providing info to Amazon.com myself -- description, blurbs, etc.

Generally it all generates visibility/momentum, and since Amazon.com reports to NYT, it helps with ranking.

The 100-Fold Marketing Plan

Mike Levy, author of Live Alchemy in Action, sent me this idea. It's an interesting pitch. I don't know how it will actually work, but it's certainly an intriguing idea.

How would you like to turn 51 cents into a buying power of almost $51.00. Just imagine what you could do if your spending power were multiplied 100 times.

Well, here’s how you can do it in one instance, and it proves the power of the book you are about to buy. Order three copies of The Joys of Live Alchemy ISBN 0966806964 from: http://www.amazon.com.

Go to the checkout cart. They will ask you if you would like to apply for a new Visa credit card. They will credit your account with $30 once you fill in the online form, that will take you about one minute to complete.

They have discounted the book to only $10.17 from $14.95. They will give you FREE shipping (valued at $5.97) with the three book order. The total value of the order is $50.82.

All it costs you is 51 cents and you will get three books. One for yourself, one for someone who is suffering (send it anonymously to a friend or foe) and one that will make great birthday gifts or house party gifts or gifts for any holiday.

It is the best book anyone can read for easing stress and enjoying life (in my opinion). You are witnessing Live Alchemy in action...making something with little value grow into something substantial...51 cents turns into buying power of almost $51.00 and all you have to do is read this message and take the appropriate action.

If you cannot be bothered to increase your money 100 times and you cannot be bothered to receive the gift of a book that is loaded with the wisdom of the universe, then why are you squandering your time reading this message? Obviously, a part of you wants to take action, the part of you that stubbornly will not take the action is the cause of all the grief in your life. Who is the master of your domain?

Remember, what you can do once, you can do an infinite number of times every day of your life. For all the folks who cannot get a credit card I have discounted the book to only $9.95 for the next month, until the end of July.

John's Comments: The mathematics of this offer works well with any book priced around $15.00. Of course, a $14.00 book would make the percentage of savings go into infinity. It costs you nothing. You receive $1.40 or more. What a marvelous idea. The math doesn't work for a book over $15.00. Unless, of course, you increase the value of your money 80-fold instead of 100-fold. Perhaps your book buying audience would be interested in such an offer?

Also, the Amazon credit card offer seems good: Save $30 off your first purchase at Amazon.com, earn 3% rewards (at Amazon, 1% elsewhere), get a 0% APR for six months (variable after that, currently 14.9%), and pay no annual fee. The 14.9% is high, but you can always pay off the card balance after the first six months and still get all the other benefits of the card.

A Tarnished Award: A Parable (But True Story) of a Failed Amazon.com Bestseller Campaign

Once, in the Land of Wishful Thinking, there lived an old pauper and his older wife. The wife, a quiet woman, had, for the past three years, used her daily allotment of words to write many books – books that her readers loved, but books that remained unknown to most in the kingdom.

“If we could only get out the word, and sell the books widely,” reasoned the old pauper, “we might manage a few silver years, if not golden. But how can it be done?”

The old wife shrugged her shoulders. If her husband, the businessman of the house, had no ideas, no more had she. And so the old couple went on. The wife continued to write the ideas that her imagination created, and the husband, when he was not occupied by his current job, continued to post notices here and there in the kingdom, selling a few books here, a few books there, looking for ways to sell enough books.

One day, the old pauper came home from his postings, hurried into the crowded little cottage, and said with guarded excitement, “Look, my dear. Two wizards posted this notice in the kingdom today. They may be the answer to our problems.” He began reading aloud.

The two wizards would mentor authors to make their books bestsellers in just 24 hours, they promised. Authors could use their new international bestselling author status to sell many more books and make much money. The wizards would teach them the strategy, and they could do it as often as wished.

The pauper and his wife read the long notice right through to the end. Then they went back and read it again. They could “sell more books in a single day than many authors sell all year long,” it promised. They could sell books in many other kingdoms. There were more promises – many more. The wizards had heard the horror stories of authors “maxing out their credit cards ending up with huge debt and totally disillusioned – and they’re still sitting with inventory of books.” They would help the old wife avoid that. They promised!

“We’ve deciphered the hidden formula,” the wizards claimed. “Our greatest concern is witnessing other authors … end up with another enormous expensive book marketing endeavor gone sour. WE don’t want that to happen to you!” To keep it from happening, they promised, they would provide everything to create a campaign that would have the author’s book “soar right up to the top of the charts; seamlessly and harmoniously.” The couple could watch it happen on a magic screen.

Amazingly, the two wizards claimed that they would help the couple “avoid those terrifying pitfalls that can cost you thousands of dollars and endless amounts of headaches.” It sounded too good to be true, and of course such things usually were too good to be true. But what if it were true? What if they could make a year’s salary in one day – and do it again next month – and the month after that?

The mentoring course was costly, and would take nearly every penny they had saved in the little crock behind the stove, but it might be worth it. Added to the upfront cost would be the “almost zero marketing costs” the wizards promised, and they didn’t know what those might be. Nevertheless, they had to do something. The old pauper would soon be unable to work at his current job, and the wife’s books were their one hope for putting food on an aging table, keeping shelter over silver heads.

For several days, the couple thought about the notice. If only it were true! They had read that “bestseller” was awarded only to books selling 10,000 copies in a year. 10,000 copies! Why, if just one of their books sold that many, it would be grand, and if one book sold 10,000 copies in a year, people would buy their other books – 16 in print already, and many more just waiting to be poured onto paper. What should they do?

As Valentine’s Day approached, the old pauper made a decision. He would give his wife the wizards’ bestseller course as a Valentine’s Day gift. Quietly, when she was in the little room that doubled as a writing room and bedroom, he went to the stove, reached behind it for the old crock, and counted out the money. There was enough, and just a bit left over. That little bit would, he reasoned, cover the “almost zero” marketing costs.

And so, on Valentine’s Day, he presented his beloved wife with a vase of lovely flowers, and the too-good-to-be-true bestseller mentoring course. He would work at it with her, he promised, and once the first book became a bestseller, they would use the plan to sell her other books – all 16 of them plus the 3 more she had planned. By autumn, he would be able to retire from his current work. By autumn, he would be her full-time marketing agent. Their troubles would be over.

Happily, the pauper and his wife began the wizards’ course. They read class notes carefully before each class. They listened closely to the wizards during class. They studied class notes again after each class. They threw themselves into preparations from the first day, determined to do everything exactly as taught, and with every ounce of ability they possessed. By mid-May, they calculated, the old wife would be an international bestselling author!

And wonder of wonders, they read in the wizards’ updated notices that instead of “almost zero” cost, the course now was to be “zero-cost!” Certainly, there was the cost of five long-distance phone calls to hear the teleclasses, so it wasn’t entirely zero-cost, but the old crock held enough for the five calls.

The weeks passed swiftly, the couple worked hard, and by mid-April, they were ready to begin the 28-day countdown to their bestseller book campaign.

Long hours of each day, the old pauper scanned the kingdoms notices, seeking those strangers who might be supporters of their campaign. Long hours of each day, the old wife fought her quiet nature to call the strangers, begging each one to please send her notice to other strangers. Aggressive begging, the old pauper called it, and many rejected the old wife’s plea, but a few listened. The long-distance calls to strangers eroded the promise of zero-cost and consumed the last penny from the crock, but it had to be done. It was part of the plan.

Those who listened to the old woman’s pleas asked her to send copies of her book for them to read. Each copy had a cost, of course, and the postage to send copies throughout the kingdom began to mount, but it had to be done. It was part of the plan.

Those who received the book had to be called again – sometimes often before they made a decision – which increased the phone bill, but it had to be done. It was part of the plan.

At the end of April, the old pauper’s wife scheduled a call to one of the wizards, and discussed the campaign. “How many copies of our book,” she asked, “must we sell to reach top ten ranking?” The wizard explained that 500-600 copies would be needed just to become a bestseller, and 1,000 copies or more to reach top ten ranking. “How many strangers must receive our notice to sell that many?” asked the writer. “One million,” came the answer, “but if you call this queen, she will sell you hundreds of thousands of strangers’ names.”

The old couple declined, and redoubled their efforts. They followed the strategy exactly as taught by the two wizards. They got the wizards’ approval of a campaign launch date and of everything they wrote for the campaign. They completed each step within the recommended time frame. They secured more than enough supporters with more than enough names of strangers to whom they would send notices. Above all, they worked hard to maintain a “can-do” attitude. After all, this was the chance of a lifetime!

They notified a printer in a nearby kingdom, placed an order for 1,000 copies of the book, and on the wizards’ advice, asked the printer to be ready for a rush order once the initial 1,000 copies sold. They had no money to pay him, but their credit card would cover the order until books sold in the campaign. It would max out the credit card, but it had to be done. It was part of the plan.

The printer printed the books and sent them to a fulfillment house – another bill came. The fulfillment house sent 500 copies to the kingdom’s giant bookseller – another bill came. The wizards suggested that gifts be sent to supporters – another cost was incurred, but it all had to be done. It all was part of the plan. Another credit card was maxed out, and then a third.

Finally came the day of the bestseller campaign: May 18. The sales letter was ready to urge people to buy the book during the next 24 hours, enticing them with a promise of gifts many times worth the value of the book itself. Supporters had promised to send to 2.5 million strangers short notices directing them to the sales letter. Those short notices had already been provided to the supporters a few days before.

On that campaign morning, the pauper’s wife re-sent the notices, ensuring supporters had not misplaced the previous ones, and reminding supporters to send the notices at midnight.

Late that afternoon, the pauper’s wife sent large gifts to the supporters, hoping it would again remind them to send the notices.

And then, as midnight crept across the far reaches of the kingdom, the pauper and his wife sat down before the magic screen that would track their campaign’s progress. A supporter’s frantic call came in – a correction was made in a proffered gift. They tuned the magic screen to the view of the giant bookseller and found their book’s title.

The poor book sat at a sad ranking of 444,094. It would be a long climb to #10, but they knew it would happen. The wizards had said so. They had followed the wizards’ instructions as closely as possible. They would watch now for 24 hours, and see the book become #10, or perhaps #9 or higher on the bestseller list of the kingdom’s giant bookseller.

There would be a celebration once the book became a bestseller. The wizards had said that they must plan a celebration, so they had. They had bought a plane ticket for their daughter to fly home from a far part of the kingdom, and their son had arrived from another kingdom. It would be a glorious celebration!

The old pauper and his wife did not sleep that night. They sat before the magic screen, watching and waiting. They got up for a glass of water now and then, and sat again before the magic screen. In the first hour, the book’s ranking fell from 444,094 to 446,998. An hour later, it sank again, to 450,023. In the third hour, it sat where it was at 450,023, but in the fourth hour, it rose – 60,415.

“Hooray,” they shouted. “Here it goes!” They had a snack, and returned to the magic screen. No! The book had sank to 64,553. It continued downward through the long night, reaching 70,660 before finally turning upward again at 7:00 AM. They sighed their relief. Good! People at the farthest edges of the kingdom were awake. Now the book would become a bestseller!

Unable to sleep or nap, the old couple watched throughout the day, but by bedtime, the book had not become a bestseller. The 24 hours had expired. The strategy had failed. Quickly, the old pauper made a hurried change to the sales letter, extending the campaign for another 24 hours. They tried to be upbeat for one another, and decided to take turns sleeping through this night. Whoever was awake when the book hit the bestseller list would awaken the other. Together, then, they would watch it climb to the upper rankings. So they passed the night, snatching 40 minutes of sleep at best, recording each hour’s ranking at the changing of the guard.

Alas. When morning of the second day dawned, the book still had not found its way onto the bottom of the bestseller list. The old couple contacted the wizards and asked what they could do to make it happen. It had to happen. They had spent so much time – so much money. The book just had to become a bestseller.

The wizards had no answers. “It is,” admitted one wizard, “very disappointing.”

Very disappointing? The old pauper tracked the supporters. Less than half had sent their notices. Commitments had meant nothing to the majority of supporters. One was too busy with more important things, and after hearing from the couple, sent his 24 hours late. One had other notices to send – for his paying customers. Delays. Excuses. Broken promises.

By noon of that second day, 36 hours from the campaign’s launch, the book remained unknown, efforts unrewarded. Every hour on the hour, the old wife returned to the magic screen to see the newest rankings. Every hour on the hour, she snapped a picture of the discouraging results.

At 3:00 PM, the wife returned to the magic screen for the 39th discouraging picture. But wait! What was this? The book was ranked #100. It was a bestseller! She yelled for the old pauper, and together they gazed at the screen. They snapped a picture, and talked merrily about the success. It had taken 39 hours – it wasn’t great – it was the very bottom of the list – but they had hit bestseller. Now all they had to do was watch their book climb, just like the books about which the wizards so often spoke! Excitement rushed back and forth through the house.

But alas! Their book found the downward ladder instead of the upward. The next hourly ranking no longer included it within the top 100 titles. It never rose again. The book was a bestseller, but only for the merest blip in time.

“Well, at least it hit,” they comforted each other. They had sold 500-600 copies, hadn’t they? That’s what the wizard had said it would take to make the list, so they must have sold that many. They would know how many when the giant bookseller’s initial order of 500 was gone and he ordered more. That would pay the printer. The old wife sent out her press releases, and they prepared for their daughter’s arrival a few days hence – prepared for their celebration.

By the end of the week, however, the news was worse – and perplexing. Fewer than 40 copies had been ordered, and some of those orders were already being cancelled. Orders sank as the book’s ranking had done. 38 copies ordered – 36 – 35. But the wizards had said hundreds of copies were needed to make bestseller, not tens of copies. How had a book even reached the #100 spot with so few copies sold? It seemed impossible. It seemed unexplainable.

And indeed, the wizards, when contacted, had no explanation. “The minimum number of copies we cited to get onto the top 100 bestseller list is around 200 copies and we've seen that vary significantly,” said one wizard. “Unfortunately, your experience is a first time one,” he added, and explained that you couldn’t go by a first-time effort. But the wizards promised, didn’t they? And even if it took a minimum of 200 copies instead of 500 copies … 30 copies was a number nowhere near that minimum! How had the book hit the bestseller list? The repeated question brought no answer from the wizards.

The old wife was embarrassed. She was distraught. She was emotional, disillusioned. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. It was supposed to be a time of rejoicing. To friends’ requests to know how they did, the wife wrote briefly: “We made bestseller.” That was all. She had a splitting headache. So did the old pauper.

When their daughter arrived, exclaiming, “Congratulations, bestselling author,” the old wife wanted to cry out, “Bestselling author? What was bestselling about it? Only 30 copies were confirmed sold. A mere 30 copies! What’s bestselling about that?!”

They had spent every penny from the old crock. They had maxed out every credit card. Hundreds of books sat unsold in a fulfillment house. They would have to pay for hundreds more to be shipped back to the fulfillment house from the giant bookseller. Where would they get the money?

Would the wizards return the cost of the mentoring course? Not likely. Their guarantee had simply been to help authors reach bestseller status. That had happened in a sense, although the old couple wondered how one could rationalize it when sales had been less than the stated minimums.

They remembered the wizards’ tantalizing offer to “help you avoid those terrifying pitfalls that can cost you thousands of dollars and endless amounts of headaches.”

Ah, but the wizards had led them directly into those terrifying pitfalls.

And now the campaign was behind them. Disillusioned, with hundreds of unsold books, maxed out credit cards, an empty crock, and many headaches, the old pauper was much poorer, but much wiser. He would never repeat the bestseller strategy. Nor would his wife, international bestselling author – owner of a tarnished award.

Note

The wizards wrote in their Statements of Understanding and Agreement Form: “This bestselling mentorship class will be conducted in a cooperative manner. Everyone will be learning from each other and helping each other to learn and succeed.”

In the spirit of those words, we hope this brief allegory will help you learn from the old pauper and his older wife. We hope it will help the wizards learn to speak, in days to come, with more integrity – to exercise greater moral fortitude in future dealings with other paupers in the Land of Wishful Thinking.