3 lessons from my amazon book launch

Good news:

My Amazon launch is officially in the books.

Here’s how the results shook out:

As you can see, I finished up with:

📚 178 total orders
⭐ 12x 5-star ratings
🤑 $133.48 in royalties
🤓 1,300+ pages read on Kindle Unlimited

My conservative sales target was 100 copies…

So overall, I’m quite pleased.

I also managed to hit #1 in multiple categories, which isn’t saying much and is mostly a vanity metric…

But it still feels good.

Nevertheless, after every launch or promo series, I like to take stock of lessons learned so I can carry these insights forward for next time.

Let’s dive in:

***

1) Think hard about your fast action bonus

Bonuses are a great way to incentivize people to act fast.

In my case, I offered a 42-minute breakdown of the 3 ads I’ve used to sell 1,200+ copies of my book.

I thought it was an insanely valuable bonus.

(and objectively, it was)

But looking back, I could have come up with something that had broader appeal to the people on my list…

Instead of just those interested in selling books with ads.

Such as:

- How to get your first 1,000 subscribers
- How to write a high-converting sign up page
- Fill-in-the-blanks email template to get coaching clients
- Etc etc

Nailing this could’ve potentially driven a lot more sales of my book.

So definitely a missed opportunity.

2) Don’t be afraid to repeat instructions

For context:

All 8 of the emails I wrote included the same batch of copy on how to claim the bonus video I was offering.

But when you’re the one writing the emails…

It can feel a bit repetitive.

Ignore this.

It’s better to err on the side of caution and make sure the instructions are explicit.

Otherwise, you’ll get a flood of people emailing in asking how.

In fact, some will still do this even when the instructions are in every email 😂

3) There always be some who miss the deadline

I’ve been a part of many launches over the last 9 years.

Yet it never fails to amaze me no matter how often you email throughout a launch…

Some people inevitably miss the deadline.

That’s just the way it goes.

And while it may be tempting to humor these folks by granting them access to the bonus you promised or allowing them to purchase at the discounted launch price…

Don’t.

This is a key example of how to train your audience.

If they discover that your deadlines are soft and don’t actually mean anything, they won’t be inclined to respect them next time.

So if you want your audience to respond to the deadlines you set…

You have to enforce them.

***

There you have it.

Shout out again to everyone who grabbed a copy 🤘

Appreciate you as always.

Now I’m eager to put this entire thing behind me lol

It’s consumed a surprisingly large part of the last few months for me.

ONWARD!

Happy Tuesday :)

Jim Hamilton