Piloting A Profitable Book Funnel

I’m part of the AMMO program, and since joining, I’ve sold $2,200 worth of books through my Shopify store and 103 books through Amazon for an additional $384.

Jody J. Sperling is a long way away from a full-time author, and (yes, I’m referring to myself in the third person) he’s progressing toward the goal. If you’re a person who wants to achieve full-time author status, and you have a handful of published books, it might be time to check out Author Marketing Mastery through Optimization (AMMO) for yourself. Click here to see what AMMO is all about.

Drive More Sales

We’re going into ultra experimental territory, so this episode may serve as a wait-and-see for authors who don’t want to chase every whim, but it might also be a phenomenal opportunity to get two birds flying with one gust of wind.

A while ago, I had an idea to reach out to my local town and tug their heartstrings to buy my book, but the more I’ve seen how the real world works, the more I recognize no person is willing to act unless given sufficient benefit to do so.

Sometimes sufficient benefit is charity and the self-satisfaction it delivers to the person taking action. Often times the sufficient benefit is a moment of pleasure greater than the previous state of being.

For example, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and the ones I enjoy the most have such a positive impact on my emotional wellbeing that I am willing to buy—or almost buy—products the hosts read ad copy for.

I’m not sure if Dax Shepard ever owned a Chrysler Pacifica or not, but he read ad copy for them for months, and when my family was shopping for a new minivan, I could hardly resist the urge to buy that van.

But if you ask me to listen to a podcast about beauty products, it doesn’t matter how good of friends we are. I’m not going to listen to that show. I might play it in the background—maybe—if I feel I owe you one, but good luck getting me to engage. It would have to be a transcendent moment where I heard something on the beauty products podcast to flip my script.

I have had my script flipped before, but it is so rare as to be statistically insignificant.

For example, you all know the wonderful and talented Xe Sands narrated my audiobooks. I had the wonderful fortune of speaking to her about my book, and we had a great conversation. She’s a delightful person who shares many of my values and interests.

So when she began talking about loving podcasts, I all but demanded a list of her favorites. She graciously provided a list of more than twenty shows she’s binged, and so, later that day, I started working through the list she’d provided. None captured my attention. To be fair, I didn’t make it through the entire list, but if someone I admire that much, has that little sway over my actions, imagine how little sway you have over a person’s actions when you are a stranger to her.

If you’re feeling a bit concerned and even slightly hopeless thinking about that, I want to assure you, you aren’t hopeless. Eye-opening moments lead to revelations, and that’s what happened for me, so I want to share my idea with you.

Right now it’s in the lab. I’ve taken it into the world with a few people, and I’m waiting for results, but in the meantime, you can adapt it for your needs if it seems like a possible fit.

The Grand Idea

My idea is to offer a book for a brew. This includes coffee, tea, beer, and even kombucha. I’m seeking to partner with area businesses, set up a table inside, and offer my book in exchange for a cup of tasty goodness.

Once I have three to five businesses who will agree to run the promotion with me, I’ll send a press release to KETV, The Omaha World Herald, and other local media outlets. In an ideal world, I’ll drive a bonkers number of book sales and take home a small amount of profit from the adventure.

In a realistic world, I’ll have a modest number of book sales, break even on cost, and walk away with an elevated Amazon ranking that I can then reference in future marketing marketing materials.

Different Tools

If my goal with the Book for a Brew campaign was to make money, I’d have a rough time of it, I think. You’d have a tough time motivating enough people to buy a book at a profitable value after compensating the coffee shop or bar for the purchase of a beverage. But if I’m running an awareness campaign, I can put a ton of eyeballs on my novel by using the free TV interview and a few spotlights in the local newspaper.

Instead of paying hundreds of dollars to be featured in an ad, I spend a few days creating a campaign, and a day or two selling books and rubbing elbows with local readers.

I encourage readers to order the book on Amazon, and depending on the success of the event, maybe I hit bestseller status for a couple minutes.

Once you ...