How I sold the first 1,000 copies of my business book

And why you should talk about your book long before it launches

My first book, Hype Yourself: a no-nonsense DIY toolkit for small businesses, hit the golden metric of 5,000 print copies in the two years since its launch.

[I was once told by a commissioning editor of non-fiction that you needed to sell 5,000 copies in the first year to be considered successful, but as with most things about publishing, who knows if this is true 💁🏻‍♀️].

This book baby will have its 4th birthday in January, and it’s still maintaining sales.

If this was a tortoise and a hare fable, the hare got Sunday Times Bestseller in launch week, never to sell a copy again - I’m still creeping on, still believe in the subject matter, still promoting it and most crucially, still making sales.

I did sell the first 1,000 copies in the launch month, and I wanted to talk a bit about how much work was involved to get that sprint out of the blocks.

Make sure you read to the end for a less-than-desirable reason that contributed to a vast amount of these sales.

The themes of my book matched the themes of my content

I often see non-fiction books leap out of nowhere on social media feeds. Like something a founder felt they needed to tick off the to-do list alongside a TedxTalk or being included in Forbes.

They hop on what they think is a popular subject, talk about it for the first months after launch, and then disappear, never to discuss it again.

These days, we don’t have to be pigeonholed into talking about one subject, but it is a good idea to at least include the subject as a recurrent theme in our content.

With my first book, I used the hashtag #hypeyourself for over a year before launch. The book amplified all the tips and content I had shared.

The book also matched a similar method to how I worked on my self-promotion, my clients or in workshops.

I polled my audience regularly to know the challenges they faced. I looked at the content they wanted from a book and the questions they asked me, and I matched that with what I wanted them to know that they didn’t.

People wanted to know how to write a press release and send it out. I wanted to show them the value of knowing your business objectives, your values and having a strategy.

I gave away free advice daily.

When I won my publishing deal after taking part in Alison Jones 10-day book proposal challenge, my audience on Instagram was 1,268.

I posted a tip or piece of advice on Instagram every.single.day for a whole year before my book launched.

Screenshot of my Instagram account

I also gave a lot of free talks, workshops, events and blog posts. I had zero profile, and no one knew who I was. I wanted to let people know I was making a resource to help them and establish that relationship.

My book was also the start of a pivot for me. I wanted to move away from selling my time for money and focus on the education of my specialist subjects.

Promoting the content of the forthcoming book was an excellent opportunity to refine facilitation skills whilst also building anticipation for it at the same time.

Crucially, Alison told me one of the reasons I won my book deal was because I was superbly clear on my sales and marketing strategy. (An advice article for another time perhaps?)

Do not be afraid to seed the thoughts and concepts of your book beforehand. It’s the equivalent of serving your audience an aperitif ahead of the tasty meal.

It builds anticipation.

I promoted my book to my audience not for my ego

One of the mistakes I see business owners make is seeking press coverage, endorsements or credibility from people within their industry.

e.g. a wellness coach only seeking to partner with other wellness coaches.

I was writing a PR book but didn’t seek coverage in PR publications or from PR influencers.

My target audience is small businesses, freelancers, solopreneurs and creative founders. I played in those spaces instead.

Let’s also have a reality check; a niche non-fiction services book will unlikely get mainstream print media.

My promotional campaign went beyond this medium and looked like FB groups, podcasts, shared workspaces, and IG lives rather than traditional PR coverage in traditional print media.

A launch party to suit me.

I have nothing against the ‘glass of Merlot and packet of KP nuts in a chain bookstore launch crew’, but that was NOT the type of launch event I wanted for my book.

I partnered with the freelance platform UnderPinned, which matched my target audience, and we hosted a little affair with a Drag Queen, a live DJ and free drinks.

I didn’t have the budget to cover the costs, so I charged a small ticket fee to break even.

This also meant it was accessible to the whole audience I had been building. I didn’t want to create something too small and VIP, which made anyone feel left out.

Celebrating with a room full of my friends and supporters felt momentous.

Equally, the groundswell meant a lot of content was shared on social media, which created a buzz in my social media echo chamber around the book.

Life got in the way, and I spoke about it.

I submitted the first draft of the manuscript to my book in early June 2019. On the 24th of June, my second child was born with four rare congenital heart defects.

After life-saving emergency surgery on a Saturday night when they were six days old, we had another two open heart surgeries followed by monthly check-ups.

In a way, finishing that book and getting it out into the world saved me.

Many people told me to push back the publishing date. Maybe I should have. But, as much as it is a blur, I think I needed it to keep me going.

At the monthly check-up at the end of November, they found a further complication. Another open-heart surgery was booked for three days after the book launched.

I kept the launch event as I already had sold tickets, but I cancelled everything planned: podcast recordings, IG Lives, and a regional tour.

For all the sh*t I give Instagram, the community there rallied around me. I was sat in the Pediatric ICU for my book launch week, not the uplifting stories I was going for, but I didn’t want to disappear without explanation.

Recovery after open heart surgery...

My peers stepped up in a way I couldn’t have ever asked for to encourage other small business owners and mothers to support me at this time by buying a copy.

Undoubtedly, sharing my most extensive personal trial led to the biggest triumph in sales.

It’s not a marketing method I would recommend to anyone.

I just wanted to share the truth and reassure anyone with a personal crisis around book launch to be brave enough to share.

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The book promotion journey is a long, lonely marathon. If you are traditionally published, getting a steer of how well you do on sales is virtually impossible. It feels like teaching a workshop to a blank screen with no feedback for six months.

I recommend that you consider longevity in your promotion rather than crashing and burning out by focusing on just the launch fortnight.

• Bring your audience on the journey from the beginning and allow them to help shape the book.

• Test out bits of your thinking to see what doesn’t resonate OR what your audience thinks they need that you need to educate them on differently.

• Don’t just focus on PR for your ego; how can you reach the people who need to read your book?

• Celebrate your moment in a way that is authentic to you

• Life often gets in the way. Don’t forget you are a whole person before a promotional writing machine - if showing up is complicated or something is going on, whilst you don’t need to go into depth, it can be helpful to share

If you want to know more about my first book Hype Yourself, you can order here.

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Hi 🌊. If you are new here, so am I! Nice to meet you, I’m Lucy. I have historically written about PR & brand building tips. Since moving to France, I wanted to write more broadly about self-promotion, share BTS or my midlife relocation and running a creative business.