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Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

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Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#61

Post by shredfvz »

bdunn wrote: post #60
shredfvz wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So instead of arguing ... what % of HNers are actually clicking through to your "no bullshit" offer? Very few articles on the front page of HN are littered with testimonials and sales copy.

I've made just under $1,000 in sales today from HN. 1 in 7 people who have clicked through to the article go to the sales page. EDIT: I'm sure a few people people are skeptical. Here's a screenshot from ejunkie (and I just crossed over the $1k mark): https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2205912/Screen%20Shot%202012-08-23%...

So you've made around 3 sales per hour since you've submitted it.

Assuming 3 sales/hr directly from HN, that is encouraging.

I don't know how anyone can verify 3 sales/hr from HN only from that screenshot, however. Sorry my thirst is unquenched, it's just this whole deal reminds me of ClickBank sales where fudging screenshots and hyping and bullshitting others is fairly commonplace.

I would believe 1 in 7 overall users click through, but I'm still curious who is doing it because I am a jaded, jaded marketer.

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#62

Post by ahoyhere »

lutusp wrote: post #51
ahoyhere wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does your position come from experience in selling an ebook or other educational product?

Yes -- but my book isn't a traditional, mass-printed book like that under discussion. When someone orders a copy of my book, one copy gets printed and shipped. Unlike in traditional publishing, there are no piles of my book in a warehouse, awaiting sale. And I have to tell you, this new publishing model is going to wipe out the old model (so-called "dead-tree publishing"). And pretty soon, even that model will fall b…

So you've offered a results-guaranteed return policy for your book, and you had a bad experience? I'd love to hear more.

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#63

Post by bdunn »

shredfvz wrote: post #61
bdunn wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've made just under $1,000 in sales today from HN. 1 in 7 people who have clicked through to the article go to the sales page. EDIT: I'm sure a few people people are skeptical. Here's a screenshot from ejunkie (and I just crossed over the $1k mark): https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2205912/Screen%20Shot%202012-08-23%...

So you've made around 3 sales per hour since you've submitted it. Assuming 3 sales/hr directly from HN, that is encouraging. I don't know how anyone can verify 3 sales/hr from HN only from that screenshot, however. Sorry my thirst is unquenched, it's just this whole deal reminds me of ClickBank sales where fudging screenshots and hyping and bullshitting others is fairly commonplace. I would believe 1 in 7 overall use…

You'll just need to take my word on it - I'm not going to post ejunkie/PayPal creds :-)

Total uniques for the main article: 7,772 Total uniques for the sales page: 1,238 A 2% conversion rate (26 sales) isn't that far fetched. It was converting higher with the pre-HN traffic (about 6% on average).

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#64

Post by ahoyhere »

lutusp wrote: post #40
ahoyhere wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In your arguments against presales, you haven't said why you think that the other way is better. What's your reasoning? I'm assuming "because one creates better publicity" isn't it, since you seem to have something against the idea for deeper reasons.

> In your arguments against presales, you haven't said why you think that the other way is better. What's your reasoning? In the traditional approach, reviewers who have no economic stake review a book or an excerpt and let the public know what they think. In most cases the public can assume the review is objective. In an approach like this one, an author uses pre-orders or advance payments as evidence for the book's…

I can't tell who you think is being served poorly by this. The people who can get their money back immediately if they are disappointed? The same people who might preorder any other kind of book on Amazon.com? The reviewers, who theoretically are less biased about something they got for free? The author, who you presume is using existing sales as a weak ipso facto ex post facto argument for the quality of the book-in-progress (which, as you admit, is purely hypothetical)?

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#65

Post by noahc »

lutusp wrote: post #44
bdunn wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an ebook with worksheets and additional case studies / interviews from freelancers who charge a lot (most notably: Amy Hoy and Thomas Fuchs). Take a screenshot of this comment as witness, but I'm serious about refunding anyone who ends up not being able to raise their client rates. Paying for stuff that doesn't deliver value is dumb.

> Take a screenshot of this comment as witness, but I'm serious about refunding anyone who ends up not being able to raise their client rates. Some advice -- you really, really don't want to do this. You don't need to guarantee results to sell a worthwhile book, and IMHO you shouldn't. Here's why: 1. Let's say you have a profit margin of 20% on your book overall -- printing costs, promotion, etc. versus income. 2. Le…

You're #4 seems legally dubious at best. I can't imagine any court in the land upholding the idea that purchasing any education material with an implied promise of results grants the purchaser 'consequential damages'.

An easy smell test for this idea is the "get rich quick in real estate" infomercial.

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#66

Post by mikey_p »

lutusp wrote: post #32
ky3 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a bug, it's a feature! The reader gets involved in the making of the book, the writer gets a way to talk with their best customers, everyone wins. A savvy author trumps a crappy publisher any time.

> The reader gets involved in the making of the book, the writer gets a way to talk with their best customers, everyone wins. Not disparaging this specific author or publisher, but this was once accomplished by having advance reviewers offer their criticisms without any money changing hands. > A savvy author trumps a crappy publisher any time. Yes, but not the reverse. :)

Having an advanced review by a reviewer is not the same as feedback from actual customers.

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#67

Post by ahoyhere »

lutusp wrote: post #49
dchurchv wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, of course, I'm not making an argument that concerts and books are the same business. That would be dumb. I'm saying rather, there's no obvious reason to not get paid for them the same way, as long as the audience is willing. If they're not willing, that obviously won't work. But clearly in some cases (like the OPs), they are willing. So as an author, you'd have to be irrational to not want to be paid as early as…

> And my fuzzy calculus aside, the first printing for most books will also be the last one. This is not the norm in publishing, at least, the desirable kind. For most publishers who promote and market books, profits don't start until the first printing has sold out and subsequent printings begin, with (a) all book preparation activities already complete, and (b) a public who don't need to be persuaded of a book's val…

"This is not the norm in publishing, at least, the desirable kind."

Ah, it's good you said that. I always thought publishers like O'Reilly and Pragmatic Programmers were totally undesirable. Now I can point out why.

"In modern publishing, there's no need -- books are printed, one copy at a time, when they are ordered."

Cite?

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#68

Post by lutusp »

patio11 wrote: post #54
lutusp wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Take a screenshot of this comment as witness, but I'm serious about refunding anyone who ends up not being able to raise their client rates. Some advice -- you really, really don't want to do this. You don't need to guarantee results to sell a worthwhile book, and IMHO you shouldn't. Here's why: 1. Let's say you have a profit margin of 20% on your book overall -- printing costs, promotion, etc. versus income. 2. Le…

You believe something about people's behavior which is a testable proposition about the nature of material reality, like "If you push an apple off a table it will accelerate to the nearest cat." The scientific method exists. Have no worries, your apples and profits are both safe, because both those theories are absolutely false .

Interesting that you would mention the scientific method, then offer no evidence for your theory.

I said what I did because I have seen it happen countless times in a long career that has included a lot of writing. I have the evidence. When someone makes a performance claim about the contents of a book, the book then becomes nearly irrelevant to the outcome, which hinges on the claim.

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#69

Post by lutusp »

ahoyhere wrote: post #62
lutusp wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes -- but my book isn't a traditional, mass-printed book like that under discussion. When someone orders a copy of my book, one copy gets printed and shipped. Unlike in traditional publishing, there are no piles of my book in a warehouse, awaiting sale. And I have to tell you, this new publishing model is going to wipe out the old model (so-called "dead-tree publishing"). And pretty soon, even that model will fall b…

So you've offered a results-guaranteed return policy for your book, and you had a bad experience? I'd love to hear more.

No, my reply to you wasn't about claims made in a book, only to say that I had some experience with publishing.

Re: Selling $2,000+ Worth Of My Unfinished Book

#70

Post by lutusp »

ahoyhere wrote: post #67
lutusp wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And my fuzzy calculus aside, the first printing for most books will also be the last one. This is not the norm in publishing, at least, the desirable kind. For most publishers who promote and market books, profits don't start until the first printing has sold out and subsequent printings begin, with (a) all book preparation activities already complete, and (b) a public who don't need to be persuaded of a book's val…

"This is not the norm in publishing, at least, the desirable kind." Ah, it's good you said that. I always thought publishers like O'Reilly and Pragmatic Programmers were totally undesirable. Now I can point out why. "In modern publishing, there's no need -- books are printed, one copy at a time, when they are ordered." Cite?

>> "In modern publishing, there's no need -- books are printed, one copy at a time, when they are ordered."

> Cite?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_on_demand

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