Attempting to Build A Productocracy [Niche > Problem > Pre-sell > Solution]

[Edgar King]

Day 230-235
Post Launch - Scared

Marketing
The strategy for posting on TikTok was to provide value to my target market in the form of education (nurture) and entertainment (reach), while adding trending music to the post once a day. It's been about 30+ days and the account has about 3500 followers.

Most of the growth happened the day after launch. From my understanding, the views didn't change much, but overnight I had gained +1000 followers. All I really did was add the website link so I have no idea why there should be such a big spike if at all.

Scared

I'm scared to open my dashboard and see if I've made any sales whatsoever. Anything more than 1, and I will very happy. If ever I see a recommendation, I will skip and dance for joy.

I'm thinking I should wait to the next Saturday. Because to me if it can't get 1 sale in one week, something is very wrong, and after all the work I've put into this, I'm scared to be really wrong.

Though I know regardless, I'll just need to act, assess and adjust.

Book
Stories have been added to the book. Though quite minimal before the launch.

Testing
The third prospect got back to me, explaining the information in the book was good but...

It lacked depth and structure. And the book title was generic.

I won't act on this just yet if at all. First off, I'm not able to cross-compare the feedback with other feedback (since the other prospects haven't gotten back to me yet). I also feel the feedback while well intentioned, is not very accurate (some things said I feel, don't match up with the tons of research I've done).

The 4th prospect is still reading it, but it was positive as well.

My hope is the market gives me feedback in the form of market echoes which I can use to pivot as necessary.

Log out...

Day 236-241
£34.50, 250 website visits, 26 subscribers

Those were the numbers that stared back at me on the dashboard. Prior to that, I was quaking in my boots on checking it out, before Funky gave me that last mile kick to open it.

But it was there! This was real! Two people felt a problem they were having and "saw" that I had the solution for their needs. One person could have been trying to swat the mosquito next to them and mistakenly clicked the buy button, but two?? That's not a fluke! My crazy idea for a solution actually made sense to them?? It's still a bit difficult to wrap my head around.

I remember the day I saw and applied MJ's 1/5/10 planner, that helped refine my direction and made me see where I wanted to be in the future. It's been about 4 months since then where I decided I was going to really commit to this to find a problem and provide a solution. Here's what that process looked like-

0% - Niche
10% - Profiling
20% - Messaging Content (The “yes, let’s meet!” message creator. What do you want? Make people understand that you really will solve their problems)
30% - Contact And Strategy (Message distribution)
40% - Problem Diagnosis Meeting
50% - Most Urgent Problem Selection
60% - Sell Before You Build
70% - Solve The Problem
80% - Don’t get more customers until you’ve worked on the product enough that it can actually deliver a result
90% - Productoracy Achieved
100%+ - Scale (Build a process that will get you multiple more customers)

Of course, I didn't follow this exactly. The first half of this was even aimed at window cleaners before finding out that I had to restart the process with a problem I really felt the value in solving. I had to scratch my own itch, and so far, doing so has changed my personal life for the better.

You can find that thread here if you want to read it- EXECUTION - How I Found And Solved A Problem I Cared About (Probably...)

For the above process, I didn't start with a niche, I started with a problem instead. I didn't message the target audience to find their pains, I researched indirect voice of customer data instead. I didn't sell anything before I built anything, although I tried. The last parts of the process, I hope I can iterate to.

Even after all this time researching my market, I feel like a bacteria moving up a leaf, always discovering new things about them.

There's a lot of work I can do from here on out. I could talk to my customers and find out how they're finding the book and ways to improve it, I could get my email marketing going I'd been putting off for a long time, I could work on improving my marketing to get more traffic, and the page for conversions, get reviews, but that's ok, in time we should be able to make it work. And if it doesn't, somehow, someway, hopefully we can find a way.

It might not be much, maybe I could/should have done much more, this might not even go anywhere, but I want to use this moment to again sincerely thank everyone I've ever come in contact to on this forum. You caused this. You are amazing. Read that again.

Until then....

Log out...

 

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[Edgar King]

Day 236-241
£34.50, 250 website visits, 26 subscribers

Those were the numbers that stared back at me on the dashboard. Prior to that, I was quaking in my boots on checking it out, before Funky gave me that last mile kick to open it.

But it was there! This was real! Two people felt a problem they were having and "saw" that I had the solution for their needs. One person could have been trying to swat the mosquito next to them and mistakenly clicked the buy button, but two?? That's not a fluke! My crazy idea for a solution actually made sense to them?? It's still a bit difficult to wrap my head around.

I remember the day I saw and applied MJ's 1/5/10 planner, that helped refine my direction and made me see where I wanted to be in the future. It's been about 4 months since then where I decided I was going to really commit to this to find a problem and provide a solution. Here's what that process looked like-

0% - Niche
10% - Profiling
20% - Messaging Content (The “yes, let’s meet!” message creator. What do you want? Make people understand that you really will solve their problems)
30% - Contact And Strategy (Message distribution)
40% - Problem Diagnosis Meeting
50% - Most Urgent Problem Selection
60% - Sell Before You Build
70% - Solve The Problem
80% - Don’t get more customers until you’ve worked on the product enough that it can actually deliver a result
90% - Productoracy Achieved
100%+ - Scale (Build a process that will get you multiple more customers)

Of course, I didn't follow this exactly. The first half of this was even aimed at window cleaners before finding out that I had to restart the process with a problem I really felt the value in solving. I had to scratch my own itch, and so far, doing so has changed my personal life for the better.

You can find that thread here if you want to read it- EXECUTION - How I Found And Solved A Problem I Cared About (Probably...)

For the above process, I didn't start with a niche, I started with a problem instead. I didn't message the target audience to find their pains, I researched indirect voice of customer data instead. I didn't sell anything before I built anything, although I tried. The last parts of the process, I hope I can iterate to.

Even after all this time researching my market, I feel like a bacteria moving up a leaf, always discovering new things about them.

There's a lot of work I can do from here on out. I could talk to my customers and find out how they're finding the book and ways to improve it, I could get my email marketing going I'd been putting off for a long time, I could work on improving my marketing to get more traffic, and the page for conversions, get reviews, but that's ok, in time we should be able to make it work. And if it doesn't, somehow, someway, hopefully we can find a way.

It might not be much, maybe I could/should have done much more, this might not even go anywhere, but I want to use this moment to again sincerely thank everyone I've ever come in contact to on this forum. You caused this. You are amazing. Read that again.

Until then....

Log out...

Day 242-248
Thanks, low conversions

Nothing much different from the week before. I posted some tiktoks (and a Tiktok of how the method in the book worked) and worked on the book minimally. I normally write if there are new problems to address caused by using the concepts in the book. But like an inverse exponential function on a graph, those seem to appear less and less.

Low conversions. I haven't made a sale since. At that time, I had 400 website visits. It was time to act, assess and adjust.

What do I know about conversions and how to increase them?

Basically this -

SIDE HUSTLE - COPYWRITING

Getting into copy writing, would you recommend any good books on the topic?

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I re-watched the video and I think I was missing the "how"...





It's a bit like wanting a heater and seeing one on Amazon, but having almost no idea where the buttons are on the product picture (how?). Another weak point, could be on the trust side of things. As I'm selling the product on my website, I haven't added a review section and if it was on Amazon, these would be there automatically. It's a sales channel I can utilise at a later time. The problem/desire phase is probably fine as to me, a sale is proof that someone wants that "bucket" filled.

To address the how part, I've added on the website and in the book a short birds eye view of how the method works so they can see that it can work for them. I read it to my friend and he said everyone should be able to understand that, and he's more aware of the world and how it works due to that.

To address the trust part, I've emailed my customers but no one had checked back at the time.

Thanks. Someone couldn't afford the book due to living in another country but explained that he really needed the information in the book (he downloaded the first few chapters), and in the process thanked me for the information, explaining that it was helpful. He'd been wanting the book for a while so I sent him the newest copy with the "how" part included. Hope he's happy.

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 242-248
Thanks, low conversions

Nothing much different from the week before. I posted some tiktoks (and a Tiktok of how the method in the book worked) and worked on the book minimally. I normally write if there are new problems to address caused by using the concepts in the book. But like an inverse exponential function on a graph, those seem to appear less and less.

Low conversions. I haven't made a sale since. At that time, I had 400 website visits. It was time to act, assess and adjust.

What do I know about conversions and how to increase them?

Basically this -

SIDE HUSTLE - COPYWRITING

Getting into copy writing, would you recommend any good books on the topic?

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I re-watched the video and I think I was missing the "how"...


View attachment 46525


It's a bit like wanting a heater and seeing one on Amazon, but having almost no idea where the buttons are on the product picture (how?). Another weak point, could be on the trust side of things. As I'm selling the product on my website, I haven't added a review section and if it was on Amazon, these would be there automatically. It's a sales channel I can utilise at a later time. The problem/desire phase is probably fine as to me, a sale is proof that someone wants that "bucket" filled.

To address the how part, I've added on the website and in the book a short birds eye view of how the method works so they can see that it can work for them. I read it to my friend and he said everyone should be able to understand that, and he's more aware of the world and how it works due to that.

To address the trust part, I've emailed my customers but no one had checked back at the time.

Thanks. Someone couldn't afford the book due to living in another country but explained that he really needed the information in the book (he downloaded the first few chapters), and in the process thanked me for the information, explaining that it was helpful. He'd been wanting the book for a while so I sent him the newest copy with the "how" part included. Hope he's happy.

Log out...

Day 249-254
Happy new year!

Well, with that, a month has gone by since the store launched. Nothing else has sold, although it's been receiving a steady stream of subscribers who downloaded the first chapters of the book. The traffic has gone into the 500 range. I've also noticed it receives a good stream of traffic when I post a link to the website in relevant threads in specific forums. Not really sure what to do now, the page shows the how but that didn't really affect website clicks between pages.

In the meantime, I've been working on the book some more and it seems there was an understanding bottleneck for one of the people I gave the book to. After we solved it together, they thanked me for it and I've added this part to the book.

I'm going to add these new parts to the book and download people get. My hope is that for those who download, they see more value in it and that moves the needle for them to buy.

That, or I just need to raise more traffic, social proof etc.

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 249-254
Happy new year!

Well, with that, a month has gone by since the store launched. Nothing else has sold, although it's been receiving a steady stream of subscribers who downloaded the first chapters of the book. The traffic has gone into the 500 range. I've also noticed it receives a good stream of traffic when I post a link to the website in relevant threads in specific forums. Not really sure what to do now, the page shows the how but that didn't really affect website clicks between pages.

In the meantime, I've been working on the book some more and it seems there was an understanding bottleneck for one of the people I gave the book to. After we solved it together, they thanked me for it and I've added this part to the book.

I'm going to add these new parts to the book and download people get. My hope is that for those who download, they see more value in it and that moves the needle for them to buy.

That, or I just need to raise more traffic, social proof etc.

Log out...

Day 255-260
Sales

Since then I've made two more sales. This is after making a video of the "how" of the user getting the benefit (for conversions and traffic on Tiktok). Making linked posts in relevant threads/forums (for traffic, essentially putting my offer in front of the people who need it - marketing). And almost daily Tiktok marketing (<15 second clips (for reach) or >15 seconds (for nurture)).

Yay. The second sale of these came from someone reaching out to me through reddit. They had read the first part of my book and saw the value in it. They wanted a discount because the price was a bit expensive for them (17 pounds) so I reduced it to 13.99 and they bought (Still want to make a profit, and can't be too low or they may not commit to applying the material and seeing success).

I'm also in the process of getting more feedback. I hit up 5 prospects a day and I'm able to generate 1 very interested prospect (based on what I'm seeing anyway) who wants to read the book. I send it to them for free. I'm looking to increase the social proof of my page, and it's pretty important I reckon.

The reason I say this is because in one of the threads I recommended the book, someone inquired if it really was worth it though they wanted to read it. This tells me they want to know for sure wether their bucket can really be filled. And I think the only way to show that is to increase the perceived probability of success in achieving the dream outcome E.G. social proof.

So, with all that in mind, here are my current objectives -

^ Traffic (Increase conversions), ^ Conversions (Increase sales), ^ Social proof (Increase conversions).

Log out...

 

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[Edgar King]

Day 255-260
Sales

Since then I've made two more sales. This is after making a video of the "how" of the user getting the benefit (for conversions and traffic on Tiktok). Making linked posts in relevant threads/forums (for traffic, essentially putting my offer in front of the people who need it - marketing). And almost daily Tiktok marketing (<15 second clips (for reach) or >15 seconds (for nurture)).

Yay. The second sale of these came from someone reaching out to me through reddit. They had read the first part of my book and saw the value in it. They wanted a discount because the price was a bit expensive for them (17 pounds) so I reduced it to 13.99 and they bought (Still want to make a profit, and can't be too low or they may not commit to applying the material and seeing success).

I'm also in the process of getting more feedback. I hit up 5 prospects a day and I'm able to generate 1 very interested prospect (based on what I'm seeing anyway) who wants to read the book. I send it to them for free. I'm looking to increase the social proof of my page, and it's pretty important I reckon.

The reason I say this is because in one of the threads I recommended the book, someone inquired if it really was worth it though they wanted to read it. This tells me they want to know for sure wether their bucket can really be filled. And I think the only way to show that is to increase the perceived probability of success in achieving the dream outcome E.G. social proof.

So, with all that in mind, here are my current objectives -

^ Traffic (Increase conversions), ^ Conversions (Increase sales), ^ Social proof (Increase conversions).

Log out...

Day 261-274
Thanks, Hard, Results, Sales. Amazon. Books are harder to write than I thought

The past week or so, I felt like I needed a cup of coffee (even though I don't take haha). My current aim is in making sure the process I birthed that looks like it works transfers from my head to the book and from the book to the prospects. After a long time trying to do that with one of the people I was teaching, she managed to get the concepts and apply the process. Thanking me in the process. Another person seems to have grasped this process as well so we're getting there I think, 1% improvements every day is the motto.

Had an additional 3 sales since last 2 weeks? Most of it came from direct traffic in publishing my website on other sites in relevant threads and posts and the rest from Tiktok.

Books are harder to write than I thought. First, the system actually has to work. Then you have to sell the system to the people who could benefit from it. Finally, you have to make sure they understand the system and can make it work for themselves. It's a fun challenge, yet a challenge nonetheless.

I'm reading this book - How to write useful books that's basically a productocracy for the book world. Great stuff. I'm using it to reach out to more prospects to get more "beta" readers for the book to make sure they understand it and it works for them.

My next step is to launch on Amazon (Kindle?), at the request of readers who wanted to buy the book but couldn't really because it wasn't on that platform. I don't have paperback and hardcover yet because I first want to make sure the material will work for the average reader.

I'm not really spooked of the time and effort though, it's mostly the racking square space and phone bill.

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 261-274
Thanks, Hard, Results, Sales. Amazon. Books are harder to write than I thought

The past week or so, I felt like I needed a cup of coffee (even though I don't take haha). My current aim is in making sure the process I birthed that looks like it works transfers from my head to the book and from the book to the prospects. After a long time trying to do that with one of the people I was teaching, she managed to get the concepts and apply the process. Thanking me in the process. Another person seems to have grasped this process as well so we're getting there I think, 1% improvements every day is the motto.

Had an additional 3 sales since last 2 weeks? Most of it came from direct traffic in publishing my website on other sites in relevant threads and posts and the rest from Tiktok.

Books are harder to write than I thought. First, the system actually has to work. Then you have to sell the system to the people who could benefit from it. Finally, you have to make sure they understand the system and can make it work for themselves. It's a fun challenge, yet a challenge nonetheless.

I'm reading this book - How to write useful books that's basically a productocracy for the book world. Great stuff. I'm using it to reach out to more prospects to get more "beta" readers for the book to make sure they understand it and it works for them.

My next step is to launch on Amazon (Kindle?), at the request of readers who wanted to buy the book but couldn't really because it wasn't on that platform. I don't have paperback and hardcover yet because I first want to make sure the material will work for the average reader.

I'm not really spooked of the time and effort though, it's mostly the racking square space and phone bill.

Log out...

Day 275-281
Thanks, Scale

One of the beta readers got back to me thanking me for the book after going on to get 50% of the book's big idea. This was very similar to another comment I saw on Youtube on the book. Another reader also came back to me to thank me for getting 25% of the book's big idea. It was nice and it really makes you see the impact we as entrepreneurs can have on the world. One of my friends also came back talking about a quote they really loved from the book, it was quite embarrassing haha.

I'm currently running the book section by section with some beta readers. I wonder if I should wait for consistent 100%s' before scaling further but that costs time. And the more time that passes, the higher costs rise. I do not think I have time to wait anymore.

The next step since I've received substantial evidence the contents of the book do indeed work, is to scale further. With this, I'll add Amazon KDP to my marketing stream (whereas I had just Sqaurespace before). The price doesn't matter too much, but it will probably help to get the word out on the book.

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 275-281
Thanks, Scale

One of the beta readers got back to me thanking me for the book after going on to get 50% of the book's big idea. This was very similar to another comment I saw on Youtube on the book. Another reader also came back to me to thank me for getting 25% of the book's big idea. It was nice and it really makes you see the impact we as entrepreneurs can have on the world. One of my friends also came back talking about a quote they really loved from the book, it was quite embarrassing haha.

I'm currently running the book section by section with some beta readers. I wonder if I should wait for consistent 100%s' before scaling further but that costs time. And the more time that passes, the higher costs rise. I do not think I have time to wait anymore.

The next step since I've received substantial evidence the contents of the book do indeed work, is to scale further. With this, I'll add Amazon KDP to my marketing stream (whereas I had just Sqaurespace before). The price doesn't matter too much, but it will probably help to get the word out on the book.

Log out...

Day 282-288

Amazon route is a bust for now. I don't have the right documentation to use it at the moment. Considering that's "the" place to go for both authors and readers, it means plans are going to change drastically for the time being.

I've heard of Apple Books and Kobo, but the potential sales reported by those who use such platforms doesn't even come close to 1/3 what they get from KDP.

In the meantime, while trying to get the relevant documentation (which might take anywhere from 2 months to never), I'll have to use alternative means to get enough traffic to the website, and fast. Traffic has been in the single digits lately so for now need to double down on Tiktok and improve my marketing strategy.

Here's my new marketing strategy - Provide value, then provide Value in each video. With an analogy, you could say it's a bit like giving a mouse bits of cheese (value - video), once they see these bits of cheese come from a machine, my hypothesis is that they'll want the machine (Value- book). The idea is that the big cheese is the dream outcome, and each video will help them move closer to it, no matter how small.

Later on, I'll try to launch on Apple Books. I'm more keen on scale now since the book has shown it can get people results.

Log out...

 

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[DCG]

Honestly I just said 1k/month as a placeholder for a goal I'd like reach (I'm 18 so I don't even really know the value of 1K ). But I also understand that money is a byproduct of applying value where people are hurting. My bad, a $1k goal is cool, but what I'm really aiming for is to help 1000 people by making them smile in the next 3 months by solving their problems. Thanks for pointing that out.

I need to remember that this is what I should be aiming for not just making money thx for reminding me I appreciate it

 

[Edgar King]

Day 282-288

Amazon route is a bust for now. I don't have the right documentation to use it at the moment. Considering that's "the" place to go for both authors and readers, it means plans are going to change drastically for the time being.

I've heard of Apple Books and Kobo, but the potential sales reported by those who use such platforms doesn't even come close to 1/3 what they get from KDP.

In the meantime, while trying to get the relevant documentation (which might take anywhere from 2 months to never), I'll have to use alternative means to get enough traffic to the website, and fast. Traffic has been in the single digits lately so for now need to double down on Tiktok and improve my marketing strategy.

Here's my new marketing strategy - Provide value, then provide Value in each video. With an analogy, you could say it's a bit like giving a mouse bits of cheese (value - video), once they see these bits of cheese come from a machine, my hypothesis is that they'll want the machine (Value- book). The idea is that the big cheese is the dream outcome, and each video will help them move closer to it, no matter how small.

Later on, I'll try to launch on Apple Books. I'm more keen on scale now since the book has shown it can get people results.

Log out...

Day 289-295
Results

A beta reader has reached 100% of the goal and she's really happy with the results. It further reinforces to scale. That isn't going so well haha, website traffic is low.

The approach I laid out in the previous post, while it did still generate traffic, just not enough to actually change the strategy I laid out in the beginning of the account. It taught me to drill on the dream outcome though as well as tweaks to get the videos more views and more clicks. Such as using trending sounds, good lighting and CTAs. It also makes me think I should think of each viewer only ever watching that video and that's that. I'll just have to act, assess and adjust as needed.

Log out...

 

[Miketing]

Day 289-295
Results

A beta reader has reached 100% of the goal and she's really happy with the results. It further reinforces to scale. That isn't going so well haha, website traffic is low.

The approach I laid out in the previous post, while it did still generate traffic, just not enough to actually change the strategy I laid out in the beginning of the account. It taught me to drill on the dream outcome though as well as tweaks to get the videos more views and more clicks. Such as using trending sounds, good lighting and CTAs. It also makes me think I should think of each viewer only ever watching that video and that's that. I'll just have to act, assess and adjust as needed.

Log out...

What's your funnel setup right now?

TikTok organic videos > CTA + link in bio > ??? > Sales page?

Are you using a free lead magnet to get them on an email list or discord before pushing for the sale?

 

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[Edgar King]

What's your funnel setup right now?

TikTok organic videos > CTA + link in bio > ??? > Sales page?

Are you using a free lead magnet to get them on an email list or discord before pushing for the sale?

Right so...

Tiktok organic video > Pinned video (A 7 minute video on "how" the framework works so they can use it to get the main benefit) > At the end of the video I tell them to get the book on my website (Though I don't tell them they can get a free chapter actually) > Downloading the free chapters and joining the email list (21/100 chapters there about)

Recently though, I've just told them to grab a free chapter in the link or to follow for more. Average of 500-1000 views per tiktok and 5 website visitors a day right now.

I'm thinking what I need to do now is just increase traffic through music based videos rather than long form ones.

Appreciate any advice at all, thanks much!

 

[Miketing]

Right so...

Tiktok organic video > Pinned video (A 7 minute video on "how" the framework works so they can use it to get the main benefit) > At the end of the video I tell them to get the book on my website (Though I don't tell them they can get a free chapter actually) > Downloading the free chapters and joining the email list (21/100 chapters there about)

Recently though, I've just told them to grab a free chapter in the link or to follow for more. Average of 500-1000 views per tiktok and 5 website visitors a day right now.

I'm thinking what I need to do now is just increase traffic through music based videos rather than long form ones.

Appreciate any advice at all, thanks much!

I was just thinking whether TikTok > text-based book is the most appropriate format of content or marketing channel. Most people on TikTok are used to watching fast-paced videos. I don't know anything about your specific target audience though.

I've seen some people do well with Discord servers and paid communities there. And people on Twitter do well with selling ebooks - because Twitter is mostly text-based.

I always look at what the successful people are doing - not sure if there are similar examples you can find or have found to take inspiration from. Have you seen others do this kind of funnel from TikTok > book lead magnet > book?

 

[Edgar King]

I was just thinking whether TikTok > text-based book is the most appropriate format of content or marketing channel. Most people on TikTok are used to watching fast-paced videos. I don't know anything about your specific target audience though.

I've seen some people do well with Discord servers and paid communities there. And people on Twitter do well with selling ebooks - because Twitter is mostly text-based.

I always look at what the successful people are doing - not sure if there are similar examples you can find or have found to take inspiration from. Have you seen others do this kind of funnel from TikTok > book lead magnet > book?

All good points. As for Tiktok, closest I've seen yet are digital products (e.g. courses and ebooks) being advertised for. But I've also seen poem (non fiction) books get advertised for and seen success. Mine is a self improvement book in the relationship category.

Yeah I was thinking of Twitter! Might consider it as a future marketing channel, or even just forums in general, thanks much! The lesson here I think is to market a product where people want to be marketed that type of product.

 

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[Edgar King]

Day 289-295
Results

A beta reader has reached 100% of the goal and she's really happy with the results. It further reinforces to scale. That isn't going so well haha, website traffic is low.

The approach I laid out in the previous post, while it did still generate traffic, just not enough to actually change the strategy I laid out in the beginning of the account. It taught me to drill on the dream outcome though as well as tweaks to get the videos more views and more clicks. Such as using trending sounds, good lighting and CTAs. It also makes me think I should think of each viewer only ever watching that video and that's that. I'll just have to act, assess and adjust as needed.

Log out...

Day 296-302

My current strategy is to provide sections/bits of the book as value on different platforms to not only raise an audience but also traffic to the web page.


I believe this is a kind of 'funnel'. After reading 'selllikecrazy' book by Sabri my understanding is that by providing enough value to an audience they will naturally want to buy your products.

On another tune, I've finally published (Still in review) on Kobo. Unlike Amazon, it doesn't require documents I don't have. My hope is that the platform recommends my book automatically and allows people who want to buy the book another avenue to get the book.

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 296-302

My current strategy is to provide sections/bits of the book as value on different platforms to not only raise an audience but also traffic to the web page.
View attachment 47266

I believe this is a kind of 'funnel'. After reading 'selllikecrazy' book by Sabri my understanding is that by providing enough value to an audience they will naturally want to buy your products.

On another tune, I've finally published (Still in review) on Kobo. Unlike Amazon, it doesn't require documents I don't have. My hope is that the platform recommends my book automatically and allows people who want to buy the book another avenue to get the book.

Log out...

Day 308-309
Results, Conversions Increase(?)

A beta reader has come back with positive results, yay. It's nice to receive these messages here and there and it reminds me of the impact we as entrepreneurs can make on other peoples lives. On average, these particular readers see results within 14 - 30-ish days.

I changed the title of the book to more represent the dream outcome of the prospects. It's funny, even after researching the market for months I still couldn't knack down in a few words what this outcome should have been for my target audience. This change I feel has had its rewards, for example the average interest rate for the book for those I message on reddit has picked up from 20-30% to 40%+ (not close rate).

Tiktok - My current structure of the videos are...

hook,
book cover
trending music,
proof
(Curiosity-problem-solution)

If value is, taking people from where they are (Point A) to where they want to be (Point B) and letting them know that your solution is the vehicle to get them there, I believe this format can help with that.

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 308-309
Results, Conversions Increase(?)

A beta reader has come back with positive results, yay. It's nice to receive these messages here and there and it reminds me of the impact we as entrepreneurs can make on other peoples lives. On average, these particular readers see results within 14 - 30-ish days.

I changed the title of the book to more represent the dream outcome of the prospects. It's funny, even after researching the market for months I still couldn't knack down in a few words what this outcome should have been for my target audience. This change I feel has had its rewards, for example the average interest rate for the book for those I message on reddit has picked up from 20-30% to 40%+ (not close rate).

Tiktok - My current structure of the videos are...

hook,
book cover
trending music,
proof
(Curiosity-problem-solution)

If value is, taking people from where they are (Point A) to where they want to be (Point B) and letting them know that your solution is the vehicle to get them there, I believe this format can help with that.

Log out...

Day 310-316
Amazon, superfans (branding?)

We've published on Amazon, super yay! I did not expect those documents to come early that's for sure.

My current focus is to build a community - preferably one of super fans. Based on some samples of authors, whose comment sections were really positive I realised these fans not only raved about and bought their books but also loved their video content. So with that, I think that should be my current focus.

The way I've started doing that since this week is by following this -

View attachment 47266

While it has resulted in, "thanks", "so helpful" and more engagement in the comments it still hasn't resulted in much website traffic probably because the video views are a bit low. My current focus is then to work on scaling this value. I'll continue with this strategy for now because I believe if people find value in the bits and pieces of the book, they'll eventually want to get the book. With the climbing Sqaurespace bills, I hope that can happen soon.

Log out...

 

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[Edgar King]

Day 310-316
Amazon, superfans (branding?)

We've published on Amazon, super yay! I did not expect those documents to come early that's for sure.

My current focus is to build a community - preferably one of super fans. Based on some samples of authors, whose comment sections were really positive I realised these fans not only raved about and bought their books but also loved their video content. So with that, I think that should be my current focus.

The way I've started doing that since this week is by following this -


While it has resulted in, "thanks", "so helpful" and more engagement in the comments it still hasn't resulted in much website traffic probably because the video views are a bit low. My current focus is then to work on scaling this value. I'll continue with this strategy for now because I believe if people find value in the bits and pieces of the book, they'll eventually want to get the book. With the climbing Sqaurespace bills, I hope that can happen soon.

Log out...

Day 317-323
Tiktok viral

After following the format of the video on this tiktok

Charismatic Woman (@charismatic.woman) | TikTok

Charismatic Woman (@charismatic.woman) on TikTok | 1.6M Likes. 56.1K Followers. Ebook .Watch the latest video from Charismatic Woman (@charismatic.woman).

www.tiktok.com

A post went relatively viral garnering almost 10K views its first day. Hopefully, it's replicable.
What I noted from their post was to add (trending) music, make the title a dream/nightmare outcome (preferably with SEO), make a video clip relevant to the dream/nightmare title, sell in the video, and finally make the content unique by layering upon this value so it stands out. By layering I mean branding(?) perhaps in that you exaggerate what you say, be unfiltered in how you say it etc.

Even if it has gone relatively viral, viral doesn't mean sales. We'll see the results in the coming days.

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 317-323
Tiktok viral

After following the format of the video on this tiktok

Charismatic Woman (@charismatic.woman) | TikTok

Charismatic Woman (@charismatic.woman) on TikTok | 1.6M Likes. 56.1K Followers. Ebook .Watch the latest video from Charismatic Woman (@charismatic.woman).

www.tiktok.com

A post went relatively viral garnering almost 10K views its first day. Hopefully, it's replicable.
What I noted from their post was to add (trending) music, make the title a dream/nightmare outcome (preferably with SEO), make a video clip relevant to the dream/nightmare title, sell in the video, and finally make the content unique by layering upon this value so it stands out. By layering I mean branding(?) perhaps in that you exaggerate what you say, be unfiltered in how you say it etc.

Even if it has gone relatively viral, viral doesn't mean sales. We'll see the results in the coming days.

Log out...

Day 324-330
Low Traffic, Write a useful book - 600 copies

My website receives about 10 visitors a day, at a conversion rate of 0.5%, it's no dice for a long while. Of course, I'll still try to make tweaks here and there on Tiktok, and hopefully we'll stumble unto gold (short term plan).

I was scrolling on TIktok when I saw an author who initially gave away about 3000 copies of her book in 3 days on Kindle and grew from there through word of mouth. After that initial marketing push, you're gonna have to rely on word of mouth.

That's when I remembered this really good book called "How to write a useful book" which is basically if MJ wrote about how to establish a productocracy exclusively for books (He's done this at least twice). In it, Rob discusses that you need to give 500-1000 (target audience) people a 'useful' book (A book that helps the average person achieve an outcome they really want) in order to see organic growth and traffic. It also reminds me of how MJ put down an initial $3000 worth of advertising for Unscripted /MF and it grew from there.

This is therefore my long term plan. I've already seen people read the book and get the results they were looking for, so this just might work. So I've put the book as free, well sort of, the download button now just lets them get the whole book (buy button is still there, I want them to not devalue the book based on it being free). About 15 people have downloaded this new copy. My hope is by creating this sort of impact, I'll be able to get word of mouth more quickly than if I'd just rely on selling the book alone. Apart from building an author platform on Tiktok, going to podcasts and direct reddit messages could be another avenue to let people know about this offer.

We'll see how it goes...

Log out...

 

[O1i]

So I've put the book as free, well sort of, the download button now just lets them get the whole book (buy button is still there, I want them to not devalue the book based on it being free). About 15 people have downloaded this new copy.

Why you dont give the first chapters for free? (lead)
and at the end offer them a discount to buy the full book (offer)

After this you got the email & interest.
So you can write another book thats solves another problem for them to get them as repeat customers/readers.

They will trust you because you already solved there problem once.

 

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[Edgar King]

Why you dont give the first chapters for free? (lead)
and at the end offer them a discount to buy the full book (offer)

After this you got the email & interest.
So you can write another book thats solves another problem for them to get them as repeat customers/readers.

They will trust you because you already solved there problem once.

That's an advanced perspective for sure, I wasn't even thinking of future books! Thanks to Miketing I did implement the suggestion of the 'Download' button leading to the first few chapters and that led to about 60 email subs. I didn't really consider offering a discount but that would probably help with conversions. Thing is, from the home page to the download page I saw a conversion of 15% and from the download to them actually signing up (and getting their email for the lead magnet) I saw a conversion of 25%. So in a week at 10 views a day I could probably expect 2 subs variables being held constant. But so far it's been a 30:1 sub ratio that led to a sale. So I wonder how much time that would take before a sale even if I do put the offer in. I think it's a traffic problem. And I could wait, but with Sqaurespace and its climbing bills I'd like to make sales as quick as possible haha.

By giving the full book away, I *hope they get the full value and that encourages word of mouth and therefore traffic. Then when I see consistent traffic and/or sales I'll switch back to offering a lead magnet and a discount to still eventually have the benefits of an email list. If I'm able to work in Tiktok and really hone in on it to the point it's having consistent traffic at high volumes I'll switch then too.

 

[Edgar King]

Day 324-330
Low Traffic, Write a useful book - 600 copies

My website receives about 10 visitors a day, at a conversion rate of 0.5%, it's no dice for a long while. Of course, I'll still try to make tweaks here and there on Tiktok, and hopefully we'll stumble unto gold (short term plan).

I was scrolling on TIktok when I saw an author who initially gave away about 3000 copies of her book in 3 days on Kindle and grew from there through word of mouth. After that initial marketing push, you're gonna have to rely on word of mouth.

That's when I remembered this really good book called "How to write a useful book" which is basically if MJ wrote about how to establish a productocracy exclusively for books (He's done this at least twice). In it, Rob discusses that you need to give 500-1000 (target audience) people a 'useful' book (A book that helps the average person achieve an outcome they really want) in order to see organic growth and traffic. It also reminds me of how MJ put down an initial $3000 worth of advertising for Unscripted /MF and it grew from there.

This is therefore my long term plan. I've already seen people read the book and get the results they were looking for, so this just might work. So I've put the book as free, well sort of, the download button now just lets them get the whole book (buy button is still there, I want them to not devalue the book based on it being free). About 15 people have downloaded this new copy. My hope is by creating this sort of impact, I'll be able to get word of mouth more quickly than if I'd just rely on selling the book alone. Apart from building an author platform on Tiktok, going to podcasts and direct reddit messages could be another avenue to let people know about this offer.

We'll see how it goes...

Log out...

Day 331-337
Paperback request, giveaways, recommendations(?)

One of the early beta readers of the book wants a paperback edition. They are happy with the results the book's given them. At a time when I felt like I was in the desert of desertion, it meant a lot. So after fiddling with Amazon KDP for a few hours, I was able to get it up, it'll take a few more days to go live properly, after which I'll let them know of the copy.

Other than marketing on TikTok (40+ books have been downloaded thus far) here's another strategy I'm using to get people to read the book (to achieve the goal of getting 500 people to read the book, get value and thus recommend it to others)-

Outreach (message with free offer) > process (they read and apply the book) > value (they achieve the dream outcome) > support (the offer was free, they got value, they want to support me in some way either with a sale or a recommendation). With this, I'm able to get about 2 people a day with outreach. I can also get some feedback on the book this way.

A potential new strategy that could accelerate this process is to offer the amazon link of the book right after the outreach part so they can choose to financially support the book if they wish. With that, one of the people I messaged said they were going to recommend it to other online communities they were in.

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 331-337
Paperback request, giveaways, recommendations(?)

One of the early beta readers of the book wants a paperback edition. They are happy with the results the book's given them. At a time when I felt like I was in the desert of desertion, it meant a lot. So after fiddling with Amazon KDP for a few hours, I was able to get it up, it'll take a few more days to go live properly, after which I'll let them know of the copy.

Other than marketing on TikTok (40+ books have been downloaded thus far) here's another strategy I'm using to get people to read the book (to achieve the goal of getting 500 people to read the book, get value and thus recommend it to others)-

Outreach (message with free offer) > process (they read and apply the book) > value (they achieve the dream outcome) > support (the offer was free, they got value, they want to support me in some way either with a sale or a recommendation). With this, I'm able to get about 2 people a day with outreach. I can also get some feedback on the book this way.

A potential new strategy that could accelerate this process is to offer the amazon link of the book right after the outreach part so they can choose to financially support the book if they wish. With that, one of the people I messaged said they were going to recommend it to other online communities they were in.

Log out...

Day 338-344
Sale, TikTok restrategy, giveaways

After getting about 200 viewers to the website, someone bought a copy (a conversion rate of about 0.5%). I believe the reason for this is due to adding 'how' the user would get the benefit into the copy. Right now, my aim is to make content that my target audience will like or like me for, most successful authors I see on the platform usually have an audience like this so I assume it's an important 'lever' to make a sale. The way I'm doing this is by looking for videos that the comment section is positive and if it is, take that content, make it better (in any way I can for example improving the messaging), and adapting it specifically to my target audience. The last video I did this strategy seemed to work, with one commenter saying, "I love this". I'm still doing the giveaways and over 60 copies have been downloaded from march, it's one thing for someone to download and another for them to get value from it though.

Log out...

 

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[Edgar King]

Day 338-344
Sale, TikTok restrategy, giveaways

After getting about 200 viewers to the website, someone bought a copy (a conversion rate of about 0.5%). I believe the reason for this is due to adding 'how' the user would get the benefit into the copy. Right now, my aim is to make content that my target audience will like or like me for, most successful authors I see on the platform usually have an audience like this so I assume it's an important 'lever' to make a sale. The way I'm doing this is by looking for videos that the comment section is positive and if it is, take that content, make it better (in any way I can for example improving the messaging), and adapting it specifically to my target audience. The last video I did this strategy seemed to work, with one commenter saying, "I love this". I'm still doing the giveaways and over 60 copies have been downloaded from march, it's one thing for someone to download and another for them to get value from it though.

Log out...

Day 345-351
Sale, giveaway

I opened my amazon kdp dashboard to see our first print sale, hurray! I thought this was one of my beta readers who requested I set up a print version, but turns out they hadn't bought it yet because they were waiting for payday. So two sales? I've given away over 65 copies now (in downloads alone) and finalised some extra edits to the doc to make using the framework easier. I continue to post about every day on TikTok to attract my ideal target market who seem to move more to the website by offering a "free chapter" in the video. We'll see how it goes...

Log out...

 

[Edgar King]

Day 345-351
Sale, giveaway

I opened my amazon kdp dashboard to see our first print sale, hurray! I thought this was one of my beta readers who requested I set up a print version, but turns out they hadn't bought it yet because they were waiting for payday. So two sales? I've given away over 65 copies now (in downloads alone) and finalised some extra edits to the doc to make using the framework easier. I continue to post about every day on TikTok to attract my ideal target market who seem to move more to the website by offering a "free chapter" in the video. We'll see how it goes...

Log out...

Day 352-358

We're back to the basics for marketing for now. TikTok posts that speak to my ideal target audiences' biggest desire and the bridge to get them there. With this, about 5-9 people move to the website a day. Next up is looking for ways to ramp this up maybe through influencer marketing or ads with funding from a job. Downloads have gone over 90.

Log out...

 

[Funky Monkey]

Day 352-358

We're back to the basics for marketing for now. TikTok posts that speak to my ideal target audiences' biggest desire and the bridge to get them there. With this, about 5-9 people move to the website a day. Next up is looking for ways to ramp this up maybe through influencer marketing or ads with funding from a job. Downloads have gone over 90.

Log out...

Have you considered other channels?

Like twitter,youtube, hell even good reads,or getting a summary on websitelike blinkst or blogs [you could do an affilate link for a blog site if u dont want to pay upfront]. Is this a b2b or b2c type book?
If you dont mind, Hows your revenue so far?

 

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[Edgar King]

Have you considered other channels?

Like twitter,youtube, hell even good reads,or getting a summary on websitelike blinkst or blogs [you could do an affilate link for a blog site if u dont want to pay upfront]. Is this a b2b or b2c type book?
If you dont mind, Hows your revenue so far?

Definitely, all good suggestions. I did look into Twitter but dropped it after being unable to gain traction. The same happened for Youtube so I just decided to put my head down and focus on Tiktok (Especially since I saw other authors succeed on the platform). I'll relook into adding another channel to my repertoire (paid or not), and try to give it the same amount of attention I did for Tiktok.

As for the book, it's a B2C. A book that addresses problems in the relationships sector. Revenue so far is about 110 pounds at a conversion rate of 0.5%. I know, not much at all.

 

[WJK]

Definitely, all good suggestions. I did look into Twitter but dropped it after being unable to gain traction. The same happened for Youtube so I just decided to put my head down and focus on Tiktok (Especially since I saw other authors succeed on the platform). I'll relook into adding another channel to my repertoire (paid or not), and try to give it the same amount of attention I did for Tiktok.

As for the book, it's a B2C. A book that addresses problems in the relationships sector. Revenue so far is about 110 pounds at a conversion rate of 0.5%. I know, not much at all.

So, what's you're Plan B? Next? Are you working on your next book? You might try a "grouping" of books that you write that are centered around related topics. When a subject catches my interest and I like the author's presentation, I usually look up to see what else they have written. When you are writing about your subject, there's a lot of info that doesn't go into that book. Can it morph into another book? Or can you go in-depth on one or more of your points? There are a lot of ways to skin this cat!

 

[Funky Monkey]

Definitely, all good suggestions. I did look into Twitter but dropped it after being unable to gain traction. The same happened for Youtube so I just decided to put my head down and focus on Tiktok (Especially since I saw other authors succeed on the platform). I'll relook into adding another channel to my repertoire (paid or not), and try to give it the same amount of attention I did for Tiktok.

As for the book, it's a B2C. A book that addresses problems in the relationships sector. Revenue so far is about 110 pounds at a conversion rate of 0.5%. I know, not much at all.

What did you do to try to gain traction only posting content won't get the fly wheel spinning as much. I have a guide that I bought if you want I can send it to you

$110 pounds more than most people. Your putting in the work now you just gotta figure out how to crack the nut

 

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[Edgar King]

Day 352-358

We're back to the basics for marketing for now. TikTok posts that speak to my ideal target audiences' biggest desire and the bridge to get them there. With this, about 5-9 people move to the website a day. Next up is looking for ways to ramp this up maybe through influencer marketing or ads with funding from a job. Downloads have gone over 90.

Log out...

Day 359-365
Break, Sales, Giveaway

So, what's you're Plan B? Next? Are you working on your next book? You might try a "grouping" of books that you write that are centered around related topics. When a subject catches my interest and I like the author's presentation, I usually look up to see what else they have written. When you are writing about your subject, there's a lot of info that doesn't go into that book. Can it morph into another book? Or can you go in-depth on one or more of your points? There are a lot of ways to skin this cat!

This is a brilliant suggestion! So many authors down the line almost beat the gong about how publishing more than one book basically doubled their revenue. I do think I can/should do that in the future. But for now I think with business being product + advertising, I've seen the product sell, so I think for now I should just focus on improving my sucky advertising haha.

What did you do to try to gain traction only posting content won't get the fly wheel spinning as much. I have a guide that I bought if you want I can send it to you

$110 pounds more than most people. Your putting in the work now you just gotta figure out how to crack the nut

Basically, to gain traction I just posted about everyday a marketing piece that appealed to my target audience. Main Desire + Bridge + Offer (Free chapters in bio) + Trending music.

Technically it works, just not to the degree I wish it would (daily traffic in the single digits rather than the tens or hundreds so growth for now is slow). I'd highly appreciate the guide if you could send it, thank you! Yeah, I shouldn't discount what I've been able to do so far, there are people out there that would leap to make anything close to that in business, I should celebrate these kinds of successes more.

This week I took a break. Not only did the work from school for this week just significantly ramp up out of nowhere, I wanted to use that time to reflect on my strategy when I found time. I still believe Tiktok can work, and I've put so much into learning the ecosystem to turn back now I feel would be a bit premature. So I want to try lives where I just talk with my target audience about their problems and how to solve it and then have the book in the background. I hope to build more trust in the business and even fans of it.

I've also made 2 sales about this week on Amazon. A kindle and print. I was really happy my efforts paid off even a little bit. I was also still able to get some traffic to the site on some days possibly from Tiktok posting. Downloads are over 100. Yay! The coming week I want to continue this...

Day 352-358

We're back to the basics for marketing for now. TikTok posts that speak to my ideal target audiences' biggest desire and the bridge to get them there. With this, about 5-9 people move to the website a day. Next up is looking for ways to ramp this up maybe through influencer marketing or ads with funding from a job. Downloads have gone over 90.

Log out...

Because it does work. And then combine it with the Tiktok live strategy where I go into my target audiences pain points, see if that changes anything in the next 3 weeks or so.

Log out...

 

[Funky Monkey]

Basically, to gain traction I just posted about everyday a marketing piece that appealed to my target audience. Main Desire + Bridge + Offer (Free chapters in bio) + Trending music.

Yeah from 0-5k followers you want to be having about 30ish% posting from your account and the other 70% replying or adding comments and such to where your traffic is [ex. If you talk about money you would post a few tweets on your main page and then you might post valuable replys onto accounts like Alex Hormozi]

I've put so much into learning the ecosystem to turn back now I feel would be a bit premature.

Seems almost like a sunk cost fallacy but then again often the greatest rewards are when you push through the trough. Your judgement. I would take a look into "Traction" by Gabriel W. and test out the bullseye framework might help in the decision.

Keep up the good work