How I got a blank book to the top of the Amazon charts
Here's how I published a bestseller in just nine days (and made a million authors instantly hate me).
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It was time to get the book on people’s radar.
The fact that I had to market the book myself, and that onus was solely on me, was actually a blessing in disguise. It forced me to get expert help. In the past, I’ve tried on many occasions to promote my products myself. I’ve called up journalists, built up a mailing list of media contacts, blogged, Facebooked, twittered and done everything the marketing experts recommend you do, but it’s never quite worked for me. And over the years, I reached a key epiphany. I’ve come to realise that there’s something fundamentally different about you yourself telling a journalist that your product is great compared with someone else telling a journalist that your product is great.
I called up the best PR company I knew – The London PR Agency – and told them my budget. Instead of putting the phone down on me, they clearly outlined how long they could work on my book for the amount I had. Little did I know it would turn out to be one of the best investments I’d ever made.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing. The first stunt to get the book noticed didn’t go to plan. The PR company had the creative idea to set up a Facebook group encouraging people to knock Jamie Oliver off the top of the Amazon chart and replace his book with my blank book. It was a clever, funny and topical strategy, but unfortunately, the backlash against the Facebook group was fast and firm – with many people fiercely defending the popular celebrity chef.
What’s impressive is that the London PR Agency immediately changed tack. The head honchos of the company, Steve and Alex, drafted brilliant press releases about how students were using my blank book as a notebook, and that (once the book reached 44 on the Amazon), it was outselling both Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The first story got the ball rolling in spectacular style and the second story got picked up by TIME Magazine and by AOL, which then led to even more coverage around the world.
The day after the first press release was sent out, Alex from the London PR agency called me: “Shed, good news. The ITV morning show Lorraine is interested in the book. Can you send them a copy over?”
I did so right away, sending one of my books in a taxi so I knew the person at the TV show would have it in their hands within the hour. The next morning, I tuned into the show and watched with huge excitement as Michael Ball, the ex-singer who was standing in for Lorraine while she was on holiday, picked up the book and talked about it. Amazing! I immediately uploaded this clip onto YouTube and Facebook, immensely proud to have national TV coverage. Things were starting to happen...
Even though at this point, we had national TV, press and radio coverage, the book hadn’t really become an internet story. And, apart from a brilliant PR agency sending great press releases to journalists who trusted them, I believe two other factors helped make the story reportable – good photos and a decent video.
I’m lucky enough to know a brilliant guy called David Thorburn who is both a friend and a fantastic photographer. David always supports me with whatever adventures I’m creating and he created three great images, so journalists could choose a good picture for their story.
Read more on page four
