Join the Journey: October '21 progress report
It's time for my 10th monthly progress report, published as part of my "Join the Journey" series, available exclusively to Think Better Newsletter subscribers. You can read my previous updates here.
This monthly progress report is an effort to both hold myself accountable to making continuous progress as well as provide insight to anyone else considering self-publishing. It's meant to be the Strava to my book sales...a public record for anyone interested to follow.
My overall impression of October (Month 10!)
For the most part, October didn't work. I only had a couple orders and I'm getting very little traction. I'm still posting but I think I'm in the "buried by the algorithm" black hole. What little stats I see indicate that most of my posts aren't even being seen. Looks like my social strategy to date has largely failed.
I did sell one team package, and it came from the recommendation of a college student who read the book. She gave it to a former high school teammate and told the coach about it, and the team decided to purchase copies for everyone. I also got the chance to speak with them and it was one of the highlights of my month.
I know I need to reach more coaches and I haven't been taking the necessary actions, so the results aren't much of a surprise. I don't think much will change in November as I've taken on a lot with work, family, and podcasting. We'll see how it goes.
My Monthly Sales (units)
I sold a total of 85 books in October, entirely due to 1 team order. I again had only 2 individual orders for the month, and my reseller (Amazon) orders dropped again as well.
My Marketing Initiatives
I published one article at Runner's Tribe last month: What strategy do you use for training: Simplify or Optimize?
I also published an old Runner's Tribe article from 2008 about the Foot Locker High School Cross Country Championships that still holds up. I argue FLCC should make meets like Nike Cross Nationals a qualifier for their race.
My social media marketing is (still) due for an overhaul. Blah.
I published four newsletters in October and gained 2 subscribers. I did get good feedback about a couple of them, so that was positive.
My Goals Achieved
None.
My Plans for November
Still working on a couple team orders but I'm getting pessimistic they will go through. I will be a guest on Carrie Tollefson's C Tolle Run podcast, and I'll aim to write an article or two.
Wrap-up
The fact of the matter is, I'm losing some motivation. Part of it is the grind of putting in the time but not seeing results. But part of it is I'm more interested in some other, broader ideas than focusing on training. I need to find a system that works to promote the book while also freeing me to focus on the next thing.
I end every one of these updates with the same message, as much for me as for you:
This is a long journey, and I plan to achieve success by following the same principles I lay out in Make the Leap: high quality work, done consistently, that feeds back into itself to create outsized gains. I'm still at the beginning where growth isn't really visible. But the foundation is being laid.
Thanks for joining me on this journey. If you have any advice or feedback, please email me at bryan@maketheleapbook.com.
Go Be More,
Bryan