Inspiration: 61 New Paid Subscribers on Substack in 11 Days & Sold A$8K Value of Books with ZERO Ads in November
Here is how freelance writers can become book authors and book authors can sell their books with great success.
Self-publishing experts advocate for paid advertising through platforms like Google or Facebook. Recently, a few digital marketers approached and offered to promote my book to make it a bestseller for a fee of $5,000. I declined, as Substack does the work for me at no cost.
Despite my five years of significant contributions to the platform, Medium placed my account under distribution restrictions in May 2024 without explanation. I was even a boost nominator at the time. This led me to focus more on Substack, where I found appreciation and support.
In hindsight, I am grateful to Medium for that setback. Without it, I might not have pushed myself to write a best-selling book, guide hundreds of writers on their paths, and seize opportunities I hadn’t dreamed of.
I am sharing this story not to boast — there is nothing remarkable about it, as many excellent writers are 100 times more successful than me— but to encourage new writers and authors with practical insights. These are lessons learned from my experience and the habits I have observed among successful Substack writers and bestselling authors in my network.
Over the past 40 years, I have written over 20 technical and scientific books published by traditional publishing houses worldwide. It wasn’t until 2018 that I explored self-publishing, blending traditional and independent approaches in a hybrid model that worked well for me.
In 2021, for the first time, I successfully sold one of my experimental books with minimal investment. Selling over 1,000 copies in a month gave me joy, and I shared my approach in a story. This experience led me to explore and refine different marketing models over time.
Yet, nothing has been as effective as Substack. Completely free to use, Substack has brought me a 600% return on my investment in just the last few months. While I have written and ghostwritten over 100 books, I have used only one book to market on Substack, and the results have exceeded my expectations.
The More We Give, the More We Receive
When I began sharing chapters of my Substack Mastery book for free on platforms like Medium, Substack, LinkedIn, Quora, and my website, several authors warned me that no one would buy it — they thought I was out of my mind.
This was my first experimentation with beta reading in the public domain. Ironically, while over 100,000 people read portions of the book for free, it still became a bestseller in a few weeks, outselling any of my previous books in record time.
As the digital, paperback, and audio versions rolled out and marketed globally through hundreds of popular bookstores, sales surged within weeks. November saw an exceptionally sharp increase, with the book outperforming on platforms like Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Google, and even Toolani in Europe.
Sales were around $5,000 in October, but when I checked the dashboard on my website today, I saw that, in the last 10 days alone, total sales have reached 8,000 AUD.
My publisher, which began distributing the book's paperback version through its channels just a few days ago, informed me yesterday that it had already sold around 500 hard copies — without any advertising. When I checked the author dashboard today, sales had reached 947 copies.
Mind you, the paperback version of the book is three times more expensive than the digital one. It is only designed for those who prefer the smell of the book. I don’t have control over the price of the hard copies.
While these sales are not financially significant for me, as my royalty is about 80% lower than on the copies I sell myself, I still value them. This distribution expands the book’s reach into areas I couldn’t access on my own.
My goal for this book is not profit-driven but to introduce Substack to freelance writers worldwide so they can experience the benefits of a platform that genuinely supports creators. I have yet to find another platform that prioritizes creators and empowers them as much as Substack.
Inspired by this, I’d like to share some strategies and tips for freelance writers and authors on using Substack as a book marketing tool and for expanding book sales through its partnerships.
Take the Advantage of Special Month on Substack
You may wonder what makes November special on Substack. This month marks a powerful new initiative by Substack to empower creators — a program many are still unaware of while they struggle to earn meaningful income on other platforms.
I had written a few pieces about this on this platform, but due to algorithmic suppression, only a small fraction of my 100,000+ followers saw them via direct links. The silver lining is that thousands of writers found and engaged with these stories on Substack and through my website, and many have since tailored and executed the strategy I developed for them.
If you missed my 22-day plan, you can find it in the attached story. It is still not too late, as you have 20 days.
22-Day Formulized (Intense) Writing and Engagement Challenge for Substack Writers (Medium version)
When I began monetizing my Substack six months ago, based on advice from my wise mentors, I was gaining about ten paid subscribers per month. Yet, in the past 10 days, one newsletter alone brought in 50 paid subscribers — an unexpected and welcome surprise.
This month, my newsletter’s reach to new readers has increased by 80%, with no marketing cost on my end. I made no special effort. Substack did the heavy lifting, presenting my work to a broader audience in the same way Medium once did. When one door closes, another opens.
Why Substack Is the Best Platform to Sell Books and How to Do It
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