# Your First 10K Readers (Book Marketing Training by Nick Stephenson)



## Drainland (Oct 25, 2013)

After three (super helpful) videos, Nick has rolled out his premium training NOT HERE.

It's a bit too pricey for me. I just couldn't parse the price tag (which is high, $597) with some of the product info. There's a lot of emphasis placed on ease-of-use in the copy and my fear is that behind the curtain this will be better suited to someone new to online marketing, book discovery and mailing lists i.e. that it'll be a more refined version of what's discussed here everyday.

But that's total speculation and I'm curious to hear from people actually taking it on. I also know some of the board members have contributed to the package.

(PS: Can we please keep this thread on the rails! I don't want to hear how  you are at the price tag. I think -- looking back -- I'd have GLADLY spent $600 on this if it meant I could have back all the time I've spent on research and piecing together strategies from podcasts, Kboards, Facebook groups, ebooks, etc.)


----------



## David VanDyke (Jan 3, 2014)

I think discussing the price tag is relevant - if you actually have viewed the videos and used the methods.

My wife (who does a lot of my marketing and ancillary support, leaving me with more time to focus on content production) has been involved with Nick during his run-up and beta period, and has put some but not all of his training to use. Not everything is relevant to everything, and there are no silver bullets.

Is it worth $600? Like many things in life, the answer is, "It depends."

And, like many ideas and methods in indie publishing, it's a tool to leverage the content you already have.

I'd suggest that if you have only one book, you won't get your $600 out of it. If you have 5, you probably will. I also suspect (no promises) that Nick will be offering discounts in order to attract more adherents.

If you want to risk a lot less, I believe Nick has an ebook about marketing that will give you a taste of his methods.

One thing I do know, is that Nick is the real deal and is no scammer. You'll have to judge whether you think the price he's charging is worth it - the cost of a BookBub ad? But we've certainly gotten a lot of value out of his expert knowledge, and he's built his thriller series of half a dozen books into a living in about two years. Success is certainly a solid recommendation.


----------



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

Colour me a little bit skeptic. I've bought Nick's book, used some of his methods and follow his blog.

While not discounting his advice, I've seen it make absolutely zero impact on my sales, so take it all with a grain of salt.

If you're not in a demographic where a significant percentage of people is taken with tactics involving mailing lists, then you're not going to see results.

This is what I think is important: if you're not ALREADY selling a certain number of books per day on Amazon, then you won't see results. The advice is very Amazon-centred, so if you sell significant numbers of books elsewhere, they, as with most of these types of books or courses, are taken as "collateral damage", with just a line of explanation that says "make your first book free", which I don't need to pay that much for.

So YMMV, but I'd be careful. In the KB we already have an excellent marketing training school, and it's free. If you don't want to wade through posts here, read conflicting opinions and decide which things to try in which order, and are waiting for someone to dish the advice up on a platter, then I'm not sure you'll be agile enough to see change coming, or be ready to try something else.

Then again, Nick sells way more than I do, and he's welcome to tell me how completely and stupidly wrong I am. I think it's a bit sad if writers go on this "charging other writers for marketing advice" bandwagon. 

I believe he sells well because he writes books people want to read, he writes in series, publishes frequently and uses a mailing list. There. That advice was free.


----------



## charlottehughes (Dec 18, 2014)

Drainland said:


> After three (super helpful) videos, Nick has rolled out his premium training here.
> 
> It's a bit too pricey for me. I just couldn't parse the price tag (which is high, $597) with some of the product info. There's a lot of emphasis placed on ease-of-use in the copy and my fear is that behind the curtain this will be better suited to someone new to online marketing, book discovery and mailing lists i.e. that it'll be a more refined version of what's discussed here everyday.
> 
> ...


That Video link doesn't work


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I plan to purchase it, but like you I suspect he'll discount it so I'm holding off to see if that happens. The training videos were helpful, especially if you're planning on going wide. I've never used the other platforms, and his free videos offer a crash course. If the course is the same quality of material it will be worth a few hundred bucks.


----------



## J.T. Williams (Aug 7, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> I believe he sells well because he writes books people want to read, he writes in series, publishes frequently and uses a mailing list. There. That advice was free.


^That is a sum up of the majority of advice I've read that makes sense to me.


----------



## David VanDyke (Jan 3, 2014)

Patty Jansen said:


> The advice is very Amazon-centred...


Not in the videos and full course. He strongly advocates going wide. I presume this comment was directed at his book, but not his updated videos. He started out working Amazon to death, but has seen significant growth in the past year by moving away from that strategy.


----------



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

David VanDyke said:


> Not in the videos and full course. He strongly advocates going wide. I presume this comment was directed at his book, but not his updated videos. He started out working Amazon to death, but has seen significant grown in the past year by moving away from that strategy.


Those links are broken. I communicated with Nick a while back where he was just going wide, and I'm not sure how the advice for other retailers stacks up against other advice out there based on longer experience.


----------



## 60169 (May 18, 2012)

I like Nick. I've read his self-pub advice book and got a lot out of it. I have adapted several of his strategies to great effect.

I've listened to him on several different podcasts and liked him. Don't think he's a scammer at all.

I have no interest in buying this series. Not for $597, or half that, for that matter. After following him pretty closely over the past few months, I am not convinced that there is all that much in this series that will justify spending a few hundred bucks on it. 

If you're new to his methods and want a kind of pre-chewed program, maybe it's worth it. For me, not so much. I wish him luck, though!


----------



## Sever Bronny (May 13, 2013)

David VanDyke said:


> Not in the videos and full course. He strongly advocates going wide. I presume this comment was directed at his book, but not his updated videos. He started out working Amazon to death, but has seen significant grown in the past year by moving away from that strategy.


Does he detail his going-wide strategy? It's something I grapple with monthly. Decision time coming soon.


----------



## Patty Jansen (Apr 5, 2011)

> Don't think he's a scammer at all.


PLEASE

No one said "scammer", ever. Not here, not anywhere. I know Nick and he's NOT A SCAMMER. I never said anything like it, not did anyone else on this thread.


----------



## 60169 (May 18, 2012)

Patty Jansen said:


> PLEASE
> 
> No one said "scammer", ever. Not here, not anywhere. I know Nick and he's NOT A SCAMMER. I never said anything like it, not did anyone else on this thread.


Hi, Patty. Please note that I did not direct that comment to you. Honestly, I try to avoid addressing you in threads if possible, because you tend to overreact. Like this, for instance. Instead, I was simply stating an opinion, that Nick is legit, just not worth $597 to me. I think that's a legitimate opinion that I can voice. You, of course, are welcome to your own opinion on the subject, no matter how you want to patrol and control my own. Have a nice day.


----------



## John Ellsworth (Jun 1, 2014)

In his three free videos (I watched them over the weekend), Nick goes into detail about his system of capturing more people on a mailing list. I have tried the system myself, beginning about two months ago, and so far it's adding 3-10 new people per day to my mailing list. In about ten weeks I've gone from zero mailing list to mailchimp to 600+ on my list. It's been nice to have too, because my incredible readers have really supported me when I've rolled out a new book. In return I held a drawing for them and gave away three Kindle Fires (6"). Nick preaches offering value to readers and I totally agree. From Nick and Mark Dawson (I'm on both their mailing lists) I've seen how its done with the actual emails they use. I know that in the new system of 10K Nick actually gives you the emails to be used, and that would have had significant value for me when I was starting out.

I've not seen Nick's new course and probably won't. Not because I couldn't use it but because I feel like I've pretty much gotten my head around what the pros are doing. One thing I will say for Nick: I've read his blog in its entirety a number of times. I particularly like and re-read from time to time the double post he did on going wide and what's it done for his sales. Most of all, he always supports his claim with graphs and spreadsheets taken from his own experience. I love seeing stuff like that, what other people have done.

As far as his work with keywords, the proof is in the pudding. Check where some of his books rank under thrillers > crime. Pretty impressive stuff, given the huge number of books competing for page 1-2 there.


----------



## Dom (Mar 15, 2014)

I like how he says "without being salesy" and then there's a GIANT timer on the bottom of the website.

For someone who's read his blog posts and seen his free videos over the past few months, it's a hard sell. I feel like I've learned what his system is (not that I've implemented it). But for someone who wants a step-by-step guide with exact instructions along the way, it might make sense.

First and foremost, though, I would sign up to his mailing lists and look at his catalog and see what he's doing with your own eyes. You want to make money like he's making money? He's gonna tell you to write 8 books in a series, give the first away for free, give the second away for free by signing up to his mailing list, give away kindles and books from popular authors to get more mailing list sign-ups, tweak the hell out of your keywords, and just about all the other marketing advice you've heard. He's also going to tell you to be super salesy while pretending it's not salesy, but I won't pass judgment on that part. Marketing is marketing.

For what it's worth, I don't believe he's a scammer. His advice is probably very useful, although I always wonder why such a successful author would do such a huge nonfiction push. It's also hard to trust some of the cross-promotional authors he taps (again, not making judgments, it's just easy to see exposure for what it is).

Long story short: see if his free advice works for you before you try the paid advice. I'm sure he's confident enough in his strategies that he would agree.


----------



## Lydniz (May 2, 2013)

I've read some of Nick's stuff, although I don't follow him closely tbh, but I think if he really has the marketing knowledge (and most people seem to think he knows his stuff) I don't see why he shouldn't charge something for teaching it to other people. You'd pay for an adult education class, or a work training course, right? Presumably this is just the same. Not everybody is a natural marketing expert - in fact I'd say most people are pretty crap at it, and if you're setting out to be an indie writer/publisher, then this might give you a good kick-start in how to do it professionally and save you making a load of mistakes on the way.

Other than that, however, I'm with Patty.


----------



## Shawn Kobb (Aug 14, 2014)

I found his free videos to be helpful and I'm in his closed Facebook group where he is pretty good about answering questions. When he announced the new program I fully expected to see a price tag of $297 (since '7' is the magic number in internet marketing for some reason). I might have pulled the trigger there. At $597 I really needed to understand what I was getting for that price and even in the 30 minute video, I didn't see enough to justify the cost. I think it probably has a lot of really great info, but I'll wait until he has the inevitable limited time sale and see if it gets to a price I can stomach.


----------



## Tasha Black (May 28, 2014)

Just my humble opinion: (Because I know you were all dying for it!  )

By implementing just some the stuff he has put out for free, I have *dramatically* increased my mailing list with engaged readers. (And I haven't used half of his suggestions on that topic yet!)

You need to look at the price as what it is, an investment in your business.

If your average book sells for $2.99, then you need to sell an extra 280-some books to break even with this. If you only have one book out, that will be tougher, but not impossible. If you have say, five books out, then that means you need to add 50-some new fans. With more books out, that number becomes even easier to hit.

Do I believe that by following Nick's course, this will happen? Based on what I've seen so far, I am VERY comfortable that it will.

Don't forget that even if you don't have many books out now, every fan that you make is an investment in anything you publish in the future as well! Especially if you get them involved and active.

I am excited to use some of what Nick has to say about building a launch team, as well as his strategies for keeping a mailing list engaged once you get them to sign up.

For those waiting around for the discount, the early adopters get access to a private facebook group, plus personal help from Nick as needed. You need to ask yourself how much that will be worth. I suspect it will be fairly valuable.

Can you learn most of this stuff through a combination of scouring the internet and your own trial and error? Sure.
To be fair, you could learn to perform surgery the same way! 

Personally, I believe Nick has some unique insights. Having it all in one place, especially when you can see how the different parts work together, plus the added benefit of a community of people all trying the same ideas and building on them, is the real value here.


----------



## jackiegp (May 18, 2013)

I'd love the LINK to work, and also...a link to his book (you all speak of) would be cool!


----------



## bbhamel (Feb 11, 2015)

As an author with only a single book out, I don't think Nick's system is worth the price.

That said, he clearly knows his stuff. Take this thread: we're talking about him, aren't we? It was genius to send out those free videos, which had just enough information to seem useful, but not enough to change lives (at least, in my opinion). His tone is pretty good, and asking for readers to actively engage with him is smart. Still, I kept waiting for the hard sell (he couldn't just be doing this stuff to be helpful? right? right) and then it appeared. And it appeared with a whopping pricetag of $597.

Honestly, if it were cheaper, maybe 197, I'd consider it. As a new author, I simply don't have the funds or the money coming in to justify $597. I think he does have good tactics/advice to share, and I'm sure there's value in his series.

I find myself flying wildly between feeling okay about his whole thing (of course he should sell his info, people need to eat, make a living, etc) and feeling a little icky about it (charging that much for indie writers seems a little tough to swallow). I read his marketing book, and it was basically all of the info in his free videos. I can't say it changed much for me, but again, I only have 1 book out.

Are there weird ethical questions around authors charging authors for this sort of marketing advice? I don't know. I haven't been around for that long to say. From what I can tell, the indie market has been all about helping each other out, giving marketing tips and advice for free (this board has been such a huge help to me), etc etc. But does that mean it should always be that way? I don't know.

Basically, I think Nick knows what he's doing, and probably has a lot of value to add. Is it worth $597? I say no, or at least not until you have a few books out.


----------



## CLStone (Apr 4, 2013)

yourfirst10kreaders.com is the link. The info was in the link above, just seemed to have gotten messed up somehow.


----------



## CLStone (Apr 4, 2013)

I was curious if it's worthwhile for people who already have a lot of readers and if they'd find strategies to improving then. I'll be looking into it for this.


----------



## Scott Bartlett (Apr 1, 2012)

Nick mentioned in an email he sent a few hours ago that he would prefer the VIP link not be shared. Thought I'd note that here in case you want to remove it from your initial post, Drainland.

To contribute to the discussion, I'll say that I watched Nick's free video series and the info seemed fantastic to me. I was definitely interested in buying the full program, but unfortunately the price tag did take me by surprise and I don't think I can swing it.


----------



## Chris Fox (Oct 3, 2014)

I very much take Tasha's view on the cost as an investment. Ultimately each of us is running a small business, and we all have to answer the big question. Is this investment worth my capital? Will it pay for itself?

If you haven't already done so watch his three videos. If you aren't happy with the content then there's no reason to even consider purchasing premium training. Likewise, if you're only generating three figures a month in revenue it doesn't make sense. If, on the other hand, you're generating four or five figures and investment like this can make sense.

If I see a 10% increase in sales as a result of this training I'd be ecstatic.


----------



## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

First of all, Nick was very upfront that the free stuff he was offering was leading up to the launch of this program. There was no "hard sell," just the launch of the program that he promised from the beginning. 

Second, someone not having the funds does not affect the value of the product one bit. I don't have the funds for a new Mercedes, but I wouldn't complain that they should be cheaper because of that fact. If everyone feels it is too expensive, then no one will pay the asking price, and the market will set the value for it. I don't really see that happening. 

Third, implying there is anything wrong with someone charging for a product for which there is a demand? Seriously? Do you give all of your books away for free?

It's one thing to drop in a message board and share a piece of advice, but it is another thing entirely to compile a ton of seriously useful information, with the data to back it up, and present it the way Nick did. To suggest that he doesn't deserve to be rewarded for his efforts is insulting, as is the suggestion that the product is worth less since it is aimed at indie authors.

I do agree that there is probably not as much to use immediately for those with one book, but like Tasha said above, building fans now is an investment in your future. How much better would the launch of your second book be if you had another 1000 people on your mailing list?

Also, there seems to be a lot of speculation on this thread from people who chose not to buy the program. That doesn't seem very helpful. Kind of like reviewing a book you haven't read. 

Speaking as someone who has the program, I am LOVING what I have seen so far, and I have no doubt it will make its money back for me. Honestly, I can't see how it wouldn't for just about everyone. Look at the endorsements from people like Joanna Penn. She was obviously doing pretty well for herself, but she said she got some pretty amazing results from adopting the stuff in Nick's program. 

I would be happy to come back in a month and let you know the actual numbers I'm seeing as a result. So far, the improvements to mailing list alone have been worth the price of admission!


----------



## Silly Writer (Jul 15, 2013)

Nick is a salt of the earth type guy. I've ran into him many times in a private FaceBook group, where he handed out advice for free for a very long time. He still does, actually. Many of us here know Nick. 

It has taken a huge chunk of his writing and family time to put his system together, and it works. There's too many people we all know who says it does to discount it. I think it's more than fair he be compensated for putting it together. There's thousands of writers doing this same thing, only in book form. Either I buy it or I don't. But I dont fault them for not putting the exact info here on KBoards for free. Besides, with the amount of info Nick has to offer in his videos, it would be a TL/DR... With many people questioning the methods, and it'd probably end up being a popcorn thread. 

If you have the money, and need help... Buy it.
If you don't have the money, and need help... Wait for a sale. (That's what I'm doing).
If you think he's full of baloney, don't buy it. 

That simple.


----------



## Philip Gibson (Nov 18, 2013)

Voelker58 said:


> I would be happy to come back in a month and let you know the actual numbers I'm seeing as a result. So far, the improvements to mailing list alone have been worth the price of admission!


Yes, please come back and share your results.

Did the improvement to your mailing list come from following Nick's tactic of giving away a second book free to anyone who signed up to the mailing list after getting the first free book? I'd think a mailing list is only really useful if it's HUGE. I don't really see how I can usefully leverage the 30 readers on my mailing list other than hoping some of them buy the next book when it's on pre-order. When the next book is launched, my paid ads will sell hundreds of copies in the first month, far outweighing any effect my tiny mailing list could have.

It was impressive to see on the video the huge and immediate effect Nick had by sending a review request to his mailing list. That's something I'd be reluctant to do. Haven't all the people on his mailing list read his books already and already been encouraged (at the end of his books) to leave a review? Seems a bit pushy to double down on asking for reviews in that way, but the results he got were beyond dispute since he displayed the results coming in in real time on the video.

Philip


----------



## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

Philip Gibson said:


> Did the improvement to your mailing list come from following Nick's tactic of giving away a second book free to anyone who signed up to the mailing list after getting the first free book? I'd think a mailing list is only really useful if it's HUGE. I don't really see how I can usefully leverage the 30 readers on my mailing list other than hoping some of them buy the next book when it's on pre-order. When the next book is launched, my paid ads will sell hundreds of copies in the first month, far outweighing any effect my tiny mailing list could have.
> 
> It was impressive to see on the video the huge and immediate effect Nick had by sending a review request to his mailing list. That's something I'd be reluctant to do. Haven't all the people on his mailing list read his books already and already been encouraged (at the end of his books) to leave a review? Seems a bit pushy to double down on asking for reviews in that way, but the results he got were beyond dispute since he displayed the results coming in in real time on the video.
> 
> Philip


The free book was part of it, along with tweaks to my landing page and the language I was using, as well as some finer points. Most of it can be found in his Reader Magnets book, although the First 10K training takes it to the next level.

The usefulness of paid advertisements is what inspired Nick to focus on his list. That's all BookBub is. He figured, why not have his own list?

As far as asking for reviews, that is also explained in great detail as part of the reader engagement piece. Nick is constantly *giving* to his list (freebies, giveaways, contests, recommendations, etc.), so when the time comes to *ask*, there is a more positive reception. It takes work, and you have to be willing to shell out some time and money, but it pays off in the end.


----------



## bbhamel (Feb 11, 2015)

Voelker58 said:


> First of all, Nick was very upfront that the free stuff he was offering was leading up to the launch of this program. There was no "hard sell," just the launch of the program that he promised from the beginning.
> 
> Second, someone not having the funds does not affect the value of the product one bit. I don't have the funds for a new Mercedes, but I wouldn't complain that they should be cheaper because of that fact. If everyone feels it is too expensive, then no one will pay the asking price, and the market will set the value for it. I don't really see that happening.
> 
> ...


I think I should clarify some of what I've said.

1. I think his system isn't super useful to single-book authors. But I don't think any method is super useful to authors in my position, except for writing and releasing more books. That's not to say that his methods don't work. Just that I'm not sure they're worth it for me.

2. Which brings me to my main point, cost. Nick can charge any price he wants. If people are going to pay it, and they're happy with what they get, everybody wins. The point I was making is essentially I can't afford $597. If I were selling more books, and I had the extra income, I would definitely consider it, especially since he offers a money back guarantee. But for those of us just getting into self publishing, funds may be pretty limited, and $500+ is a pretty steep pricetag for anything.

3. I like what I've seen from Nick. I think he genuinely cares about people. I think he genuinely wants to help. Most of my post was responding to ideas I've seen floating around these boards and in this thread. I don't mean to knock him personally. And frankly, my biggest reservation is that huge pricetag. If I had three more books out, and a bit more saved up, I might buy it. But I was disappointed when I saw how much it was going to cost, because his videos and personality do make me think he's the real deal.

It's just a lot of money! 

If it goes on sale though, I may go for it.

There are a lot of 'do this and sell 10000 books!' programs out there. There is a lot of snakeoil BS, especially in an industry that's populated by people funding themselves from their personal accounts and basically figuring it all out as they go along. I am NOT saying Nick is one of those people. He honestly seems like one of the rare people who knows what he's doing, and will try his best to help. But I've already made mistakes with how I spent my money, simply because I have no clue what I'm doing. I don't think anyone can fault me for being hesitant. Like I said, if the price were much less, I'd seriously consider it.

Good luck to anyone who purchased. It'd be great if people shared their experiences.


----------



## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

bbhamel said:


> It's just a lot of money!


I have to admit, I had a bit of sticker shock at first glance as well!
But after doing the math, it made sense, for me. It won't for everyone out of the gate, but I do think there is enough there to take you to level where it would, if you can swing the initial funding.

There are plenty of people out there that will make money without doing any of the things he suggests. There is a path for everyone.

Also, as much as I hate to say it, I'm sure many of the strategies will be trickling their way down here, once enough people start seeing results from them!

Didn't mean for my post to be taken personally. I guess I should stick to my rule of not commenting until after I've had my first cup of coffee. 

Good luck, to everyone!


----------



## KL_Phelps (Nov 7, 2013)

thanks for the heads up, I'll be checking out the videos


----------



## Dom (Mar 15, 2014)

This is the fixed link: http://www.yourfirst10kreaders.com/vip/



Philip Gibson said:


> Did the improvement to your mailing list come from following Nick's tactic of giving away a second book free to anyone who signed up to the mailing list after getting the first free book? I'd think a mailing list is only really useful if it's HUGE. I don't really see how I can usefully leverage the 30 readers on my mailing list other than hoping some of them buy the next book when it's on pre-order. When the next book is launched, my paid ads will sell hundreds of copies in the first month, far outweighing any effect my tiny mailing list could have.


The other mailing list tactic Nick advocates is running a giveaway for a kindle or books in your genre. After the giveaway he stresses the importance of trimming the list to make sure you only have people on who want to stay on. It's smart and he's gotten great results with that.

Like someone else in the thread said, a lot of what he pushes it mailing list strategy. That will help a lot of authors (including myself). But you can see exactly what he does by signing up to his mailing lists.


----------



## bbhamel (Feb 11, 2015)

Voelker58 said:


> Didn't mean for my post to be taken personally. I guess I should stick to my rule of not commenting until after I've had my first cup of coffee.


No worries at all, I just felt a little bad. I realized my post may have seemed like I was bashing Nick, when I actually really like him, and think he's probably the real deal. Just that sticker shock!

Anyway, good luck, I wish you many sales!


----------



## Guest (Mar 5, 2015)

This is a very interesting thread.

1) I'm just commenting on the strategy and not on the person or the product. So please don't take this as an endorsement or a bashing or anything else.

2) I think it's always good to think of yourself as a business and consider the cost versus the reward. Ideally, the range of reward. If his course gets you to get to work on your email strategy and leads to you adding 10 email subscribers a day extra, it's 3,650 in a year and the course will probably pay off for you.

So Q1 - How much will your email add rate go up? How much is that worth to you? If it's worth more than $597 then obviously you should get the course.

3) I think you have to be very careful in general when someone finds success and then starts selling success advice. There are lots of people here who are vouching for the person. Which means he's legitimate. There is a question to ask though - If their marketing strategy is super good, they should be making a lot of money and not have time to share and make videos.

So, is it to help other authors?

Wayne Stinnett's strategy is worth thousands of dollars. He's sharing it for free. Is there someone who's sharing a very good email marketing strategy for free

Q2 - Is this the only source of growing your email list? The best? The only available for purchase easily? How soon should you buy it?

If someone is going to show up tomorrow and write a better strategy guide for marketing, then you should wait.

Here, in my opinion, you have to consider the opportunity cost of waiting. If you wait 2 months, how many email subscribers and sales do you lose? Is it more than $597? Less?


4) Is this a strategy that becomes useless as more people use it?

This would be my single biggest concern.

Giving away kindle fires to get email subscribers seems a good strategy. However, everyone and their mother has been doing this since 2009. I suspect 10% of Kindle and Kindle Fire sales are sites and authors and developers giving away free kindles. Why do you think Amazon started a service for giveaways 

5) What is your time worth?

I honestly think you could read up on these forums and in 10-20 hours figure out good email marketing strategy. It umight not be as good as the one you get for $597. However, it would get you 75% of the results. here are the top 3 things

1) Have email sign up links on the last page of your books, within the text part of your blog, at the top left of your blog (in the side bar). if you aren't hesitant about it, have it at the end of every chapter
2) Offer a free book to everyone who signs up for your email newsletters. Don't be stingy and offer a short story. Offer a full book.
3) Measure your email add rate and write it down somewhere each day and write down your target on a piece of paper. Your subconscious and the universe will ensure you get to your target or close.

All this stuff is easy to find. The only catch is - how do you know it's tested.

That, in my opinion, is the single biggest advantage of this course. The author has achieved some level of success (anyone know exactly what)?

If $597 is worth more than 10-20 hours of your time then you should read up on the Internet and on these forums. If not, then getting the course isn't a bad idea.

6) Do you need some commitment to implement improvements.

One benefit of spending $597 is - you'll feel you spent $597 you better do most of what he says.
On the other hand, someone might post something really good, however, it's free and a lot of people won't really appreciate it.

*******

Overall, I think this is great. That someone who found success is sharing it.
It's just extremely strange that he's asking for $597 for it.

I would have assumed that if someone has found a bulletproof method to make money from books, then he/she would double down on that. It's only if a strategy starts to seem limited that the person would switch to selling it. I work with a lot of authors and I can assure you that some authors are making a ton of money and they are in no hurry to share what works for them. It's only if they feel their strategy is becoming less powerful that they start thinking about how to make money from it in ways other than selling books using it.

At what price do I think this is reasonable for someone who will add 5-10 or more email subscribers a day by following this? $500 to $600.

At what price do I think this is reasonable for someone for whom money is a bit tight? $50 to $100.

I think Wayne Stinnett should write a book. The stuff he's sharing isn't found anywhere else. This email marketing stuff you can find at lots of places. However, you should consider your personal benefit of getting it instantly and here for $597 versus taking the time to research stuff and test stuff yourself. $597 Versus the Benefits you get over the next year or two by implementing 50% or more of his recommendations.


----------



## Guest (Mar 5, 2015)

One other thing. This idea of 'First 10,000 Readers' idea. This is a very old idea by someone named KK(Kevin Kelly) about finding the first 1,000 true fans. Here:

http://kk.org/thetechnium/2008/03/1000-true-fans/


----------



## MQ (Jan 5, 2011)

ireaderreview said:


> This is a very interesting thread.
> 
> 1) I'm just commenting on the strategy and not on the person or the product. So please don't take this as an endorsement or a bashing or anything else.
> 
> ...


^Thanks for this. It let's us consider both sides before making a decision.


----------



## Justawriter (Jul 24, 2012)

Don't forget to check the pinned posts at the top here too.....there is so much GOLD here if you take a little time to poke around.

This thread for instance, http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,124433.0.html really spoke to me when I first read it, and is the approach I use for growing my list. It's a bit slower, totally organic, but it works to build a base of readers who really love what you write and like to buy your books when you email them about new releases. Someone mentioned Wayne above as sharing great tips about what is working--I agree--and from what I've read, it seems like his approach is similar as well. If you want to save $597...this approach would be a very good alternative.

Also--as someone else mentioned too....always a good idea to check out the book sales/ranking of a person giving (especially selling) advice.


----------



## MQ (Jan 5, 2011)

PamelaKelley said:


> Don't forget to check the pinned posts at the top here too.....there is so much GOLD here if you take a little time to poke around.
> 
> This thread for instance, http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,124433.0.html really spoke to me when I first read it, and is the approach I use for growing my list. It's a bit slower, totally organic, but it works to build a base of readers who really love what you write and like to buy your books when you email them about new releases. Someone mentioned Wayne above as sharing great tips about what is working--I agree--and from what I've read, it seems like his approach is similar as well. If you want to save $597...this approach would be a very good alternative.
> 
> Also--as someone else mentioned too....always a good idea to check out the book sales/ranking of a person giving (especially selling) advice.


Great! I'll check out the link. Thanks


----------



## Antara Mann (Nov 24, 2014)

I was thinking to ask the same question, glad that I saw the previous comments.
I must comment hat Nick offers 100% guarantee back in the first 30 days. So, if I don't make in the 28 days 600$ I am going to take advantage of that. he says no question, if you are unsatisfied, I will give your money back. I think it's great.


----------



## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

I appreciate the intention of the OP to get opinions from people using the program, and not hear from a bunch of people who want to complain about the price. Good luck with that!

Notice how the only negative "reviews" are coming from people who haven't bought the program?
In fact, it looks like many of them haven't even read the product page! 
This is not an email marketing program. The email list strategies are one part. There is a ton of other good stuff in there. 
I guarantee it will be more useful than wading through popcorn threads on here for 10 hours. 

Have you seen anyone chime in to say they bought the course, and regret it?

Here is my final suggestion:
Stop reading this thread. It is useless, as most threads here eventually become when people try to assert their method as the best. 

Go to Nick's page. Check it out for yourself. Watch the free videos. Read Reader Magnets. He is giving you PLENTY of information to make your decision. Nick just released one of the program videos as a sample. Watch that. Decide for yourself. If you don't like it, don't buy it. 

If you're not sure, give it a try. There is a money-back guarantee. You have 30 days to peruse at your leisure. Don't like it? Return it. 

Stop listening to people on here who sell a fraction of what Nick does, but think they know better, trying to justify why they are not going to spend the money. Or people like me, defending it because they want to justify spending so much money!  

If you have it, or decide to get it, feel free to get in touch with me. I'd love to brainstorm about how to implement the strategies. 

Either way, good luck!! I hope we all sell a ton of books this year!!


----------



## CLStone (Apr 4, 2013)

Voelker, I've got a book to finish up, but as soon as I'm done with it, I plan on buying into it for the information. I already have a good sized readership, so I'll be looking to see if it'll improve things even more even at this level. But I'm happy to join a guinea pig group trying it out. I'd like to test some strategies out.


----------



## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

CLStone said:


> Voelker, I've got a book to finish up, but as soon as I'm done with it, I plan on buying into it for the information. I already have a good sized readership, so I'll be looking to see if it'll improve things even more even at this level. But I'm happy to join a guinea pig group trying it out. I'd like to test some strategies out.


That sounds great. i am in the same boat. I sprung for the program to get the bonus content, but I am on a deadline right now that is keeping me from doing much with it!
Maybe we will find some others here who are on board and make a group to bounce ideas around.
I wonder what the best way to do that is. I have had good luck with Google+ groups in the past. Maybe I'll set one up when I have some free time.


----------



## Drainland (Oct 25, 2013)

Voelker58 said:


> That sounds great. i am in the same boat. I sprung for the program to get the bonus content, but I am on a deadline right now that is keeping me from doing much with it!
> Maybe we will find some others here who are on board and make a group to bounce ideas around.
> I wonder what the best way to do that is. I have had good luck with Google+ groups in the past. Maybe I'll set one up when I have some free time.


Just a quick thank you for the replies. PLEASE come back and report.

I also removed that link from the OP.

I really like Nick. I hope this goes well for him. I'm still definitely in the market for something like this.


----------



## MQ (Jan 5, 2011)

I'm curious, when I go to the VIP link I see a counter at the bottom... what is this for?


----------



## Jnassise (Mar 22, 2010)

I've gone ahead and sprung for the course as well, despite have a decent-sized existing readership.  I communicated with Nick before doing so and his enthusiasm and the way he explained things in his pre-release videos pushed me off the fence.

That said, so far I haven't heard anything that is all that new to me.  I'm already fairly decent with keywords, categories, mailing list processes and even merchanding opportunities from various vendors like Kobo and iBooks.  He has stated in emails that he has some more content coming down the line and right now I'm waiting for that before making any decisions about the investment overall.  It is great for those new to indie publishing, in my view, but for experienced players - I'm just not sure yet.

Just my two cents.  Your mileage may vary of course.


----------



## Guest (Jun 6, 2015)

Just paid, although I am having an issue just setting up an account and the page for doing so has now disappeared. Can anyone on the course please help? Hoping this is just a blip. I paid, started to fill in the reregistration form and when it asked for a password, set one...twice as instructed. But it just refreshed to the form time and again. Denying access. 

Update: it has nothing to do with cookies or anything like that. 

Second update: Nick is very generous with his time and helped me sort it now, no problems. All in now! I`d say just scanning through it, the price tag is worth it for all the stuff. I wont go into too much detail, as that's what paying for the thing is all about but I am very excited with what I see. I think this will be a perfect guide, allowing me to concentrate most of my efforts on the thing I love the most: creating stories. Honestly I believe I would spend too much time figuring this all out myself.


----------



## Doglover (Sep 19, 2013)

I think Nick's free advice and his free videos were great and made a lot of sense. I've put his advice to good use, with good, if not spectacular, results. But nearly $600 for more of the same? I can only assume it to be more of the same, since where else are you going? He's been a great inspiration, but he never discounted the training course; he did, however, give out the first video free and I was disappointed with that. I couldn't hear a word the author on that one was mumbling about and I would have been well peed off if I had paid for it.


----------



## Guest (Jun 6, 2015)

You pays yer moneys and takes yer chances.


----------



## Jenna K (May 31, 2014)

I've watched two of the thee free videos, but didn't learn anything new, which I suppose means the course isn't aimed at me, which is fair enough.

Given that Nick made $130,208 from the launch of this product, it sounds like he certainly knows his stuff, at least when it comes to marketing to indie authors! He talks about the product and launch here on the Smart Passive Income podcast, if anyone's interested in the background: http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/a-first-timers-130208-product-launch/


----------



## Shelley K (Sep 19, 2011)

Voelker58 said:


> Notice how the only negative "reviews" are coming from people who haven't bought the program?


This isn't a good judge of anything, because people who bought it are instantly unlikely to also leave a negative review. Someone paying $600 for it is already primed to believe it's useful because they paid $600 for it. Even if they haven't made it work yet and aren't getting the expected results, it's easier to believe that it's you than "I just blew $600 on something useless." Human nature.

I'm making no claim whether it's useful or not (I actually thought his book and the free videos contained really great advice, but it was nothing new). It's just that someone paying for something is going to be more generous in their opinion and more likely to believe that if it doesn't work well, it's them not implementing the info right, not that the info is bad or not worth what they paid. The more expensive it is, the more generous they'll be.

It's the same principle that draws one-star reviews to freebies in greater numbers. If the person had paid for the book, they're far more likely to be more generous in their opinion, even if the quality was the same.


----------



## Guest (Jun 6, 2015)

Once again, yes I paid for the course but do I think it is a magic bullet?...NO! What I want is a one stop resource to help me start to build a platform properly. For established authors it is prob useless. But for newbies, who can take a punt, it`s a good thing. I find this comment...Someone paying $600 for it is already primed to believe it's useful because they paid $600 for it....to be somewhat condescending. I have often paid for expensive things and felt ripped off and I would be honest about that. The first key though, in all our quests for success, is to make GREAT products and tell amazing stories. Without that, all the marketing and the PR won`t work. Keep creating and learning, that's what I aim to do...I don't have the patience to sift through mountains of stuff on my own, unless I already had a backlog of 100s titles. I want to spend most of my time writing. So this is a good time saver.


----------



## Steve Voelker (Feb 27, 2014)

Shelley K said:


> It's the same principle that draws one-star reviews to freebies in greater numbers. If the person had paid for the book, they're far more likely to be more generous in their opinion, even if the quality was the same.


I don't think readers are more likely to try to justify their time reading a $.99 book over a free book at all. I believe the reason you see so many more 1 stars on freebies is that before people pay for a book, they are more likely to do things like actually read the description, reviews, or even glance at the look inside, and then pass on a book that doesn't seem like something they would enjoy reading, rather than impulse click a freebie that is way out of their wheelhouse, then complain when it isn't exactly what they expected, even though it never promised to be. Just about every 1 star I have ever gotten complains about something that is clearly spelled out in the blurb. Maybe it's just me.

Also, I already made the joke about only liking it to make myself feel better about the price tag upthread. You are too late. 

Of course I would never accuse anyone on this thread of actually engaging in that type of behavior. I find most posters on here that treat their writing as a business are a little too shrewd for that type of thinking. I weighed the pros and cons carefully before spending the money. Then carefully tracked the difference made by the suggestions I implemented.

I have to say, looking back, the $600 investment was a no brainer. I made up the cost on the first day of my next launch. And I am still seeing benefits!

Between Nick's course and Mark Dawson's, I have made enough of a shift to quit my day job and do this crazy writing thing full time.

I would love to share more, but I am learning more and more lately that this board is not really the place for that. There is always someone looking to tear down anything positive that gets posted here. I guess that is just the nature of the internet.

Anyway, best of luck to everyone! Remember not to take things to seriously!


----------



## Shelley K (Sep 19, 2011)

Andrew Murray said:


> find this comment...Someone paying $600 for it is already primed to believe it's useful because they paid $600 for it....to be somewhat condescending.


Why? It's psychology and economics. Look up the sunk cost fallacy. Also, I mentioned that in response to the idea that only people who hadn't paid for the course hadn't negative things to say, to point out that lack of negative reviews from purchasers can't necessarily be taken as 100% endorsement. Some won't get much out of it and will blame themselves. Context is everything.


----------



## blakebooks (Mar 10, 2012)

I've been using Nick's email list building technique for two months. During that time I've grown my already substantial mailing list by a factor of three. I also used it to launch my first $7 outing, Ramsey's Gold. It hit a high of #340 in the Amazon store, with no discounting. I've shifted thousands of copies since launching it on the 29th. I wouldn't have if I hadn't followed his approach.

As most know, I sell more than a few books. But I'm always interested in selling more of them. I've recommended Nick's course to at least ten authors who have all plunked down their $600. They all feel it was worth it, and are excited, because they can see how the techniques differ from what 99% of us do, or have done.

I don't give testimonials, nor do I endorse products. I make an exception in Nick's case, because it worked a small miracle for me. Like Bookbub, where I can recall hundreds of complaints that "I'm not going to pay that - it's way too expensive!", I think this is more of an issue where you have to ignore the price, and focus on the ROI. If I can spend $600 and earn an extra $6000, I'm a fool if I don't spend the $600. Hell, if I can spend $600 and earn $605, I'm still a fool not to do it.

I don't evaluate the value of anything based on price. I learned a long time ago to value things based on ROI. If there's something that costs $1 million to invest in, but I don't have it, it doesn't mean it's not a good investment (assuming it can outperform the ROI of that money deployed elsewhere), it means I either can't afford it, or I'm unwilling to pay up in order to make a higher ROI. It's kind of like paying $5 for a fiverr ad and feeling like a genius because you made $15 in sales. That's stellar ROI. But if you have to spend $600 to earn $1800, it's the identical stellar ROI. To dismiss it as uninteresting because it's too expensive, assuming you have the money to invest in earning a 3X ROI, is, in my opinion, not particularly productive.

Then again, it takes many flavors to make a stew, and there are still folks to this day who just can't bring themselves to pay for a BB ad because the cost is so high. I don't understand it, but then again, I don't have to, because it's not my career, it's theirs.


----------



## tommy gun (May 3, 2015)

I have been following this with great interest.  I love the idea.  I have several projects on the fiction side that I would like to try this on.  My real estate books are WAY too specialized.

So thank you to Blakebooks for posting the success he has had.  I agree fully.  Invest anything and look at the ROI.  Tying into that, I do not want to have to slave for that ROI unless the dollar value is high enough to make my hourly rate effective.  40 hours of work and I get $200 profit is questionable.

I was just saying pure ROI is good but the work I need to do on top of that is important too and yes I realize long term is how we have to think here.

Can anyone else tell us how they are doing?  Is anyone not having a very good return on their investment?


----------



## Jerry Patterson (Nov 20, 2013)

Voelker58 said:


> Between Nick's course and Mark Dawson's, I have made enough of a shift to quit my day job and do this crazy writing thing full time.


I'm curious about Mark Dawson's course. Is it similar to Nick's training. If it differs, how. Thanks much in advance.


----------



## Marie Long (Jan 11, 2014)

Someone on an email loop I'm in recommended Nick's program to me. I realize this thread is a year old, but I'm just wondering how relevant all the information still is in Nick's program based on the industry today? I signed up for his newsletter and got the first video in my mail. Basically, he was saying things I already know. Basically telling you 'this is what you have to do' but does not go into specific details on HOW to do it. Does he explain this in Videos 2 and 3? Or is that in the $600 program that he actually explains HOW to do it? It's really frustrating when I see these types of marketing tutorials and people just tell you WHAT to do, but don't go into explicit detail on HOW to do it...

by the way, when will I get video 2 and 3? Do I have to wait an entire day to get the next email?


----------

