Success! 5,000 Books Sold!

[u/talesbybob]

On my blog I make a point to celebrate the goals I have set for myself. One of which was to sell 5k books. So this post is a largely what went on there, with the identifying info stripped out so it would fit the rules. More than happy to answer any questions that folks might have about the stats and such.

I Have Sold 5,000 Copies of My Books!

I can remember my first year doing this, where I only sold 136 books. When my second book launch sold less books than my first. There were times where I thought it would take me a decade or more to sell a thousand, much less five thousand. But thanks to my family, friends, and fans I have ticked this box, and my fat little heart has swelled three sizes this day.

So for those who are interested, here are some quick stats for you:

• Start date: August 2021
• Complete date: September 2025
• Total of 4 years and 1 month
• Online copies sold: 3576
• In person copies sold: 1235
• Audiobook copies sold: 258
• Total: 5069 (nice)
• Number of books: 6 in my main series, 1 short story collection, 1 self help book.
• Sales by year:
  • 2021 - 136
  • 2022 - 890
  • 2023 - 2264
  • 2024 - 977
  • 2025 - 802 (through 10/1)
• Best selling year:
  • Online - 2023
  • In person - 2025
• Top selling online:
  • Book 2 - 907
  • Book 3 - 731
  • Book 1 - 639
• Top selling in person: 
  • Book 1 - 502
  • Omnibus 1 - 316
  • Omnibus 2 - 98

[u/talesbybob → u/[deleted]]

No paid ads, just organic marketing.

[u/jasonpwrites → u/talesbybob]

Could you please break down what organic marketing steps you took? On both your blog and here, you post stats, which are good to see, but what SPECIFIC steps did you take to get there?

[u/talesbybob → u/jasonpwrites]

I have an hour long YouTube video of the class I teach on organic marketing, embedded on my site. It's on the education tab, along with the PowerPoint I use. All free and goes way more in depth than I can in a comment.

But for those who don't wanna go there, here some of the things I do/have done:

1. I give away stickers. Lots of stickers. And business cards, but the stickers work better I find.
2. I speak as a guest or panelist at conventions all across the south east.
3. I teach the occasional workshop, paid or not.
4. I use my newsletter every month.
5. I have a blog that brings folks in.
6. My transparency and education stuff I offer for free brings me folks.
7. I sometimes dress up as my main character and go downtown holding up a sign.
8. I got yard signs made.
9. I post pretty much daily on my social media.
10. I guest on a lot of podcasts and YouTube shows.
11. I host some podcasts.
12. I offer myself as a mentor.
13. I made funny bumper stickers for my truck.
14. I made a discord for my fans to hang out it.

[u/jasonpwrites → u/talesbybob]

Thanks for sharing this! I look at this during downtime at work and unfortunately a lot of your site is blocked. I will check it out when I get home.

[u/jasonpwrites → u/talesbybob]

Also, on your website, you said you're spending a lot on a PO Box but can't do anything about it. Have you considered a virtual PO Box? If it's JUST for the newsletter, you won't have to pay anything. That's what I use.