Jay Papasan Just Broke All the Rules in his New Book Launch

Here’s a short list of things Jay is NOT doing to promote his book…* speaking all over the country* shouting about how he hit #1 on Amazon* staying up til 2am giving his 10th podcast interview of the dayBut he’s also not coasting on the success of Millionaire Real Estate Agent and The ONE Thing.Jay is playing a different game.Here are the Non-Obvious Insights from our Conversation…Category Killers Own Bookshelves for Decades"I want a long bestselling book in the sense that it's best in category...I call them category killers and I don't think you should write anything else."If an agent asked you what book they should pick up on negotiation, what’s your first thought? Probably “Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss.That’s the power of a category killer book. Sustainable authority and sales…for decades.Jay says there hasn’t been a category killer book for rookie agents in 20 years.He spotted that market gap while talking to agents on The ONE Thing Podcast. Since then he’s asked 250+ of the most successful agents in the country, “What did you do differently as a new agent?” The book comes directly from that on-the-ground intelligence.That’s why Jay is skipping the Amazon best-seller strategy, and obsessed over creating the best-in-category book that will get organic word of mouth for the next 20 years.Email Outsells Social Media 50 to One for Book Sales"People tend to click in an email and they outsell social for me, 50 to one. And I know so many authors that would [say], ‘Yeah, for every book I sell on social or on YouTube, I sell 50 through my email list.’"Most of us have an email list, however neglected it may be. But are we delivering value…consistently…for months or years…before we show up and ask people to buy our book? Probably not.This is even more of a challenge for aspiring B2B authors who aren’t natural writers (that’s where our service can be helpful).But whether you’re a natural writer or not, we all have the challenge of how to grow our email list…Jay Would Take a Newsletter Swap Over a Podcast Interview"Anne-Laure Le Cunff...did, I think, 10 newsletter swaps, where she said, “I'll write about your book on my newsletter if you write about mine.” And she found that that had a very, very measurable impact on her book launch and getting on the New York Times."Just a few years ago, going on podcasts was the #1 way B2B authors sold more books. They’d kill themselves doing 50 interviews in a month, staying up til 2 or 3am, just to support the launch. Now, Jay is hearing whispers from other authors like “I went on Jay Shetty’s podcast and it moved 2 books.”So he’s turning to email newsletters. If you have an email newsletter for agents and you’re interested in featuring Jay, reply and I’ll connect you.Newsletters not only drive book sales, but they can help grow your email list. You don’t have to rely on people hearing you on a podcast and going to Amazon. You have more control by the type of link you put in the newsletter swap.You can even work out an arrangement with the newsletter publisher to share the list of those who clicked on your book from the email, or send clicks through an email opt-in page.Want to go deeper? Click on the audio file above to listen to the full chat, also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.Or Hit Reply and tell me what you’re seeingWhat book launch tactics have caught your eye? Will we see more email newsletters in real estate?Ask This:If I want to write a book in the next few years, what am I doing right now, TODAY, to grow my email list?Quick Links & ResourcesJayPapasan.comRookie Real Estate Agent - Jay’s new bookThe ONE Thing podcastWrite Useful Books - Rob Fitzpatrick - AMAZING book on how to write the category killer that dominates the shelf and word of mouth for decades. From the author of the category killer The MOM Test. And how did I hear about both books? Word of mouth.I always have a great time talking to Jay. It’s surreal sometimes talking to someone who co-wrote a book that changed the course of my life. When I read MREA at 27 years old, it broke my brain. Showed me it was possible to build a business without drowning in the day-to-day operations. I ended up building a marketing agency on that model.So I’m eternally grateful to Jay for nerding out on book launch tactics, if you’re not connected with Jay, fix that immediately!Talk soon,-MattCEO - MicroFamousAuthor - MicroFamousPS Want a platform like this?Click here to check out our Done-for-You Content service This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rethoughtleaders.substack.com