Don't Rely on Ads (PART 2)

If you missed yesterday's newsletter (part 1 of this little 2-part series on why not to rely on Ads), you can read it here.

Yesterday, we were focused on Amazon sales. Today, we're focusing on direct sales.

So, without further ado, let's dive in...

Direct Sales

With the countless options and opportunities available with direct sales, it's very easy, and all too common, for authors to overcomplicate things, especially scaling.

But once you have, at the very least, a minimum viable store (something I cover in The Direct Sales Blueprint For Authors course – join the waitlist here), and a solid Facebook Ads strategy, everything becomes much, much simpler.

In the beginning, just as we did with Lori's store, we tried a bunch of different "stuff".

Then, I stripped everything back to what was driving results on the store and doubled down on the Facebook Ads.

For a while, Lori and me were talking about getting into Pinterest (Ads and organic) to drive some more traffic to the store.

I've considered X Ads, and a bunch of other ways to get more eyeballs on the store.

Thankfully, we didn't bite the bullet on any of these other tactics or platforms, because we came to a realization.

All we need is 2 things to really scale the store:

Facebook Ads + Email Marketing

Plus, of course, a well-converting store; but that's an on-going road of testing and experimentation, whether you're earning $1,000 per month or $1m per month. It's paramount.

You can see here that we're not relying 100% on Ads.

We have email marketing at play too.

And with the right strategy, automation and campaigns in place, email marketing should bring in anywhere from 10% (on the low end) to 50% or more (on the high end) of your overall store revenue.

It's that powerful.

Diversifying your traffic sources isn't a bad thing, once you've got traction.

For me though, in the beginning, especially, diversification is nothing more than a distraction.

You're throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

Whereas, if you see some traction on your store spending $50 per day, what's stopping you from profitability spending $100, $300, $500+ per day?

The answer... nothing.

These sorts of numbers don't have to be a dream. They can be a reality.

Just remember that 80% of your results are going to come from 20% of your actions.

And those actions, for most authors, are Facebook Ads + Email Marketing.

So, if, like me, you often feel overwhelmed with everything that "needs" to be done, take a step back.

Do an audit on everything you're doing to grow your store and identify the 20% that's already got you to where you are today.

Once you've found that 20%, double down on it.

As Chinese philosopher, Confucius, once said, "life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

Have a wonderful weekend.

To Your Success
– Matt