This Is What Happened When We Went All In

We are where we are today because of the decisions we've made in the past.

That's true for almost every aspect of our lives.

When Lori and I made the decision to test the waters with direct sales back in July 2023, sure, we got some sales, but it was slow. It was a trickle.

And that was partly because we were only selling the paperback versions of Lori's books (her eBooks were still enrolled in Kindle Unlimited at the time).

But predominantly, it was because we were half-in, half-out. We weren't committed to direct sales; we weren't 100% sure we were going to stay the course. It didn't have our full attention.

Where focus goes, energy flows.

It was only when we made another decision to go all in on direct sales, which for us involved pulling all of Lori's books out of Kindle Unlimited in October 2023, that things started to change.

The screenshots below show the difference between how things were in the beginning when we first started direct sales and how things look today:

We've of course tested a lot of different strategies, improved the store, the product pages, the customer experience, the email marketing, the offers, etc.

But had we not decided to go all in on direct sales in October 2023, I can say with almost 100% certainty, that we wouldn't have put in the work required to generate these sorts of results.

Once we started selling the eBooks directly, that's when things really started to take off.

But going all in for you doesn't mean you need to take all your books out of Kindle Unlimited, as we did.

Lori just has the one complete series, so for us, it was all or nothing.

Yes, it was risky, as over 50% of Lori's royalties came from Kindle Unlimited.

But we figured we could always bring the books back into Kindle Unlimited if things didn't work out with direct sales.

Every author is in a different situation, so only you can decide what going all in means to you.

You may have multiple series, so going all-in for you could mean removing one series from Kindle Unlimited if it's in there.

You might begin by selling your paperbacks directly, like we did.

Or maybe your books are wide already, and going all-in for you means launching your store with every book, every series you've ever written available there.

There's no right or wrong with any of this.

What I can tell you from personal experience though, is that when you make the decision to go all in (whatever that looks like for you at this moment in time), is when your mind starts behaving differently.

The excitement, the adrenaline, all propel you forward, you come up with ideas you otherwise wouldn't. Before you know it, you're immersing yourself in the world of direct sales and e-commerce.

The bottom line for us, looking back was:

When we were half-in, and half-out with our commitment level, we got half-baked results.

When we went all in, that's when things really started to grow.

If you think direct sales could be for you, whether that's right now, or in 3, 6, 12 months time, it's worth considering how it's going to fit into your business model.

And if you need some guidance on how to sell directly to your readers...

The Direct Sales Blueprint For Authors can help.

Over 300 authors have already signed up, so if you're curious, please do check it out and see if it's a good fit for you.

If it is, see you inside.

To Your Success
– Matt