#093: We've Changed Our Mind About Direct Sales

Read Time: 2.5 Minutes

Today, I wanted to share some news about a shift we're making in my wife, Lori's, author business.

If you've been reading my newsletters for some time, you may know that Lori and I have experimented with direct sales in the past.

We eventually decided to shift our focus back to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited when a big Facebook Ads algorithm change decimated our direct sales.

However, after a lot of discussion and research, we're diving back into direct sales – but with a slightly different approach this time around.

The Big Change

We always knew we'd come back to direct sales, it was just a matter of when and how it would be different to our first rodeo.

This time, we're keeping Lori's eBooks enrolled in Kindle Unlimited (KU) (which currently generates over 50% of Lori's royalties) and focusing exclusively on print book sales through the direct sales store.

This hybrid approach allows us to maintain our strong KU income while enjoying the benefits of direct sales.

Speaking of Benefits...

Here are just a few reasons why direct sales are so powerful for authors:

→ Customer Relationship: You build a direct connection with your readers, allowing you to understand their purchasing and reading behaviours and preferences and communicate with them directly about new releases, special offers, and exclusive content.

→ Complete Control: You decide on your pricing strategy, promotional campaigns, and bundling options without the retailer restrictions. This flexibility lets you experiment and optimize your offerings based on what works best for your readers.

→ Higher Profit Margins: By selling directly to readers, you keep a larger portion of each sale compared to traditional retail channels, significantly improving your per-book revenue (and your profits).

→ Building An Asset: Your store and customer base become valuable business assets that you fully control, reducing your dependence on retailers and their changing algorithms.

It may sound like I'm bad-mouthing retailers here – I'm not. We are just diversifying where Lori's royalties and revenue come from in order to build a more sustainable, stable and long-term author business.

Our Direct Sales Strategy In 2025

This is how our strategy is shaping up as we put all the pieces in place for launching early to mid-March:

→ We're building our store on Wix instead of Shopify

After a lot of research, we found Wix to be significantly more cost-effective and simpler customization options than Shopify.

→ We're continuing to partner with BookVault for fulfillment of the print books

BookVault's integration directly with Wix enables all orders to flow automatically from our store to their system for printing, packing, and shipping – maintaining the efficiency we need for scaling.

→ We'll be using Facebook Ads to drive sales

I'm going to be doing a lot of testing, but based on the direction Facebook Ads is moving, I'll be experimenting heavily with Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns to drive sales.

→ We're going to build the email list through the store

As well as driving sales through the Facebook Ads, we'll also be offering a reader magnet (a free something in exchange for an email address) to build Lori's email list.

→ We're moving the email list from Mailerlite to Wix

I love simplicity and keeping the website, email list and direct sales, all under one roof inside Wix, just makes sense, as opposed to having a patchwork quilt of different tools/platforms.

I'm still building the store and getting all the pieces in place, but as I mentioned above, we're aiming for a launch in early to mid-March.

I'm excited to share this journey with you, including all the insights and lessons we learn along the way.

If you're interested in diving deeper into direct sales, I'll be updating my Direct Sales Blueprint For Authors course in the coming months to reflect all these new strategies and learnings. (If you're already a member of the course, you will automatically receive access to the updated version when it launches).

For now though, thank you so much for reading and enjoy your weekend.

To Your Success
– Matt