What Anorexia Taught Me About Direct Sales

Before we dive in... I was recently invited onto The Creative Penn Podcast with Joanna Penn, to talk all things direct sales.

I've been running Joanna's Facebook Ads for her direct sales store for the past 5-6 months, and in this episode, we dive into Ads, AI, email marketing, cash flow, mindset and more.

> You can listen to the episode here < 

I've been going to the gym since I was old enough to have a membership (about 12 years old).

In that time, I've gone through so many different routines, schedules, workout plans, etc.

For several years, I became severely anorexic, and completely and utterly addicted to the gym (2 hours a day, 7 days a week), consuming little to no food to sustain me.

Looking back, it was dangerous.

On top of that though, I was overcomplicating everything.

Today, I've stripped my workouts back to the fundamentals, and spend 20-30 minutes in the gym, 3-5 times per week.

And nutrition is no longer an issue for me (most days). Some days, I relapse, but most of the time, I don't have any problems eating, thankfully.

I'm not here to give fitness or nutrition advice though...

The purpose of sharing this story is that when Lori and I first got started in direct sales, we were overcomplicating everything, too.

I think this comes with learning and implementing anything new.

We don't know what we don't know, right, so we think we need to do it all. Bells and whistles included.

But honestly, with direct sales, less is more.

Sure, you could have the most fancy-dancy store on the planet, but if it doesn't deliver a satisfying customer experience, it's all useless.

Look at any of your favorite online stores today, even those outside of the publishing world...

None of those stores started out like they look today.

They've all evolved over time.

What they most likely did do from the beginning though, which is what we did ourselves, is create a Minimum Viable Store.

A Minimum Viable Store will:

– Enable you to take payments (securely)

– Allow customers to make an informed purchasing decision

– Deliver eBooks/Audiobooks/Print Books to your customers

As time goes on, you can start improving your store, the customer experience, the email marketing, the offers, etc.

But to get traction quickly, to start making sales within days, not months, a Minimum Viable Store is the way to go.

Inside The Direct Sales Blueprint For Authors course, the very first module is focused entirely on The Minimum Viable Store.

I'll show you exactly what you need in place to start selling your books direct.

You don't need to spend months building the perfect store. You can get started today and start selling next week; it really can be as quick as that with the Minimum Viable Store.

To Your Success
– Matt