Life One Year After Publishing My #1 Amazon Bestseller

One year ago, I published what became a #1 Amazon bestseller within 2 days of going live, specifically a breakthrough book on branding for every business and brand that didn’t have time to read another book on branding.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the book: Brand Intervention, 33 Steps to Transform the Brand You Have into the Brand You Need.

Since its release, it’s been called:

• “The Branding Bible”
• “An Instant Classic”
• “Branding genius”
• “A must-read for today’s businesses and startups” (Huffington Post)

In fact, in its first week, it held 3 of the top 5 spots in the “Marketing for Small Businesses” category on Amazon.

I celebrated this with an article that showcased readers from around the world with selfies they’d sent me with their own copy of Brand Intervention.

With a 94% 5-star rating on Amazon, reader comments have blown me away:

• “One of a kind. Best book on branding. None are even close to this good.”
• “This book will transform your business. Brand Intervention is the modern Bible of branding and marketing for any business.”
• “Most amazing book I’ve read on branding… I am 3/4s through the book and it is already transforming my life.”
• “Absolute genius. Applying this information will change your brand forever.”
• “Having read probably 150+ titles dedicated to branding, it’s one of the few areas of marketing/business where I usually come away unfulfilled. Not so here. Brand Intervention is a top-tier work that all practitioners ought to read and most should have hard copies easily accessible.”
• And the raves go on and on.

What I Learned in 12 Months After Writing a #1 Amazon Bestseller

First, I’ll confess something: I did not realize what an impact having an actual physical book meant to others.

It is a big deal.

What a book isn’t:

• just another piece of content
• just another “knowledge bomb” like a video or an article, or
• some “lead magnet” eBook found online

Now, my #1 Amazon bestseller broke new ground:

• The Foreword was written by Shark Tank investor and star Daymond John
• The design was unlike any other book with large type and full-color throughout
• It gave me an excuse and opportunity to share tweets with Gary Vaynerchuk and design a sneaker
• It included specially designed posters I personally designed throughout the book
• And the last section became “The Brand Intervention Playbook” with over 50 pages of before-and-after examples that showed the principles in use.

Why did I do that? Because I had to apply the principle of differentiation.

So I had to look and realize (and leverage) this important fact: NONE of today’s thought leaders, influencers and best-selling authors have the skills that I have to actually DESIGN a brand, to carry it through and execute what they speak about.

What these authors and thought leaders cover is vitally important. But they don’t create brands like I do 365 days a year.

Some of the results of having a #1 Amazon bestseller?

• More people around the world became aware of my talents and expertise any time of the day or night
• I’ve been invited to deliver more keynotes than any previous year
• I now headline events, being more the main course, rather than a side dish
• I’ve attracted different clients from around
• I had a UK designer create an amazing series of sketches based on my book
• It forced me to “feed the hunger” of my newly found fans with my One Minute Wednesday YouTube series I launched this year
• If I am in doubt of a company being a good fit as a client, I use my book as a tool telling them they need to buy the hardcover book and read it. This either “validates them or eliminates them” as a candidate to become a client, so it’s a useful tool that saves time. If they don’t track with the book, they won’t become a good client I can help, and
• I have been a guest on more blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels than ever before. This includes some very high profile channels including TheFutur with Chris Do, Brand-muse with designer Phillip VanDusen, and Shay Rowbottom (which got over 34K views on LinkedIn) you can watch below:

https://youtu.be/U1779BLH-eQ

The Mistake I Almost Made

I almost put this off for years “being too busy to sit down and focus” to complete this.

What pulled me through was this:

I asked Daymond John to write the Foreword 1.5 years before I pulled it together, and remembered my accountability to him.

THAT one factor alone made me own the completion of my book, putting down the same factors I’d successfully used to explode my clients’ businesses for over three decades.

Putting it all down in the form of a book gave me:

• a viewpoint of “owning one’s impact in the world” resulting in a YouTube series that people love
• leveraging my content to create new channels of micro-content
• creating the #1 Alexa Skill on branding and rebranding
• and creating a loyal and growing base on LinkedIn which has now matured as a social platform.

This is what I learned and how I leverage those insights to give more and more to more people around the globe.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

And if you haven’t gotten your own copy, grab it here since next year, there will only be MORE videos, classes, and tools for those wanting to amplify their brands with no fluff and zero BS and maximum insight in the shortest amount of time.