How to Land a #1 Book on Amazon

If you’ve been following my blog for some time you know that I’m obsessed with 2 people in the world.

Beth Moore and Jon Acuff.

And if you’re like every other Christian in the world, you’re likely a follower of Jon Acuff in one form or another by now. He’s the guy who wrote “Stuff Christians Like.”

He’s also a sort of new Christian cult leader. He’s got thousands following his blog and tens of thousands following his twitter updates. He’s funny. He’s good looking. He’s popular. And most recently he’s added a book that quickly made it to the number one place on the Amazon business/leadership/motivation list. (Alas he’s married to the wonderful jenny acuff and have 2 beautiful kids so get that thought out of your mind ma.)

His new book is called Quitter. It’s about leaving your real job and pursuing your dream. But regardless of your thoughts on Jon and his book – all of which are immensely popular I’m sure – you’ve got to be curious as to how an average Joe can make it to the #1 Amazon book list so quickly.

I’ve given this a lot of thought and here’s how you can land a #1 book on Amazon in only a few weeks.

1. Passion Pays Off. If there is a poster boy for passion, it has Jon’s picture on it. Follow him on twitter for a day and you will lose count of how many times he gives a shout out for his book. This guy exudes passion. If you don’t love what you’re selling no one else will. You are the biggest advocate for your product. Sell it with zeal.

2. Hard Work Pays Off. Ok, the guy makes it look easy but don’t be fooled by his demeanor. I’ve caught him twittering early in the morning and late at night. I read his thoughts daily. If you work hard, he words harder. There’s nothing easy or dreamy about leaving a real job and pursuing your dream, and Acuff is doing it harder than anyone else out there is.

3. Talent Pays Off. You can write a million blog posts and not sound a tenth as funny as Acuff. He’s witty. He’s funny. He’s talented. His message is great, but the only way to get a book on the number 1 amazon list is to be talented as a writer. Period. You – or I – may have to give up on our writing dreams and stick to what we do best. Figure that out and you’re a winner.

4. Timing Pays Off. It’s all in the timing. I remember hearing Acuff saying something about showing up on his 8th day to write a blog post and seeing 4000 followers. Who are you kidding? Most of us won’t see that in a lifetime. For a white boy who claims he only dreams about being an NBA champ he sure does have his timing right. Even Dave Ramsey picked up on that and snagged Acuff before anyone else did. (I on the other hand, managed to blow my timing with Dave Ramsey big time. Good thing I have my doctoring to fall back on.)

5. Identity Pays Off. Jon Acuff knows who he is. He talks about his style. He doesn’t deviate much from his style – even on serious Wednesday SCL. I mean who else can get a book called “Quitter” to the number 1 Amazon motivation list? Get a clue. The first step in succeeding is to figure out who you are and stick to it.

6. Faith Pays Off. You can have all of the above and still miss it if you don’t see that God is the one behind it all. Jon Acuff is a Pastor’s Kid from Massachusetts, and he gets it. If God is not in it, it’s not going to work. You’ve got to trust God’s timing. You’ve got to trust God’s wisdom. You’ve got to trust God’s Word. On the other hand, if God is in it, it’s unstoppable, no matter who stands against you today. Just ask Jon Acuff.

All right. This was a free Acuff ad – as if he needed one. If you haven’t bought his book yet, do it and email him to let him know I told you to.

(You don’t need me to give you his website address. It’s all over the Christian world. Just look for it.)

Related posts: