One of our authors sent a series of slightly different emails telling all his friends and acquaintances how many books he wanted to sell by a certain date. He sent follow-up emails mentioning how many he had sold, which made the whole thing into kind of a contest.

Our author sold more books, partly because people who had not purchased from the first email could see his progress and were reminded of his goal. They bought books because they could see how many people were supporting him, and wanted to be part of that group.

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We’ve written the following emails that you can modify to fit your marketing campaign.
Please personalize each one to fit your personality, and your book.

Subject: My book campaign

Good afternoon!

For those of you who don't know, after [ insert how long you have been working on your book ] since beginning the process, my book [ insert your book title here ] is finished and is officially released! I feel like I've just given birth, and I would like everyone to meet my baby. I would really appreciate the support of those around me (like you)!

How can you support me?

My goal is to sell [ insert number ] copies of it by [ insert date ] So, if you are a person who reads, a person with a reader in the family, or simply want to support a dream of mine, please go to my website [ insert your website address here ] and order a copy (or copies). It's an inexpensive gift for yourself or a friend.

I would also like to know what you think of my book... comments, feedback, praise, etc.

Thanks so much for your support!

Sincerely,

 

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Here is a sample of a follow-up email…

Subject: Progress on my book campaign

Good evening! The response has been tremendous! The response to my previous email about my book campaign has been great; Thanks to friends and family like you I’m halfway to my goal of selling [ number of copies ] books by [ insert date ]. I’d like to thank everyone for supporting me.

I’m already smiling, but if you haven’t ordered my book yet you could put a big grin on my face by going to [ insert your website address here ] and click on the links to order your copy (or copies).

Thanks again for all of your support, and I'll keep you updated on the progress of my book!

Sincerely,

 

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Here is a sample of the final email…

Subject: The final results !!!

Good afternoon!

Just in case you were wondering what happened with my goal to sell [ number ] copies of my book before [ insert date ]...it was close.

There were [ insert number ] orders were placed that evening, just a few minutes before the deadline...and brought the grand total to [ insert number ] !!!

Thanks again to everyone who supported me over the past few weeks...this fun little goal made me aware of how many amazing people I know and how grateful I am that you're in my life!

Enjoy your book, I put a lot into it and am glad that I've gotten it into the hands of so many people.

With gratitude,