Boosting Our Message

News & Current Events Public News & Current Events
1

Our new book Prosper!: How to Prepare for the Future and Create a World Worth Inheriting has been out for a little over a month now. All in all, it's off to a very good start.

Initial reader feedback has been loud and positive. Chris and I have appeared on no less than 3 dozen interviews to talk about the book's messages. And between the print, e-book and audio versions, we estimate Prosper! has already sold a few thousand copies (in the murky world of publishing, you don't get clear or frequent reporting, so there's a lot of guesswork involved). That's strong early performance.

But, the first month is usually the best month for a new book. Sales can fall off quite sharply after that, and usually do. The seasoned authors we know say that keeping the momentum going over the next few months will make a huge difference in terms of the number of people who will be ultimately reached by this book.

We could really use your help in doing that. The good news is, there are 3 quick, simple steps you can take today that will actually have real impact. They are:

1) Write A Review On Amazon

It turns out that the quality and number of reviews on Amazon.com actually matter a lot.

Yes, reviews influence shoppers -- the more popular a book appears, the more people will buy it. But Amazon reviews also influence trade buyers, the people who make bulk book purchases for bookstores and libraries.

Currently Prosper! has 11 reviews on Amazon that give it a combined 4.5 star rating (out of a possible 5). We're hoping those in the Peak Prosperity audience who have now read the book can help us double or triple the total number of reviews.

If you've read Prosper!, please take a moment to go here and submit a review (click the grey 'Write a review' button)

We're not trying to color the type of review you write -- please just give your honest feedback. We're hopeful that the vast majority of you found it valuable enough that the current rating will maintain or improve.

Cost to you of Step 1: $0 and five minutes of your time.

2) Email Your Local Library(ies)

Librarians do indeed listen to their customers. If they get pointed requests for a specific book, they will investigate acquiring it.

Send an email to your local library (or libraries) and ask them if they have a copy of Prosper! in stock. If they don't, advise them to procure a copy or two, for the benefit of the community.

Here's a short template you're welcome to copy & paste. Feel free to edit in any way:

Dear local library -

Do you have a copy of the following book in stock?
 
 
The book is authored by Chris Martenson and Adam Taggart and is available in print (ISBN: 978-1937832766), e-book (ISBN: 978-1937832773), and audio (ISBN: 978-1478935407)
 
If you don't yet carry Prosper! in stock, I highly recommend ordering it for your library's collection. It's a very well-written resource that provides actionable guidance on what each of us can do to insulate ourselves from the unsustainable trends in our economy, energy systems and environment -- while improving our lives (and those of the next generation) in the process.
 
It's exactly the kind of resource I value my local library carrying.
 
Your local resident,
[Name]

Cost to you of Step 2: $0 and two minutes of your time.

3) Share The Book

If you've already read Prosper!, hand it to someone who hasn't.

If you have people in your life you think would benefit from its insights -- parents, siblings, children, neighbors, friends, students, community leaders, elected officials -- buy more copies and share them liberally.

The new year starts tomorrow. For the next few weeks, people will be in a rare frame of mind where they're open to changing their behavior more than perhaps at any other time of year. Seize that window to plant a few seeds. Hopefully they'll germinate over 2016...

Cost to you of Step 3: $18 per book (or less, depending on where you buy it).

But if those you care about engage with you more on the topics it covers -- it could be your best investment of the year...

 

If you're able to help us with any or all of the above, we appreciate it greatly. And whether you're able to or not, we wish you the happiest of New Years!

~ Adam & Chris

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://peakprosperity.com/boosting-our-message/

2

Thanks Adam & Chris. Gave copies to the family for the holidays, good idea to keep getting the word out in the new year. Change is a Bear!   enlightened

3

…re this "high leverage point", where our individual contributions can make an even bigger difference

Leverage is the ratio of change in output to change in input. A leverage point is a place in a system where force can be applied. A low leverage point is a place in a system where a small amount of force causes a small change to system behavior.

A high leverage point is a place in a system where a small amount of change force (the effort required to prepare and make a change) causes a large amount of predictable, favorable  response.

[bold mine]

www.thwink.org (2009), from: http://www.37ds.com/myfiles/Leverage_points.pdf

P.S.  Adam, can you add access to the "table of contents" etc. for "Prosper!" on Amazon.com (as well as the back cover, 1st pages, and "Surprise Me!" per usual for Amazon books)?  I know I use those features a lot when deciding whether I am interested in buying a book, and I bet potential buyers of "Prosper!" would like to use them as well.  Thanks.
4

The idea of "Creating a World Worth Inheriting" is a great guide to "Creating a sensible lifestyle". 
Like you, we have opted to live in the country. Every time we drive home, back onto our property, we breath a sigh of relief and are incredibly thankful to be able to experience nature and gardens and some semblance of a sustainable lifestyle. At the same time, with the internet and UPS we are still connected to the larger world.

I would highly encourage everyone to consider moving out to the country if at all possible.

5

don't  encourage everyone to move away from Metrotopia to the wilderness.
farmer rob

6

How stupid of me…

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For those of us on Goodreads, we can do a ton for the exposure of The Crash Course and Prosper. Fifty Shades of Grey was jump started by Goodreads. Imagine what an impact we could make if Chris and Adam's books got that kind of exposure. 

  1. Go to "listopia" and search for lists related to self-sufficiency, sustainability, and finance, and anything else you can think of. Then add Chris and Adam's books to the list if they're not there already. If they are vote for them! These lists are viewed OFTEN, but the votes needed to put a book at the top are very low.

  2. Join groups that are book clubs and suggest the books for review.

  3. Rate the book on your shelf and write a review.

  4. If you haven't read the book, put it on your To-Read shelf.

  5. If you're not on Goodreads, join. You can find tons of books in every genre, and help Chris and Adam along the way.

Seriously, you could do everything on the list above in under an hour. It took me thirty minutes.

 

8

It is written mainly for people who are not nearly as far down the rabbit hole as we are on this site.
I think it sets the right tone. Inevitably, some will be turned off in the first 10-15 pages, but I believe this book will reach a lot of people and I'm going to give it 5 stars on Amazon.

Try to think of somebody you know that would be open to the PP message if presented in a non-threatening manner and then give them this book!