Creator Science

#182: Noah Kagan — Behind the scenes of writing (and marketing) Million Dollar Weekend

Feb 20, 2024

01:03:37

Snipd AI

Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo, shares his journey of writing 'Million Dollar Weekend' and marketing strategies. From traditional publishing challenges to successful book proposals and beta reader feedback, he discusses audience building, self-improvement, and packaging ideas effectively for content impact.

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Quick takeaways

Iterating based on feedback is crucial for book development.

Collaboration with experts enhances content quality and challenges assumptions.

Traditional publishing offers editing support and wider distribution benefits.

Deep dives

The Journey from Proposal to Book

Noah Kagan shares his experience of turning a book proposal into a published book. He initially faced rejection from an agent but used that setback to improve his proposal over the course of a year. The final book ended up deviating from the original proposal in terms of chapter structure and titles. Noah emphasizes the importance of testing and iterating, whether it's cover designs, subtitles, or chapter organization.

Quality Over Quantity in Content Creation

02:05

Investing in Book Publishing

01:21

Working Backwards from Goal to Achieve Book Sales

01:33

Regret about Lack of Page Layout Detail

00:59

Introduction

3min

Navigating Traditional Publishing and Personal Branding

11min

Exploring the Journey of Writing a Book

4min

Navigating Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing

22min

Exploring Packaging Ideas, A/B Testing Titles, and Ghostwriter Costs

5min

Strategies for Marketing a Book and Customer-Centric Approach

3min

The Impact of Beta Reader Feedback

14min

Reflections on Writing a Second Book and Audience Engagement

3min

Noah Kagan is the CEO of AppSumo, an 8 figure company that is the #1 software deals site. He also runs a YouTube channel where he shares his tips for finding financial freedom with more than 930,000 subscribers.

Before AppSumo, he was the 30th employee at Facebook reporting directly to Mark Zuckerberg and the 4th employee at mint.com.

Noah has built this reputation for being a relentless tinkerer. He's constantly running small experiments. A couple weeks ago, Noah's new book, Million Dollar Weekend, officially became available for sale. And since that time, he's been everywhere. The Tim Ferriss Show, School of Greatness, Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal. In this episode, you'll learn about his experience making the book itself.

Full transcript and show notes

Buy Million Dollar Weekend

Listen to my episode with David Moldawer

Listen to our publishing playlist

Noah's Website / YouTube / Twitter / Instagram / LinkedIn

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RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE

→ #163: David Moldawer

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