Josh Kaufman, bestselling author of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business, shares the systems behind selling over one million books. Topics include using SEO techniques to reach target audiences, designing an effective book-selling website, and creating unique audiobook experiences with original scores and sound effects. Also discussed are long-term book marketing strategies and the importance of consistently adding small actions over time.
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insights INSIGHT
Be Where Learners Search
Josh emphasizes being present where people search for business topics so you can educate them in the moment.
He uses targeted content to convert curiosity into awareness of his book as a relevant resource.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Turn Topic Pages Into Sales Funnels
Create SEO-optimized topic pages with excerpts from your book to serve search intent and show value.
Include clear purchase links, bio, and newsletter signup on each page to convert readers into buyers.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Use Reusable Sales Blocks
Insert a reusable header/footer block across pages so you can update sales links centrally.
Use visible CTAs and free-audio promotions to capture attention and drive conversions.
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“The biggest breakthroughs came from the random side projects that I had no expectation would turn into anything.” Josh Kaufman is a longtime friendtor (13 years and counting!) who I admire for his streamlined approach to running his business in a way that supports family life and creative solitude.
In our last conversation we spoke about releasing the ten-year anniversary edition of his bestselling book, The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business, that has since surpassed the one million books sold milestone. Today we’re diving into the systems behind that success.
More About Josh: Josh Kaufman’s research and books focus on business, entrepreneurship, skill acquisition, productivity, creativity, applied psychology, and practical wisdom. Josh's unique, multidisciplinary approach to business mastery and rapid skill acquisition has helped millions of readers around the world learn essential concepts and skills on their own terms. Josh's TEDx talk on The First 20 Hours is one of the top 25 most-viewed TED talks published to date, with over 37 million views on YouTube.
If you set-up SEO-optimized topic pages for discoverability with excerpts from your book, do not create a central navigation page that might detract from book sales. The pages don’t need to be linked together, but you can link to a few related concepts. Include ways to purchase the book across all formats, as well as a small bio and newsletter sign-up embed.
Figure out where your people are, figure out what they want, how to talk to them, and then just keep doing it day after day after day. The more you invest that effort in creating, the more your work will last.
📝 Permission
Try more random experiments, things where you don’t know whether or not it will work. Things you’re curious about, that pique your attention. “The biggest breakthroughs come from the random side projects that I had no expectation would turn into anything.”
Free Time with Jenny Blake 