How Noah Kagan blew up his book

Hey.

Big moves happening at the Emal household. I set up a little putt-putt golf in my home office. Oh, and I started sharing my diary as a solopreneur every weeknight which has been a sweet exercise.

So I’m firing from all cylinders today.

This past weekend, I immersed myself in the story of a guy I’ve followed for years: Noah Kagan. I remember reading articles on OKdork.com when I was just starting as a marketer.

Noah had a stellar marketing campaign to release his book last week, so let’s figure out what went so well.

What went viral?

Noah Kagan released his book, "Million Dollar Weekend". The launch was a masterclass in book marketing and ended up reaching far corners of the internet (and soared up book charts).

Why did it go viral?

A lot of reasons (which we’ll dive into in just a sec). But for now, you could chalk it up to 3 core ideas:

1. Friend marketing

2. Podcast tour

3. Special customer experience

Let’s dive deeper…

Here’s my brain dump of every reason this worked (pay close attention for ideas you can steal):

1/ Customer experience

Noah had a list of big supporters that he wanted to delight. He shipped them founder packages with a nice box, signed book, and even a $1 bill to fund their next business. He also did a twitter giveaway for people who took photos of MDW at bookstores — and offered $100 to 10 of the best ones.

2/ Friend marketing

Noah clearly planned ahead. He had a gameplan with each of his friends to share the book in some capacity. It didn’t come across like he gave them a script, either. Just genuine comments, predictably sourced with a list of supporters he could count on.

3/ Leaving crumbs

Noah’s been sharing tidbits about the book for a while now, giving a sneak peek into what to expect. It made the launch seem like the book was already out, but now getting tons of fanfare (as opposed to hearing about the thing for the first time).

4/ Podcast tour

Noah went on podcast big and small the week of his launch. He was free and open about giving away content from the book and diving into WHY those principles are important.

5/ Reciprocity

Noah's built an audience on the back of helping others figure out how to become millionaires. People who have followed since the OK Dork days feel a level of loyalty and gratitude for the info shared over the years, and were happy to share and buy when the time came.

Bonus point

Color theory.

This book is green, which stands out surprisingly well on bookshelves.

Action Items (what to learn for yourself):

✅ Build a friend CRM

The impactful work that leads to an S-tier marketing launch starts years before. Focus on building a list of all the people you know, from your closest friends and family to new acquaintances and DM-ers. Update their records with tidbits about who they are, what you’ve talked about, how you’ve helped them, etc. When it’s time to cash in a favor, you have an organized list and can run a targeted “friend marketing” campaign.

✅ Prep a podcast tour

Depending on your audience size, some podcasts may be easier to get on than others. If you’re more the micro-influencer size right now, you can still execute this strategy of touring on podcasts effectively. You’ll just need to increase your volume. Going on 35 podcasts in a few weeks will drum up attention, especially if you share the content like crazy. Give yourself a chance to expand on the story you tell in your book (or product, or whatever you’re launching).

✅ Send a golden horse

But not a trojan one. Craft a beautiful package or gift that most other marketers wouldn’t be willing to assemble. Find your list of top 50 influencers/friends you want to share this golden horse with. If it’s beautiful, valuable, and unique…they’ll share it online. And it’ll be some of the best press you can get.

That’s all this week!

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Til next time,
Blake

P.S. What viral marketing idea do YOU want me to dive deeper into next time? Reply to this email — I’ll give you a shoutout if i pick your idea.