Amazing Twitter Book Sales Success Story

Last Friday, Steve Ouch did something amazing - he sold 200 copies of his children's book, SteamPotVille, in 15 hours using only the power of Twitter!

As a self-published author looking to fund a book tour next summer, Steve was given a challenge by his banker.  "Sell 200 books in one day and I'll approve your financing," his banker told him. This would seem a daunting task for a new author with a debut book both written and illustrated by himself.

But not Steve. The wildly creative (and maybe eccentric) author turned to his followers on Twitter - over 10,000 of them. For a period of 15 hours he posted info on his book and pleaded for his followers to buy it that day. Followers cheered him on and he publicly thanked everyone who stepped up to the challenge. He just about tweeted himself silly (if he cold get any more silly) but in the end, he did it. He sold 200 books in one day. Take that Mr. Banker!

And SteamPotVille? It's wonderful! I bought a signed copy for my daughter from Steve when I first joined Twitter. He was after all, my very first follower; I owed him that. It's an eclectic, eye-popping, quirky, and magical book. Kind of like an I-Spy book on acid.  Its silly characters, unusual visual elements, and bright colors really appeal to kids (and I like it too).

Would a Twitter campaign like this work for everyone? Probably not. Steve already had a well-established group of followers (a captive audience of sorts). They already liked him and didn't get offended by his blatant requests for orders. As a fledgling Twitter junkie, this wouldn't work for me (yet!). Still, it's a great demonstration of the power of Twitter.

Congratulations Steve!

Comments

[Mom]

O, to be so eccentric.