31 Aug How to Become a USA Today Best Seller

ANNOUNCEMENT:  On November 7th, 2023, an announcement was made that the Wall Street Journal bestseller list had been dropped.

I also wrote an article about this here: Wall Street Journal list stopping the bestseller list.

Original article below before the announcement was made:

Becoming a USA Today Best Seller is a great goal to have!

USA Today ranks the top 150 books in the nation and puts them all in one best seller list.  This includes all genres such as fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, etc.

Many authors dream of hitting the USA Today Best Seller list not only for the credibility and the title, but for the visibility and exposure that being on this national list offers.

Sometimes books organically hit the USA Today Best Seller list (especially for celebrities and well known authors), but if you’re a self-published author or with a hybrid publisher, it’s best not to leave things to chance and instead prepare a strategic book launch with the intention of hitting this top-tier best seller list.

I have been helping my clients hit the USA Today Best Seller list since 2018.  I also became a USA Today bestselling author myself for one of my books in June of 2021!  So I know what it takes to hit this list and that’s what I want to share with you here.

How to Become a USA Today Best Seller can happen when you have the right plan.  

Here are some things you should know if you want to hit the list:

1. Select your Launch week (7 days).
2. Sell 5,000 to 6,000 books in a one week period.
3. Use email partners or hire promoters like Book Bub who can get your book massive exposure during launch week.
4. Even though Amazon is the number one place people go to purchase books, you must have at least 500+ sales on another platform other than Amazon to hit the list such as Barnes and Noble, Apple books etc.
5. I’ve done launches with pre orders and launches without pre orders so you can do it either way.  If you set up a pre order months ahead of time, you can start collecting sales so that on launch week all those sales count towards the bestseller launch.  It’s important to know that Amazon lets you set up a preorder one year out and Barnes and Noble only does so for a 3 month period.
6. Promote on social media, large FB groups, write blog posts, affiliates, joint ventures, etc.  You can also run Amazon ads, Book Bub ads and PPC ads, but know that Amazon ads and Book Bub ads are less effective for short term boosts.
7. You can offer an incentive for people to purchase on a certain date or do a giveaway.  I’ve seen many authors do this.  I did not use this strategy.
8. Hitting this prestigious list doesn’t happen for most authors as it requires a tremendous amount of marketing as well publishing the book the right way.
9. Put your book in additional categories on Amazon for more exposure because during launch week you want to show up on as many bestseller lists as possible.
10. USA Today counts sales from Monday to Sunday each week and only sales in the US count.
11. Your eBook must be priced at .99 or higher (no freebies).
12. The USA Today Best Seller list is available the following week of your launch on a Wednesday and sometimes as late as Thursdays.

It goes without saying that even if you hit all the numbers, if you didn’t publish the right way (such as you forgot to get a separate ISBN for your eBook), then you might not hit the list. 

Many people know that some lists are curated and that they can delist a book even if it hits all the numbers.  This especially is true for New York Times.  In my experience, I have not seen USA Today do this.  It is one of the lists that is based predominantly on sales.

Top 3 benefits to hitting the USA Today best sellers list:

• VISIBILITY:  It’s a crowded marketplace and everyone is vying for attention.  How are you going to stand out?  Hitting a top-tier bestsellers list like the USA Today Best Seller List will give you massive visibility (and credibility) which will allow you to reach people who don’t know you so you can bring them into your world.
• MORE MEDIA ATTENTION:  The media loves authors and they especially love “bestselling authors” because they can use the book as the topic and focus of their story.  Once you have a bestselling book you will have a lot more doors of opportunities opening to you that you didn’t have before.
• NEW CLIENTS AND CUSTOMERS:  Depending on what type of business you have, once you have a book on the USA Today best seller list, as a result of that increased visibility, new clients and customers will seek you out.  It is the difference between being the hunted rather than the hunter.  

Now let’s talk about 3 of the indirect benefits to hitting the USA Today best sellers list:

• INCREASED SALES AND INCOME:  Many of my bestselling authors have increased their prices as a result of the exposure they get from having their book on these popular bestseller lists.  Depending on what you are selling, many entrepreneurs and business owners can only take on a limited number of clients, so they have to increase their prices because of higher demand.  Author Perry Marshall said that he increased his consulting fees 500% when he published and launched his first bestselling book.  
• YOU ARE NO LONGER THE “BEST KEPT SECRET” IN YOUR INDUSTRY:  You can’t own an idea if nobody knows it’s yours; that’s why writing a book and sharing your ideas is the best way to show your authority and point of view.  Getting your book on a prestigious bestseller list like the USA Today Best Sellers list is a great way for people to know who you are.  
• A NEW STRATOSPHERE OF RECOGNITION:  Once you write a book and become a best selling author you will attract fans of your work.  People will recognize your name and associate you with your best selling book.  A percentage of those people will be the DIY type people who will read your book and implement it and others will become your clients because they see you as the expert and consequently want to hire you to help them implement the ideas in your book.

It goes without saying that you need a high-quality book if you want to hit a prestigious list like the USA Today bestseller list.