Amazon Best Seller Book: You WON'T BELIEVE What Became #1

About this video

Dale Roberts recounts a blog post by professional ghostwriter, editor, and book coach James Ranson about Brent Underwood’s book ‘Putting My Foot Down.’ According to the account Roberts relays, Underwood priced the book at $1, sold three copies within the first day — including copies Underwood admitted to purchasing himself — and the title became an Amazon #1 bestseller in its category, earning the orange bestseller flag on its product page. Roberts stresses the catch: the interior was nothing more than a picture of Underwood’s foot, the cover was made with the KDP cover creator using the same foot image, and the category choice was not even appropriate. Roberts says Underwood was not trying to scam Amazon but to expose how flawed the system is and how hollow the Amazon #1 bestseller title can be, after becoming exhausted with phony authors and scam artists. Roberts warns viewers not to chase the Amazon title for vanity or expect it to pay bills, and says larger measures of success are reputable lists such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Businessweek. He argues anyone can become an Amazon #1 bestseller with proper timing, strategy, and category placement, and teases a follow-up video on doing so in 30 days without paying thousands to a self-publishing guru.

Key takeaways

• As relayed from James Ranson’s post, Brent Underwood’s ‘Putting My Foot Down’ became an Amazon #1 bestseller after selling only three copies in a day, per the creator account in the video
• The book’s interior was just a photo of Underwood’s foot and the cover reused that image, yet it still received Amazon’s orange bestseller flag for its category
• Roberts says Underwood’s stated aim was to expose flaws in Amazon’s system and the hollowness of the #1 bestseller label, not to scam Amazon
• Roberts warns the Amazon bestseller title alone will not pay bills and points to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Businessweek lists as more reputable measures
• Roberts claims timing, strategy, and category placement are what drive an Amazon category #1, rather than sales volume alone

Episode details: published August 15, 2017 · 3:01 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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