
How the Author of Atomic Habits ACTUALLY Makes Money | James Clear | 143
When James Clear last spoke on the Craft & Commerce stage, Atomic Habits hadn't even been released. Now, it's sold over 30 million copies worldwide. I was delighted to welcome James back to the same stage 8 years later to unpack what he’s learned from creating one of the bestselling books of the last decade. In this conversation, James shares his insights on how to create a timeless product, how he built an email list of over 4 million subscribers, and the revolutionary publishing model he’s building with Authors Equity. James also answers burning questions from the audience on simplifying complex ideas, building lasting entrepreneurial friendships, protecting your identity as a creator in public, and James’s personal mission in life. If you’ve ever wondered what goes into creating a bestselling book, I think you’ll get a lot out of this episode. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:07 Expectations for Atomic Habits' success 02:54 Selling 30M+ copies 04:48 Timeless marketing principles 07:18 Positioning for long-term book sales 09:39 Building the world's largest single-author newsletter 12:44 Current effective growth tactics 14:01 Cross-pollinating platforms for growth 16:51 The vision behind Authors Equity 20:51 The Atomic Habits tipping point 23:09 Why books are an underrated business model 24:48 Simplifying complex ideas 27:54 Cultivating lasting entrepreneur friendships 31:33 Protecting your identity as a public creator 35:30 Why choose traditional publishing over self-publishing? 39:17 Mining for stories and metaphors 43:24 What makes Authors Equity different? 48:50 Daily habits for rebuilding momentum 51:50 James’s life mission 54:24 Authors Equity: working with self-published authors 58:05 James's parting thoughts: 10-year and 1-hour timeframes If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one. Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show Follow Nathan: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarry X: https://twitter.com/nathanbarry YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshow Website: https://nathanbarry.com Kit: https://kit.com Follow James: Website: https://jamesclear.com Newsletter: https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1 X: https://twitter.com/jamesclear LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesclear Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesclear Featured in this episode: Kit: https://www.kit.com Atomic Habits: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits Authors Equity: https://www.authorsequity.com Highlights: 02:10 - James's initial expectations for Atomic Habits 09:39 - How James built the world's largest single-author newsletter 23:09 - Why books are an underrated business model 48:50 - James’s daily habits for rebuilding momentum 51:50 - James’s life mission
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