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March 2025 Income Report

April 25 2025 – 04:23pm

To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon »

March’s revenue was $3,974, up from January’s $3,658. Profits were $802, up from February’s -$983.

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Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck

Well, this isn’t good. After a record-low-profit, indeed losing money last month, we have the third-lowest-profit since I started writing these reports seven years ago.

My total profit three months into 2025 is less than $2,000, which would be well below-average even if it were for one month.

Shit. This sucks. It’s an emergency, and I could use your help. Read on…

Join the Patreon

I usually save this for later, but I’ll put it right at the top. Join the Patreon at the $5 level, especially if you’re anticipating my next book.

The thing that makes this business tough is the long periods of time between major books. If Finish What Matters does as well as Mind Management, I stand to make tens or even a hundred thousand dollars. The problem is, writing a book of that quality takes years of effort, and I can write a better book when I’m not digging into my savings.

Not that the Patreon is charity. There are now dozens of bonus videos, podcasts, and screencasts you’ll have access to as a Patreon backer.

New on Patreon: Finish What Matters Files

My latest addition to the Patreon is an hour-long video in which I talk about the chapter I’m currently working on for FWM. The purpose of this video is twofold: One, to give you a preview of what’s to come. Two, to give you a behind-the-scenes peek of how talking about my ideas is a part of my writing process.

I think this chapter is an absolute banger, with some very compelling history you’ve never heard before about how the Raphael world deliberately distorted the true process of Leonardo minds.

Join the Patreon at the $5 level and watch/listen to this and many more bonuses.

Reviving Mind Management

A major reason profits are down is because sales of my magnum opus, Mind Management, inexplicably fell off a cliff at the beginning of the year.

Part of this is probably because the price has been $9.99 for longer than ever, as I try to secure a Kindle Deal or BookBub Featured Deal. Part of it is because I’ve had no Kindle Deal nor BookBub Featured Deal.

Part of it is just a mystery.

So, I’ve set aside some front-burner energy I would have otherwise used to write my next book to troubleshoot and come up with a plan for reviving this one.

2025-afied, updated description

One way I’m reviving MMT is by updating the description on Amazon. As the pace of AI development accelerates, I feel the book is more relevant than ever, but that wasn’t reflected in the sales description, which was from 2020.

The old description was very focused on questioning the time-management paradigm, and its stressful elements. The new description focuses more on something that’s always been central to the book’s thesis: that in a world where our traditional ideas of what it means to be productive are crumbling, the way forward is to embrace our unique creativity as humans.

Appropriately, I wrote this new description with a lot of help from ChatGPT. To be clear, ChatGPT didn’t write the description – not in the slightest. But I used it as a writing partner to help me think through what I wanted to communicate, and how to communicate it. Maybe I’ll talk about the process more on a Patreon bonus (let me know if that interests you).

I’ve updated the description for the Kindle version, but have yet to transfer those changes to other formats and channels.

Expanded A+ content

Another way I’m reviving MMT is by expanding the “A+ content” on the book’s Amazon page – that’s the part that goes under “From the Publisher.” I previously only had a banner for the book, with a quote from a Kirkus review.

I’ve now added a module with graphics from the book, illuminating some of the key concepts.

I also realized I could add a “comparison chart,” on which I could feature many of my other books.

I’m so excited about the comparison chart, I’ve added it to the pages for ZET and HTS.

It’s hard to test things like this, but I see the A+ content at the very least as a large area of real estate that you, the publisher, get to control, on a page that Amazon fills with so many other books.

Unscientifically, I changed the description and added the A+ content on the same day. The next day, I had my biggest sales spike in months.

But, now that I look closer, the majority of that spike is paperback sales. Kindle sales were about the same.

This is a lesson in how you have to be careful what you conclude from your data. The description isn’t changed on the paperback, and paperback sales don’t tend to show up in the stats until they’ve shipped, usually about two days after purchase. So the cause for this modest spike remains a mystery.

Goodreads Giveaway

Also unscientifically, the day after I changed the description and A+ content was also the day my Goodreads Giveaway for MMT ended. The giveaway has increased the number of readers who’ve added the book to their to-read shelves, by about 3,000.

The huge spike at the beginning of the giveaway didn’t increase sales, and that’s when I would most expect them to increase, aside from right after winners are announced. I can’t see any reason the final days of the giveaway would coincide with a spike in sales, as you might as well wait to see if you’ve won.

The giveaway is over, and I’ve now sent out twelve paperbacks to winners. The expense from those books will be in next month’s report. The fee in addition to that was $119, which is in this month’s report.

Based on not seeing any impact on book sales, it’s not clear the Goodreads Giveaway was #worthit for me.

Pricing promotion in the works

The final thing I’m doing to revive MMT is run a pricing promotion. I’ve kept the price at $9.99 for ten months, in hopes of landing a pricing promotion with Amazon or BookBub, but since that hasn’t happened, I’ll have to roll my own.

As you can see, with my pricing history superimposed over my Amazon-rank history, nothing sells books like a pricing promotion, and the long period at $9.99 has given my rank a beating.

So, I’ve temporarily dropped the price of MMT on Kindle, big time. I don’t even want to write the price here. If you’re interested, check it out. Heck, buy one even if you already have it. It would help a lot.

Click on a star rating?

I could use your help in reviving Mind Management. Could you please click on a star rating?

If you have a second to write a few words for a review, that’s a bonus, but even just clicking on a star rating helps.

Cutting advertising expenses

My ROI on book advertising has been pretty terrible the past couple months. After averaging 172% for a year, I had a -5% ROI in February, and 23% this month. So, I’m cutting back on advertising expenses. This month’s ad expenses are still pretty high, in part because they include some influencer marketing and the Goodreads Giveaway.

Design for Hackers still making money!

Incredibly, Design for Hackers, which I wrote almost fifteen years ago now, is still making money. I got one of my bi-annual payments this month: D4H has made $411 for me this six-month period.

Income

Book Sales

Misc. Products

Affiliates / Advertising

Reader Support

Services

Expenses

General

Advertising

Hosting

This post is filed under Income Reports.