Posted the article Why most nonfiction fails to make money with a slightly tweaked headline on HN and it took off.
Good reminder that in marketing effort and results aren't correlated. They behave in a non-linear (perhaps convex way). I.e. try a bunch of stuff and something blows up.
As I said in my previous update, I'm not watching the numbers yet. I'm solely focussed on keeping my nose to the grindstone and focussing on leading indicators.
I'll analyze all our limited data (Fathom analytics due to user privacy) in early May and then we'll see.
I have some experience with HN for Youngling Research and know that their traffic typically doesn't convert too well.
So while I'm not expecting for Useful Books to be rolling in cash, I'll happily take every little bit of growth I can. One step at a time, and we'll get to our destination.
I suspect there will be positive second order effects. Namely, at least an order of magnitude more people saw our product than those who took the time to comment/upvote. That's quite expensive exposure at the cost of putting the link up. Again, I'll take it. Those people might become customers at some point, or if someone they know wants to write a non-fiction book, they might point them to us.
Alright, quick little update. Hope it was useful.
RJY (Marketing @ Useful Books)