Experiment 3: Can I Achieve Five Sales of Design Your Next Decade?

The Question

Can I achieve five total sales of Design Your Next Decade?

The first sale proved that someone was willing to pay for the guide. The next challenge is to discover whether that result can be repeated.

Because one copy has already sold, this experiment requires four additional sales.

Why This Experiment Matters

One sale can happen for many reasons. Five sales would provide stronger evidence that the product, message and promotion are beginning to connect with an audience.

The purpose is not simply to sell four more copies. It is to learn which promotional activities are most effective and whether they can form the beginnings of a repeatable sales process.

The Approach

During this experiment, I will test several ways of promoting the guide, including:

  • improved email campaigns;
  • clearer website content;
  • social media posts;
  • previews and extracts from the guide;
  • practical exercises readers can try;
  • stronger calls to action;
  • follow-up promotion to people who showed interest but did not buy.

Each activity will be treated as a small test. I will record what I did, what happened and what I learned.

Success Measure

The experiment will be considered successful when Design Your Next Decade reaches five total sales.

Starting point: 1 sale
Target: 5 total sales
Additional sales required: 4

What I Hope to Learn

This experiment will explore:

  • which messages attract the most interest;
  • which promotional channels lead to sales;
  • whether practical content performs better than direct selling;
  • how often the product needs to be promoted;
  • what prevents interested readers from buying;
  • whether the first sale can become the beginning of a repeatable process.

What Happens Next

I will begin with a second email campaign featuring one practical exercise from the guide: Three Possible Futures.

Rather than repeating the original launch message, the email will give readers something useful to try and then invite them to explore the complete guide.

The goal is simple: move from one successful sale to five—and learn what it takes to make that happen.