Status: In Progress
Started: July 2026
The Question
Can I successfully relaunch the second edition of Experiments in Personal Change using AI-assisted content creation and digital marketing?
This experiment will explore whether one author can use artificial intelligence, a website, social media, email marketing, search engine optimisation and Amazon KDP to bring an older book back to life and help it reach a new audience.
The Background
I first published Experiments in Personal Change in 2015.
The book introduced a simple idea:
Instead of trying to change your life perfectly, approach personal change as a series of experiments.
Eleven years later, I decided to revisit the book.
I had changed. The world had changed. The tools available to writers and independent publishers had changed dramatically.
In 2015, I relied on other people for services such as editing, design and book production.
In 2026, I was able to use artificial intelligence and digital publishing tools to help me:
- Review and revise the manuscript
- Challenge outdated ideas
- Improve the structure
- Explore alternative wording
- Format the book
- Develop the cover
- Prepare the book for Amazon KDP
- Create marketing content
- Plan the relaunch
AI did not provide the lived experience, stories, judgement or ideas at the centre of the book.
It acted as a collaborator and tool.
The next question is whether those same digital tools can help the revised book find readers.
Why This Experiment Matters
Publishing a book is easier than it was in 2015.
Getting people to notice and read a book may be just as difficult—or possibly even more difficult.
Millions of books, articles, videos, newsletters and social media posts are competing for attention.
This experiment is not simply about trying to sell more copies.
It is an opportunity to learn how different parts of a modern digital business can work together:
- A book
- A website
- A blog
- Email marketing
- Amazon
- Search engines
- Artificial intelligence
- Personal storytelling
- Audience building
The experiment will also help me explore an important future-skills question:
What becomes possible when one person can use AI to perform work that previously required a small team?
The Hypothesis
My starting hypothesis is:
A steady series of useful, honest and relevant pieces of content will be more effective than repeatedly asking people to buy the book.
Rather than relying on one large launch announcement, I will share the ideas, stories and experiments behind the book over time.
The book will sit at the centre of a wider collection of content about personal change, curiosity, lifelong learning and experimentation.
The aim is to market the ideas first and allow interested readers to discover the book naturally.
The Approach
The relaunch will be treated as a series of smaller experiments.
1. Create a Permanent Home for the Book
I will create a dedicated page on Life Is a Laboratory explaining:
- What the book is about
- Who it is for
- What is new in the second edition
- Why I returned to it after eleven years
- Where readers can buy it
[Explore Experiments in Personal Change]
2. Share the Story of the New Edition
I will publish content about the process of revisiting a book first written in 2015.
This will include a Future Skills Friday post comparing the experience of publishing a book in 2015 with publishing one in 2026.
3. Market the Ideas Within the Book
Instead of focusing only on promotional posts, I will create useful content based on themes from the book, including:
- Goals as a compass, not a stick
- Failure as feedback
- Curiosity as a tool for change
- Beginner’s mind and the beginner’s advantage
- One meaningful thing today
- Small risks create big changes
- Learning from experience
- Life as a series of experiments
Each piece of content can stand on its own while also pointing interested readers towards the book.
4. Use Several Digital Channels
I will test a combination of:
- LifeIsALaboratory.com
- Amazon KDP
- Search engine optimisation
- YouTube, where appropriate
The objective is not to be active everywhere all the time.
It is to discover which channels, messages and ideas produce meaningful engagement.
5. Document the Process
I will record:
- What I tried
- Why I tried it
- What happened
- What worked
- What did not work
- What surprised me
- What I will change next
The results will shape the next stage of the experiment.
What Will I Measure?
Book sales are important, but they will not be the only measure of success.
I will monitor:
- Kindle sales
- Paperback sales
- Amazon page visits, where data is available
- Visits to the book page on my website
- Clicks from my website to Amazon
- Search engine traffic
- LinkedIn views and engagement
- Email responses and link clicks
- Reader comments
- Book reviews
- Newsletter subscriptions
- Which topics attract the strongest response
I will also record less measurable outcomes, such as new ideas, conversations, connections and lessons learned.
The Starting Position
At the beginning of the experiment:
- The revised second edition has been published through Amazon KDP.
- The book is available in Kindle and paperback formats.
- Life Is a Laboratory already provides a natural home for the book’s central idea.
- I have an existing LinkedIn network and a weekly Future Skills Friday series.
- I have experience creating courses, articles and videos.
- I do not yet have a proven system for marketing this book.
- The relaunch is beginning with curiosity rather than certainty.
This gives me a useful baseline from which to observe what changes.
What Does Success Look Like?
There is no single sales figure that will determine whether this experiment succeeds or fails.
Success could include:
- Reaching readers who find the book useful
- Generating consistent book sales over time
- Receiving genuine reader reviews
- Increasing traffic to Life Is a Laboratory
- Growing the email list
- Learning which messages connect with people
- Developing a repeatable book-marketing process
- Creating useful content from the ideas in the book
- Becoming more comfortable sharing and promoting my work
Even an approach that produces few sales may still provide valuable evidence about what not to do next.
In a laboratory, an unexpected result is still a result.
Experiment Log
July 2026: The Experiment Begins
The second edition of Experiments in Personal Change was completed and published through Amazon KDP.
The first step in the relaunch is to create two connected pages:
- A permanent page introducing the book to potential readers
- This experiment page documenting the marketing process
The first major piece of public content will compare the process of producing a book in 2015 with producing one in 2026 with the help of AI.
Next Actions
- Publish the permanent book page
- Add Kindle and paperback purchase links
- Publish the 2015 versus 2026 Future Skills Friday post
- Introduce the book through LinkedIn and Facebook
- Identify existing articles that can link to the book page
- Develop a simple email announcement
- Record the initial website and sales data
- Decide on the next small marketing test
Early Reflections
Reframing the book launch as an experiment has already changed how I feel about it.
The idea of launching and selling a book can feel uncomfortable and intimidating.
Researching how to launch a book feels interesting.
The practical actions may be almost identical, but the mindset is different.
Instead of asking:
How do I persuade people to buy my book?
I can ask:
What can I test, what can I learn, and what genuinely helps the book reach the right readers?
That is much closer to the philosophy of the book itself.
The relaunch is not simply marketing Experiments in Personal Change.
The relaunch is another experiment in personal change.
Follow the Experiment
I will update this page as the experiment develops, including the actions taken, results, mistakes, surprises and lessons learned.