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Jul 14, 2016 · 21m · top-founders

Ep 355: Why He Spent $1M to Sell 55k Copies of His Book, "Ask" with Ryan Levesque

Ryan Levesque · 11m spoken Nathan Latka · 8m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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In this episode of 'The Top,' host Nathan Latka interviews entrepreneur Ryan Levesque about investing $1 million into his bestselling book 'Ask' as a loss-leader authority engine. Levesque details his journey scaling the Ask Method from niche businesses and high-ticket consulting into a multi-million-dollar educational enterprise.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 43.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.0 Guest teaching 3.5 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 3.2
05100:0010:0020:001:15–4:06 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Introducing Ryan Levesque and the Ask Method Nathan roleplays as a hyper-critical Amazon reviewer calling Ryan's rags-to-riches story disingenuous, which Ryan amiably agrees with and contextualizes as inevitable polarized feedback.4:07–7:07 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Publishing Economics and the One Million Dollar Investment Nathan drills into the financials of book publishing, prompting Ryan to reveal he spent $1M out of pocket and explain the punishing unit economics of free-plus-shipping funnels internationally.7:11–10:15 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Future Book Advances and Podcast Marketing Strategies Nathan pushes past vague answers to get Ryan's target advance range of $250k-$500k, after which Ryan educates listeners on why podcast tours vastly outperform affiliate partner email blasts.10:17–15:26 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Pivoting from High-Ticket Consulting to Education at Scale Ryan details his high-ticket consulting structure of retainers, upfront copy fees, and 5-10% royalties, while Nathan astutely points out the strategic leverage of using client ad budgets to refine funnels.15:27–18:29 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Course Conversion Impact and Resources at AskMethod.com Nathan attempts to pinpoint specific course conversion metrics attributable to the book, while Ryan explains the difficulty of multi-touch attribution before directing listeners to his website.18:29–20:22 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Ryan Levesque Nathan runs through his standard Famous Five rapid-fire format, quoting Ben Horowitz back to the guest during a lighthearted wrap-up exchange.1:15–4:06 · Guest teaching 2/10 Introducing Ryan Levesque and the Ask Method Nathan roleplays as a hyper-critical Amazon reviewer calling Ryan's rags-to-riches story disingenuous, which Ryan amiably agrees with and contextualizes as inevitable polarized feedback.4:07–7:07 · Guest teaching 6/10 Publishing Economics and the One Million Dollar Investment Nathan drills into the financials of book publishing, prompting Ryan to reveal he spent $1M out of pocket and explain the punishing unit economics of free-plus-shipping funnels internationally.7:11–10:15 · Guest teaching 5/10 Future Book Advances and Podcast Marketing Strategies Nathan pushes past vague answers to get Ryan's target advance range of $250k-$500k, after which Ryan educates listeners on why podcast tours vastly outperform affiliate partner email blasts.10:17–15:26 · Guest teaching 4/10 Pivoting from High-Ticket Consulting to Education at Scale Ryan details his high-ticket consulting structure of retainers, upfront copy fees, and 5-10% royalties, while Nathan astutely points out the strategic leverage of using client ad budgets to refine funnels.15:27–18:29 · Guest teaching 3/10 Course Conversion Impact and Resources at AskMethod.com Nathan attempts to pinpoint specific course conversion metrics attributable to the book, while Ryan explains the difficulty of multi-touch attribution before directing listeners to his website.18:29–20:22 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Ryan Levesque Nathan runs through his standard Famous Five rapid-fire format, quoting Ben Horowitz back to the guest during a lighthearted wrap-up exchange.1:15–4:06 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Introducing Ryan Levesque and the Ask Method Nathan roleplays as a hyper-critical Amazon reviewer calling Ryan's rags-to-riches story disingenuous, which Ryan amiably agrees with and contextualizes as inevitable polarized feedback.4:07–7:07 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Publishing Economics and the One Million Dollar Investment Nathan drills into the financials of book publishing, prompting Ryan to reveal he spent $1M out of pocket and explain the punishing unit economics of free-plus-shipping funnels internationally.7:11–10:15 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Future Book Advances and Podcast Marketing Strategies Nathan pushes past vague answers to get Ryan's target advance range of $250k-$500k, after which Ryan educates listeners on why podcast tours vastly outperform affiliate partner email blasts.10:17–15:26 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Pivoting from High-Ticket Consulting to Education at Scale Ryan details his high-ticket consulting structure of retainers, upfront copy fees, and 5-10% royalties, while Nathan astutely points out the strategic leverage of using client ad budgets to refine funnels.15:27–18:29 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Course Conversion Impact and Resources at AskMethod.com Nathan attempts to pinpoint specific course conversion metrics attributable to the book, while Ryan explains the difficulty of multi-touch attribution before directing listeners to his website.18:29–20:22 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Ryan Levesque Nathan runs through his standard Famous Five rapid-fire format, quoting Ben Horowitz back to the guest during a lighthearted wrap-up exchange.1:15–4:06 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Introducing Ryan Levesque and the Ask Method Nathan roleplays as a hyper-critical Amazon reviewer calling Ryan's rags-to-riches story disingenuous, which Ryan amiably agrees with and contextualizes as inevitable polarized feedback.4:07–7:07 · Nathan pushing back 4/10 Publishing Economics and the One Million Dollar Investment Nathan drills into the financials of book publishing, prompting Ryan to reveal he spent $1M out of pocket and explain the punishing unit economics of free-plus-shipping funnels internationally.7:11–10:15 · Nathan pushing back 5/10 Future Book Advances and Podcast Marketing Strategies Nathan pushes past vague answers to get Ryan's target advance range of $250k-$500k, after which Ryan educates listeners on why podcast tours vastly outperform affiliate partner email blasts.10:17–15:26 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Pivoting from High-Ticket Consulting to Education at Scale Ryan details his high-ticket consulting structure of retainers, upfront copy fees, and 5-10% royalties, while Nathan astutely points out the strategic leverage of using client ad budgets to refine funnels.15:27–18:29 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Course Conversion Impact and Resources at AskMethod.com Nathan attempts to pinpoint specific course conversion metrics attributable to the book, while Ryan explains the difficulty of multi-touch attribution before directing listeners to his website.18:29–20:22 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Ryan Levesque Nathan runs through his standard Famous Five rapid-fire format, quoting Ben Horowitz back to the guest during a lighthearted wrap-up exchange.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 73.8% · guest 26.2%0:00 · Nathan 73.8% · guest 26.2%3:00 · Nathan 19.9% · guest 80.1%3:00 · Nathan 19.9% · guest 80.1%6:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%6:00 · Nathan 19.5% · guest 80.5%9:00 · Nathan 16.4% · guest 83.6%9:00 · Nathan 16.4% · guest 83.6%12:00 · Nathan 20.6% · guest 79.4%12:00 · Nathan 20.6% · guest 79.4%15:00 · Nathan 53.3% · guest 46.7%15:00 · Nathan 53.3% · guest 46.7%18:00 · Nathan 86% · guest 14%18:00 · Nathan 86% · guest 14%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 2:57 Playful challenge on rags-to-riches authenticity

Nathan roleplays as an aggressive skeptic claiming the author fabricated his struggles, though Ryan completely defuses it by agreeing and quoting hostile 1-star reviews.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 7:07 Nathan presses Ryan for explicit book advance numbers

Nathan rejects Ryan's tease about positioning for a large advance, comparing the vague answer to bad sex and demanding an exact dollar bracket.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 5:50 The hidden cost of international free-plus-shipping funnels

Ryan schools Nathan and the audience on the brutal economics of physical book funnels, explaining how shipping to global destinations turns $4.95 offers into $70+ losses per unit.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 13:58 Nathan identifies the meta-advantage of client consulting

Nathan demonstrates high business fluency by pinpointing that the true value of consulting was getting paid while testing funnels on other businesses' ad budgets.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Introducing Ryan Levesque and the Ask Method 4213 Nathan roleplays as a hyper-critical Amazon reviewer calling Ryan's rags-to-riches story disingenuous, which Ryan amiably agrees with and contextualizes as inevitable polarized feedback.
Publishing Economics and the One Million Dollar Investment 4614 Nathan drills into the financials of book publishing, prompting Ryan to reveal he spent $1M out of pocket and explain the punishing unit economics of free-plus-shipping funnels internationally.
Future Book Advances and Podcast Marketing Strategies 3515 Nathan pushes past vague answers to get Ryan's target advance range of $250k-$500k, after which Ryan educates listeners on why podcast tours vastly outperform affiliate partner email blasts.
Pivoting from High-Ticket Consulting to Education at Scale 6413 Ryan details his high-ticket consulting structure of retainers, upfront copy fees, and 5-10% royalties, while Nathan astutely points out the strategic leverage of using client ad budgets to refine funnels.
Course Conversion Impact and Resources at AskMethod.com 3313 Nathan attempts to pinpoint specific course conversion metrics attributable to the book, while Ryan explains the difficulty of multi-touch attribution before directing listeners to his website.
The Famous Five Rapid-Fire Questions with Ryan Levesque 4101 Nathan runs through his standard Famous Five rapid-fire format, quoting Ben Horowitz back to the guest during a lighthearted wrap-up exchange.

Statements from this episode (10)

Insight
A published book is the ultimate business card, says Ryan Levesque
“There's no better business card to hand somebody than a business card in the form of a book.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 2:18
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ryan Levesque sold 55,000 copies of his self-funded book 'Ask'
“Between 55 and 55,060 thousand copies.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 4:19
Disclosure
Ryan Levesque received zero royalties from publisher Dunham Books for 'Ask'
“I got no royalty.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 4:35
Disclosure
Ryan Levesque spent $1 million of his own money marketing 'Ask'
“I spent a million dollars of my own money.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 5:15
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ryan Levesque projects a $250,000 to $500,000 advance for next book
“It'll be a six figure advance. Well, I don't think it'll be a seven figure advance. It'll be a six figure advance. And I think probably, you know, the sweet spot that I'd be hoping for would be in the 250 to five, 500,000.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 7:42
Disclosure
Ryan Levesque plans to spend his entire next book advance on marketing
“Whatever I get for the advance will be a marketing project for the next book. That's what it comes down to. So the bigger advance, the more books I'll be able to move. And I'm committed to that. Like I'll spend every penny of that advance to in Facebook ads.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 7:58
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Podcast appearances drove far more book sales than affiliate partners
“So we moved a ton more books through podcasting than I expected and a lot less through you know, people that I would consider partners and friends.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 9:24
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ryan Levesque's top marketing funnel captures up to 100,000 emails daily
“The, my most successful market today We do upwards of between 95 and 100,000 email opt-ins, so leads, per day. That's daily.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 11:11
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ryan Levesque generated $1M annually across three quirky niche e-commerce markets
“So I executed the ask method in three markets. Scrabble tile jewelry, orchid care, and memory improvement... Collectively over a million a year.”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 12:15
Disclosure
Ryan Levesque charged $75,000 upfront plus royalties for marketing consulting
“Businesses paid me a retainer. So it ended up being as much as 5000 dollars a month. And that was for a, in the end, a bi-weekly, 30 minute phone call. That was the consulting piece. They'd also pay me a big upfront chunk of money. To design their overall funn…”
Ryan Levesque Jul 14, 2016 ▶ 13:15
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